and hope somebody shows up."
I acutally hear somebody say this quote once. Their church was struggling with getting new faces in the door. They were, in their opinion, struggling so much that it was of greatest import that they get new bodies, new pledging units in, or they would most certainly fail.
Desperation must never be a motivator for parish ministry. The excitement of the possibility of reaching new people with the saving grace of Jesus Christ - fine. Getting the budget holes filled - not fine.
And while I'm preaching to the choir, allow me to remind you that programming for the sake of proramming will do nothing but burn peopleout. It isn't about who's doing the most - who's got the best programs - who's got the better U2charist (ugh). It is about being faithful to the call of good. As Jesus tells his disciples, there is no competition - only fellow ministers. And so, we are called to be faithful to the admonintion of James and "pray, sing, anoint, and seek forgiveness."
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