Well, this afternoon did not go at all as planned. I was all set to have an afternoon of finishing up a draft of this paper I have due very soon. I decided once I got home from church that I was really tired and a nap might be in order. BIG mistake. I never take more than 30-minute naps...I slept for almost 2 hours. Unbelievable! Then, I was groggy and dopey. So, the upshot is that I must have a really productive week.
The truth is I hit the ground running when I got home last weekend. And, I haven't really stopped to rest and have some down time. So, maybe my nap wasn't a total waste of time. I do hate that I let the afternoon slip away.
Part of it, too, is that I'm not feeling inspired on this paper. We're supposed to do some research on where we live and then plan a ministry to reach the 'post-moderns." And, post-modern can mean so many things, but I believe in the context of this assignment, it refers to those people who have little use for the church - they are not bad people or mean people. They are just people who have other things to do.
I've got a lot of friends who fall into that category. They have lake houses and soccer games, and some just like having Sunday mornings at home with a cup of coffee, jazz music, and the newspaper. Some of them have been hurt by the church or angered by the church's public response to various things. But, some of them pray. Some of them read their bibles. Some of them think about God. And, some of them even go to church every now and again, but as for really belonging to a family of faith, they just are not interested. They have community in their neighborhoods, and they have a sense of belonging in the time they spend together on the weekends.
I've had trouble thinking of ways to reach this group. Then, I thought, I don't need to "reach" this group, I need to listen to them and build relationships with them. Church is changing because the world is changing. What are we called to be for this world? How much intentional change does that involve on our part?
Those are questions to ponder...but the problem is I don't have time to ponder them much before this paper is due. I see why I preferred a nap today.
No comments:
Post a Comment