No Church Can Do Everything

Tuesday’s Scripture Readings:
OT: Jeremiah 48
NT: Ephesians 1
W&W: Psalm 106.19-31

Today’s Reflection:

Continuing with responses to questions submitted to Bethel Church of the Nazarene’s Towne Hall Meeting, I turn now to someone who was wondering about …
· A Sunday school class for college age people
· A bus ministry
· A choir – Maybe just for holidays and/or special occasions

Following is the beginning of my response:

A church our size cannot do everything. No church can do everything…

I didn’t come in with a program. I was advised by our district Superintendent – and it is good, godly council – to get to know you and love you and to make changes slowly. (I got real bold, however, and I hope you’ll forgive me – I moved the offering to the end of the service!) Seriously, as you are aware, I have felt led of the Lord himself not to put any programs in place until we get to know one another better: God led me to pastor, preach, and pray.

Our church has had many starts and stops in the last dozen years. I have experienced that myself in the last half dozen years. I want to make a good start here so that we don’t have another stop a year or two down the road.

So, let’s not just add ministries, let’s work in our areas of strength, where:
1. We are called
2. We are gifted

I want to get to know you: What are our strengths? What is God calling us to do? I want all our church folks to be fully engaged in what God has called them to do and be – as persons first and then as members of this church.

We all have a mission: to follow Jesus. How are we to express that in our individual lives and work? How are we to join with others in the Church to accomplish the mission of making Christ-like disciples (including ourselves) in the nations? What are your strengths and passions and desires? I want to know. This Towne Hall Meeting is part of my finding out. And it is part of you finding out about me. We will seek other ways to help us get to know each other, but it all takes time.

When I arrived, we already had much on our plates and there has since been no shortage of things calling for our attention:
1. Mission Trip to Guatemala
2. Faith Promise
3. New Board
4. Budgets and Departments
5. Staffing Decisions
6. Weekly services
7. Knowing your names and responding to your needs!
8. Church insurance review
9. Sealing the parking lot
10. And, there are several key departments with whom I have yet to meet.

All this takes time, and we don’t want to hurry the process. Let’s address what is before us. God is not in a hurry, and we can take time to pray and decide together about what we will change about our ministries and programs.

This Week’s Scripture to Memorize:
Romans 3.25a: God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.