The Church of Many Faces, One Family, Striving to draw nearer to GOD
Pastors Page
| The Church of Many Faces, One Family, Striving to draw nearer to GOD Pastors Page |
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In his book (Healthy Congregations},
well known and highly regarded congregational systems
consultant Peter Steinke relates a story about the
world's greatest family of tightrope walkers and
aerialists , the flying Wallendas. Karl Wallenda once
mentioned that except for walking the tightrope,
everything else in life was waiting. He had a passion, an
internal capacity for concentration on the task. Karl
Wallenda slipped and fell to his death between two
high-rise buildings in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Wallenda
fell clutching the balancing pole . Following his own
advice to family members, he held on to the pole. Never,
he had warned, drop the pole, lest it hurt someone below.
He performed the aerial act without a safety net below.
Later, his wife reported that there had been a sudden
shift in Karl's approach to his work. For the first time,
she said, her husband had been focusing on falling,
instead of on walking the tightrope . Never before had he
personally supervised the attachment of the guide wires.
That time he did. It is not uncommon for smaller
membership churches to get focused on falling, on seeing
themselves as mere shadows of their glorious former
selves. Churches can get so bogged down concentrating on
weaknesses, on what we don't have, that we neglect to
identify, give thanks, and build for the future based on
the strengths we do have.Since our annual Church
Conference has recently been scheduled for December 10,
it seems like a good time to ask: 'What are we focused
on? What are our gifts and strengths as a congregation?
What are we really passionate about? What is the identity
and direction of our ministry and mission? It is important for churches to take stock of themselves periodically , in order to ensure that crew members have a common sense of direction. Peter Steinke makes this point in his latest book, {Congregational Leadership In Anxious Times}. He writes: 'Congregations that lack a focus are like sailors on a lake without a destination. With no port in mind, the sailors will not know how to adjust the sails to guide its course. The sailboat will drift or meandor . Congregations not focused on their mission (destination) meandor or float aimlessly too. So where is God beckoning First UMC Hayward to go? What future does God have in mind for us? What does God want us to do in our time and place? What is our unique mission? It is good to prayerfully and patiently ask ourselves these deeply spiritual questions . I offer them for your consideration and reflection. I am not looking for, nor do I want, quick off-the-top-of-the-head answers. What I do want is for us to be intentionally cultivating a radical sense of openness to God's Spirit . John Gardner, former secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, has warned: 'The future announces itself from afar. But most people are not listening . The noisy clatter of the present drowns out the tentative sounds of things to come. The sound of the new does not fit old perceptual patterns and goes unnoticed by most people. God is calling us into a new future. Will we be ready? Let's make sure we are listening! Blessings to you all and peace, Pastor John
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