This Sunday we held our first Leadership Team meeting under the new Simple Accountability Structure we have been working on for over a year. Just the act of putting it on the calendar gave me a sense of satisfaction and excitement. It was a long process that started with me attending several meetings and training. I had to get special permission from several different leaders in the Annual Conference and put together a discernment team while working with a coach to help us through the whole process. This all culminated in a church-wide vote this fall, and then the work of putting the team in place.
I am excited for this group, and its chair, Lance Waller. Lance has worked through every step as well, and in his introductory email to the new team he put it best, “We are not an ‘inner circle’ but will instead seek to represent our fellow members and strive to support their church home.”
All of this to say, with change, always comes discomfort. Any time a new thing is attempted, there are those who don’t believe it will work, and there are those who prefer to stay in the comfort of the familiar. Particularly when things get difficult. I think of all those Israelites Moses was leading in the wilderness who wanted to go back to Egypt. They were tired, starving, and seemingly lost. I’m paraphrasing, but many of them said, better to be slaves in Egypt where at least they had food and shelter than die in the wilderness.
We are stepping into something new, and discomfort will happen. We will face difficult decisions and new directions. But I believe, along with Lance and the whole team, that we are intentional about listening to the direction of the Holy Spirit. That is what matters most of all in the work of a church. It isn’t budget, attendance, or influence but following Christ. We will remind ourselves of that before every meeting, and I’m excited to see where God is taking us.
Peace,
Jordan