Mid-week Message
from our Developmental Lead Minister
April 27, 2021
Everything I know about church leadership I learned on a houseboat on Lake Powell. Well, maybe not everything, but some important lessons have stuck with me, lessons relevant to the time we are in.
One summer, A.J. and I were invited to join a group of friends to share a houseboat for a week-long adventure on Lake Powell, an expansive human-made lake that spans the border between Utah and Arizona. We loaded the houseboat with food and camping gear, tethered two speed boats to the back, and headed towards open water.
No sooner had we made it into the main channel of the lake when one of those late afternoon thunderstorms that you get in the desert let loose. The wind and lightning were fierce, the rainfall torrential. The speedboats were filling with water. Their owners dove into the lake, swam to the boats, untethered them, turned, and sped away back toward the marina.
Those of us left on the houseboat debated what to do. The obvious choice was to turn around and follow the speed boats back to the marina to wait out the storm. The thing about big boats, though, is that they don’t turn as quickly and easily as their smaller, more nimble counterparts. Getting crossways with the wind didn’t seem wise, either. So we decided to keep moving forward. A map of the lake showed a small cove a few miles ahead where we could shelter until the storm passed.
Another thing about big boats is that they only move so fast. By the time we reached the cove, the storm had subsided and our friends with the speedboats had come along side. We made camp in the cove even though our planned destination for that first night was still several miles away.
In my years of ministry, I have learned that things move at the speed of church. I often hear myself telling people that the wheels of church may move slowly, but they do move.
Expecting a houseboat to behave like a speedboat is a set-up for failure, maybe even disaster. The well-being of everyone on board is at stake. And so it is with this thing we call church.
We’ve been thrown off course by a storm we did not anticipate. There’s no turning around because this boat is just too big – and – there are limits to how fast we can move ahead. The well-being of everyone who makes their religious home with us is at stake.
As we move into the uncertain waters ahead, may we move mindfully and patiently, knowing that the speed of church is what it is.
I am grateful to be on this journey with you.
Yours in shared ministry,
Rev. Diane
leadminister@firstuunash.org