We’ve been talking a lot about change here at St. Luke’s.  Change is sometimes something we choose to do, for right or wrong reasons. Sometimes change is forced upon us as we adapt to the world around us.  Maybe the thought of change unsettles you, or even the sound of the word gives you the heebie-jeebies.  Maybe you love change and are often reminded by those around you that stability is not a bad thing.  I probably fall closer to the latter end of that spectrum.  I like my routines and am wary and often afraid of anything that might change my settled ways, no matter how beneficial.

I was recently challenged to see change from a new perspective when I read this blog post by my college friend Dan Cumberland on his personal blog The Meaning Movement.

He says, “I’m becoming increasingly convinced that the best way to build community is to create together. Furthermore, the greater the creation, the deeper the community that results. If you are creating something that really matters with others, I mean the kind of thing that you really long to see manifested in the world, then deeper parts of those involved will be invited to come out and play.”

I encourage you to read the full article, but his basic premise is that the act of collaborative creation can be a powerful way to build community, to deepen the bonds that connect us.  I think his ideas can be helpful in this time of transition.  As we seek out a new senior pastor, we also seek to grow closer to each other, to understand our mission and to engage with each other at a deeper level.

I remember a time in my youth when my then church family had just suffered a painful and scarring split.  We were without a pastor (or youth pastor) for almost two years, but it was in that time that the strongest friendships and relationships were formed.

And it was the work of doing church that made those fellowship flowers grow.

These coins look like they are up to something…

We had to make stuff happen.  There was no pastor to plan worship, my dad kept the choir going, and people came together to create a meaningful and family oriented youth ministry.  We planned outreach events and fellowship dinners.  Most of all we were together studying the bible and praying.  And we became a family.

I look back on those days as some of the best days of my life.  I saw the church being the church.

And it was awesome.

So lets do some brainstorming.  What can we create together?  How can we start collaborating and making something meaningful?  Let’s not just sit back and wait for something to happen.  Is there anything that you would love to do or something you wish would happen?  Maybe someone else is just dying to do that too!

Maybe you want to start a bible study.  Go for it!  Maybe prayer is important to you.  Join our Tuesday night prayer meetings (5:30 pm, starting January 7).

I would love to see a team of people come together to brainstorm and get creative about worship services.  Themes, liturgy, music, decorations, artwork, graphics, props and more, all creatively and collaboratively curated to invite people into God’s presence and to worship him from their hearts.  A couple people helped me plan Christmas Eve.  We are starting soon to plan Holy Week and Easter.  Maybe that’s something you could get excited about.

These are just a few ideas, but I bet there are some really great ideas percolating out there.  Share some of your ideas in the comments below.

Let’s not be loose about change or wait for it to happen.  Let’s get creating people!