Getting off the Wheel

I have a unique perspective. Serving on a diocesan staff I am invited into alot of congregations to consult, do a bit of work, celebrate, and challenge. This is a privilege that I do not take for granted. It is also an opportunity to observe. And alot of what I am observing is a total consumption into busyness. All the activities of a church seem important when they fit nicely into their liturgical calendar correctness and congregational expectations of predictable activities. But they are a bit like a hamster's wheel. You know, the kind that are in their cages in order to provide a tool to keep them physically active and distracted. Please don't hear that I think all of a congregation's activity isn't important or necessary. It is just obvious to me that they are very distracting and time consuming. Racing around on a wheel keeps us internally focused and unable to get off very easily. They consume our energy to the point that we get exhausted and have to step off occasionally just to catch our breath. That leaves us unable to step back and really spend time and energy evaluating the effectiveness of our activity or putting energy into creative endeavors that truly take us out of our comfort zone.

Evangelism can take that kind of energy. One of our congregations in the Diocese of Texas recently decided to take its church into homes on a Sunday morning. It had an objective of getting into neighborhoods, into parishioners' homes which would be a comfortable place to invite 'guests' who were unchurched for fellowship, a brief worship experience, food and fun. They met in 12 venues across a broad geographic area. Almost 100 'guests' attended with many demonstrating a desire to know more about the church. I spoke to the rector and he said this event has changed his church. The benefits were many, not to mention introducing their congregation to many new people. It truly was an evangelical event that took the church into the community in a creative way and made an impact far beyond the metrics.

This sort of activity took months of planning and a willing spirit, believing that risking to do such a thing on a Sunday morning with most of the parishioners was a risky endeavor. But isn't having faith and being willing to do the extraordinary for God risky? Indeed it is. This sort of activity meant falling off the hamster cage wheel of predictability and diverting that energy into an opportunity that would enrich the life and mission of a congregation in extraordinary ways.

When was the last time your congregation took a major risk for God? What is stopping you from getting off the wheel?