Church has been a grind as of late...to be more precise, church leadership has been a grind as of late. Now, I know the current model of leadership is a widely debated issue, and I don't have the energy to get into that right now( or ever if I can help it). But it sucks to have to deal with things that don't relate to sharing Christ with people. For example, I'm in high school ministry for the purpose of loving the students who walk thru that doorway the way Christ does, to manifest that love in a way they can relate to and experience as well, to be a trustworthy source of wisdom and compassion. I'm here, first and foremost, to serve Christ and not WGBC.
Am I to use my gifts and talents for the good of the church? Absolutely. Am I called to be part of the body? Absolutely. But where do I draw the line between church and Christ?
And when I say church I refer to the institution. And maybe thats where the difficulty arises...I see church as people, as community, as followers on a journey...but when church is being presented, the majority of things I hear deal with programs, growth opportunities, degrees of participation...how I see church and what church looks to me differ considerably.
I'm attending another meeting tonight about a new church "campaign" but a lot of underlining issues are rooted in church leadership and the way certain things are presented to everyone else who aren't involved in the decision making process(but should be). I've been thinking about it alot, praying that God would remove any personal agenda that I may have...that as I come to this meeting, I would sense his heart and would respond accordingly with boldness and in love...
Am I to use my gifts and talents for the good of the church? Absolutely. Am I called to be part of the body? Absolutely. But where do I draw the line between church and Christ?
And when I say church I refer to the institution. And maybe thats where the difficulty arises...I see church as people, as community, as followers on a journey...but when church is being presented, the majority of things I hear deal with programs, growth opportunities, degrees of participation...how I see church and what church looks to me differ considerably.
I'm attending another meeting tonight about a new church "campaign" but a lot of underlining issues are rooted in church leadership and the way certain things are presented to everyone else who aren't involved in the decision making process(but should be). I've been thinking about it alot, praying that God would remove any personal agenda that I may have...that as I come to this meeting, I would sense his heart and would respond accordingly with boldness and in love...
posted by danny at 2/10/2005 04:22:00 PM
1 Comments:
Danny,
As a fellow church leader, I can totally relate to what you are saying. The encouragement I would give you -- hang in there. At the leadership level, we know the issue that you raise, and we are in the process of working those changes at this level. It can't change in the church culture until it changes totally at the top. We are trying to overcome and change over 100 years of tradition and ways of doing things. To them, church is something you go to. Something you do. Getting the body to not only know but understand that the church is who you are is a big step. Chuck and I would agree with everything in this post. This church is a like an old, rusty water wheel that is just beginning to turn. In time it will get moving. And although where we are going will be important, the focus will be on who we are becoming both individually and collectively.
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