05.19.08
June Newsletter article
I’m writing this article while sitting in the admissions office of Thomas Nelson Community College. It’s hard to imagine that Hannah is going to college. When our family came to Seaford in 1989, Kat was pregnant with Hannah. Just as our family has faced many joys and challenges and “yes,” even disagreements and conflicts over the years, so has Seaford Baptist.
One of the signs of health or disease in the life of a body is how it handles conflict. Conflict is inevitable and is not necessarily a sign of disease or even disunity. Ironically, a complete absence of conflict is not a good sign. Either no one cares enough to be passionate about an issue or leaders could be squelching dissent. Either way, it is not good. It is interesting to note how people handle those who disagree with them. I believe that one of the tests of a healthy family or a healthy church is how they handle conflict and how they handle those with whom they are in conflict.
On May 15, we had a church family forum to discuss several matters as a body trying to answer the question, “who are we?” Answering this question is an important part of the development process of a church in transition. The forum represents a healthy and positive way for us to address issues that might divide us.
During the course of this meeting, we discussed the following questions.
“Think of some people who have been active at Seaford for a long time. What has kept them active and involved?” A related question that we did not get to ask was “What excites you about your church?”
What is one positive thing you could say about people who hold an opinion opposite yours? What is one positive thing they could say about you?
What are the positive reasons for going to one service? For staying with two services?
Because of time constraints, we did not discuss the following question (I assigned it as homework.)
What stories in our church would you not want to tell a new member? Why not? These two questions could help us think about issues in our history that may need addressing in this interim time.
The report from the meeting was positive. Though not everything spoken was comfortable to hear, many of the body were able to share significantly. We discussed these questions around round tables, everyone had a chance to share in this small group environment, and each table chose a spokesperson who reported to the whole group. We posted the responses on the screen and then captured them for further reflection and prayer. You can see the responses to those questions here.
I would still like to receive your feedback on these questions so that we can hear from a broad base of people within the body. You can do that by sending your responses to me by e-mail, by commenting on the blog, or by writing them down and turning them in to the office.
On Wednesday evening, June 11 we will have a second Family Forum utilizing the same process and addressing another set of questions. I hope you can join us.
Gene
