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From the pastor's
desk
February 2010
In my last
article I alerted my readers that we are refining our operations at the
church with some simple questions: Who are we? Where are we going? and
How do we get there? Since that last article I have been reflecting and
listening intently to the people of the church. What I have discovered
was most helpful in narrowing down the type of people we are and where
we seem to be heading.
Every
congregation has a personality. No two are alike. Discovering where a
congregation’s gift, talent and desires are helps the people operate
better as one and communicate clearly to the community who they are. It
also helps us understand where we play a part in the work of God’s
kingdom.
Clearly,
Christ the Lord Lutheran has many different ministries. I have always
thought that every congregation had a variety of ministries for a person
to live out their individual faith, yet be part of the whole. But at a
funeral last week one of our members who has moved away but returned for
the funeral said that his church had very, very little to do other than
Sunday morning worship. I was quite surprised, but it told me something
about us. Our many ministries are one of our strengths.
But by the
same token, a visitor once asked me, “Where do I start at this place?” A
place that offers much needs to be sure that there are clear directions
to find the many ministries available when we don’t have a yellow brick
road to follow. That clearly told me that we need to be very intentional
about helping people better enter the community of faith. I happened
upon a church that did and am in the process of using their method to
improve our ministry.
While we may
do a lot, what is it that draws all of this under one heading? That has
been one of my hardest questions. Being a bit scattered brained and
laissez-faire in my operations, I am a piece with many puzzle parts
lying on the table. But that isn’t helpful to others. So I had to search
harder for this answer.
Finally, a
person shared with me that it seemed that everyone had a heart to serve
no matter what group they were a part of. I took some time to study that
thought. The more I thought; the more I thought the person was on to
something. It does appear true. From Bible study groups to fellowship
groups everyone has an interest in serving others. We do not like to sit
and just think. We want to move forward doing something.
This is
where my thoughts are leading me. In February, the Church Council,
church staff and key leaders will be coming together to flesh out these
ideas even further. But it seems that we are on to something. We are
servants of God in all that we do. We are Christ the Lord and we are
here to serve.
I must say
that not every congregation is that way. I know of congregations who are
more reflective, some take interest in many forms of worship, and some
are just shallow entertainment for the masses. Our congregation seems to
enjoy getting our hands dirty and trying the best we can to help others
however we can.
I would love
to hear what you have to say about this, because this is about you. This
is about us. You can e-mail me at
pastorbob@christthelordlutheran.org , you can give me a call or drop
off a note.
I can assure
you of one thing, we will soon have a better understanding of who we are
and where we are going. And when we are done, I plan to tell the
community about us in a clear and loud voice.
In His
service,
Pastor Mitchell
Link
to previous months "From the Pastor's desk" letters |
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Ask
the Pastors The questions was
asked:
Why during the Apostle's Creed, do we say
" I believe in the Holy Catholic Church", when we are Lutheran?
Click here
for the Pastors' response.
The
question was asked:
How do you witness to someone when they say it
is hard to believe in something that they cannot feel, see or touch?
Click here for
the Pastors' response
The question was asked:
One of the most amazing stories
from the Bible is Paul's participation in the persecution of the
Christians and God's intervention and Paul's complete reversal of attitude
to the Christians. My question is at what time in a person’s life does
good or evil become dominant? Is it preordained for some people to create
evil all their life? My reasoning is “Thank you God for all your grace,
mercy and love.”
Click
here for the Pastors' response.
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Pastors a question?
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Link to "Ask the Pastors" form. |