Putting 10 Pounds in a 5-pound Bag

I don’t know about you, but I am just about worn out from summer break! We are now in what I am affectionately billing Committee Season – that stage of our church year when several key leadership teams sacrifice time from home and leisure in order to see to certain vital administrative necessities institutions like ours require. Please pray with me for the work of our Finance Committee, Nominating Committee, Long-Range Planning Committee, Children’s Ministry Leadership Team (KidzTown KommitteeJ), Trustees, etc. I thank Jesus daily for these faithful saints serving on our committees.

I have discovered a valuable life lesson to be gleaned from our current busy-ness with business. Perhaps an email I received this week brings some perspective and clarity to our conundrum. Mark and Wendy will be moving their precious family to the Knoxville, TN area soon. Among a host of other blessings they have brought to our church, Mark and Wendy worked with our Long-range Planning Team this year. We have been processing the principles from a book called Simple Church. Last week, Mark was in Georgia with his parents. You don’t need to have read the book to appreciate the wisdom God gave Mark. He shared the following assessment with me.

Last Sunday I went to church … in Georgia. I had a huge revelation while sitting in their Sunday morning service: Simple Church is real and necessary. We all knew it was real and important, but I saw it first hand, and seeing it raised the priority level for me. The church I visited is not simple, and they are stagnant due to their complexity. If you look at their bulletin and their announcements, they have a ton of stuff going on, enough stuff for a church of 500 people. They only have about 65 or 70 folks there to support the huge list of what they are doing. Needless to say, they are stretched, and they are not getting it done well.

The service was overly complicated and, honestly, it was a service, not a time of worship. They had several songs, a special speaker, a baptism, a time for the kids to come sit up front and hear a special kids’ lesson, the sermon, and then, to top it off, they had the Lord’s Supper. They tried really hard to put 10 pounds in a 5-pound bag. All of those things were important, but there was so much that each item lost some of its importance.

With our upcoming move I’m starting to think about shopping for a new church when we get to Tennessee. My mind is now starting to look at things with the thought “is this a church where I want my family to be.” By the end of the service at this Georgia church, I knew I would not bring my family there, and that I would not visit a second time. It was clear there was nothing for my kids, and frankly nothing for Wendy and me. This might sound selfish but it’s the truth. When someone first looks at a church they want to know “What can I get from going to this church?” Later on they should be thinking “What can I do at this church as my service to God?” This “what can I get from a church” thinking is going to be even more prevalent with the unchurched.

Here is what I want simply to say:

· The church I visited was not simple, it was terribly complicated, and I was turned off by it.

· A few things done well are better than a dozen things done poorly.

· If churched people are not excited about a church when they visit, you can double that lack of interest for the unchurched families who visit.

· If you want me to join a church, it better be good for my kids.

I have learned it is nigh impossible to radiate the joy of knowing Jesus when we’re stressed out doing religious work. I have also recognized that your pastor has been far too busy trying “really hard to put 10 pounds in a 5-pound bag.” Maybe it’s time we step back, take a deep breath, and … wait on the Lord!

To the ends of the earth until the end of time!

Pastor Rob