We can throw stones, complain about them, stumble on them, climb over them, or build with them.
~William Arthur Ward
~William Arthur Ward
This morning after the Sunday Service, our pastor announced his resignation effective after the first Sunday in August.
I was surprised, but not as much I thought I should be. Unknown to all of the members, except maybe his brother, the pastor had his house for sale and it sold in six weeks even in our very weak housing market. He and his wife had laid this out as their fleece waiting for a sign and it has been answered. His wife had quit her very stressful job a few months ago and hoped the Lord would provide something else or some direction. Amidst all this, her daughter's family, with her three grandchildren, has been preparing to move to Hawaii, as her military husband is stationed there and they are leaving tomorrow morning. I wondered then if the pastor and his wife might be thinking of moving on as they accepted this position in part because it was closer to their grandchildren, but they gave no indication to any of us until he spoke the words today.
Next Saturday is a church board meeting and I am not even sure if we can even muster up a quorum, but obviously some decisions need to be made. I have been in a church split and a quiet exodus of the seniors. I have been in a new church starting up and one that was dying off, mostly because of close mindedness, with no new members as all the members were elderly. This is the second time as an adult I have been in a church that has a healthy attitude and good doctrine. The first one we left because of a job move and this one is just not outreaching enough to make it grow with the majority of members being middle aged. I do not know why we have been led to struggling churches and taken out of healthier ones, but I believe the Lord has a purpose and He promised that everything works toward the good to those who love Him.
Part of the problem with our current church, which I have discussed recently, is that we have families with a spouse that travels for work. It makes it difficult to fit more in when the only family time is on the weekends and much of Sunday is devoted to church.
I do not know what direction our church will take now. We probably cannot sell the property as it is upside down financially and the market here is even worse for commercial property than for residential, but then we have not tried. We cannot build as we do not have enough in the building fund and the costs goes up as the county creates more stipulations. We were paying the pastor a low full-time wage, but honestly he had a part time job. I mean, there has been less than 25 members the entire time and I do not think we bother our pastor with trivial things.) If we dissolve the church, there are two Nazarene churches that are closer to other members, but too far for us to be much more involved than on Sundays. If we dissolve, that also saddles the district with our mortgage and we would lose the money in the building fund, even if we wanted to start over.
Although I am not loyal to a denomination, I think the Nazarene doctrine is the closest to my personal beliefs so I would like to stay with it, if the Lord wills. On the other hand, I have been thinking, as my daughter is really coming into the tween years, perhaps she in particular needs a church family with children her own age and older, perhaps even some homeschooling families...?
Next Saturday is a church board meeting and I am not even sure if we can even muster up a quorum, but obviously some decisions need to be made. I have been in a church split and a quiet exodus of the seniors. I have been in a new church starting up and one that was dying off, mostly because of close mindedness, with no new members as all the members were elderly. This is the second time as an adult I have been in a church that has a healthy attitude and good doctrine. The first one we left because of a job move and this one is just not outreaching enough to make it grow with the majority of members being middle aged. I do not know why we have been led to struggling churches and taken out of healthier ones, but I believe the Lord has a purpose and He promised that everything works toward the good to those who love Him.
Part of the problem with our current church, which I have discussed recently, is that we have families with a spouse that travels for work. It makes it difficult to fit more in when the only family time is on the weekends and much of Sunday is devoted to church.
I do not know what direction our church will take now. We probably cannot sell the property as it is upside down financially and the market here is even worse for commercial property than for residential, but then we have not tried. We cannot build as we do not have enough in the building fund and the costs goes up as the county creates more stipulations. We were paying the pastor a low full-time wage, but honestly he had a part time job. I mean, there has been less than 25 members the entire time and I do not think we bother our pastor with trivial things.) If we dissolve the church, there are two Nazarene churches that are closer to other members, but too far for us to be much more involved than on Sundays. If we dissolve, that also saddles the district with our mortgage and we would lose the money in the building fund, even if we wanted to start over.
Although I am not loyal to a denomination, I think the Nazarene doctrine is the closest to my personal beliefs so I would like to stay with it, if the Lord wills. On the other hand, I have been thinking, as my daughter is really coming into the tween years, perhaps she in particular needs a church family with children her own age and older, perhaps even some homeschooling families...?
~ My Lord, may Your purpose be revealed so we make proper use of this stone. ~
