Another Monday

So Mondays are my day off, and Chris and I have been doing pretty good keeping those as full days off. Today, though, we both have had some things to do. For Chris, it was dealing with some facilities issues that needed to be looked at today. For me it has been working on some charge conference stuff and trying to finalize a newsletter insert---I'm torn between wanting to get the newsletter out, but also wanting to include some information like the nominations slate, that people will want to see.

I've really been struggling lately, as I hear most pastors have been in a very anxious time, and what's more, in my area, an era of great change in the community, to think through (on my own and with others) the path forward. One of the biggest factors of course is not so much the issues as how people deal with them. There are always those who will come with constructive criticism and even support at times (imagine that!) while there are others who seem to find behind the back ways to try to control things. This is what always wears leaders out. And it's always ironic that the very people who act that way are often the ones who, if successful, can most effectively destroy any organization. It's not their purpose but their manner. And while it is comforting to hear from other pastors and leaders that this is all to be expected, it's pretty ridiculous.

We see this in our nation--partly a lot of us are gossiping about what's happening because we can't actually go right to the president and ask questions or offer suggestions. And look what a panic we can cause! The truth is we don't actually know what the future holds. And the wisest financial minds among us are careful not to overstate their certainty of anything. What we all seem to agree on is we'll work through it. But that can end up meaning a lot of things. It mostly means, however, all just digging in and pushing forward together. Sometimes we face (in our lives, our families, our churches, our nation, and our world) situations that just have to be worked through--messy though it may be. At our best we can do this by evidencing all our best qualities of patience, commitment, teamwork and sacrifice. At our worst, we are marred by self-interest, panic, apathy, blame and passive-aggressiveness. I am convinced, however, that some crises can actually cause a group to change the way they deal with each other. A crisis that does, in the end, bring people together, can be an incredible (even though painful) thing.

So we'll see. We are hearing from all over that our nation's anxiety level is skyrocketing, and we seeit affecting all sorts of things. Perhaps once this election is over, even if we are still walking through a difficult financial time, we will really be able to take a few moments to just calm down, take a deep breath, and walk through this together...as our very best selves.