Self Talk | Pastor Clay

As I am writing this, we have just had our first once-a-month free meal for the surrounding community that was well attended! Discouragement was working through our ranks over the last several months because of very low attendance outside of our church family.

I made it a point to ask as many community people as possible how they heard about us. The result of my not so scientific research was that there was no one form of communication that worked for everyone, and some people noted it took several reminders before it set in. It would be so much easier to have a proven method we can use over and over again.

That desire we have, for a predictable way to effectively minister to others, might be our kryptonite. We tend to get excited, try something new and stick with it for 10, 20, 50 years. Often it worked so well in the beginning that it still has a core group attached to it for many years down the road. It ceased to grow; participants lost their sense of adventure but are emotionally attached. It makes them feel good, but they become not so effective in doing good.

The same night of the meal, we had a study session where we focused on the opportunity facing the American church in the growth of the demographic referred to as the NONES, with particular emphasis placed on the subset of “Nothing in Particulars.” If you want to watch the bulk of the presentation, check out this link: https://vimeo.com/1096604544.

Back to the meal, I believe one of the reasons our free meal had greater attendance is our discouragement drove many of us to prayer. God often brings in more people to receive ministry when our hearts are ready to receive them. Realizing once again, through disappointment, that we need God to move for real ministry to take place is one way God prepares us to receive people in His name.

Someone asked during the open questioning time of the study session what we can do to reach the “nothing in particulars.” Great question, that shows a heart that desires not yet followers of Jesus to become followers. But maybe first we need to focus on how we “be” ready to interact with people who do not view the world through a Jesus lens. Too often we rush to fix the problem (in this case outreach to the nothing in particulars) instead of asking God to help us to be ready in our heart for ministry. Facing the discouragement that we are not as ready as we thought we were could drive us to deeper, more meaningful prayer.

May we have the courage to invite God to prepare us for the ministry ahead.

Grace and peace, Pastor Clay

Pastor Clay