Hello Church,
We are in the midst of a new thing. How do I know? Things are happening and I am not necessarily the instigator. This is when it gets scary for me......
For example, I get a facebook notification that the church I pastor is partnering with the Humane Society. Huh? Why am I finding this out on facebook? How come nobody asked me? I never put my stamp of approval on this!
The answer: the church is being the church like they are supposed to be.
How refreshing it is to find out that ministry can happen without my involvement..... that the pastor doesn't have to be and shouldn't be called every time some sort of permission needs to be given.... that leadership can be trusted to lead within the confines of a church vision and sometimes the pastor can follow....
How wonderfully, ecstatically, enthusiastically, refreshing!!!
To go further, did you know there were 2 church meetings yesterday that were about 2 very specific ministry projects and I went to neither one? (and to be sure, I wasn't specifically invited either). Scary for me? Yes! Beneficial for everyone? Yes!
The church gets to be the church without me, the pastor, sticking his biased opinions into every decision that needs to be made. Will I be happy with everything decided upon? No. Does God care? Not as long as the I do the work of establishing an over-arching church vision and putting leaders in place that hold to the vision. Nope, God won't care about my approval.
That said, I can always be available when called upon. Know that I am a very big resource person that any ministry project can go to in order to be helped. I am at the beck-and-call of the church. The church is not at the beck-and-call of me. This is the way it should be.
Emmanuel is re-asserting its Methodism! Lay people at work (and, oh, by the way, Joe is here to help too). I am very proud of our pivot so far. It makes me want to lead harder and louder and with more energy. It's a new thing and I am glad.
Let's keep it going. I'm looking forward to more surprises from the new ministry teams. Just be gentle. It's still scary for me.
God is Good,
Pastor Joe
a lot to absorb
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