Something new came to Cokato a few years ago. Don't know exactly when or under precisely what conditions. Part of the beginning was the Morris Excavating Garage Men's Bible Study. They started reading book about why men hate church and they've been meeting ever since on Tuesday nights. I plan to attend tonight.
You can trace the history of this "something new" since before I came to Cokato. But since then I can see many signs of this "new thing" God has been doing here. Alpha and the Prayer Ministry are two high points in the mission of this new thing. So was Lent 2009 when we shared "What the Cross Means To Me."
This is "new wine," I believe. The former "wineskins" had a hard time accommodating it. Perhaps what has happened recently is simply the bursting out of the "new."
Some of the "new things" have been done cooperatively with a variety of churches, but much of the planning and leg work were done by folks who have been impacted by what I've already mentioned. Minnesota Disaster Relief, the new Food Shelf, and, to a great extent, the "Save and Share Thrift Store" have come into being thanks to this move of God in our midst.
What has been growing? What do you see? Certainly last year's Robin Mark event and this year's Peter Eide event are from the same root. What is the "DNA" of this new thing? What will it do next?
One thing is sure--none of us pastors have been in charge.
www.equalsharing.com
Pastor Steve, I'd say then, that the pastors have been doing their job. Worship (liturgy) is first and foremost a "work of the people", not the "work of the pastor". That never existed ... at least in the early Church. Not until the early Church was morphed into the state religion of Rome, at any rate.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that there should be other things that are not the "work of the pastor" as well. Paul kept saying there was one body, but many parts, each with its own mission or job (if you will) that supports the overall health and welfare of the body.
The danger we tend to overlook in our religious practice as well as every other facet of our lives, including the secular side, is that leadership tends to become ownership, sometimes by personal agenda, but most often by tacit approval of the body because people tend to take the position "Whew! Thank God I don't have to do that!" And so what turns out to be benign service with an eye to the good of all becomes "my job, my legacy, my fiefdom." I'm not being cynical, either, just exposing a third party's observation of group dynamics over the course of a lifetime.
Change is good, otherwise growth is hindered. Vaya con Dios, mi amigo.
Gene.
Thanks Gene. Seeing your new comment brought to mind that you made a comment two weeks ago that I didn't post yet. I'll post it now.
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