In order to help put together a visual retrospective of Grace Community’s first decade I’ve been reviewing photos. The reason that we take pictures is to remember people and what those people were doing at some point in time that we considered important. But reasons change. I looked at those pictures and tried to remember what was happening and what the people in the pictures were thinking. That led to thinking about what is happening now with those people and what they are thinking now. How and why people change is a mystery. There are a lot of people in those pictures that are no longer a part of Grace Community, some for reasons I know (or think I know), others for reasons I don’t. Some have left following Christ altogether. I felt a grieving over the fact that they’ve left.
And there’s mystery in those that are currently in Grace Community. I don’t know all of their reasons for staying. As a leader, I feel compelled to try to know, to try to sustain and grow whatever it is that keeps them participating in life together. So I’m in a constant tension of trying to please people and trying to please God. The two are not necessarily exclusive of each other. But it’s hard to give priority to trusting that God’s way is best. I’d rather go with what I think people want so that I can blame them later if things don’t go well (which, of course, doesn’t change the outcome at all). It’s hard for me to take personal responsibility for following God on behalf of the community. And it’s a great encouragement when others will join me and help to lead the church community. “Carry each other’s burdens… for each one should carry his own load.” (Galatians 6:2, 5)
Meanwhile, we keep on taking photos that we’ll look at later, remembering and wondering.
3 comments:
Initially, we came to Grace because of Pansy's friendship with Winnie. Now, we come to Grace because God is working through you to reach out to us and the community around us - our family, our friends, people we don't know,even people who live in other countries.The weight of your actions and choices are not entirely yours to carry. He has a purpose even in our self-perceived blunders.
Brad, thanks for the encouragement to keep trusting in God's way! It's a blessing to be journeying with you.
Having been at Grace for the last seven years, I too have seen a multitude coming and going. Perhaps sometimes God uses Grace in ways we do not see (or prefer He would not?). Perhaps for some people Grace was a stop on their spiritual and life's journey. A place where they (hopefully) rested, re-energized, and equipped before continuing the journey. I'm sure Grace Community can rejoice in having played an important part in many people's lives, even though some of them are no longer here on Sundays.
Perhaps more sad than the absent faces on Sundays, however, is the apparent un-continued relationship with some of those who are no longer here. Perhaps as humans we would rather be the destination than a stop on the road. Do we "hate" losing people? Perhaps, if God's kingdom and a person's spiritual growth are the real destinations, then sometimes we can also rejoice in seeing people moving on.
- Andrew
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