For many of us 2020 has started the same as any other year with an endless list of task, chores, errands and to-do’s. No matter how we ended 2019, 2020 demands that some things must be done. As for pastors and church leaders, there are sermon calendars to compile and submit, year end reports to reconcile, vision casting to be completed, an endless stream of renovations and repairs to tend to and all of the pastoral care touches that thriving congregations require. Sometimes we become so consumed with the tasks, the asks and the “have to’s” that we lose track of our “want to’s” sapping us of our joy. Leaving us to exclaim there must be more than this!
The Macedonian Ministry Foundation’s work with ministry leaders and congregations takes place primarily in our three-year long cohorts, a project we call, “The Ministry Collaborative.” For the past several months, The Ministry Collaborative (TMC) has been taking the life giving claims of joy found in scripture seriously and helping pastors to tap into and become reacquainted with their “want to” or their “why.” We have discovered that while we are all committed to advancing the cause of Christ in creation, the ways in which we do that are as numerous as sand on the beach. And that by engaging the awesome task of Kingdom building together, we aspire to something greater than ourselves, our churches and our denominations.
The author of The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wrote, “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”
We at TMC have experienced the drudgery of drumming people up together and assigning them task and work just as you have. Now we are excited about helping each other learn once again to long for the endless immensity of the Kingdom…for the possibilities, opportunities and joy that doing ministry now holds. For us collaboration isn’t just about gathering and working but it’s also about hoping, longing, envisioning, stewarding and manifesting Gods will joyously together.
Article Written By:
Rev. Jennifer Watley Maxell, Co-founder + Pastor, The Breakthrough Fellowship & Program Curator for The Ministry Collaborative, a Project of the Macedonian Ministry Foundation.
No Comments