Let me start by explaining my route to church every Sunday. There are really only two options for me to take to get from apartment to church. Until recently one of these has been under construction, forcing me to tak the other route. The other route goes along Hwy 210 and takes me past two large churches before I finally reach my churh. It is hard not to make the comparison and to look enviously at these larger churches with their overflowing parking lots. That is why I was glad this Sunday when I could take the backroads route to my church which allows me to wind my way past the lakes and enjoy myself as I get ready to worship. It is too easy to get caught in the trap of trying to compare churches. We use all sorts of measures, members, people in worship, number of Bible studies. Each time we try and declare what really matters in a church.
Worship at Light of the Lakes was smaller than in previous weeks. I want to see the church grow, and so every thing can seem like a setback to what I desire. I have preached enough now to know how important size is. Usually the fuller the church the more energy I have in my sermon and the more response I get from the congregation, which in turns feeds back into the energy I have. Despite the smaller size of worship I did not experience a drain on my energy as I sometimes do when I do get any feedback. Even so, it was hard not to feel down about things later that afternoon. In my slightly depressed thinking I came to realize something: there are two ways for worship to go. Worship can be an experience that draws people in, that gives people an experience and relationship with God. That is what I believe the other two churches on 210 have. They have a worship service that draws people to the church. Since they seem so successful it is easy to want to be like them. The second type of successful worship is one that empowers people to go out into the world. That is the kind of worship that fuels people for the real ministry they do, which is not inside the church but outside it. As I look at my small congregation, with their dedication and love, I sometimes wonder if this is not a better way to go.
That is why I am glad that the construction has started to clear away. Now there is an open road to my church that is different from other churches. Now I have a way to get there without forcing myself into a comparison with churches that are quite unlike mine. Someone raised a point yesterday that as a small church we should be grateful. Larger churches do not always have the same intimate connection that my members have. It takes a great deal of effort to maintain the sense of family that exists at my church in a larger setting. For someone as mathematically oriented as I am it is easy to get caught in numbers as a measure of success, when really in ministry it is simply about asking a difference in people's lives, about sharing a ministry with the world, whether that is through worship or through going out into the community and making a difference
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2 comments:
I've heard about the "other" church in the area since before I came here...In fact at my introduction, someone said "We have to beat those Lutherans." What I've come to realize is that there are at least 600-700 people in the town who are not being reached out to...What about those and instead of focusing on what we don't have, why not focus on what's out there?
To respond to what Missy said, I completely agree and have never felt it is about taking their members, but I think people often want to copy their style, to try and emulate that. According to the Census data that I have there are 3.7% without a preference but interested and 8.8% not interested and no preference. So in a town of 5k we have 160+ and 450+ people. And that does not include Brainerd. In fact, we have 11.4% who identify themselves as Methodist, which means over 500 people in Baxter along who could be reached as well. So you are quite correct that there are plenty of people to go around to all churches.
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