ASH WEDNESDAY
by SteveIt was a dark and stormy night (not very original, but I think it’s the way Snoopy began his writing career!) That was Wednesday… Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. It was 6:55, and besides me, there were 5 people in the sanctuary peparing to have ashes smeared on their foreheads.
I was worried. I knew this was not the most popular service of the year…certainly doesn’t rank up there with the big two…Christmas and Easter. Ash Wednesday never draws a crowd, but there have always been more than 5! What was wrong? Didn’t we advertise the service enough? Let me see… newsletter, bulletin, 2 Phonetree messages?
ARGGGGG! WHERE WAS EVERYBODY?
I should have had more faith (something I am often forced to say). By 7:02, there were 40, and by 7:07, there were 52. Not great, but respectable. Looking out on that bunch, it occurred to me that this 25% of our regular Sunday morning attenders is the cream of the crop. Almost to a person, they are involved in leading, learning, and laboring…in fact, they are the core around which our church revolves. (And of course, there are others who weren’t able to be at the service for good reasons.)
BUT…I asked myself, “What if the core wasn’t 25%, but 50, or 75?” How much difference would that make? And what can we do to get more people involved on that level? How can we move people from the periphery to the center?
Are there things we can do better? Things we need to do differently? Is this a matter of spiritual depth? Commitment to Christ? Love of the church?’
What do you think? My goal is to move us from having 25% for whom the church is really the center of their lives, to 50% or more. If you have ideas, I’d love to hear them. If you don’t, just pray for those of us who are struggling with this. That’s something.
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Looks good Dad (and Zack)! Jon and I will be checking it regularly.
In what I’ve seen and experienced, the ‘norm’ for group leadership, the people making things happen, is ten percent. The very thought that our church has two and a half times that speaks to me more of luxury, than deficit. Yes, we should always strive towards better (to borrow a line from my current favorite movie, “Who would I be, if I did not try to improve what I have?”), but I’m more of a mind to rejoice in those who choose this level of participation, than seek the cause of why others have not. At times, people need to follow, allowing others to lead. In the worst case, I’ve seen groups that achieved 100% involvement – by excluding everyone else! By being a positive, creative, loving congregation, we have the best encouragement toward involvement possible, one which, by your own observation, exceeds the norm. “Love the Lord thy God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul, and love your neighbor as yourself.” As long as we strive toward this, we can do no better.
Bj