We’ve been working for the past few months on a new logo for our church and are finally ready to roll it out! We’ve worked with Maple + Main Creative to create a design that is unique and meaningful and speaks to who we are and continually aspire to be as a church family. Over the last few months I've published a series of blogs called “The Gospel According to Trees” to highlight the theme of trees throughout scripture in preparation for our new logo.
Trees represent God's steadfast love and faithfulness that endure from generation to generation. In the words of Matthew Sleeth, MD, “trees have a way of bridging generations, connecting us with the past and inviting us to dream of the future”. Trees are the oldest living things on earth: enduring storms, floods, earthquakes and other disasters to live thousands of years. Trees and their rings, featured in our logo, serve as a visual representation of God's steadfast love and faithfulness that has sustained FBC’s presence and ministry here for 216 years. As we remain faithful to God and continue to grow more deeply connected to Him and each other, our “ring” will be a sign of hope to the next generations.
Trees provide an instructive vision of our life together in Christ that is continually growing from the inside out. Deep Roots, Wide Branches. This is the life that God calls us to as we find our place in His unfolding story. Just as majestic trees with a towering height and extensive reach are supported by a vast and deep root system, we seek to live increasingly fruitful lives that reach upward in praise and outwards in loving service nourished by deep roots in Christ. But just as rings of a tree grow from the center of the tree outwards, so too does our growth happen from the inside out. The cross section of the tree with its rings are a glimpse into the inner life of a tree and representative of our inner life with Christ that matures over time, producing a fruitful life by God’s transforming power and grace.
Trees point towards the sacrificial love of Christ that has given us true and lasting life. From the oxygen we breathe to the framing of our houses and the furniture we sit on, trees give and support life in every stage of their existence, including death. A fallen tree can support several thousand flora and fauna species and continue to provide shelter for numerous animals. It’s Christ’s self-giving sacrificial death that has secured true and lasting life for any who would receive. Wearing a crown of thorns, Jesus bore the curse of sin on the dead tree of a Roman cross and paid the penalty for sin that ushered death into the world. Jesus' death upholds God's justice and supplies God's mercy, extending the offer of true and lasting life to all who would receive it. At FBC we seek to proclaim the gospel of Jesus' life, death and resurrection and be authentic expressions of his sacrificial love through lives of self-giving love and service.
The tenacious nature of trees are a continual witness to the hope of new life.
Buried wood from a stump hundreds of years old was found to still contain living chlorophyll. Stumps can be seen with fresh green shoots reaching forth into the world. When Jesus was dead and buried, it appeared that all hope was buried with him. But Jesus was raised to eternal life 3 days later, overcoming the power of sin and death. When He appears to Mary Magdalene, in the garden where he had been buried, she mistakes Him for the gardener. Indeed, the Risen Christ is both the tree of life supplying true and lasting life and the new Adam, tending and cultivating the new creation that has sprouted with his resurrection. At FBC we seek to be a people who are living towards this future hope and participating in the work of new creation.
I'm grateful for the ways we've lived into all of this over the years. By His grace, may we continue deepening our roots in Christ and extending our reach into the part of the world He has planted us, bearing fruit to His glory.
Shiloh