Dear Friends in Christ:
This past weekend, Mary and I spent some quality time with our family celebrating the second birthday of our granddaughter, Katherine Rose Leoni. It was a blessed experience!
I am now reflecting on the importance of our family relationships. Some of my thoughts are not all positive. Don’t we all have some “family sins” to confess? For example ——
♦ Methodist minister Rev. Grace Imathiu writes: “There is an African proverb that says when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. I often think of this proverb when parents fight because often it is the kids that get caught in the middle”!
♦ Judith Martin, better known as “Miss Manners”, noted that contemporary houses contain a room with a large table that is usually set with a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle or is used as a desk. The space, which once was called the family dining room, is now often used for other purposes. This suggests that modern society has deemphasized
the importance of the traditional practice of the family meal. Many would acknowledge that the family meal has been helpful in keeping households together. It is a time when relationships are built, especially as news of each member’s day is exchanged, manners are taught, and social skills are developed. Miss Manners
laments that family members often eat by themselves, and then they wonder why they feel alone.
♦ The late Dr. Robert McCracken said in a sermon titled “The Church in the Home once said: “Parenthood is a ministry to which men and women are called by God.” Being away on Sunday, I also reflected on the blessing of the church as “a FAMILY”. I have been reading in The Clergy Journal, a publication I subscribe to. Dan Glover and Claudia Lay travel the United States helping churches develop more effective discipleship. In an article titled “Deepening Your Effectiveness, Restructuring the Church for Life Transformation”, they write:
Four Components of an Effective Church:
1. A common vision of God’s plan for your church, and a commitment to fulfill that vision—When the entire congregation has a clear understanding of the vision and mission drawn from the heart of and articulated by the pastors, they move together as a unified force to accomplish the mission.
2. Effective organizational, ministry, and administrative structures—Organizational and ministry structures, as well as administrative processes and procedures, will either help or hinder effective ministry and the ability of leaders to effectively lead.
3. Emotional health—Lack of emotional health will prevent even the best-organized churches from moving forward in the accomplishment of its mission. Micromanagement, gossip, and lack of personal boundaries are all warning signs that the church needs to take intentional steps to create a more emotionally healthy environment.
4. An effective discipleship pathway—Put in place a carefully developed intentional plan of action to progressively
guide people toward spiritual maturity.
—Pastor David Fetter
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