We are children of God first, ministers to people second, leaders third.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." - Matt 28:19-20
We accomplish this by living out our values. We gather to provide experiences, worship opportunities that are meaningful, practical, and fun; so that we might engage the community around us, being "salt and light" as the Body of Christ.
On our website, we tell people to expect "Friendly people, great coffee, awesome music & weekly teachings that are practical, understandable, relatable and funny…. You can also expect to smile & be glad you came.."
The past season has been a wild ride for this church. Around here, it has been said that "Church shouldn't have a body count" yet behind us is a wake of red. As followers of Jesus, we have been commanded to be "salt and light" yet our actions would prove us bitter and extinguishing. On Sundays, we do a great job at doing church-like activities, but if the community, the Body of Christ is disconnected and non-existent by Monday morning, then we are nothing. (1 Cor 13) We stitch ourselves together for Sunday morning, yet return to our amputated state within the hour of leaving the church parking lot.
As the leadership of this church, we must model what we profess. (We can't impart what we don't posess) To borrow from a good source, "We are children of God first, ministers to people second, leaders third." Those who look to us trust us with their time, talents, and treasure. The finance team can tell us that we aren't being trusted with the "treasure" so, what does that mean for time and talent? I firmly believe that we are not in a financial situation, but that our financial situation is bleeding from a much deeper wound. Yes, we need to treat the bleeding, but we also need to check the bones and deeper tissue. Treating the financial issue alone is putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. What greater problems might we create by not addressing all the issues?
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?" Luke16:10-12
This portion is so easy to relate to money, and it is often preached that way. I would like us to look at it through multiple lenses of time, talent, and treasure.
James 1:22 says, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."
If all our value statements, which are based on the Bible, are only words with no action, then we have become deceivers aligning more with the enemy of our soul, rather than the Savior we say we profess. Do as I say, not as I do.
If we say "You can't do life alone" yet at the core of our organization, are a disconnected mess, not communicating, not intentional about our community, then we are liars. What are we inviting people into?
Everything about us from our values, bylaws, mission statements, slogans we put on websites, and statements made verbally, or through social media platforms should be foundationally supported by scripture. All policy and procedure documentation should reflect our action, or there should be change to the documentation or our actions.
Relevant verses: Genesis 4. Colossians 1:16 tells us that God is worthy of all our worship and adoration. We should model this in our giving of our time, talents, and treasure.
What does this mean? God is worth our best efforts, not our last minute reactions.
How do we do this? The worship team has a motto of being "Prepared, prayed up, and punctual." Jesus chose to reveal His covenant as part of a meal. How are we "preparing the table" for our church?
We can't outgive God in our worship gatherings, yet, we react rather than plan. The worship team can't effectively plan to be part of an experience when there is "radio silence." Even with more time, the lack of communication makes it impossible to plan. The result is two experiences, one musical, and a separate message.
Looking at the story of Cain and Abel, if we aren't giving our very best, no wonder we're not being blessed. We go through the motions, reciting our liturgy as it has been burned into us.
How can we improve? Stop "doing life alone." We look good on the surface. We look like a church, when we gather, we act like a church, however, how can we serve God by serving each other (Matthew 25:40) when we have no idea where each other are at by Monday? A church on Sundays, strangers the rest of the week
However, if we become a church of churches, made up of intentional communities that are constantly praying together, constantly worshipping together, constantly ministering to each other, there would be less of these "oh crap" moments. We could become a proactive church rather than a reactive church.
Relevant verse: Heb 10:25 - And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
What does this mean? Life as believers in Jesus is intended to be lived in community.
How Do we do this? We should model this as leaders by taking this literally. This is not about being too busy, this is about organizing priorities. Currently, there are pockets of community that have grown on their own. If God wants something to exist, He'll make it happen, but let's not wait until a rock takes our spot.
How can we improve? We can say we can't do life alone, but we need to actually do it. Slack has become the core of communication rather than a supplement. The result is disjointed, arms length relationships. Similar to the results of social media, we have adopted a perversion and illusion of community, without having to live out this value.
We can't fulfill our other values if we are disconnected. Jesus calls us to be a city on a hill. I don't think he meant for us to be dwellers in a city who don't know our neighbors.
This value can easily be twisted into arms length relationships, or "flavors of the week" which has done more harm to our community than we may realize.
Relevant verses: Matthew 25:40 - “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
What does this mean? Whenever we serve the hungry, thirsty, a stranger, the sick, anyone in need, we are serving Jesus, our King.
How do we do this? I believe we are capable of doing this well through things like the food pantry and our involvement in the soup kitchen.
How can we improve? Growing our "middle management" layer. Those in leadership are currently doing much of the heavy lifting. However, by doing so, we aren't providing gaps for those among us to grow up into. As Jedi Master Yoda commanded Luke Skywalker, pass on what you have learned! This is not a corporation where you will risk your job by someone else obtaining your tribal knowledge. Our mission is replication, and we can not do it without discipleship, and discipleship modeled through service.
One area where we are not serving out congregation is with the youth. We are not doing any favors by providing an atmosphere of a game night where they aren't doing any growing. I think come-level activities are important, and can help attract new people, however that should not be the default mode. Parents want to send their children to a place where their children can learn what it means to be the church in a setting and through avenues that they will identify with. Whoever is leading this needs to take on a role of pastor to this portion of our congregation, not umpire.
Relevant verses: Phil 3:12-21
What does this mean? Clear next steps for everyone who calls RCNE home.
How do we do this? We need to know where we need to grow as individuals and as a community. Phil 3:17 tells us to "Join together in following..." Without the "we can't do life alone" there is no accountability for change.
How can we improve? Become more intentional about community. Continue to encourage healthy change by celebrating it.
Relevant verses: John 1:35-51, John 4:39-42
What does this mean? We should find ways to reach our unchurched friends and neighbors.
How do we do this? Create "on ramps." Community facing activities where people only need to show up. Events like movies on the lawn, church yard sales, etc. They can see us and realize that we might be weird, but not too weird.
We don't need to look at numbers to see who brings new people in on a Sunday morning. People who are involved in the world around them. What can we learn from Angie? What can we learn from Betty and Roger? There is something that they do that facilitates people to give our gathering a try, to "Taste and see that the LORD is good."
How can we improve? Frequency and amplitude. Have more open events more often. Find creative ways to go into our community and make disciples.
We are children of God first, ministers to people second, leaders third.