Southern's Stirrings                                   

                                                           "Let Somebody Else Do It"

That title reflects one of the points I made in Sunday's sermon.  If you want the church to fail, just think that "you can let somebody else do the ministry".  That attitude is fatal. During Lent, I have been preaching on the themes from Christopher Maricle's book entitled The Jesus Priorities:  8 Essential Habits.  I applied his point about the personal barriers to seeking God's will to congregational barriers that block a good match between pastor and people in the search for new pastoral leadership.  I developed the following barriers as well as the corrections.

Congregational barriers in finding a new pastor:

1.  Fear of repeating past mistakes.  It is my understanding of the oral history of our church that in the six years from Rev. Jim Whitaker's retirement and our hiring, this congregation had six ministers (five interims and one minister of three years who ended his ministry with clergy sexual misconduct).  That's a serious fear, as those were turbulent times filled with anger, mistrust, upset and confusion.  Many people left for another congregation or stopped attending.  That is a serious fear for those who went through those times.  Fortunately, our newer members won't share that fear.

2.  Hurry or haste to fill the pastoral position much as you would fill a job vacancy at your secular job.  Using a business or military model, some folks think that our replacement should be ready on August 22.  All you have to do is advertise the opening, review the ministerial profiles, find five candidates of interest, do a personal interview and hire the one who will come for the least amount of money.  Just get the spot filled.  There is not much thought given to finding a good match of ministerial gifts and graces with the expressed needs of the congregation, let alone asking if God has someone in mind.

3.  Laziness that thinks that "my input" is not needed or wanted and that my involvement won't make that much difference.  Said another way, "Let somebody else do it".  Let them form the Visioning team, they don't need me and my ideas.  Let's do the math:  we have 500 members on the book, 300 of whom are participating (we see them two or three times per year); we average 130 people in worship; we have about 75 people who carry the work of ministry.  WHERE ARE THE OTHER 425!

CORRECTIONS TO THEE CONGREGATIONAL BARRIERS:

1.  Fear is overcome by faith and love.  Ps. 27 is our guide:  Vs. 1 "The Lord is my light and my salvation, who shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?"  Vs. 3, "Though my problems encircle me like an army, my heart shall not fear, I will be confident in the Lord's presence".  1 John 4:18 reminds us, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear..."

2.  Hurry is re-focused by patience so that enthusiasm is not lost but doesn't cause the church to miss God's leading.  Ps. 27:14 "Wait for the Lord.  Be strong and let your heart take courage.  Wait for the Lord."  Vs. 8 says, "Seek God's face in God's house, temple, tent, shelter, or rock. God's will may be found in many different places."  Vs. 11, "Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path".  So many Hebrew and Christian scripture stories emphasize the principal that God acts in God's good time, so that all may know that it is God acting to bring success, not any human generated effort.  (The Battle of Jerico, Jesus, Mary & Martha and Paul & Silas's release from prison are but three examples.)                                                             

3.  Laziness is corrected by purposeful action.  God is love and God teaches that love requires effort, work and sacrifice.  Our faith in God and our response to God's action in Jesus requires us to use our time, energy, intellect and hard work in God's service.  2 Samuel 24:24 captures King David's understanding of this relationship as he seeks to advert a plague on Israel by buying a threshing floor in order to make a proper offering.  King David says, "I will buy this land from you for a price, I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing."

You will have an opportunity to believe and act on Easter Sunday, April 4, as we offer our Seeds of Faith project.  We will once again give away $2,000.00 for you to use to help another person, family or organization as God leads you to that situation.  We know that many of you add to the $100.00 that is given away at worship.  And, we suspect that some of you have not waited for the giving of that money to plant your own seeds of faith.

Also, you will be invited to an "ALL CHURCH RETREAT" on Sunday, April 18, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm to work with Rev. Scott Woolridge, CCIW Associate Regional Minister, and the Visioning Team.  Your involvement is absolutely vital for the church's transition and future.  Scott will lead us as we work through the following:

          What are we (DMCC) now?

          Where have we come from?

          What is God calling us to know, be and do?

          Where is God leading DMCC to go in the future?

          What kind of pastoral leadership will be needed for this journey of faith into God's good future?

Hope to see you Sunday in worship,

                                                                                                     God's peace, Lonnie