97 Reasons to Say "YES!"
Epiphany is the season of YES! God revealing Godself everywhere! My mother-in-law has "yes" down pat!
What if...
Yes! maybe, but how?
The survey says...
I surveyed 20 Bishops, Assistants to the Bishops, and, DEMs. I wanted to know the strengths they saw in their leaders, the obstacles they faced, and the resources they needed. Here's a bit of what I heard:
Things we can celebrate and build on:
Clergy and Lay are learning to adapt!
Devoted folks are showing up and
doing new things!
Here's where we get stuck:
fear
of financial decline,
of fewer members,
of death.
Now what? Certainly someone who named their company "Living the Resurrection" has something to say about the fear of death! Of course, I do.
I recently watched Chris Hemsworth's "Limitless" (it's National Geographic on Disney +). The first episode featured a highliner named Faith Dickey. She walked on a 2" line anchored to opposing sides of a canyon hundreds of feet in the air.
As she walks in the sky, she says:
" I walk through fear.
I don't try to make it go away."
Then she adds that she doesn't look at the whole challenge at once, but instead, takes it one step at a time. Faith feels the wind with her fingers and makes continuous adjustments.
Committing to our purpose and moving into the future one step at a time, adapting as we go is how we can help our congregations "walk through fear." It's not enough to plan strategically, we need to help folks adapt as life blows the plan around.
I've been doing more strategic planning with congregations lately. Conrad has been doing it for years. If you have a congregation that needs someone to help them walk through fear --- please send them our way. If you want to know more, click the button below.
Frustration keeps us from saying "Yes!"
Expressing frustration can be an effort to deny our fear. I'd rather say "I'm frustrated" than admit I'm afraid. Frustration can be a response to disappointment when something we'd hoped for, doesn't happen. Yet, shattered hope is still hope and can be revived.
Click below to learn more about two opportunities to help your leaders do just that.
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