I am glad that it's January 30...and for several months, I am done playing the numbers game. Every year, we have to compile numbers for charge conference, and every year, we have to compile numbers for year-end reports. Earlier this week, the year-end reports were sent off. The numbers tell us that we added eleven members and lost two, for a net gain of nine. Sounds great, but I'm less interested in members, and more interested in professions of faith (we had three this year, by the way). At the end of the year, we have 76 members, and an average attendance in worship of 63. Pretty good percentage, but I'll be more excited when our average attendance exceeds our membership.
I'm a numbers guy - there's no denying that. I love statistics, and financial figures, and all of that, but what do numbers really tell us? Membership is important, but if you aren't an active member, then membership is largely symbolic. You could be a faithful worship attender (3-4 times per month) and never show signs of spiritual growth. Numbers matter a lot in the world of business, but it doesn't necessarily translate into the world of the church. How do you measure spiritual growth - especially when numerical growth doesn't translate?
I recently had a conversation with a colleague who serves a large church. We were talking about what had happened in the last year, and where we saw signs of hope. I said that we had grown a little bit numerically, but I was most excited about seeing people growing in their faith. This person responded by saying something like "I wish we had that at our church. We have lots of numeric growth, but that's about it."
The reality is that measurement for the church is hard. I'll maintain that numbers are important (professions of faith, average worship attendance, etc.), because they give some sign as to the health of a congregation. Perhaps more important, though, are the things that can't be measured, but are evidenced by a spiritual life - growth in patience, kindness, self-control, and other fruits of the Spirit. You can't put a number down on a form for it, but you can see it by the way a person lives.
I don't like playing the numbers game. I do the statistics and turn them in, but they don't give a full picture of the church. If you want to see where a church is, physically and spiritually, you have to look at the people and their lives. They are more than numbers; they are God's children, and so they count for more than just another statistic on the page. Names and faces, growth in grace and spiritual discipline - these are the things that really matter.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Harvest and Labor
I was reminded this week of what Jesus said about the harvest - that it is plentiful, but the workers are few. How true that is! Over the past 10 days, the world has focused on the two earthquakes that turned Haiti upside down. Millions of dollars have been raised through various organizations. Food and supplies are beginning to pour in. One night, on Larry King Live, celebrities worked to raise several million dollars on a two-hour special. The outpouring of people all over the world is astounding, and refreshing.
The same was true for Hurricane Katrina. In compassion and mercy, people came together and helped the people of Louisiana and Mississippi rebuild. A colleague of mine reminded me this week, though, that there are still many people displaced in those areas; some communities remain untouched since 2005. I can attest to that fact: when I was in New Orleans on our mission trip last summer, there were neighborhoods where no work had been done - in four years! Now, where were are of the celebrities, bringing the need of people to light? Where were all of the fundraisers to rebuild? Where are they now, in 2010, when the need is ongoing.
It's been said that the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is the first to arrive and the last to leave after a natural disaster. In my experience, that is a true statement. The UMCOR team in Slidell, Louisiana, ended up taking over much of the recovery operations after Katrina, and still provide the vast majority of leadership and organization. First on the scene, last to leave. Just this week, UMCOR sent out a truckload of health and layette kits from the Midwest Mission Distribution Center in Chatham, Illinois to be delivered to Haiti.
Where will we be in five years? Haiti will not be rebuilt by then. Even basic needs may not be met in five years. The celebrities will be gone; news reports may bury an occasional story on a back page; people may sporadically send $5 or $10 here or there. Will the church still be there? I hope so.
You see, just as in these natural disasters, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. The church is the same way. How many times have you heard someone say, "Well, I taught Sunday School 10 years when my children were little...it's someone else's turn." For a Christian, it's never someone else's turn. If not you, then who? Even the church becomes a withholder of grace, because "someone else" should teach Sunday school, serve in leadership, go on mission trips, invite people to worship, or sing in the choir. And, while each person may not have a particular gift, you still have gifts - and you are called to use your gifts for the harvest.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon each of us, to proclaim good news to people, recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those that are oppressed, to announce that the reign of God is breaking in. It doesn't have to be done verbally (although sometimes it does!), but love in action is labor for the harvest.
