'A funny thing happened ..

Life is full of lovely moments that keep you humble. Those of you in worship last Sunday experienced an example of that when the best laid plans came to something of a shambles.
Opening worship was good and even the kid’s address went okay followed by a nice quiet and – I think – even helpful time of prayer. Then the preacher was all set to give what he thought was an important and perhaps even timely reflection on ‘A few things I have learned about the church.’ After setting the scene quite nicely everything came to a grinding halt when our other church friends in room 4 found that they needed chairs which were all stored in room 1. Praise God in all things and in all things give thanks!

Having settled down after a few minutes delay my fellow room 4 Pastor had obviously realised that he had left something in his car and in pushing his remote lock, turned on the car alarm. Following this the benediction might have been a good plan but Pastor J pressed on only to be usurped by the antics of Layla and Holly. I reckon that when the Apostle Paul spoke about rejoicing ‘in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope,’ it was after a service just like last Sunday.

It is times such as the above that make us realise that we are not in control and that should be a useful lesson for us all. Having been involved in leadership of some sort or another for over 30 years now I have had more than enough examples of this to be convinced that all we can do at such times is to roll with the punches, retain a sense of humour and adapt!

We have done an awful lot of this over five or so years of establishing ourselves in this district. It is almost a daily exercise as we bob and weave along the road. Part of what I hope I said on Sunday was that I am greatly encouraged by that Matthew reading where Jesus says – I will build my church –not ‘I might’ or ‘I will think about it’; but ‘I WILL’. It doesn’t matter how often Pastor John stuffs up, I will still build it. It is not my church or your church, it is God’s to build as he sees fit. Increasingly a key part of my ministry is learning more and more to get out of the way!

Another thing that I have learned since I knew it all is that the more I know, the less I realise that I know. I was annoyed some months ago now as I watched a show on the ABC about the Uniting Church and found that the two key speakers were a gentleman from the conservative far right of the church’s theology and another gent’ from the liberal far left. I wrote into the ABC protesting that neither of these guys spoke for the vast majority of the church who have to live out their lives somewhere in the messy middle! Oh that it was so easy.

This week’s musings are in some way a thank you note to those of you who are bold, courageous and perhaps even foolish enough to continue the journey with us. I am aware that it is not an easy road and that there may well be easier options; but I believe that we are shaping something very exciting here and thank you for your loyalty.

I heard a quote this week from the great German Physicist Max Planck – interestingly enough a very committed Christian – who once said ‘If you want to find something new go and find someone new.’ In our creating something new in this district we are often finding new things as we continue to connect with new people. It can be dangerous ground at times but it sure beats boredom!

Cheers - John