Sometimes the best new ideas are simply good old ideas finding new currency and ex-pression. We discovered this anew at our Session retreat in January. When we had the luxury of sitting down together without a crowded docket, it gave us the chance to share our fondest hopes for this church. As our discussion moved forward we found ourselves circling around and returning to three main ideas.
The first idea that kept surfacing and resurfacing was volunteerism. Many of those around our table remembered the informal crews of people who would just show up when the parking lot needed to be shoveled on a snowy Sunday morning. Or the clean-up crews who took it on themselves to “police” certain areas of the church inside and out. lt gave people a sense of ownership, and even more importantly, a tangible way to express their stewardship toward our beloved church. We appreciate the specialist who comes in to do those things that are beyond our skill level, but there are so many things we can do, and invariably have a good time when we work on them together. The long and the short of it is, we need every person in this church to help us care for and do the everyday ministries of this church. Whatever you like and know how to do, we un-doubtedly have a place where your skills are needed. And our goal is to give each one of you a place and a way to play your meaningful part.
The second idea that wouldn’t let go was the thought of developing a wish list. The old saying is, “Blessed is he who aimeth at nothing, for he shall surely hit it!" We realize as we talked, that we have a long list of dreams and needs and potential ministries for our church. Some of them are simple, inexpensive, and could be done tomorrow. Other ideas are exactly right for us, but will take time and money to bring to fruition. And frankly, some of our ideas are wonderful, but they seem Way beyond our reach - maybe impossible. But even the closest port could never be reached if the ship isn’t steered in the right direction.
More to the point, we cannot know what matters most to you, if We don’t put our wish list in front of you and find out what piques your interest. Maybe you will look at our list and know in an instant what you would like to buy-into. Or maybe you have some ideas or wishes that never crossed our minds and are just waiting to be surfaced. With that in mind, we scheduled an all church potluck and looked forward to using that evening to show you our list and pick each other’s brains. lt is amazing how priorities emerge and crystallize when we begin to look for-ward together in the same direction.
Thirdly, perhaps the oldest idea, and our greatest challenge is to think about what it would mean for us to be intentional about being a neighborhood church again. Granted, almost all churches have become what they call “corn1nuter” churches. People typically drive from even great distances to attend church on Sunday morning. Churches that never needed much in the way of parking spaces are now desperate to find more. Sill, there was a time when most churches in America were thought of as neighborhood churches. The church was the place where many nearby neighbors connected on a regular basis. lf you will, they shared a common lot, and a lot in common. l don’t have to tell you, times have changed; neighborhoods change. But the bottom line is, we don’t like the idea that our church feels disconnected from the people around us. So we are starting to wonder how we might network with other north end churches (like Kumler, for instance) in reaching out to our neighbors in shared ministries. How about a once a month, or once a week invitation to our neighbors to break bread with us; to get to know each other by first names; in short to build bridges that are central to the Gospel idea ofa church? All things are possible; not easy, but possible.
~ Pastor Brent ~
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