The Dream Team

There's a new senior pastor at our church, did you hear?

He got off to a running start on August 1st.  He's been keeping a pretty even sprint so far, getting ready for fall, getting our fall theme and stewardship campaign underway, working with staff on some transitional issues, starting to put in place a system to help us figure out our worship identity.

He's preached a fair amount, he'll be presiding at his second funeral tomorrow.  He's met a lot of people, and I'm impressed that he even remembers a lot of their names.

Meanwhile, I've been here for (ahem) well, a long time.  A woman doesn't like to tell her age, you know.  I know a lot of people, and a lot of them know me:  my gifts, the places where I sometimes stumble, the ministry tasks I adore, the ones I sort of avoid.  A fair number of people appear still to want me to be one of their pastors, which is a gift, I believe.

I have been enjoying meeting with the new pastor.  I like the way he thinks.  I like the way he listens (to me, especially, but to other people, too).  I think he's going to be good for the congregation.

Much as I'm enjoying this phase of the journey, I also recognize that we are still in transition.  We're still figuring it out.  Sometimes we get our signals crossed in worship.  Not everything runs smoothly all of the time.

Meanwhile, I've heard a few people saying that the two pastors complement each other well.   There have been a few comments along the lines of "we have a good team", which is wonderful to hear, except....

Great as it is to have a good staff, and a staff that complements one another, and whose gifts and personalities work well together, it is not actually we who are the "dream team."

You are.

The whole congregation, working together, is the dream team that is going to create and build the mission and energy in this congregation.  I don't mean that everyone has to be a leader, but we all have a role to play, just as we have a role to play in the body of Christ.

Together, we are a bunch of forgiven sinners, stumbling and getting up again, and running toward that vision of the reign of God.  Together, we are also the dream team, welcoming strangers, healing the brokenhearted, speaking God's word to one another and to everyone who needs a good word.