A question we often face is, "What do I do next?" There are so many things that we can do, and there are so many things that we should do, that "What do I do next?" is a question that refuses to go away from us.

Because the lists of can-do's and should-do's are so long, we are tempted to jump from one task to another, one project to another, without completing the first one. Distractions -- for example, television, radio, computer, music, movies, and cellphones -- distract. And higher priority duties bump lower priority items, or vice versa. In our corner of the world, we find it difficult to stay single-minded about much of anything.

But to do anything with excellence, we have to practice it day after day. The woman who sings beautifully practices hour after hour, day after day. The college quarterback who passes with pinpoint accuracy throws a football one hundred or two hundred times a day. A distinguished author writes at least a page or two every day. All of us know this principle to be true.

Accomplishing tasks in the Church is similar. Patience and persistence are essential. If we are given a task, or if we see a task, that needs to be done at St. Peter's United Methodist Church, in the New Bern District, in the North Carolina Conference, or in the larger United Methodist Church, we should take it on and see it through to the end. It is not enough to work at this task only when we feel like it or when it is convenient for us or when things are going our way. With God's help, we will need to work at the task, perhaps one step at a time, over the long haul -- patiently and persistently. By grace, we will take care of details, encourage others who are involved, and move the task forward -- through committees, through votes, over obstacles, past indifference. Patience and persistence are essential.

God's patience and persistence are declared every Sunday morning when the congregation declares The Apostles' Creed. In the creed, God's patient, persistent activity is outlined: from the creation of all that is; to coming in the flesh in Jesus Christ (who, by implication, links with Israel, God’s first-chosen people); through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus; and on to the Holy Spirit, who makes possible the Church, the communion of saints, forgiveness, the general resurrection to come, and eternal life. Again, the creed makes clear that God is at work, from beginning to end, from the creation of all to the redemption of all, patiently and persistently. God is not distracted or deterred. The Trinity -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- stays at it until the end.

With God's help, we can be patient and persistent as well. With God's Spirit and Church, Word and Sacraments, we can reflect God's patience and persistence as we take on tasks in the Church and in the world.