What a week... Without getting into too much detail, church was wacky on Sunday, I forgot a couple of major things, a handful of minor things, and was feeling pretty low yesterday and this afternoon. Everything has been so awesome all year and then this week I just felt like it was all coming unraveled, but a) I realized things were not as bad as they seemed b) I rectified a few of my wrongs, and c) I did quite a few good things this week. So it is Wednesday night and the week has been salvaged, phewww for the grace of God!
We had a leader retreat this weekend and it was really great. We did a Willow Creek course about finding your spiritual gifts, ministry passion, and leadership style, and it was really cool to learn more about ourselves and about eachother as a leadership team. We have lots of gifted people at our church. The weekend wrapped up with us brainstorming different ways and places to use our gifts. I was really encouraged and inspired to serve, but also left with a question... Is filling people's time tables filling their needs? I mean, it seems that everyone is so busy. Every night is already filled and it is hard to find another night to do something. Which leads to my big question about filling people's needs...Is the problem overworked people with no time, or is the problem ministries that require too much time? How can the church meet the needs of the people (Christian and non Christian) without another activity? Is adding another thing to do really the best way to communicate God's love and plan?
Don't get me wrong; I love serving and I love getting together to meet new people and hang out with church friends. I don't mind filling a few nights a week with church stuff. Just looking more at the root of what it is exactly we are trying to do.
2 comments:
for sure.........sometimes i think churches fill up the schedule with events and programs, without really thinking about the purpose of those programs, and without clearly defining the needs that they are trying to meet.
i have been learning over the past year or two how to say "no", how to define my limits, and how to pour myself into things that I am really passionate about and leave the other things to others. But it's tough....steep learning curve.
Good thought, it got Jess and I talking...
There's this tension between people and programs, and it seems that when the program becomes the end rather than the means of evangelism, that's when it's a chore. Busy-ness sucks, and in 80 days or so, you'll start to wonder what kept you busy, and you'll laugh at how much time you had!
I could write all day on this, but one final thought (not mine.) To paraphrase Brian McLaren, "Sometimes we can get so busy doing church work we neglect the work of the Church."
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