Round one to me in my fight to save the church. Yeah, I know those of you who've been reading a bit saw my "Marty versus the church" bit, but read it close. My true intention is to save it. It's in trouble, but it's salvageable. So why is this a fight? Like I've previously said, the church got to where the contents of the wallet was more important than the contents of the soul. That's no good. Fortunately the new pastor looks like she's aiming to get back to what's important.
Money is necessary, however when money becomes more important than fellowship then you're destined to fail.
Unfortunately the people there don't know what it takes to build that fellowship back up, and tragically some don't know the value of fellowship. That's what made the church great once. Unfortunately it was lost with the changing of the pastor that was at the heart of the growth years ago.
So I went into the meeting today pushing the plan to hold events that could potentially boost fellowship and result in bringing new members to the church. I met resistance with the attack on the karate program. I was prepared and able to handle all their questions.
It seemed like some people had been saving complaints to try to bombard me into submission. That failed miserably.
They wanted to make it about the karate club, I set out in making it about the church. Was it a 100% success? No, but I wasn't expecting that. What I have done is stated my intentions: to help the church. My intentions are being doubted, but that's fine. I have half the people at the meeting today agreeing with my plan, one of which is the pastor. One's on the fence. One will go along with it as long as I look out for his interest which is the physical maintaining of the church. I'm cool with that. The last person there thinks I'm full of shit.
I still face an uphill battle. I've talked the talk, now it's time to walk the walk. I'm having to work to keep these ideas in the foreground and continue to push until something happens. Fortunately I have plenty of support, which is valued and much appreciated. I need to make something happen and fast. Every month that goes by without something done just adds to the problem.
It's a simple plan, and common sense really. Be active and people will come. Have fun and invite others to join you. Bring in more people to make the church alive again and financial burdens will ease. Be smart. Be creative. You don't have to spend a ton of money to attract people. You don't have to break your back to show people a good time.
It's still an uphill battle and will require effort to get off the ground. Uphill battles are good. They test our resolve. They show what your made of. Gaining ground takes a lot of heart, and people respond to that.
I don't want to be a leader. I don't want praise. I want the church to thrive and be the type of place I grew up in. A place of love, fellowship and laughter. A place that I looked forward to going to instead of feeling obligated.
Often the toughest fights don't involve anyone throwing a punch.
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