I like to think that I am a person who notices details.  I like to think that even though I am not directly involved with everything that goes on at church, I at least have a general understanding of that state of things.  Chances are, though, that is because I am in the church day in and day out.  Lately, I have heard from a number of people who are both not at church much or are there fairly regularly, who they feel they have not been told details and they do not even have a general understanding of the state of things at the church.

This is not the first time I have heard this.  When I first arrived it seemed as if everyone thought they did not know what was going on.  Talking to the council about it we agreed that no one was actively keeping information hidden but we might do better at getting some things out.  After sending out more information (we thought) and making more notes and memos prominent, we heard more of the same... that people wanted to know more.

A good example of this is putting our financial situation in the newsletter and in the bulletins each week.  After a few months of having that information printed, I received a call telling me that we needed to publish how the church was doing financially at least once a week.  The person who called was an intelligent person who sincerely did not realize where the information was.  Another example was that of the plans of the 135th Anniversary committee.  People were asking specific questions to issues that were not decided on yet and the people asking the questions were getting frustrated.  With many more examples like this, I believe I finally figured out what is going on.

There are many, many things going on in the church.  Lots of ideas and projects and suggestions are flowing through various people and committees each and every day.  Some get acted on, some don't.  Some get approved and some get sent back to the originator for more information or clarification.  Many things just happen because they are well within the bounds of the various committees and teams to execute them without any real discussion.  (Do we really care how many rolls of toilet paper should be on back-up in the men's restroom downstairs?) But all of this information and discerning and decision making leads to two inevitable issues.

The first is what to emphasize.  We have to emphasize some things more than others because of how many people they effect (like the 135th Anniversary and the Fall Sale).  If we emphasize everything then nothing would really stand out.  It is a balancing act to make everything seem important, but some things do get pushed into the background.

The second thing is timing.  For instance, there is a team working on something that could be big.  It is the negotiation of the cell tower lease and how we can use it to our advantage.  Some of you may have heard about it, some not.  But the truth is, we really cannot make any official announcements until the team has done its job and covered all the bases.  Once they have, it will be appropriate to let everyone know what is going on.  Until then, no one would have all the answers.

So, the solution?  Keep asking questions.  Talk to us, the council, the committee leaders, the committee members, etc.  We will let you know where things are at the moment.  We are not hiding anything but we also may not have the full story.  That is the flow of things in a congregation. Truthfully.

Peace and Joy!!

Pastor Paul