Not really alone, per say. I'm actually one of millions affected by the ends of both. These are two of the longest relationships I've had with shows, both of which I began in my first year out of college. I've watched every single episode. I am fully invested in every major character, and it almost feels like losing someone who played an integral part of my life. Of course, I'm being dramatic. Life will go on, other shows will take their place, and each actor will go on to other projects. While I and many others will argue that there may never be a show like Lost or 24 again, it will be ok. We will survive.
It's incredible how hard it can be to lose something so ingrained in our everyday function. Either show was a normal topic of conversation among friends. Both contained thematic elements I'd casually reference with others whom I knew watched. One of my buddies even checked into his honeymoon suite under the name Jack Bauer. Now that these programs no longer exist, there will be an adjustment period for many. And this time I'm not being dramatic; literally, we will have to adjust to our new reality.
Change is a difficult thing. I say that as someone who welcomes new surroundings, ideas, and people. I don't typically like routine, I can't stand monotony, and I absolutely abhor life without progress. So while I enjoy change, I know it's not easy. In fact, change is one of the hardest things for churches to endure. Anytime individuals have a constant (nice Lost reference) removed from them, it regularly takes a while for life to settle down. Organizations are made up of multiple individuals, in many ways subscribing to a group-think mindset. Once again, the adjustment is more drastic because the change affects many. Because there are multiple types of changes that churches must deal with, I'm going to focus on one in this post: when one of your own moves away.
I hate losing people. It's hard when people leave over conflict or differing preferences or any other reason you could think of. But when people move away, its almost harder because they want to go to a new city or new job, but not a new church. They are sad and you are sad. And it gets worse if they are people who had many responsibilities in the church. I write this with someone in mind.
At the end of the summer in 2008, Epoch Church had to go through this very thing. We lost Justin and Robyn Bourlon, when Justin took a new position with Kraft in Rogers, Arkansas, located 3 hours away. They had both been there from the beginning. Justin had left a church he was attending to be a part of the start-up, and Robyn became a part of the church immediately after she moved to Little Rock. They become engaged and married while they were with Epoch, Justin headed up our finance committee, they were small group leaders, etc., etc. It was a hard loss. Oh, not to mention that Justin was and is one of my closest friends. Several others in the church were in the same boat as I was. It was incredibly difficult to have been such a big part of their lives, for them to be such a big part of ours, and to know that there were several roles that needed filling in a church without a lot of resources.
Soon after, a newlywed couple in our church volunteered to lead a small group. They had agreed to take the first year of their marriage to not accept other responsibilities and focus on each other. They reached their 1 year anniversary a month after the Bourlons moved away, and they recognized the need existing in their church. A few months after this, a new couple began coming to Epoch who had moved to be campus ministers at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Several months later, our small groups expanded and they became leaders. Just before this, a recent college graduate named Sam moved to Little Rock and became active with Epoch. He was in the process of passing his CPA. Therefore, he was an obvious choice to lead the finance team. He accepted and has willingly served ever since. Flash forward almost two years since Justin and Robyn left, and we still miss them. We could still use them. But their absence led to a realized need among the community. People volunteered to take their place.
Do you know why muscles get bigger when you lift weights? If muscle fibers are strained enough, they tear. Through the synthesizing of protein, these torn muscles are rebuilt with the capacity to take on the load that was previously applied to them. Through this process of the body adapting, lifters get stronger. This is an accurate picture of what can happen in a church when volunteer leaders leave. Much like a pruned bush, a broken bone, or an over-worked bicep, churches can grow stronger through these instances. If Justin and Robyn had not left, who knows if that first couple would have stepped up to become small group leaders? Maybe Sam would have never been asked to join the finance team. The Bourlon's absence, from an organizational stance, may have been a positive thing because of the urgency with which people in the church recognized a need for more leaders.
Change can be a tough pill to swallow. But in this case, we clearly see how a young church had an opportunity to be strengthened by losing some of its key leaders. I am not suggesting that you should be happy when leaders go; on the contrary, I dread the next time I see a friend move off (or I move off myself). What I firmly believe, however, is that churches must view changes within their communities as opportunities to be strengthened. And if you've noticed, I have only focused on organizational structure - I've said nothing about the work of the Holy Spirit, who is far better at preparing us to embrace and grow during changing times than we could prepare for on our own. The next time your church loses someone crucial to its mission, take your time to mourn. Take your time preparing for what must be done to fill their shoes. But be excited over who will step up and carry the load. When a church follows God's direction, there is literally no limit to who He will use and how He will use them, and what He will accomplish with what He has.
In other words, change can be an awesome thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment