The clergy of the Lexington District had a meeting with our new bishop, Lindsay Davis. After he had spoken for a bit about his expectations for his preachers, we had a time to ask questions.
I was at a table with Martina Ockerman and David Calhoun. Martina kept asking if she was dreaming, because he was talking right up our alley: Mission, evangelism, spiritual discipline, service to the poor.
I have a question I can't always formulate too well. It has to do with the poor not being able to support the denominational structure, and yet they are this huge, untapped population (remember: we have 100 new people every week, and if I had the room it could be 250, and if I had more money and more room, I think we could hit 500.) So I asked, "I can show you how to bring hundreds of people to our churches in less than a month, bit since they are poor, they can't afford us. How do we make it work?"
The Bishop had a simple, challenging response: "We have to love them enough to afford them."
What would happen, if we mystically extend this answer of the Bishop? That is to say, if we have to love the poor enough to afford them, is that not saying that they are a precious treasure? More important than a building? More important even than a pastor-- the things a church pays for?
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1 comment:
perhaps we need to learn from most African pastors, they have a regular job and then preaches every Sunday and evangelizes on top of all that.
TH
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