Reflections From Sunday Evening

I was surprised when the people of Great Britain voted to leave the European Union. You can listen to and read all the political experts explain this but in essence it seems to me a populist movement. Citizens are weary of trusting leaders to make decisions for them. So here we go. There is a good bit of this going on in the USA these days. Trust of leaders and institutions is low. There have probably been times in history that were even more challenging, but these are "interesting" times. So what do we as followers of Jesus do with the current climate?
 In America we are committed to democracy. We in the United Methodist Church do not really operate as a democracy. We are a representative form of church government. We elect people to represent us at all levels of our church life, including the local church. The past few years all the administration books and leadership books have stressed the necessity of strong leadership in the church. (With the exception of Leonard Sweet who keeps insisting that we do not need leaders as much as followers of Jesus.)
So what do we do? Who do we copy? What does all this have to say to us at Platte Woods UMC?
We are always seeking to learn from others but want to recognizing our unique features and do what we do well.
We are trying to build a leadership model that calls for the Senior Pastor to cast vision and show the way forward.  The authority is in influence.
The staff identifies, recruits and equips leaders who do the same to bring the people of the congregation into ministry and service.
When this works right the people are the "ministers".  The staff and church leadership support the church, not steer the course.
Like most other things in the culture today it presents challenges.  But what a great time in the life of our church to be part of what God is doing.  Always learning.  Always seeking.  Always serving.
Here we go.
It's been a good day.  I hope you've had a good day too.
steve