Change.  Change???  The old joke about Lutherans is “How many Lutherans does it take to change a lightbulb?”  Answer: “None; Lutherans don’t change.”  There are other answers to the joke (one is below). And certainly the joke could be applied to other denominations of the church and to other groups of people for it touches something in our fallen human nature (see Genesis 3).  Often change induces fear in many of us.  Even the smallest little routines in our lives can become measures of comfort upon which we rely.  Certainly that is understandable on many levels including that our lives are often a busy flurry of activity.  Even where life is not lived at a hectic pace, a change can be disruptive, cause stress levels to rise, create anxiety, frustration and a profound opportunity for important growth.

Pause to think about what we are a part of in Christ Jesus.  Namely, we are part of the dawning of what the Apostle Paul calls NEW CREATION.  Does it need to be said that the new thing God is doing cannot emerge unless there is change—even change that rocks our boat and induces that feeling of cresting over the top of the first hill on a giant roller coaster?

The Council Members and the Committee Chairs and Co-chairs met together on Saturday, January 29, 2012.  The main purpose of this meeting was to explore the committee structure we here at Mt. Hebron currently have.  Ah, there is another answer to the joke above:  “One person to change the light bulb and six people to form a committee and decide which kind.”       

Seriously, committee work serves a vital function in the life of a group, decisions have to get made, meals planned, budgets prepared, lightbulbs changed.  Committee work is itself a form of ministry.  Yet, ministry is certainly not limited to the monthly meetings, and so on.  As we look together at some restructuring of our committees, the goal is not to “reinvent the wheel” but to increase the ministry that is being done in and through Mt. Hebron in the name of Jesus. 

I want to invite and encourage you come to a special combined meeting of the Worship, Nurture, Support, and Outreach committees that is to be held on Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 4:30 PM.  This will be after Tyler and Timothy’s fundraiser concert (see the information elsewhere in this newsletter about this). 

At this combined meeting of the four committees, I’ll give a brief overview of some of the information and the possibilities that surfaced from the leadership meeting on January 29, 2012.  We can then work together to brainstorm and harvest other ideas, and make suggestions about the committee structure; those ideas will then go to the Council.    The Council will then meet, synthesize information and ideas, and map out a suggested plan to put before the congregation as a whole. 

Let me give a brief example that will, hopefully, help make clear the need for some revision in the committee structure.  Let’s say for example, that Mr. X is willing to help with the ministry of taking care of the church property, but has no interest in or talent for working with the financial work of the congregation (working on the budget, etc.).  Currently both of these items fall under the duties of the Support Committee.  The question becomes, “Can we provide a structure that allows Mr. X to be part of the ministry of caring for the building and property but where he doesn’t have to do committee work on budget and other financial concerns?  Or, from a different angle, “Can Mr. Y, who is interested in helping with the budget work but hates the idea of changing lightbulbs and checking on doorknobs and toilets, be included in a ministry area?”  They can be.  

We each have different gifts and talents and are called together as a part of God’s one church.  Can we fine tune the organizational structure of Mt. Hebron somewhat so as to increase ministry opportunities and increase the number of people who are sharing their gifts?  I know that we can.

I think there is a degree of excitement in the air.  I don’t think it is simply the static electricity that builds up in the winter months; more likely, I think, it is the stirrings of the triune God among us—the One in whom we are united as people of God—stirring things up to move us all forward in faith.

Please plan on Sunday, February 19th, to come to Tyler’s fundraiser concert at 3:00 PM and then stay around for the combined committee meeting at 4:30 PM.  The meeting will not be very long, but we (the council members, committee chairs and co-chairs and me) want all who are walking in faith here at Mt. Hebron to have a chance for some input and to share in the decision making process. 

Pastor Russell Makant