ASKING QUESTIONS
It may be
time that we stop simply taking for granted what we’ve always done, what’s
always worked before, and the belief that things will go back to the way things
used to be.
Just because
something worked once doesn’t mean it will work now. Just last week, I wrote
how my own eyes aren’t working like they used to. Ministry and stewardship are
the same. My less clear eyesight is affecting me; ministry and stewardship are
affecting the world.
Is continuing
the same things the same way working for us? If we’re honest, the answer may be
“not really.”
So, if we’re
being honest, let’s ask ourselves some questions:
1. Who is
our ministry for?
2. What
is the difference we are making?
3. Who
are we, now?
4. Who is
our neighbor, now?
5. What
is God asking of us, now?
Did you
notice that the last three questions contain the word now? If we’re just
going to keep doing the same old, the same old, then we really don’t care about
the now. The problem is, I think we do care. We care about what God is asking
of us right here, right now. Or we should.
The “new
normal” may not be temporary, it may BE the new normal. We can’t ignore change;
and we can’t ignore our neighbor.
Taking the
time to sit together as a leadership team, as a small group, as a council, as a
congregation, as clergy, and as laity is vital. Answering these questions,
honestly, may be difficult, but if we’re serious about being who God is asking
us to be; if we’re serious about doing what God is asking us to do; and if we’re
serious about loving as God asks us to love, then the answers to these
questions can only help guide that work.
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