Good Intentions and Actions
This quarter the Continuing Study pages include a practical suggestion to address a common shortcoming in committees and boards, as well as in many individuals. Also included is a challenging invitation to church officers and leaders. To accept the invitation all that is required is that you become a regular participant. The challenge is to just do it! The hurdle that church leaders need to overcome, however, is all those “feel good” thoughts—better known as “good intentions.”
Good intentions are a positive characteristic of church leaders and followers of Jesus Christ in general. Ordained officers in particular are set apart as those who will be sure to function in a way that reflects their good intentions toward the office of ministry.
His [Jesus Christ’s] ministry is the basis of all ministries; the standard for all offices is the pattern of the one who came “not to be served but to serve.” (Matt. 20:28) [Book of Order G-6.0100]
The challenge of our ministry is to intentionally move those good intentions from our hearts and minds into positive faith in action. Here is a simple scenario, and a suggestion on how to be more intentional:
The Christian education committee (C. Ed.) reports to the session.
Elder Able: “Not only do we have the list of church school teachers to present along with the curriculum being provided to the teachers, and our schedule for the fall special education events, we have a concern for discussion. Ideas! magazine suggested we recognize church school teachers by at least thanking them during worship. The C. Ed. suggests the worship committee work with the pastor to do this on September 11, at the beginning of Christian Education Week.”
Elder Baker, worship committee: “We can talk about that at our next meeting. There are already several baptisms to be scheduled and a number of other fall start-up requests from the choir and the day care center, to name a couple . . . Now that I look at the calendar we will not meet until after Christian Education Week begins. I suggest that we agree that each one of us will make a special effort to personally thank our teachers for their willingness to serve the church in this way.”
Common consent responses accompanied by nods and a positive humming sound: “Good idea”; “OK”; “Yes”; “We can do that.”
In reality, teachers were thanked by a board member or two. The good intentions felt good at the meeting, but went unfulfilled.
Being involved as leaders in ministry is a key part of the function to which you have been ordained [G-6.0304]. As a teacher in the role of “lead learner” works hard to stay ahead of the class, so ordained officers need to be a little ahead of the congregation that elected them.
Try This!
Ask someone besides the moderator or secretary of the board or committee to make a note each time a good intention is mentioned. Read the list at the end of the meeting. Then check at the beginning of the next meeting to see how many became actions. If the observer has nothing to report at meeting’s end, this could be another concern to address. Being observant and intentional will result in a more effective ministry.
Good intentions often begin with such phrases as: “I think”; “We could”; “We should”; “What needs to happen is . . .”, none of which are recorded in the minutes as official actions. Another source of good intentions that should be turned into actions of your ministry can be found in the Directory for Worship’s chapter on pastoral care [W-6.3000].
How well we care for others as leaders is directly related to how well we care for our own spiritual well-being. Self-care can also become a list of good intentions that follows the same path as New Year’s resolutions—they rarely come to fruition. A leader’s self-care is part of his or her witness to others, demonstrating the importance of nurturing one’s own faith. So, this challenging invitation is offered as a way for you to enrich your faith and your ministry, if you just do it! |
