Revitalize Your Church

“You never know what may cause them. The sight of the Atlantic Ocean can do it, or a piece of music, or a face you’ve never seen before. A pair of somebody’s old shoes can do it…. You can never be sure. But of this you can be sure. Whenever you find tears in your eyes, especially unexpected tears, it is well to pay the closest attention. They are not only telling you something about the secret of who you are, but more often than not God is speaking to you through them of the mystery of where you have come from and is summoning you to where, if your soul is to be saved, you should go next.”   -- Frederick Buechner, Beyond Words

Reflecting on the generational opinion differences which rose to the surface at last Thursday's board meeting. The older generation says:  "Tell me what."   Give me the bottom line.  Tell me what needs to be done and I'll do it -- but but don't muddle it up by getting in my way. The middle generation says:  "Tell me how." Let me know how it's to be done, and I'll do it, as long as it's not too inconvenient.  (Thus, the plethora of "how to" books on Amazon.) The rising generation says:  "Tell me why." Don't assume I will jump on board with the program.  I need a good reason to invest myself in something, and it has to be authentic, relational and organic.

I appreciated Robert's comment today (below) on this post from a couple of years ago. I am re-posting it in honor of the 167th anniversary of Rev. Maxwell Cornelius' birth: My friend, Mike, bought an old hymnal on e-bay. He carried it up proudly between services a week ago, and said, "Look what I got for 95 cents!" I leafed through the brittle pages, and landed upon these beautiful words. In light of the sufferings and losses I've witnessed in recent months and weeks, it was a blessing to me. Upon researching, I found that the author, Rev. Maxwell Cornelius , had suffered deeply in his life. He penned this poem shortly after the death of his wife, and shared them at her funeral service. Not now, but in the coming years, It may be in the better land, We'll read the meaning of our tears, And there, sometime, we'll understand. -- Maxwell N. Cornelius (Hymn 82 in Tabernacle Hymnal) Some day, we will read the meaning of our tears. There is meaning in every d...

I am convinced that in order to move forward, we must say openly to each other the things we hold in our hearts and that too often are said only behind closed doors. There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other, to learn from each other, to respect one another, and to seek common ground. -- President Barak Obama in his June 4, 2009 Cairo speech to the Muslim world