Kyle's Church Blog

Something happened yesterday that may change the course of my life.  And believe it or not, it happened at a church meeting.

I was at a Spiritual Guidance meeting (a group from our church that sets the tone for the congregation, does long-term visioning, encourages spiritual growth, etc) last night.  We were discussing the ever so life-giving topic of membership and baptism and covenant renewal (I’ll spare you the details, as they are quite unimportant to the story).

In the middle of a life-giving conversation, our lead pastor looked around at the those of us under 35 and said, “Well, I don’t want to impose my way of things. I grew up a certain way, and I am learning that my way doesn’t always work with the realities that we face today.”

And then my heart stopped.

And I got scared.

Let’s back the boat up even more. I started being a pastor at age 22 at a church where people over 50 made all the decisions.  The church had a history of being set in its ways and expecting people to conform to their worldview, and didn’t like people rocking the boat.

I, being a tad cocky and arrogant at times, loved rocking the boat.  And rock the boat I did.  I would challenge and push and prod people all the time, knowing that if I told them they should move a foot, they’d move an inch, and I would call that success.  I could more or less say whatever I wanted, because I knew it would never happen.

Yesterday wasn’t dissimilar.  I was on a tangent, passionately speaking about something or another.

But then, after our lead pastor made that comment, I realized something.

What I am saying might actually happen.

Holy Crap… Is that what I really want?  If I want the church to move 12 inches, am I ready to stick my neck out?  Do I know what I’m saying?  Is it worth the conflict?

What I say actually matters.  People actually listen to me.  And might just follow (or not follow) me in a lot of ways.

And this changes everything.

No longer can I be the antagonistic bugger, knowing that most people will only move an inch.

I must lead a tad more carefully… Hopefully there isn’t too steep a learning curve.

On Sunday, I kept a running tally in my head of what would get more comments:  My mukluks or my sermon (on War and Old Testament).

By the time the service started, the mukluks were ahead by a score of 4-1.  However, the sermon finished strong and pulled through in the end, winning 12-6.

Considering that I touched on God choosing to partner with humans, on genocide of the Canaanites, on how afters years of “empire”, the Israelites were back where they started as slaves by a river, and emphasized that God’s involvement with war points to God choosing to partner with us, I consider this success.

People were excited about my willingness to tackle a hard portion of Scripture, I had at least 10 requests for more information, people were texting me questions that I have to address in a few weeks time, and I have a few coffee dates lined up for further discussion.

But perhaps, most importantly, I am belong to a phenomenal church.  A church that doesn’t require us to check our brains at the door.  A church that asks good questions, allows people to disagree, and places a high value on relationships between people as they figure out what it means to be faithful to God.

So, while the mukluks were sad that they lost the comments competition, this gives me hope for the church.

And now on to War and the New Testament!