I met the former pastor of one of our WRBN churches today.  He has been away for quite awhile and commented to me his disappointment in the fact that the church he once pastored is now looking at its last days.  He recounted how many church plants the church had made.  Successful churches that had out-grown and out-reached the mother church. 

 

Since the 70's the church's community changed.  The ethnicity and economic stance of the community became something completely different from the church.  The church did multiply, but is now on the verge of irrevalence in the community it belongs to. 

 

I guess this did not come out very clear.  My thoughts were of how a church can take the steps to plant new churches, but refuse to take the steps it needs to remain healthy.  We can be so blinded by the things we do we miss the basics.  Planting a church can create a great deal of perceived change in a church: the expenditure of resources, time, and possible church members who may move to the new church.  Perhaps it allows people to feel they are doing something new without ever risking what is familiar.

 

May we always be willing to do what it takes to be relevant in our communities.

Did you remember? Today is Administrative Assistants' Day (or "was" if you forgot).  Three ladies that keep our church running ever so smooth are Tabby, Mina, and Denise.  These are my partners in crime at Park Lake.  Tabby is our custodian (Building/Maintenance Administrative Assistant) who keeps our church impeccably clean and in good order.  Mina is our Pastoral/Financial Administrative Assistant who makes sure pastoral ministry things run smoothly without a pastor and keeps us from running headlong into the red.  Denise is our Educational Administrative Assistant who keeps me straight, publishes our publishables, and keeps our small groups and committees organized. 
 

 

Our trip to Cheddars today can only hint at the gratitude I have for these women and the fact that they don't just work a job, but perform a ministry each day.

 

Just got the word:

 

The Center for Ministry Effectiveness and Educational Leadership is sponsoring a symposium on congregational renewal on Friday, May 11 from 8:30 AM - Noon at the SBC Theater - Mayborn Museum in Waco, Texas.  Details are:

 

Back at our last WRBN Pastors' Conference two of the men involved with the The Baylor Religion Survey introduced us to their findings.  Their report, American Piety in the 21st Century: New Insights to the Depth and Complexity of Religion in the US yeilds interesting details of the religious attitude of Americans represented by participants.  They described what made this study different from other studies of religion in America and stated that America is not as atheistic as some would have us believe.  At some level the overwhelming majority of Americans believe in a god and predominatley in a Judeo-Christian God.

I will not be going to the retreat this year.  Being without a pastor is not keeping me from it, but it is a factor.  We are in a transition period.  Currently we are looking for two other staff members in addition to starting the process of looking for an interim pastor and putting together a transition team and a pastor search committee. I'll see you guys next year.