Clarity

An old year ends, a new one begins.  We will have a new president on January 20.  Either Florida or Alabama will be national champion.  As a nation, we value decisiveness.  Yet electing a president and picking a BCS championship game have one thing in common - millions, nay billions, of details.  Not all of the details along the way were perfect (is anybody really comfortable with allowing coaches to vote on the BCS rankings of rivals?), but a clearly defined process led to a clear decision. 

As Patrick Lenicioni says in The 5 Temptations of a CEO, organizations often face "the temptation to ensure that your decisions are correct" (50).  We are tempted to choose certainty over clarity. We overanalyze and get caught up in details that derail us from our true purpose and goal.

At some point, not far in the future, clarity will lead to decisiveness.

A church that is clear about its goals and where it is going is looking forward.  When we have clarity, we know where God is leading us.  We know that God is leading us.  In many ways, human certainty is the opposite of faith.  It is our faith that gives us clarity. 

As the congregation meets again with Joe Donofro on January 7, we must remain clear to our purpose.  We intend to provide space for the growth and development of the members of our church.  The church is a place "to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ" (Ephesians 4.12).  Yes, there will be lots of details and some big decisions for either session or (in the case of borrowing money) for the congregation to make.  No decision will be perfect or please everyone; yet we can make a "best" decision that is faithful to Christ's mission for our church.  

And, more importantly, in seeking the mind of Jesus Christ together, with clarity of purpose, we will make the decision that He wants us to make.  After all, it is His church....

MORGAN