Hello after a rather long silence!
Things have been hotting up since I last wrote and I have a mass of things to process in my head and to share with my husband and my church before I can summarize for you what it is all about.
In the meantime; here is one small reflection which will also give you a taste of things to come (with apologies to those who follow my personal blog, since it is the same article).
I collect quotes.
And bits of paper float around my desk because there is no more room on my notice board.
So I decided to tidy up by sharing these with you! You'll get the French version and I'll try and translate.
,"La franchise ne consiste pas à dire tout ce que l'on pense mais à penser tout ce que l'on dit.," Proverbe tchadien.
,"Being frank doesn't mean saying what one thinks, but means thinking what one says.," Chadian proverb
We just had our church's Annual General Meeting and it was rather a sad affair. We noted that the financial situation renders the possibility of paying a pastor less and less sure. What was even sadder was the heavy atmosphere and the passivity. No one, absolutely no one asked any questions or tried to engage a discussion on the whys and wherefores of our situation.
I made enquiries and discovered that in the past there had been some very violent discussions in the church and now they no longer dared to raise their questions or to state their positions. Our job as pastors is to change this modus operandi. Even if we have to leave in a year's time, we need to work on being open, honest, frank and clear, but in the correct way which honours those who are listening and especially in a way which is God-honouring.
