Hi Folks,
Below is my newsletter article for this month. I wanted to send it out via this method as it has to do with some pretty heavy stuff as you will see. Thus, I thought to get it out to as many people as possible on the Web and start a conversation if possible. Please feel free to reply and share your thoughts. - - - Pastor Bryson
I am going to say something that everyone in this congregation knows all too well. It is difficult being a new church start. These difficulties manifest themselves all over our congregation. We have all experienced them, so we all know what it’s like when:
- We look out on some Sundays and see that there are not a lot of people in the seats, or few cars in the parking lot. So we wonder, where is everyone? Why don’t people have the commitment they used to?
- We think about our past, the many twists and turns we have endured. It is so tiring, so exhausting, so it is worth it? Can this church survive?
- We are one of the tireless leaders of this church who have been in our roles for a long time. But we can’t help but look to the future and wonder, who is going to take over for us and continue to lead when we cannot do it anymore?
- We look at the state of our current ministries and lament for what was, why did the people involved in them leave? Why can’t our current efforts be better?
I am sure there are many more instances out there. There are just so many questions; so many sources of anxiety that are causing this church to worry and wonder about its future.
I am right there with you. I ask myself these things all the time and when the answers don’t produce blatantly obvious results, I beat myself up because I feel like I have failed as your pastor. Sadly, this is not an isolated occurrence. Many of you feel like this. You pour your very heart and soul into this place. Then when it doesn’t respond with dynamic signs of growth, we feel like we have come up short.
Friends, it is all too easy to engage in this repeating process of self-abuse when it is largely unfair to us. We are not the only church dealing with these factors. Almost every church is nowadays. I learned this while meeting with one of my Clergy Support groups a few weeks ago. After the rough month of May, I vented a little on how bad I was feeling, only to find that my colleagues feel exactly the same. They are also having problems getting people to commit to worship, or become leaders. Their people have seen signs of church decline and have big questions about the future.So we are all in the same boat in dealing with a radical shift in the culture around us. Like I have been saying in this sermon series on When Christians Get it Wrong, young people are leaving the church and not coming back. Demands on people’s times are getting to the extreme, so even the most committed Christians have trouble making time for their faith. I have many resources backing this up if you are curious to see them. They all paint the same picture; it is a difficult time for most followers of Jesus Christ.
The only difference is, these questions are not as prominent for the pastors in my support group. They are there yes, but the churches they lead are 300, 500, 800 and 1000 members respectively. Therefore, they don’t threaten the daily activities of the church, and they have the luxury of time and resources to apply to the larger problem. It would take years for them to be as close to the realities of the world as we are.
Now before I go sounding too dour, remember there is always, ALWAYS hope.Even now, there are endless possibilities that see us living into God’s Kingdom and achieving our goal of becoming a permanent part of the Wellington community. In my opinion, this success rests in two things. First, we have one quality that these larger churches do not, flexibility. Our small size and lack of restricting traditions means we can experiment with approaches and ideas. We can stretch the boundaries of what it means to be the church until we find what works with the needs of our community. The second thing we need is continuing determination and energy. As difficult as it has been, we need to keep up our good work. We are slowly but surely going in the right direction, and I know it will pay off!
Essentially, my message here is have faith. Draw upon the people around you for guidance and support. This is a huge reason why we are doing our current conversation initiative. We want everyone to get to know each other, so we can build deep relationships that encourage us to take risks for our new friends. So do me a favor, if you feel compelled to retreat, or to withdraw, do the opposite. Reach out to someone new. Get to know that person who you’ve seen around the church. For in building a connections and cultivating them, we will create a deep community full of the Spirit. And with God so palpably in our midst, we will want to spread that love outward.
This is deep, abstract stuff, I know, so I am open if anyone wants to talk. I also plan to have sermons and conversations opportunities in the future. Otherwise, keep the faith, folks. God is at work in us still and I am, as always, honored to be your pastor.
Thanks friends, thoughts?
