sacred cows

The JAM (Jesus and Me) core team met last night. We spent most of the meeting talking about how to handle all of our children's/family programming without Sarah on board (her family ministries internship ended yesterday). There were a lot of agenda items we didn't get to simply because we don't know who will take the lead on several programs, some of which have become Grace Community hallmarks. So we had a lively discussion about the merits of certain programs and events and who might be able to lead them.

Two things stand out to me. First, we need to develop leaders and JAM staff. For example, there aren't many people who can tackle the oversight of the Family Easter Celebration. It requires vision to motivate and skill to coordinate an army of volunteers. So maybe we'll have to kill some sacred cows to get our to-do list down to a manageable size.

The second is that we need to find our ministry sweet spot. Killing sacred cows is messy business and there better be a good reason for it. What is it that the people of Grace Community have expertise in and really enjoy doing? How does that fit with God's love for our neighbors and their need to know Him? If God has put together our church community and placed us in this particular space, there must be a reason for it. It's up to us to listen carefully to God and to our neighbors and to develop our gifts and abilities to do whatever it is that will put us in the center of God's purposes.

Of course, we may not be killing a sacred cow. Not having a Family Easter Celebration this year may just be a relief to some people. So the cow may be slowly dying anyway. But I pray that it's not an indication that our heart for God and for our neighbors is also dying.