ooppps??
My sister texted me a little while ago, asking if I wanted to be on a committee at church to decide on a new facility for the kids to play in.
I went off.
Now some of you may know my history with churches and buildings from Springfield and the merging that was going on and I was a part of.
04-06 was a year of learning for me from God. Learning about how detrimental it can be when a church members are too attached to buildings and thinking buildings are what is needed to keep people and grow. And now...it is almost hard to describe.
We just celebrated 150 years of being a church, our goal was to get enough in new donations or gifts to help pay off our mortgage we took out to redo our sanctuary and was supposed to then go to phase II which would have included our lobby. That was started in 2001, just after Brad and I were married. I think we got close to that goal, but all year all I heard was, this will help the children be debt free in the future. WTH(eck)????!?!?!?
That will not happen in a building that is nearly 30+ years old that has leaks coming in from the roof. Taking a look at some of the ceiling tiles on the third floor is very amusing to think that we won't need to go back into debt for that.
Anyway, back to this facility committee. The goal is to have it ready by the time the grade school kids are in high school so they stick around and have a place to play. That is what it has been getting called. A place to play.....
What that tells me is they are only concerned with number and keeping the number of kids here. Now how much they may or may not grow in Christ or learn how to really follow him. I had know idea what any of that meant until I got to college and Campus House. Only then was there talking on my level that I could understand. This church has always talked over the heads of the kids and while I think it has gotten better, The fact they are just dubbing this a place to play. Honks me off.
It has been a debate inside me if I should stay at this church or bail. It has been a toss up in trying to figure out if I went through was to try and change some of the mindset at my "childhood church" or if it was to show me what I would be facing and I should not go back. I am in a real dilemma here as to if I start looking around or what.
I have talked with the pastors and while they seem receptive to some of my ideas, they won't do anything for fear of "its the pastors idea" and not take it seriously. I have tried to talk to other members and have just gotten blank stares of what our mission even is. What is the goal of the church, where are we heading and what is a success for us? No one can answer this. I may just call the new president this week to talk with whoever it is and let them know my concerns and see if it lands on deaf ears or not.
It is probably a good thing I forgot that meeting was today and let the snow keep me home. I think it would have gotten even uglier, had I been there.
I went off.
Now some of you may know my history with churches and buildings from Springfield and the merging that was going on and I was a part of.
04-06 was a year of learning for me from God. Learning about how detrimental it can be when a church members are too attached to buildings and thinking buildings are what is needed to keep people and grow. And now...it is almost hard to describe.
We just celebrated 150 years of being a church, our goal was to get enough in new donations or gifts to help pay off our mortgage we took out to redo our sanctuary and was supposed to then go to phase II which would have included our lobby. That was started in 2001, just after Brad and I were married. I think we got close to that goal, but all year all I heard was, this will help the children be debt free in the future. WTH(eck)????!?!?!?
That will not happen in a building that is nearly 30+ years old that has leaks coming in from the roof. Taking a look at some of the ceiling tiles on the third floor is very amusing to think that we won't need to go back into debt for that.
Anyway, back to this facility committee. The goal is to have it ready by the time the grade school kids are in high school so they stick around and have a place to play. That is what it has been getting called. A place to play.....
What that tells me is they are only concerned with number and keeping the number of kids here. Now how much they may or may not grow in Christ or learn how to really follow him. I had know idea what any of that meant until I got to college and Campus House. Only then was there talking on my level that I could understand. This church has always talked over the heads of the kids and while I think it has gotten better, The fact they are just dubbing this a place to play. Honks me off.
It has been a debate inside me if I should stay at this church or bail. It has been a toss up in trying to figure out if I went through was to try and change some of the mindset at my "childhood church" or if it was to show me what I would be facing and I should not go back. I am in a real dilemma here as to if I start looking around or what.
I have talked with the pastors and while they seem receptive to some of my ideas, they won't do anything for fear of "its the pastors idea" and not take it seriously. I have tried to talk to other members and have just gotten blank stares of what our mission even is. What is the goal of the church, where are we heading and what is a success for us? No one can answer this. I may just call the new president this week to talk with whoever it is and let them know my concerns and see if it lands on deaf ears or not.
It is probably a good thing I forgot that meeting was today and let the snow keep me home. I think it would have gotten even uglier, had I been there.