I hope that all of you are having a chance to catch your breath this summer. Life can be so full, especially in the weeks leading up to summer. When I think of our big 275th celebration back in May, my heart is full of joy and gratitude, but I also remember being more than a little worn out by it all. When June came, I needed a break. Thankfully, I was able to get one.
During my break, I started reading a book called When Church Stops Working by Andrew Root and Blair D. Bertrand. The title of the book has a double meaning:
First, that many churches acknowledge a decline in attendance, participation, and influence in their communities (and the things we are trying to do to reverse this through innovation and trying to work harder are not working).
And second, that if what we are doing is not working, what would happen if we didn’t try to work so hard – following the model of the disciples who were instructed by the risen Jesus in the Book of Acts to faithfully wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit blew into their lives and out into the world?
When Church Stops Working by Andrew Root and Blair D. Bertrand
The authors write that if the church—in this post-Christendom, post-pandemic world—is not “working,” then what if we stopped working so hard in the ways that we have been and took time to faithfully wait, strengthen the relationships that we have, care for one another, and seek simple ways that we can build a strong foundation for whatever the Holy Spirit has in store?
It can be a scary thing – to tell anxious people to stop doing the things that they think will make them less anxious.
In some ways, I have viewed the two years since we “came back” from the pandemic as “rebuilding years,” in which we have needed to tend to the weekly and seasonal rhythms of life at Bedford Presbyterian Church. After such a big pandemic-sized interruption, of course, it has taken us a while to get back to some of the things we do. At the same time, we have been able to identify some of the deep longings of our people – namely, that many have longed for deeper and better relationships AND that many have been longing for some rest. It was almost as if the stress of living through a pandemic was quickly replaced by the stress of “we’ve got to get back to normal – whatever “normal” is supposed to be – and something has to give.
There have been – and continue to be – wonderful signs of church life at BPC, starting with the Ageless Wonders community program for older adults, having a group of people who are very energized (if you’ll pardon the pun) about energy sustainability, continuing to walk alongside the Safi family from Afghanistan, volunteers who keep our online ministry and worship livestream going, strengthening our relationship with Mission at the Eastward and Families in Transition, celebrating our 275th Anniversary, adding to our membership, starting a small-group Bible study for adults which has grown into a need to start a second small-group Bible study, running out of bulletins in worship recently (sorry we ran out – we’ll make more! – but isn’t this a fantastic problem to have?), and seeking to deepen our ties with the extended Bedford community. There is a LOT of life at BPC. It’s not like we haven’t been doing anything, and many folks have been working very, very hard.
All of this is happening because things are indeed working at BPC. I just want to make sure that the “work” we do is life-giving instead of draining. And, if we need to “stop working” in some of the ways we were before the pandemic, that is okay. I trust the Holy Spirit to breathe life into the things that will give us life as we faithfully serve in the ways we have been and faithfully wait for what comes next.
As your pastor, I am also working, watching, and waiting (sometimes, all at once), and I am thankful that we can do this important work together.
See you in church!
Grace and Peace,
John
Prepare for Worship
This Week: Telling the Truth (Plumb-lines, Politics, Prophecy, and Power)
- Read Mark 6:14-29 – the difficult story of the death of John the Baptist
- Read Amos 7:7-15 – the difficult vision of a plumb-line and a people who are “out of plumb”
- Read Psalm 85 – a vision of a world in which all people are dwelling in faithfulness and love, and righteousness and peace.