Parish Planning Committee Decisions
Pastoral Musings on Parish Planning Committee Decisions
In the ten plus years of being a Pastor at Zion, I have no recollection of any Parish Planning Council meeting ever conducting an individual vote. Every issue we have voted on has always been by voice. Voice voting almost always indicates non-controversial issues. At the Parish Planning Council meeting in April, however, each individual member was asked to cast their vote to decide when to have the next Voters’ meeting, which under Zion’s constitution falls under the responsibility of the PPC. I report this to demonstrate that this decision was not taken lightly, and a lot of concerns and feelings went into casting (or abstaining from) votes.
The vote went in favor of moving the June Voters’ meeting from between services to after the 10:30 service. But that’s not actually the point of this Newsletter Article. More information will be forthcoming about the change, but after the meeting I had a lot of time to think about the conversations that occurred leading up to it, during it, and after it.
After being a pastor for over ten years, I have seen a lot of things change. I have facilitated much of that change. I have seen the constituents of the congregation change. I, myself, have changed! As long-time members might leave, move away, or move on to glory, newer members come along, get involved, and keep the body of Christ moving forward. Praise be to God!
A lot might have changed in the past, but what does not change is the past. Zion’s history is inalterably established. A lot of the things discussed at the April PPC meeting have been discussed numerous times before in Zion’s history. “There is nothing new under the sun” as Ecclesiastes 1:9 teaches us. Though an idea might not be new, a “new” member to the congregation was not there when the chal-lenge of past conversations occurred. They did not experience the stress of past situations, or the heartache of past results. Because of this, everyone, but especially the “newer” members, need to be “quick to listen” and “slow to speak” (Js 1:19).
Experienced members of Zion (of which I now consider myself) can be tempted with two things, both of which I witnessed and also felt myself at the PPC meeting. First, we can be tempted to dismiss “recycled” ideas particularly if they didn’t work the first time. We can be tempted to think, “If it didn’t work then, it won’t work now!” This simply is not true. As I said already, a lot has changed at Zion. Maybe something did not work in 2019. Maybe the same thing didn’t work in 1919. Who is to say that it might not work with new leadership, new perspectives, or new attitudes now? Just as an example, Zion tried to start a parochial school in the early 2000s. While the traditional school model didn’t work then, we have a functioning and thriving homeschool co-op now.
The second temptation – particularly for the traditional church as Zion is – is to become so stuck in our ways that as the ruts get deeper, we become immobile. This ecclesial immobility leads to a stub-bornness of heart that broods pride and impatience, resulting in a Church that only looks inwardly to preserve its history/tradition instead of outwardly seeking to spread the Gospel.
Our God does not change. Our doctrine does not change. The administration of meetings, though, can change. How we conduct outreach and how we execute evangelism can change. There are a lot of things that we can do differently in the service of Christ’s kingdom. We have a lot of Christian freedom – praise God!
In my ten-plus years here, the PPC has always been a great team. What a blessing! I am thankful for every past and current President, Officer, and Chairman. There will always be challenges in a congre-gation, but none that fellow Christians cannot overcome when they strive to act like Christians, forgiv-ing one another when anyone errs. As a Church we do not compromise doctrine or practice, but we do work together to do things better and more efficiently. I do not want to ever become the stubborn pas-tor or congregation that is unable or unwilling to try age-old tasks in new, different, or even “recycled” ways. We have a great team at Zion. We have great lay leaders. We have great volunteers. We are blessed far beyond what we deserve. In humility, then, let’s do our best to keep a spirit of open-mindedness in the areas where we have Christian liberty. Thanks for your patience and thanks for reading this article! It’s been on my mind for several months now, and I hope it is received in the char-ity and concern with which it was composed!
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Hromowyk