By The Rev. Dr. Carl Grosse
“I like our church the way it is. Bob does such a wonderful job with the music, passing the peace gives me time to say hello to people. My Sunday School class means so much to me. Please don’t take anything away!”
“We absolutely have to change! There are hardly any kids, and our average age keeps going up. If we don’t provide ministry that meets the needs of younger people, it’s just a matter of time before we close this down.”
No doubt you see the dilemma. Hearing these kinds of opposite comments tends to freeze congregations. You shared similar feelings when the Vision Task Force asked you a few questions about your church experience. It’s not that some views are right and others are wrong…at least most of the time. Each of the sentiments expressed above has merit. Part of your task as a congregation is to accept that “both/and” reality, to find and affirm the truth in one another’s appreciation for and frustration with your amazing church family.
As an interim, I have the luxury of deferring the burden to guide and lead decisions regarding ministry and mission initiatives. That burden will fall on your next pastor, and you might be waiting to unload on them. Here’s a bit of advice for you: the more urgent and impassioned you are in trying to get that new pastor in line with your view, the harder it will be for them to shoulder that burden. Whoever that person is, give your new pastor time to learn everyone’s names, how communion serving works, where the hospitals are. Let them meet the neighboring pastors, get a Session meeting or two under their belt, learn how to use Realm.
Giving your new pastor time to learn the ropes and establish relationships also puts some of the ministry initiative burden on you, the people in this church family. A good direction is more likely if you are in it together, if you take the time to understand and appreciate the concerns and hopes each of you has for Fountain City Presbyterian Church. Learn where to find your common ground. Paul says, “Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.” If each of you is standing on your own ground, that burden might be too much. Standing together on the Solid Rock, you can take on so much more!