– A Message from Your Lay Leader – Kim R. Smith
Creating new things can be incredibly exciting! So many of our congregations are reimagining what church looks and feels like. We are recreating and restructuring our leadership teams. New people are stepping up to serve in unfamiliar roles. It’s amazing to watch unfold! It can also be challenging for those who really are not comfortable with change.
The key is to offer grace… upon grace… upon grace to each other as we find our way forward. For example, in my own church I am temporarily doing the email newsletters. It’s taken me a beat to understand the templates and to get used to sending all the intermittent information out to the congregation. So far, I have put the wrong last name on a celebration. Both men had the same first names. I clearly got them confused in my mind that day. I have put the wrong date on a meeting schedule and deleted a couple of names by accident trying to find my way through something new for me. They can’t fire me because I am a volunteer, but they CAN offer me grace and encouragement.
I’ve seen new ushers struggle with what to do, new liturgists get confused, and new pastors struggle to create beauty in the chaos. There IS great beauty here in the middle of this transition. We just need eyes to see it.
What we all need to remember is that none of us will ever be perfect. We are all stepping up in some roles that we have no clue what they will look like moving forward. For me…that is kind of exciting I am not going to lie. However, I clearly recognize that the unknown can bring a lot of anxiety along for the ride. There is a sweet spot between the anxiety and the excitement when we just accept where we are in this moment, and we support this new growth for our growing leaders. Reminder: This work we do is really not about us at all. Our work is about creating Disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of this hurting world.
If we at our very cores, want to create churches where everyone feels welcomed and included in a way that is the polar opposite of an exclusive club, we need to begin by giving each other a whole lot of grace. Longer tables require some creativity. Encourage those trying new things out of their comfort zones. Give feedback from a place of love and not criticism. Offer to help if you feel passionately about something from United Women of Faith to Creation Care. Always… always give grace. Imagine where we would be without the grace already so lovingly given to each and every one of us. Love each other well so that you can TOGETHER… GO and love your neighbors.