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Why Wait for a Call?

Why Wait for a Call?
I woke up this morning with a strange thought: What if the whole Board was to do the work of the Nominating Commit-tee? What if the Board divided up the congregation and each called 10 people to ask them what they would like to do for the church? Would that spur people into taking on their share of responsibility? Too few people are carrying too much of the load. With the size of this congregation and the resources available to us, it ought not to be this way.
If you were asked what you’d like to do, what would your response be? If you’re already serving on a committee or helping regularly with something, is it involvement you enjoy? If it’s not, why are you doing it? Figure out what you’d like to do and commit to doing that. If you are finding what you are doing rewarding, that’s a good start. Now, can you step-up your game? If you’re on a committee, would you be willing to chair it? If not, what support or training would you need? Yes it’s great to help but what’s very much needed right now are more leaders.
It’s not enough to be along for the ride. There are some people who say, “I’ve done my bit.” My response is always the same, so you may have heard it, “You can retire from your job. You can’t retire from being a Christian.” So, how are you living out your faith commitment to this community?
Often people talk about the things they can’t do or why they can’t commit. Those recruiting have heard all the excuses. How do we work through those? If you don’t have the skills, we can help with training. Recently the Executive offered training in chairing for the Board and anyone else who was interested. Only current chairs attended. Seems no one else was willing even to give it a shot.
Perhaps you’re away for a chunk of the winter or go to the cottage for the summer. There are two committees I’m on that each have a man like that. When he’s around, he works as hard as he can. When he’s not, we work around it. Or perhaps there’s someone you could work with as co-chairs so you each carry only part of the load.
Another reason people are reluctant to take leadership is that past leaders have been subjected to unwarranted or harsh criticism. I’d be foolish to say that won’t happen again. However, I can assure you that you will have the support of the Executive and they will take corrective action.
If you aren’t able to be as active as you once were, don’t give up. Think about what your role might be now. Aboriginal cultures understand better than we do the place of elders. What does it mean to be an elder at Forest Hill? How do you offer your experience and wisdom? Perhaps it might even be in discerning who might offer leadership and where, for the community has a responsibility to discern leadership gifts, even of those who volunteer.
Church isn’t a consumer product. It’s a community. Like a family, each person has a role to play and jobs to do. Instead of waiting for a phone call, why not give Scott Davis a call and let him know what you might like to do.
Pegi