“Don’t be shy about building relationships with people who may never enter our church doors, but who are people for whom Christ died.” Bishop Larry Goodpaster Address to Clergy Executive Session at Annual Conference I was glad to hear the Bishop speak these particular words on Wednesday afternoon to the executive clergy session. I am at Lake Junaluska for the Annual Conference of Western North Carolina. And after a meeting with the clergy this afternoon, the Conference officially begins Thursday morning at 10:00am with worship and Holy Communion. And in this season when churches and conferences are struggling with declining attendance and membership, it’s easy to give into a bit of hand-wringing and stat-watching. I found it refreshing to hear our Bishop challenge an auditorium of clergy-persons to be faithful in outreach ministry and love to people who may never darken the doors of our church sanctuaries. I heard in the Bishop’s words an invitation to do the right thing, because it’s the right thing to do. I heard again the call to love in Jesus’ Name, because that is who we are called to be as the Church. Don’t get me wrong – statistical numbers represent people, real people, real lives. And seeing new faces and new families in worship is encouraging and every preacher wants to see that. And I do believe that life in the Church is essential to growing in faith and developing maturity in Christ. But if our goal is primarily to pack the pews, we will have missed the mark. Being salt and light in the world, loving in Jesus’ Name, becoming a vehicle for God’s grace, a vessel for God’s mercy, compassion and justice, in other words – being the Church – now that’s a goal I can get my heart and life around. Peace! Pastor Randy
Posted on: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 01:02:06 +0000
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