Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Well, I just attended my last Council meeting at Gateway

and the mood was, subdued to say the least. There was not a lot of joy there.

When I reflect on one of my first board meetings here, (Shhhh don't tell anyone) I still cringe.

I sat mostly in a state of total shock as two, three or four parties, I can't recall, yelled at one another at the top of their lungs for two hours. They were not afraid to include personal insults and nuances in their voluminous exchanges.

And then, after two hours of that, we all went out for a friendly coffee. And my eyes were as big as a two Chinese woks.

I crawled into the house later that night in stunned silence, fell into the big chair and just sat there, trying to make sense of the evenings display.

And I thought to myself, and to God, what am I doing here?!?!

Indeed. It's safe to say He knows what He's doing.

6 comments:

  1. You don't strike me as someone who would engage anyone in that kind of display of attitude. But they say, "You reap what you sow" don't they?

    God sure does have a sense of timing, don't you agree? Reflecting on quiet peaceful meditation reminds us that it doesn't take a big voice to move mountains, sometimes the soft whisper works just as well.

    I guess we can see the difference here. Are you paying attention to that still small whisper you heard on Iona?

    Walk away, quietly, shake the dust from your shoes and don't look back. God has called you to another community, that we hope and pray doesn't participate in screaming matches like tonight.

    I admire your soft pastoral touch. We should all aspire to be like you, like God.

    Jeremy

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  2. jeremy - don't worry, that is not us any more. We've come a long way since those days.

    Our meeting last night was subdued - ten years ago it sounds as if it was quite different. God has taken us on quite a journey under Randall's pastorship.

    The subdued atmosphere and lack of sense of joy comes just because we are grieving his departure as one does when one says good bye to a good friend.

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  3. Sorry Jeremy, for my poor comparison.

    I was reflecting on how far we've come in these years, from then to now.

    Heck, now I'm probably the loudest guy at the meeting.


    :)

    But you are right, volume doesn't win the day, especially in God's economy. The constant drip of the water droplet will effect much change over the years.

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  4. Wow.

    I've never been a part of a church with those kinds of behaviors (I realize this was in the past), but it flabbergasts me.

    Good work Randall.

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  5. Don't I feel like a fool now...

    I misread this post. I realized that woops...
    My Bad...

    Jeremy

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  6. No problem Jeremy.

    I appreciate the spirit in which it was intended.

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