Stephen M. Veazey

Stephen M. Veazey (Community of Christ archives)

Stephen M. Veazey was ordained at the 2005 World Conference, becoming the 8th president-prophet of Community of Christ.

In his first sermon, Steve called the church to "share the peace of Jesus Christ." He said,

God’s will for human life and for creation comes through revelation, especially as revealed in the life, death, resurrection, and continuing presence of Jesus Christ, the Living Word. Through Christ, something not fully explainable, but utterly transforming, has occurred. It can best be described as the movement of God to bring reconciliation and wholeness into all dimensions of life.

Calling the church to be peacemakers, he continued,

The cause of Zion is the ongoing call to enflesh the peace of Jesus Christ in all dimensions of life. I have heard people talk about experiences at reunions, camps, and retreats as a “glimpse” or “taste” of Zion. What was experienced? Love. Acceptance. Unity. Generosity. Peacefulness. A desire to serve others.

The cause of Zion is the pursuit of conditions and relationships that bring this foretaste of God’s ultimate will for creation increasingly into all aspects of life: families, congregations, neighborhoods, nations, and the world. It is grounded in the scriptural concept of shalom, or God’s peace, for all of creation. The scriptures proclaim that the ultimate will of God for creation is wholeness, balance, and peace. God’s shalom integrates a whole range of concepts that point the way to the ultimate redemption of creation, including reconciliation, justice, well-being, stewardship, generosity, righteousness, the worth of all people, and true community. This is the peaceable kingdom of God:

He called priesthood (ministers) to provide servant ministry in the likeness of Christ. He challenged the church to apply additional energy and resources for support of congregational pastors. Along with this, he reminded the church of the need for stewardship, discipleship, and financial response.

His final remarks challenged the church:

So here we stand at a pivotal time. And there is really only one question for us to answer: Do we have the courage and conviction to be who we really are? We stand on the edge of greatness—not as the world measures greatness, but as God measures greatness—in terms of wholehearted participation in bringing to pass divine purposes in creation.

And, we are called! We are called to deepen our discipleship through spiritual formation that centers in the Spirit of the Living Christ, who continues to redeem and restore people to life in community. We are called to share the peace of Jesus Christ, the fullness of the gospel, with all who will hear and respond. We are called to bear witness, through word and deed, of the cause of Zion, the peaceable kingdom, the vision of hope for this desperate world. We are called to reveal Jesus Christ in the world through finely honed ministries of peace, reconciliation, and healing of the spirit, making the ministries of the Temple manifest through our lives.

We are called to shape a diverse family of peace in Jesus Christ from among the cultures and nations of the world, for the blessing and salvation of humanity. We are called to give of ourselves and our resources generously so that our witness of Christ and Zion can increase, not decrease, throughout the world. We are called!

I am ready to respond to the call to share the peace of Jesus Christ. Are you?