The Struggle is Real
Dear church family,
As a parent, I have come to deeply appreciate my friends and acquaintances who are brave enough to share their struggles. I appreciate hearing I am not alone in my struggles, that others stress over how to balance caring for our children and allowing them natural consequences. I appreciate hearing stories from these brave souls who lay it all out, confess the good, bad, and ugly that cycles through families. Many of these individuals and couples, I look up to. On the outside, they appear to have everything together, to be fantastic parents, and have amazing children. Their vulnerability and willingness to share their own struggles which aren’t visible to most, has provided relief and hope.
Just maybe, I haven’t messed up my children for life. Relief, I am not the only one thinking or feeling this way as a parent of teenagers. I have hope that if they went through that as a family and their children turned out to be amazing people… it is possible mine will be ok.
Yet, the struggle is real. And when you are in the middle of it, it is hard to see anything else but the struggle.
The struggle isn’t just in parenting. It is in all kinds of areas of our lives. Right?
I read an article last week by Carey Nieuwhof with which I resonated deeply. It made me feel less alone. He shared five reasons leaders feel even more frustrated than they did a year ago, naming that 2021 is harder than anyone expected. The one that connected the most, was reading that a recent Barna survey revealed that only 10% of church leaders “strongly agree that they have a clear vision for where their church will be in the next 5 years."
Nieuwhof’s advice “when the future is unclear, focus on the mission and flex with the methods.”
Flexibility has been the name of the game for so many months as we have focused on practical ways we can continue to impact lives and our community through Jesus Christ. I know some of you want a date when our methods (Worship times, Sunday School times, Pot lucks, Chili Cookoffs, etc) will look like they did pre-pandemic.
The simple answer is I don’t know. I know this answer might be frustrating to some, but it is the honest truth. I am focused on our mission, I am focused on the Ad Council’s strategic goal of “engagement.” And at this time, in the midst of the Delta wave of Covid, we are staying with our current worship times, and focused on engagement through small group opportunities this fall. We are constantly evaluating all the variables to decide where we might need to flex next in our methods to grow our impact for individuals and our community.
I know many of you are experiencing similar struggles in your workplace. I want you to know that I am praying for you and you are not alone. The struggle is real, and whatever you are struggling with, remember your church family is one place you can be real, vulnerable, without shame or guilt. Your church and your pastor are with you!
Maybe there is someone who needs to know your struggles, either in parenting, in leadership, in relationships, in work, and that there is hope and not guilt or shame. With whom can you share your struggles? Your sharing could impact someone today!
Blessings,
Rodney Whitfield
Senior Pastor