Connected
Matthew &:24-27
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!”
As we gather as Presbyters and Clerks from all over the denomination, we have a major issue of interpreting where we are, how we are, and what we are. Its is so easy to become completely despairing--churches are aging, shrinking, ending; the resources of the presbyteries and synods are also aging, shrinking, ending; and we are not regenerating, renewing, or resurrecting. So, we despair.
But there is another story...
We are still active. We are still present. We are still doing ministry. The denomination is still the largest Protestant denomination in the US. It is still one of the wealthiest. There is still an abundance, but we struggle to see it. We feel discouraged to be a gathering of small churches. We feel discouraged to see churches still warring with their presbyteries. We need to see the abundance.
For instance, the presbytery I serve is a gathering of small churches--a relatively small gathering, at that. We have 29 congregations. Most of those have 200 members or less. Most will tell you their biggest challenge is getting things done with a corps of volunteers who are older, been doing the work for decades, and number around twenty people per congregation (it is amazingly consistent that most congregations run on the work of a tiny group of volunteers no matter what size the congregation is).
Well, I would invite every congregation in our presbytery to see things differently.
No church is actually the size it claims. It is actually a church of about 8000 members.
What?!!
Have I suddenly lost my math skills?!!
No. Presbyterians are connectional. No church exists in isolation. We are bound together. We are to be there for one another. We are to help one another. We are to work side by side one another. Therefore, every congregation is a small group from the larger communion of the presbytery. Therefore, what the presbytery has collectively, congregations have individually.
We need to open our eyes to this abundance built into the Presbyterian way of being. We need to claim it.
And we need to structure our presbyteries to make it so. Geography is the immediate hurdle. Many presbyteries are spread far and wide. Regional gatherings, though, are possible. The best are meetings where church leaders listen to one another, bounce ideas off one another, and then figure out how to make it happen.
That hinges on trust.
That hinges on seeing one another through Christ's eyes--partners called in Christ's service, as the hymn sings. Every human being is a child of God. Every human being is worthy, valuable, and filled with meaning simply by existing. We may see the world differently, but we are always family--children breathed into life by God. What matters most are not the details of what we believe, but that we believe one another made and blessed by God. To see one another in this way opens trust.
Opening in trust, we reach out for one another.
Reaching for one another, we listen to one another.
Listening, we hear how we can serve together to build the Kingdom of God. And that is listening to Christ, which gives us the firm foundation for every wind of change that blows.
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!”
As we gather as Presbyters and Clerks from all over the denomination, we have a major issue of interpreting where we are, how we are, and what we are. Its is so easy to become completely despairing--churches are aging, shrinking, ending; the resources of the presbyteries and synods are also aging, shrinking, ending; and we are not regenerating, renewing, or resurrecting. So, we despair.
But there is another story...
We are still active. We are still present. We are still doing ministry. The denomination is still the largest Protestant denomination in the US. It is still one of the wealthiest. There is still an abundance, but we struggle to see it. We feel discouraged to be a gathering of small churches. We feel discouraged to see churches still warring with their presbyteries. We need to see the abundance.
For instance, the presbytery I serve is a gathering of small churches--a relatively small gathering, at that. We have 29 congregations. Most of those have 200 members or less. Most will tell you their biggest challenge is getting things done with a corps of volunteers who are older, been doing the work for decades, and number around twenty people per congregation (it is amazingly consistent that most congregations run on the work of a tiny group of volunteers no matter what size the congregation is).
Well, I would invite every congregation in our presbytery to see things differently.
No church is actually the size it claims. It is actually a church of about 8000 members.
What?!!
Have I suddenly lost my math skills?!!
No. Presbyterians are connectional. No church exists in isolation. We are bound together. We are to be there for one another. We are to help one another. We are to work side by side one another. Therefore, every congregation is a small group from the larger communion of the presbytery. Therefore, what the presbytery has collectively, congregations have individually.
We need to open our eyes to this abundance built into the Presbyterian way of being. We need to claim it.
And we need to structure our presbyteries to make it so. Geography is the immediate hurdle. Many presbyteries are spread far and wide. Regional gatherings, though, are possible. The best are meetings where church leaders listen to one another, bounce ideas off one another, and then figure out how to make it happen.
That hinges on trust.
That hinges on seeing one another through Christ's eyes--partners called in Christ's service, as the hymn sings. Every human being is a child of God. Every human being is worthy, valuable, and filled with meaning simply by existing. We may see the world differently, but we are always family--children breathed into life by God. What matters most are not the details of what we believe, but that we believe one another made and blessed by God. To see one another in this way opens trust.
Opening in trust, we reach out for one another.
Reaching for one another, we listen to one another.
Listening, we hear how we can serve together to build the Kingdom of God. And that is listening to Christ, which gives us the firm foundation for every wind of change that blows.
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