CHURCH POLITICS
(Posted 2009-11-09 15:28:56 by ArchPaladin)

Lately I've been having more discussions with our church's elders, as well
as having discussions with people that have drifted into what they think
the church should be doing, and the people that it should be reaching out
to.  It strikes me that there is not a lot of unity in the vision.

Certainly, there is unity in the message of Christ and the reasons we
should reach out to the community.  There is also unity in that we are not
entirely functioning optimally - usually because they recognize that other
people don't see the same priorities as they do.  Before, when hearing
discussions like this, I would sort of nod my head and think that this was
a doctrinal difference that people were referring to.  I've realized that
by and large it's not - it's a difference in priorities, which usually
stems from a difference in lifestyle or subculture.

When I first went to Natick in college, there were maybe 50 people in the
congregation, and usually not more than 20-30 at any given service.  I was
amazed that there were no such distinctions like there were in Manchester
even then.  I think this is because everyone there was of the same general
mindset and the same subculture, even though they may have had different
upbringings.  Everyone could relate to everyone else.  Natick has since
grown from their small numbers - I wonder if this unity has changed any.

I bring them up because I realized then that Manchester was not quite as
unified as I had first thought, although I couldn't tell you why.  Now I
think I can, and this realization uncovers some considerable challenges to
overcome, particularly if the church is going to change in any meaningful
fashion.

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