Well, we decided to go back to where we started. We just haven't found a new church home, so I decided that it was me that had to change and not the church we left. We were down to the point where we were going to have to concede on some of the points of what I was looking for in a church.
So here are the changes that I am going to make. I am not even going to think critically of the things that happen in the church for at least six months. I do think that critical thinking is necessary in order to bring about positive change. But I am really in no position to bring about positive change on a church-wide scale, so it does me no good to think about such things. I just serve.
Things that I am going to do now:
* Pray for the church and its leaders to make kingdom-centered decisions.
* Create a service group of friends that are focused on helping people do yard projects that they are not able to do on their own.
* Never say anything critical about the church I am attending or dwell on negative thoughts.
* Serve in whatever the church needs me to do.
* And I think (if it is not already being - it isn't as far as I know) that I will ask about calling visitors on the phone in the week following their church visit, asking them if there is anything we can pray for or anything else they need help with, and then pray for them and their request and/or help them with what they need help with.
I view being a layperson as being like a typical shareholder in a stock. Being in the ministry or in the leadership is like being Warren Buffet. Warren Buffet is in control and can change things. I am not so; a layperson is not so.
I also know that I will never be able to become a member of the church because of some of the things the Nazarene church stands for. I'm not totally sure how to deal with that. I've just decided to not dwell on those things and to avoid talking about them unless asked directly about certain topics. There is always hope that because it is a human institution and those stances are human stances, they could change.
In all of our church visits, only three (out of around 10) contacted us afterward. Two just sent letters. The third also called us on the phone and did what I mentioned in the last bullet above. They asked if there was anything they could pray for. That made me feel very good. It even made me want to go back to that church despite all of the doctrinal and practical living differences. However, I thought those were too much to overcome.
A good friend down here shared that I need to learn how to lead without being in positions of leadership. My whole life I have led from positions of authority. Leading that way is so much easier. Now, I have to learn how to lead just by leading. No position, just a calling. It's something I definitely need to learn and will make me a better leader all around, whether in the business world or in the church.
Watch out for the potholes.
