"those in power have not moved to be inclusive nor have your siblings moved to be included." If you read the comments from a couple of friends who have attached to the last posting, this is the line that captures the essence of the 'problem' that I was trying to address:

"those in power have not moved to be inclusive nor have your siblings moved to be included."

Is this not the root of most if not all the differences and interrelational tensions that we deal with in life? A failure to move towards one another. An inability to see beyond one's own perspective.

In my years of ministry, I have seen the shift from one trend to another. Whether it be visitation evangelism, discipleship programs, friendship evangelism, seeker-targeted services, modern, pomo, missional. . . you name it -- we try it! And we basically fail at each effort.

And why do we go from one (narrow) focus to another? I think it is because we are not big enough to see the whole picture. Or we look to the part and fail to see the whole.

• Do we need to be evangelistic and not give attention to discipleship -- or vise versa?
• Do we need to have a "come in" mentality and not a "go out" mindset -- or vise versa?

In the design of a worship service there is need to both please God and to be pleased in how we do it! Yes, it is not all about me. And therefore, it is not all about you (or others) either. Is it all about God? Maybe. But you and I are still part of the equation.

That is why I like my friend's line --"those in power have not moved to be inclusive nor have your siblings moved to be included."

Maybe from the thousands (haha) who look to this blog for sage advice these (Friday afternoon -- hohum) thoughts will stir some response.

  ¶ 2:35 PM 1 comments

  Church issues My two siblings, a sister and a brother are each struggling with recent changes that are taking place in their respective local churches. These are each evangelical churches in two different communities with different denominational labels over the doors.

Yet, the issues are the same.

It is interesting -- and somewhat painful -- for me to watch what is happening with them -- or how they are dealing with their pain.

What is the issue?

On the surface I think each of them would say -- music -- i.e. the (new) style of doing music in their churches. However, as I have listened to them I would say that music is not the real problem. This is most always the case when people complain about music. The real problem might be change and the need to adapt to change. Or it might be leadership -- either worship leadership or pastoral leadership -- or both.

I think all of these things factor into the dissatisfaction of these two pleple who are close to me.

Why don't they leave? Each community does offer options that might be more suitable to them.

This brings up another problem -- perhaps the real one. Understand that each of us is in the generation that values loyality and commitment.

I think the real struggle that my sister and brother are dealing with is that they are victims of their own long standing loyalities.

It is more painful for them to switch to something that they would like better than to stay with something that they can hardly tolerate.

At the same time -- loyality to something that one cannot enjoy and endorse to others -- is of no value to anyone.

How many find themselves in the same delimna?  ¶ 1:38 PM 3 comments

  As of today... This has been a very busy month in the work that I am doing in the church where I serve.

An Intentional Interim period is an opportunity to not only try to address some of the "problems" that a church has experienced in its recent past, it is also a window to examine structures and procedures that may have been entrenched over a long period of time.

When I began this journey with the church in Weyburn, I proposed a number of processes that I believe will help through this time.

One of these was to examine the structure of the board. Rather than try to evaluate the effectiveness of the present board as it functions in a Representative Board Structure -- we proactively looked at a number of options. In this case we look at three -- The Representative Board, Leadership Culture ( a model developed by Bishop Keith) and Governance (John Carver.)

Through a process of gathering information and educating through presentation and commu nication -- the membership of the church voted to change board structure to the Leadership Culture model . This decision prompts the process of getting the new board in place and the projected date of implemention (and change from the old structure) is September 1.

Another process that has involved our attention this month is the Job Description (JDPAS) process. Director of Personnel, Alan Retzman worked with an excellent local team to develop a job description for pastoral leadership -- a jd that aligns with the mission, vision and core values of the church.

Most of this is new to the people here -- and they are wonderfully engaged in working to make this church what it needs to be.  ¶ 1:39 PM 2 comments

  Death of Pope John Paul II I extend my condolence to all who mourn the loss of Pope John Paul II.

With all the news coverage that he has received over the years one cannot help but admire his leadership and influence over the Roman Catholic Church worldwide. But I think beyond his own church he modelled, both in life and in dying an example of a man who walked close to God. Pastors everywhere can learn from his pastoral ways.  ¶ 5:45 PM 1 comments