I've often said that we can't withhold God's grace, or give God only part of ourselves. You may want to stop teaching Sunday school after 5 years, but what if God only gave you grace for 5 years? The gift of grace is free, but it requires a response - your labor, for God's harvest.
The same was true for Hurricane Katrina. In compassion and mercy, people came together and helped the people of Louisiana and Mississippi rebuild. A colleague of mine reminded me this week, though, that there are still many people displaced in those areas; some communities remain untouched since 2005. I can attest to that fact: when I was in New Orleans on our mission trip last summer, there were neighborhoods where no work had been done - in four years! Now, where were are of the celebrities, bringing the need of people to light? Where were all of the fundraisers to rebuild? Where are they now, in 2010, when the need is ongoing.
It's been said that the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is the first to arrive and the last to leave after a natural disaster. In my experience, that is a true statement. The UMCOR team in Slidell, Louisiana, ended up taking over much of the recovery operations after Katrina, and still provide the vast majority of leadership and organization. First on the scene, last to leave. Just this week, UMCOR sent out a truckload of health and layette kits from the Midwest Mission Distribution Center in Chatham, Illinois to be delivered to Haiti.
Where will we be in five years? Haiti will not be rebuilt by then. Even basic needs may not be met in five years. The celebrities will be gone; news reports may bury an occasional story on a back page; people may sporadically send $5 or $10 here or there. Will the church still be there? I hope so.
You see, just as in these natural disasters, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. The church is the same way. How many times have you heard someone say, "Well, I taught Sunday School 10 years when my children were little...it's someone else's turn." For a Christian, it's never someone else's turn. If not you, then who? Even the church becomes a withholder of grace, because "someone else" should teach Sunday school, serve in leadership, go on mission trips, invite people to worship, or sing in the choir. And, while each person may not have a particular gift, you still have gifts - and you are called to use your gifts for the harvest.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon each of us, to proclaim good news to people, recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those that are oppressed, to announce that the reign of God is breaking in. It doesn't have to be done verbally (although sometimes it does!), but love in action is labor for the harvest.
I've often said that we can't withhold God's grace, or give God only part of ourselves. You may want to stop teaching Sunday school after 5 years, but what if God only gave you grace for 5 years? The gift of grace is free, but it requires a response - your labor, for God's harvest.
Friday, January 15, 2010
What Do I Really Need?
Anywhere you watch, hear, or read, you know about the destructive earthquake in Haiti this week. We have not had a natural disaster so close to home since the hurricanes that hit New Orleans and southern Texas. The destruction, pain, and confusion becomes real to us in interviews, pictures, and unedited news reports.
Haiti is one of the poorest countries in our hemisphere. I see pictures of the devastation, and think that, even if the buildings were put back together and people were healed and whole, I would still have so much more materially. I worry about paying a bill for heat or air conditioning - luxuries that are not even on the radar screen for many in Haiti. We have a home phone, two cell phones, four computers, and technology at our fingertips, yet we complain when it doesn't work well, or isn't available to us. Wow - how fortunate we are to have so much - or how cursed.
The more we have, the more we want. Our consumerist society has us keep up with the Jones family across the street. In some ways, though, it is counter-intuitive. Having the latest technology, a large house, 2-3 cars, and other things doesn't buy us happiness, because we are never satisfied with what we have. We WANT more, but don't NEED more. I think of pre-earthquake Haiti, and even though they were extremely poor, they were striving to have basic needs met - food, shelter, clothing, clean water - all of those things we take for granted and overlook.
As a Christian (and as a human being), I have to work against such inequality. It's too bad that it takes a major natural disaster for us to move beyond gaining our wants, to meeting the basic needs of others. But that's what Christian community is like. In Acts 2, we are reminded that the church gathered the offerings and distributed to those in need. That concept may have a Socialist tendency, but it's at times like these that those with more have the ability and responsibility to tend to the needs of those with less.
