"Your harvest's aftergrowth you shall not reap, and your grapes of untrimmed vines you shall not gather; the land shall have a sabbatical year." - Leviticus 25:5
In some ways, churches across the country are re-engaging with their congregations and community after an unexpected sabbatical year. It has been a year of virtual worship and digital assembly, palpable loneliness, and extended ennui. But now, churches are beginning to open up again to face-to-face worship, teaching, and ministry. There is a fresh enthusiasm to get back to work, as well as some anxiety to return to the way things were before.
In the face of this pent-up zeal, I would like to encourage the church to do the unexpected thing...the thing that doesn't feel right or make sense; stop. Then breathe. Church leaders and parishioners do not need to rush right in to a flourish of new activity. At least, not yet. At least, not before asking three important questions.
1. What did we miss most last year?
2. Is there anything we didn't miss at all?
3. Who are we now, one year after the world stopped and our lives and ministry changed?
As we begin to build back activities and ministries, don't miss an opportunity to redirect this exuberance into dialogue about why we do church work in the first place. "Oh, no!" I hear my inner critic cry, "Please! Not another committee or fruitless conversation!" No. That is not what I mean and I know that no one wants that. But maybe, when we stop and visit again with one another after so many months apart, we might just discover that God has been doing a new thing all along.
Church Stopping. Less Doing. More Being.
