The title is right...Monday night I attended my first meeting of our Church's Administrative Council as an At-Large member. To be honest, I had little idea what to expect. Although, looking back now, I should have. My job entails representing various boards and commissions, and I shouldn't have expected or thought that a council meeting would be different than those meetings simply because it was a church council versus a political council or governmental board. You have all your reports from the various committees, and I was somewhat surprised by the number of committees that exist - its good to see how many people are involved and the various things the church community cared about enough to have a committee for, to actively work on that area. So from this perspective, it was very educational, enabled me to learn a great deal more about what the church does in its ministry.
It was also educational from the perspective of running a church, operationally speaking. Budget for utilities, staff salaries, mission funds, educational funds for Sunday Schools, and the many, many other things that have to be thought of when running an operation that serves so many people and variety of interests and still has to pay the bills. Over the last two years in my work, I have become more and more aware of the business side of practicing law, how to budget for long term capital improvements, anticipating rising costs, seeing areas where money can be saved to allow for more profit. Its interesting to see that many, not all, but many of the tools in that business area are necessary to keep a church running at its "optimal" operational capacity.
I find it interesting that this is something that I would get involved. To those that know me well, they know that me and religion have a complicated relationship. Its not that I dislike religion or distrust it, far from it, its just complicated due to my personal experiences and the way I think about religious matters and approach them. Lately, religion and I have learned how to better coexist (which is to say, I have learned). Succinctly, how to be actively involved and participatory and not lose an inner sense of authenticity. Because of my personality, being involved with the administrative council, I dare to think, will be a great experience. If for no other higher complicated reason that it takes it out of the sky and lets me see the nuts and bolts. I think to some, seeing the operating nature of a church, and how it can be kind of business-like, would be a turnoff. They don't want to see that in their church, they want to just think about the ministry and the worship and all the "religious" stuff. But for me, it really clicks. I care about those things as well, but if all I see is that, I'm sometimes left to my more cynical side drawing conclusions on those things that aren't fair and aren't realistic. Seeing how those things come to be, the process everything goes through, the discussion and dialogue that is participated in before a decision is made, it makes religion, church-going, worshiping, and so on, for lack of better wording, real to me.
I don't really envision myself as someone who would be heavily involved in direct, interpersonal ministry (maybe I'm limiting this definition?). Its not really in my make up, my attributes, to accomplish those types of things well. But it is in my makeup to participate in dialogue for decision-making, to analyze reports, ask questions, plan for the future. Thus, seeing my church this way, in this planning, discussing, decision-making for the future, worrying about budgets to accomplish all they want to do, makes it real. Makes me think, "I can do this, this is how I can serve." Analyze, question, plan, work to create the means and environment for the others in our community to use their attributes and talents for ministry, to create an environment where fellowship can be planted and grow.
I still find it somewhat humorous that by seeing the nuts and bolts, the part of running a religious organization (which a church really is) that seemed so often hidden when growing up, made the whole religion "thing" more something I could feel authentic being active and participatory. Its times like this, when I think about my individual talents, of Jackie's, of friends, family, and other community members, where the idea of the "Body" really clicks in my brain - all these different parts, utilizing their talents to accomplish their function, working together for a greater function/reality. And its really interesting for me to sit and reflect and think where I was with religion, and my thoughts about it, and realize that while many of the beliefs are still there, I feel completely at home in this setting with my small town church. Mysterious ways indeed.
It was also educational from the perspective of running a church, operationally speaking. Budget for utilities, staff salaries, mission funds, educational funds for Sunday Schools, and the many, many other things that have to be thought of when running an operation that serves so many people and variety of interests and still has to pay the bills. Over the last two years in my work, I have become more and more aware of the business side of practicing law, how to budget for long term capital improvements, anticipating rising costs, seeing areas where money can be saved to allow for more profit. Its interesting to see that many, not all, but many of the tools in that business area are necessary to keep a church running at its "optimal" operational capacity.
I find it interesting that this is something that I would get involved. To those that know me well, they know that me and religion have a complicated relationship. Its not that I dislike religion or distrust it, far from it, its just complicated due to my personal experiences and the way I think about religious matters and approach them. Lately, religion and I have learned how to better coexist (which is to say, I have learned). Succinctly, how to be actively involved and participatory and not lose an inner sense of authenticity. Because of my personality, being involved with the administrative council, I dare to think, will be a great experience. If for no other higher complicated reason that it takes it out of the sky and lets me see the nuts and bolts. I think to some, seeing the operating nature of a church, and how it can be kind of business-like, would be a turnoff. They don't want to see that in their church, they want to just think about the ministry and the worship and all the "religious" stuff. But for me, it really clicks. I care about those things as well, but if all I see is that, I'm sometimes left to my more cynical side drawing conclusions on those things that aren't fair and aren't realistic. Seeing how those things come to be, the process everything goes through, the discussion and dialogue that is participated in before a decision is made, it makes religion, church-going, worshiping, and so on, for lack of better wording, real to me.
I don't really envision myself as someone who would be heavily involved in direct, interpersonal ministry (maybe I'm limiting this definition?). Its not really in my make up, my attributes, to accomplish those types of things well. But it is in my makeup to participate in dialogue for decision-making, to analyze reports, ask questions, plan for the future. Thus, seeing my church this way, in this planning, discussing, decision-making for the future, worrying about budgets to accomplish all they want to do, makes it real. Makes me think, "I can do this, this is how I can serve." Analyze, question, plan, work to create the means and environment for the others in our community to use their attributes and talents for ministry, to create an environment where fellowship can be planted and grow.
I still find it somewhat humorous that by seeing the nuts and bolts, the part of running a religious organization (which a church really is) that seemed so often hidden when growing up, made the whole religion "thing" more something I could feel authentic being active and participatory. Its times like this, when I think about my individual talents, of Jackie's, of friends, family, and other community members, where the idea of the "Body" really clicks in my brain - all these different parts, utilizing their talents to accomplish their function, working together for a greater function/reality. And its really interesting for me to sit and reflect and think where I was with religion, and my thoughts about it, and realize that while many of the beliefs are still there, I feel completely at home in this setting with my small town church. Mysterious ways indeed.
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