Sunday, March 04, 2007
Involvement versus Pew-warmers
Doesn't it sometimes seem that the same people do the same "jobs" in church much of the time? The same people do special music, the same people keep doing women's ministries or social committee, the same people keep teaching the kids departments, the same people keep to themselves, etc.
I began thinking about it because of the pitiful response to my request for "mature" volunteer in my Sabbath school class today. Why was it that I only had one person volunteer, and not 20? Here was a painless, free, and simplistic way for someone to get involved by hugging 12 kids as thy enter Sabbath School, then going back to their regular group meeting. But yet, no one wants to hug cheerful, grateful little kids? How odd. This led me to thinking about involvement, and willingness to step out of our "boxes" and comfort areas.
Maybe that is why the same people are involved and the same non-participants, keep not participating. Is it because some people are not afraid to commit to a "job" and other people don't ever want to want the commitment? Maybe not.
Is it because many people don't enjoy responsibility? Is it because people don't have "time"? Maybe it is because they don't feel adequate? Is it because non-participating is easier, more painless, less emotional?
My sister-in-laws church recently decided to scratch the traditional nominating commitee, and instead use the spiritual gifts assessments. Church members were encouraged to take the gift assessment tests which were then evaluated by another group/committee which then decided where members could serve based on the results. It sounded like a great idea to me! There are times when I feel trapped in certain areas because those are the only ones I keep getting nominated for, and I do feel I should be involved. I'm sure others feel the same at times also.
Well, the spiritual gifts assessments at her church have not gone as planned. The results committee has made some blunders in "reassigning" people to different tasks in a somewhat arbitrary way, feelings have been hurt, and some people have felt slighted. Maybe it was the implementation that failed, maybe the nominating committee wasn't such a bad method after all, or maybe changes needed to be made and people would have been hurt no matter what. I don't know the details. But it seemed to me (an outside viewer) that it was an interesting experiment at the least.
I found a blog on the subject that's worth reading.
http://www.challies.com/archives/002197.php
The article didn't help me figure out why some people are involved in the church, while others continue to just warm pews, but it was insightful.
It seems that if everyone used their spiritual gifts (and I truly do believe that everyone has one God given gift or more) the word"church", community, the term "Christian", ministry, would all carry beautiful connotations, and our church as a whole would be a powerful force for good in the community & the world. (much more powerful than it is.)
Even if spiritual gifts are not well defined, it got me thinking about what my "spiritual" gifts are. What are the gifts God has given me, and am I using them for Him? Am I willing to use them fully? Do I think I have a certain gift but I really don't? How can I be involved in my church and bring Glory to God more effectively?
What do you think? Are we stretching ourselves enough? Are we trusting that God will give us the resources we need? Do we believe we have spiritual gifts that need to be "activated"?
I began thinking about it because of the pitiful response to my request for "mature" volunteer in my Sabbath school class today. Why was it that I only had one person volunteer, and not 20? Here was a painless, free, and simplistic way for someone to get involved by hugging 12 kids as thy enter Sabbath School, then going back to their regular group meeting. But yet, no one wants to hug cheerful, grateful little kids? How odd. This led me to thinking about involvement, and willingness to step out of our "boxes" and comfort areas.
Maybe that is why the same people are involved and the same non-participants, keep not participating. Is it because some people are not afraid to commit to a "job" and other people don't ever want to want the commitment? Maybe not.
Is it because many people don't enjoy responsibility? Is it because people don't have "time"? Maybe it is because they don't feel adequate? Is it because non-participating is easier, more painless, less emotional?
My sister-in-laws church recently decided to scratch the traditional nominating commitee, and instead use the spiritual gifts assessments. Church members were encouraged to take the gift assessment tests which were then evaluated by another group/committee which then decided where members could serve based on the results. It sounded like a great idea to me! There are times when I feel trapped in certain areas because those are the only ones I keep getting nominated for, and I do feel I should be involved. I'm sure others feel the same at times also.
Well, the spiritual gifts assessments at her church have not gone as planned. The results committee has made some blunders in "reassigning" people to different tasks in a somewhat arbitrary way, feelings have been hurt, and some people have felt slighted. Maybe it was the implementation that failed, maybe the nominating committee wasn't such a bad method after all, or maybe changes needed to be made and people would have been hurt no matter what. I don't know the details. But it seemed to me (an outside viewer) that it was an interesting experiment at the least.
I found a blog on the subject that's worth reading.
http://www.challies.com/archives/002197.php
The article didn't help me figure out why some people are involved in the church, while others continue to just warm pews, but it was insightful.
It seems that if everyone used their spiritual gifts (and I truly do believe that everyone has one God given gift or more) the word"church", community, the term "Christian", ministry, would all carry beautiful connotations, and our church as a whole would be a powerful force for good in the community & the world. (much more powerful than it is.)
Even if spiritual gifts are not well defined, it got me thinking about what my "spiritual" gifts are. What are the gifts God has given me, and am I using them for Him? Am I willing to use them fully? Do I think I have a certain gift but I really don't? How can I be involved in my church and bring Glory to God more effectively?
What do you think? Are we stretching ourselves enough? Are we trusting that God will give us the resources we need? Do we believe we have spiritual gifts that need to be "activated"?
Labels: spiritual_gifts, warm_seats
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