Across the Rubicon and Setting Up Camp
Annual Report 2005-2006
Pastor Josh Broward
In 49 BC Julius Caesar had a decision to make. He had spent the last few years serving in Gaul and extending the Roman rule across Europe. The Roman Senate now called him back to Rome, and they told him to come without his army. If Caesar had gone to Rome without his army, he would have lost power and possibly lost his life.
One little river served as the boundary line for Julius Caesar’s choice. It was the Rubicon. By Roman law, no Roman general was allowed to bring his army past the Rubicon.
If Julius Caesar crossed this stream, he would begin a civil war. As Caesar stood on the banks of the Rubicon, he looked at his companions and said, “Still we can retreat! But once we pass this little bridge, nothing is left but to fight it out!” This was the point of no return. This was the deciding moment.
Caesar and his troops crossed the Rubicon. Then, he tore his shirt off and gave a tearful speech. (Don’t worry – I’m not going to tear my shirt off!) Caesar’s speech included the famous words: “The die is cast.” This is referring to a game of dice: “The dice are already thrown.” In other words, the direction has been set. The decision has been made. There is no going back now. Caesar quickly took control of Italy and eventually gained control of the entire Empire. But all of this started with a few short steps across the Rubicon.
This year our church has “crossed the Rubicon.” Two little decisions stand as our Rubicon. The first decision was moving to Patch Hall in March of this year. This move has provided us with space to grow, access to technology, consistent temperatures, much-needed storage space, and convenient classrooms.
The second decision was much more important than the first. When we moved to Patch Hall, we also decided to change the time of our worship service from 9:00 am to 10:30 am. This was a HUGE decision for our church. There were two factors in our decision. First, we decided that we wanted to be a primary church, not a secondary church (a place people go before their “real church”). Second, we decided that we wanted to reach out to people who didn’t usually go to any church, and we felt they would be much more likely to join us at a later time. (Really, 9am is like the crack of dawn for a lot of people around here!) So in this one decision, we identified ourselves as a primary church deserving of primary commitment and as a church committed to outreach.
This was our Rubicon. We have declared our course for the future. In a sense, “The die is cast.” We have followed the Spirit and rolled the dice.
