Council conversations

The Council met last night in a less formal meeting. The goal of the evening was simply to "hear" what we had heard from everyone else so far. It is far too early to make any sorts of longer term decisions, as many of you are still considering your place at TFH and in God's kingdom for the months and years to come. Next month we hope to have a body of commitments and ideas to work with and make sense of according to the Lord's leading.

To now, what is striking is that we have heard a lot of comments about a wide variety of things. We asked for commitment, and we have received comments—and yet this is so very good! We are informed in a number of great ways.

Of course, a lot of this is like the article in this morning's Bee about parent comments on school vacations. Those who offer one side say they have not been heard. Why? Because the district has chosen the other side. In any open public forum, I'm afraid that while a quantity of comments can be good to have, if they are not pointing in one overwhelming direction it's not all that help-full; decisions still have to be made, and some people will be unhappy with the decision. This is a universal dynamic, and there is only so much we can do about it.

Toward the end of last night's meeting, however, I found this to be of greater concern: I really hope that people are not thinking that by asking for commitments, we are testing people's commitments to the fellowship. We understand the wonderful web of friendships that have developed through the years at TFH, and no one's commitment to these friendships is in question! Rather, the bottom line has to do with the vibrant, public worship gathering we discussed at the meeting. When you commit to being an open-door church organization as TFH has, you are saying that you will meet at this place and at this time every single Saturday (or Sunday in other churches). In order to pull that off, a different brand of commitment is required. And that is what is really being considered in the question on the table: do we have the fresh commitments that will be required to put that kind of weekly gathering "out in the public arena" every single week for the future ahead?

Old, tired, or marginal commitments work against the vibrancy aspect. Limited or tentative commitments work against the public aspect (which includes the ability to service different people's needs when they are with us, including at least some weekly childcare).

Please, please, if you have felt at all that we are testing your commitment to the local body that is the people of The Father's House, put that fear aside. What we need to know is how well we can commit to continuing the weekly public gathering and offer authentic vibrancy that welcomes people, serves them, allows and charges them to grow, and provides opportunity for them to serve as well.