As Sarah and I prepare to go to Ghana to meet our children and complete our family, we will be flying into a similar situation. We are those who have more...and in Ghanian culture, it is customary for those with more to share with those who have less. When we pay for goods and services, the change will remain with the seller/servant. It is a means to share God's blessing with the world. And, while I might like to have that change to pay for something else, I really do have all that I need each day - food, shelter, clothing, health, job, family, and a wonderful God who blesses me beyond measure. I don't NEED anything else!
Haiti is one of the poorest countries in our hemisphere. I see pictures of the devastation, and think that, even if the buildings were put back together and people were healed and whole, I would still have so much more materially. I worry about paying a bill for heat or air conditioning - luxuries that are not even on the radar screen for many in Haiti. We have a home phone, two cell phones, four computers, and technology at our fingertips, yet we complain when it doesn't work well, or isn't available to us. Wow - how fortunate we are to have so much - or how cursed.
The more we have, the more we want. Our consumerist society has us keep up with the Jones family across the street. In some ways, though, it is counter-intuitive. Having the latest technology, a large house, 2-3 cars, and other things doesn't buy us happiness, because we are never satisfied with what we have. We WANT more, but don't NEED more. I think of pre-earthquake Haiti, and even though they were extremely poor, they were striving to have basic needs met - food, shelter, clothing, clean water - all of those things we take for granted and overlook.
As a Christian (and as a human being), I have to work against such inequality. It's too bad that it takes a major natural disaster for us to move beyond gaining our wants, to meeting the basic needs of others. But that's what Christian community is like. In Acts 2, we are reminded that the church gathered the offerings and distributed to those in need. That concept may have a Socialist tendency, but it's at times like these that those with more have the ability and responsibility to tend to the needs of those with less.
As Sarah and I prepare to go to Ghana to meet our children and complete our family, we will be flying into a similar situation. We are those who have more...and in Ghanian culture, it is customary for those with more to share with those who have less. When we pay for goods and services, the change will remain with the seller/servant. It is a means to share God's blessing with the world. And, while I might like to have that change to pay for something else, I really do have all that I need each day - food, shelter, clothing, health, job, family, and a wonderful God who blesses me beyond measure. I don't NEED anything else!
Friday, January 08, 2010
Alone?
I'm sure this comes as a shock to people who know me, but I'm an extreme introvert! I like being by myself...or at home with my wife and dogs. It's okay with me if the administrative assistant is gone, because I tend to be more productive when I am alone.
I have a tendency to have some lone-ranger characteristics...but I try hard not to fall prey to them. Why? Even though I like to be on my own, I cannot be. Jesus calls us to be in community with other brothers and sisters of the faith. Even if I can be highly productive on my own, I miss something when I don't have the perspective of others. Just today, one of my colleagues posted something on Facebook, along with a comment from another colleague. I followed the links, and found that my perspective was broadened, whether or not I agreed with them.
I am reminded that John Wesley said, near the end of his life, "The best of all is, God is with us." We are not alone - even if we serve churches where we are the only staff person. We are not alone - even if we're the only church in town. We are not alone - we are connected through the body of Christ. We are connected by God's presence in our lives. We are connected by the power of the Holy Spirit. God, in three persons, is always with us; but we are called to be with people - to make disciples of Jesus Christ...and so we can never be alone. Thanks be to God!
I have a tendency to have some lone-ranger characteristics...but I try hard not to fall prey to them. Why? Even though I like to be on my own, I cannot be. Jesus calls us to be in community with other brothers and sisters of the faith. Even if I can be highly productive on my own, I miss something when I don't have the perspective of others. Just today, one of my colleagues posted something on Facebook, along with a comment from another colleague. I followed the links, and found that my perspective was broadened, whether or not I agreed with them.
I am reminded that John Wesley said, near the end of his life, "The best of all is, God is with us." We are not alone - even if we serve churches where we are the only staff person. We are not alone - even if we're the only church in town. We are not alone - we are connected through the body of Christ. We are connected by God's presence in our lives. We are connected by the power of the Holy Spirit. God, in three persons, is always with us; but we are called to be with people - to make disciples of Jesus Christ...and so we can never be alone. Thanks be to God!
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