Pastor Jim Clarke Pastor Paula McCutcheon

Priorities

Pastor Jim Clarke

I will make a deal with everyone – we don’t have to give up anything for Lent if we take time to consider our priorities in life.  We always think of giving up something for Lent, but equally always forget the purpose for giving something up.  It wasn’t to punish us, and subsequently develop a distaste for the whole season.  It was to limit the preoccupations of our lives that keep us from really thinking about our lives.  Used to be food was a major preoccupation.  Now I would say food is more of a given, while we are greatly preoccupied with TV, the Internet, games, travel, and the list could go on.  The giving up was a means to having the space necessary to really re-consider out lives.  What do I give my life to?  What do I give my heart to?  Where is the God-given energy of my life spent?  All of this used to be called “self-examination” (a Reformation word, I think – I heard it frequently growing up as a Presbyterian).  We speak more easily about priorities, which is fine with me – as long as we get to that core question:  what am I gathering my life around?  So, we can have our cake if we want it (literally or figuratively) and not give up anything for Lent, so long as we find a way to ‘not eat it too’, which is to say avoid taking the time to examine our lives – priorities, if we prefer that term.

The question of priorities came up in a January meeting of Servant Leadership, and it is not surprising that it would.  Contrary to how it many sound, Servant Leadership is like a revival course in Christian Faith.  It starts with inner, spiritual questions, moves to the community of faith and then to the Church’s mission.  The pattern is important. 

The outline looks like this:

Being Beloved of God

The Journey Inward

Living in a Covenant Community

Worldviews

God’s Divine Power

God’s Economy

Compassion and Justice

Spiritual Gifts for the Journey of Discipleship

God’s Dream

I am hoping that reading that, many will get excited.  It really isn’t just for “leaders” as the title may imply, but for all of us.  And we are hoping to give everyone the opportunity to participate in this.  That is the hope that will coalesce into a plan soon.

The point is, we all must take time somehow to go on the inward part of the journey, and wonder about ourselves before God.  Traditionally Lent has been a time to do that.

Coincidently, the Leadership Selection and Development Committee (used to be Nominations) will begin meeting, and working on inviting us all into opportunities for ministry.  I hope as we all reflect on our lives, priorities and loyalties that we will open our hearts to the possibility of giving some of our God-given life energy to the ministry here at the Church.  None of the ministry here happens without the people.  And it’s not just about filling slots.  Granted, there are some slots we have to fill.  We have to have a chairperson of Trustees, for example.  And, it will make my work easier if we have a chairperson of the committees I work with.  However, it is also about listening to God guide us to new and different things.  Recently 5-year-old Nolan Cleary got us onto a blanket drive.  Stacey Long took a class on sustainable living and wants to teach it.  I thank God for these ideas.

So, take the time to really reflect unto what we give our life and heart.