Room for the Spirit
by Pastor Gary
Some of you will already know that I am a disabled Army veteran. Others will know that I was a top manager with a Manhattan multimedia firm. I am a man of action, I like to get things organized and done. In fact, I can be so task oriented, so set on checking off every single box on my task list, that I can bulldoze others. I like to call it being directive, though others have called it being bossy.
Of course, this isn’t how the Kingdom of God works. With congregational polity we have the outward appearance of a democracy, debating and voting with the majority getting its way. But that is just the outward appearance. In reality, we engage in the spiritual practice of discernment. Much like democracy, this involves discussion and sometimes even a vote. But we believe the Holy Spirit, that Christ himself, is present when we prayerfully meet, when we prayerfully decide.
This is why ministers are advised to do nothing when they first arrive at a new congregation. We need to get to know our new congregants, to carve out space for the Spirit, to discern the way forward. Of course, this doesn’t mean we should do literally nothing… there are worship services to lead, visitations to make… but we are encouraged to make no major changes, to implement no major programs.
By and large, I have not followed this very good advice since I arrived at Colonial Park. There were many programs that demanded immediate support, there was enthusiasm and energy from the E-vent. And there was a youth program in transition.
So I started working, organizing, listening to volunteers, colleagues, congregants. And I started doing, making, organizing. And then came the Youth Stakeholders’ Meeting.
Like all of my best work, I can take no credit for the magic that happened. Somehow I was lead by the Spirit to establish ground rules, and one of these ground rules was that we would listen and discern, but fix nothing, do no problem solving. Imagine a room full of active congregants discussing a problem and not trying to fix it! Yet, because we didn’t rush in, didn’t turn it into empty slots and funding requests, didn’t bureaucratize the problem, we were able to have a meaningful conversation, to hear one another, to lay the foundation for future planning, for the discernment that will follow.
Of course, some problems need immediate attention. And we are a passionate people. But we must also welcome the Spirit into our discernment. This is my challenge to you: During the coming months, force yourself to carve out time for the Spirit. Fix what must be fixed, but only what must be fixed. Where you can, practice discernment. At the committee level, discuss a concern one month, make decisions the following month. Breathe. The church has lasted almost two thousand years… if we slow down, pray, discern, we certainly won’t kill it. If I can turn off the bulldozer, so can you.