Sunday, February 27, 2005
THE PEWS!
The continuing saga of the pews! Well, we got folks on this side and folks on that side...and I don't mean seated. In opinions. But it is clear, that most folks want the pews to be removed. The dilemma is how do we respond to the people who don't want them removed or want to have a slower process about it. (We first started talking about this five years ago at the time of our building renovation.)
How do we show respect or love for other people even though we won't allow their behavior or desires to hold hostage any of the changes that a majority of the people want? This falls into the question of "are we a community sharing a common vision and mission in the first place?" Because if we do, we wouldn't be spending so much time worrying about some individuals having their feelings hurt due to changes in the way we implement the mission. We would all be encouraging each other to get on with the mission that Jesus gave us.
That is happening around our church. But we are use to be more of a "membership entitlement" type of church and we are like an alcoholic trying to recover from that addiction. We have spent more time over whether we are showing friendship among the members than going out to be the love of Christ to the "least of these" in the world around us. We are letting go of that, but it is not easy!
How do we show respect or love for other people even though we won't allow their behavior or desires to hold hostage any of the changes that a majority of the people want? This falls into the question of "are we a community sharing a common vision and mission in the first place?" Because if we do, we wouldn't be spending so much time worrying about some individuals having their feelings hurt due to changes in the way we implement the mission. We would all be encouraging each other to get on with the mission that Jesus gave us.
That is happening around our church. But we are use to be more of a "membership entitlement" type of church and we are like an alcoholic trying to recover from that addiction. We have spent more time over whether we are showing friendship among the members than going out to be the love of Christ to the "least of these" in the world around us. We are letting go of that, but it is not easy!
