Sunday, December 12, 2010

COHESION: A SIGNIFICANT MATTER

Pulling members alongside one another is very key regarding church health.  It is important to be together.  Such is clearly a New Testament thread.

Memorial struggled for several years.  Even our get-togethers were divided.  Work had to be done.

I can't say exactly how God reversed our trend, but He surely did.  Here are a few reasons:
  • Children's Ministries....whether it be VBS, Fall Festival, or this week's Christmas Program, children bring adults into a special kind of unified goal; do a good job.
  • Local Works....whether the teens are conducting Work Camp or adults are unloading and packaging food for Mary's Pantry, we have members applying their faith through works...side by side.
  • Celebrations....Shane Coffman is key in this for Memorial.  The worship leader is such for you.  We don't assemble to put in our time but to celebrate the glory of God.  Last night we had our church Christmas Party.  The food, the preparation, the dressing up, the entertainment (?) and the mood were all a sampling of a church which enjoys being together.
But here's what I appreciate most about God's deliverance of cohesion among us.  In all of these events one will find non-members sitting among us simply enjoying life with us.  We have yet-to-be believers serving at the Food Pantry.  We have the same participating in some way in the entertainment.  We are building a growing family.

Cohesion is a significant matter....evidently the Three felt the same....Gen. 1:26, Rom. 8:9-11.

2 comments:

James Riley said...

Terry, I can't help but wonder if doing all these positive things caused some negative hearted people to leave your group, leaving behind more good hearted people who enjoyed and thrived in these activities? Or did everyone stay and find their relationships changed as they worked side by side rather than having face to face tension? Did cohesion come because you all forged a vision that included these activities and only those who shared the vision stayed? OR did cohesion come because carrying out the vision changed their hearts?

Unknown said...

James Riley’s questions are interesting and thought provoking. Having passed through this time at Memorial I find myself occasionally musing in a similar vain. I can say I know of examples of each. My conclusion is it does not matter. God not mortal man is the source of such change. The answer to these questions matter as a means of measurement and/or comparisons that are not mine to control. Terry said, “I can't say exactly how God reversed our trend.” I think Terry would confirm one of the things He did was free us from worry over matters involved in answering these questions.

I admit as a man these questions (and the meaning of their answers) still occur to me, as I’m sure they do to others at, or no longer at Memorial. I believe they are much more important to the latter group than the former.