New Member, New Resource

"Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!" That's the phrase that keeps going off in my mind concerning this church (TCC). If you will recall, last week in my post Getting Plugged In Again, I mentioned that I was getting overtones of being integrated (hopefully not sucked) into this church's service/support network. Late last week it was confirmed. I got an email from the senior minister. He said, "...I’d like to find a time to visit soon and get to know you better – and to talk about areas of our church’s ministry where your gifts might be best matched." Boy! if ICAWs* weren't going off in my head, they sure are now! As I said before, I'm gun-shy about getting immediately plugged in to a service role again. I just don't want to end up in a constantly-giving-never-receiving position again.

All that said, I understand his thinking. In a well-functioning church, all its members should be involved (assuming they are able). That's what makes a church operate, and the members have ownership and a stake in the outcomes. But after today, I also understand this request on a more practical level. When I first visited this church, I was impressed that it had as big a facility as it had. The church has a decent-sized sanctuary, fairly modern computing, sound and security systems, its own gym, an almost-commercial kitchen, and plenty, and I mean PLENTY of room for expansion. How right I was. Over the last two weeks, I finally came to understand that for all they have in facilities, they lack in membership. That is to say, they don't have the manpower (or the money) to either take full advantage of their facilities, or enjoy them. This church desperately needs people (read members) to get things off the ground.

This also explains why Yizong and my former minister, Chuck Burns, are both hot to trot over this church. It's a very pioneering on-the-front-lines type of church. Its ministries are just developing, its place in the community is not well established, and there is plenty of potential to go around. The question is how to tap that potential. Good question, but not the one that primarily concerns me.

No, I'm going to play the mercenary for a moment. As much as people aren't supposed to ask this question of churches, I will (but just for the moment): What's in it for me? By that question I mean: how can it minister to me? At RCC, the answer was plain. RCC couldn't. To be frank, the classes were all basic and uninteresting. After the departure of Rev. Burns the preaching was standard at best, and, with the arrival of Rev. Morris, it turned to laughable and farcical. I was an inconvenient anomaly in the church--a single, unmarried adult well-established in his career who, as time went by, started looking for his life mate (read wife). Due to my anomalous existence, I was shuffled around from class to class and role to role until I was integrated as a cog in the mom-and-pop business of RCC's day-to-day operations. There I started working my tail off, but never did I receive any kind of spiritual nourishment or personal encouragement. I withered on the vine and eventually fell off.

So here I am at a church who is just beginning to get its footing (I hope), but what does it offer me in the way of spiritual and personal enhancement? I don't know. I suppose I'll find out. At any rate the senior minister here, Dr. Lynn White, as asked to me to do a one-on-one meet-and-greet/get-to-know-you meeting this week. More updates as they happen.

*ICAW - Integrated Caution And Warning