Just Settle Down

Hello Emmanuel,

Sometimes I have to settle down and remind myself:  A healthy church is fun.

(the following paragraph is confession time)

As a pastor I can get caught up in the nitty gritty of church life.  I can analyze and over-analyze the various elements of what traditionally defines a healthy, disciple-making church.  Average attendance, offering, 1^st time visitors, 6^th time visitors, small groups, volunteerism, invitational ministries, educational programs, baptisms, new members, etc, etc, etc…..  I can agonize over the small failures of ministry and only be cautiously optimistic over the big successes.  I can spend the majority of my time figuring out how to make the numbers bigger and too little time marveling at how God has helped make any numbers at all.  I can knit pick the state of the church’s spirit and fail to celebrate redemption on a daily basis.  On the whole, I can forget…..

A healthy church is fun…..

(the following paragraph is a call to rejoice)

            Other leaders and laity of the church can do the same.  Let me suggest that there is nothing wrong with taking time to be glad regarding who God has made us to be, on both an individual and communal basis.  You have an identity as a disciple of Jesus—your gifts, personality, passions and Call.  We have an identity as Emmanuel UMC—our gifts, personalities, passions and Calls.  We cannot be everything for everyone, but that’s what makes us special and unique.  We offer particular traits as a community of believers that allow us to do well with who and what we have.  We are missional.  We are giving.  We are authentic.  We are the church on the corner.  Take time at this moment to give thanks to God.  We are not perfect.  We are not the mega-church.  We are not the small, dying church.   But can we take a moment to consider that we are generally being who God is calling us to be, nothing more and nothing less.  Rejoice.  And remember….

A healthy church is fun…..

            We are exiting the high seasons of the church calendar (Advent, Epiphany, Lent, Easter and Pentecost) and entering what is known as ‘Common Time’.  However, we are not common.  God has made us uncommon.  There is no church like us, good, bad or indifferent.  Let us continue to offer our uniqueness in the context of God’s love and grace.  Let’s not lose sight of the big picture and get caught up in what the world says the church should be.  Let’s continue to look and listen to God and be who He wants us to be.  If we do so, we will continue walk the road of disciple-making.  We will continue to consistently grow and give and baptize and welcome and befriend and volunteer and invite and learn.

And every so often, remind your pastor to settle down and remember that a healthy church is fun…..

God is Good,

Pastor Joe