It has taken us a while to get here. The truth is, our journey to this place began long before that 1st national meeting in 1849. It began long before Thomas Campbell wrote the Declaration and Address, before Luther nailed the 95 theses on the Wittenburg door. It began before the Council of Jerusalem decided that gentiles could be Xians too, even before those women went to the tomb on Sunday morning and found it empty. The story of the people who worship one God, our story, begins with a journey.
Every journey begins by leaving something behind.
The first word that God says to Abraham and Sarah is leave. Leave your country - that would be hard. Leave the place where you have discovered security and identity and honor. Leave the place where tradition is passed from one generation to the next, the place of mutual protection and respect. Every journey begins by leaving something, something that is treasured and valued.