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Pensamientos para hoy (afterthought for today)
Sailing on the Clearwater
A few years ago my family and I were invited to sail on the Clearwater. The Clearwater is a sloop, a sailboat, that sails up and down the Hudson River to promote environmental awareness and protection of the Hudson River. The idea for such a sailboat came from folk singer and environmental activist Pete Seeger.
The Clearwater sails with a crew of six: first and second mates, a deckhand, bosun, engineer, and cook. If the sloop were to sail with less than six crew members, they would have a difficult time going in the right direction and getting to their destination. We had a part in hoisting the mainsail and I could see that with fewer people the task would have been difficult. With less than the necessary crew a voyage on the Clearwater would be frustrating and movement in the desired direction would be slow. When a ship lacks the needed crew it somehow must sail to the next port and find additional crew. In spite of the difficulty and frustration of sailing with less then a full crew, unless it moves on to the next destination it is doomed to sit in the same dock forever. The crew must take up the slack of the missing crew members and get the ship to the next port and recruit help and keep moving until it finally obtains it's full crew.
A small church can be like that. If you are involved in a small church, then you know that it's often difficult running the ministries of the church. Many small churches have had to cut out ministries because of a lack of help. I believe that ministry in a small church will have to adapt to fewer workers, but we must be careful not to cut back in our children and youth ministries. Without a good children's ministry or youth ministry the likelihood of new people joining the church is slim at best. So the few who are involved in ministry must make these ministries a priority, or the church simply will not move forward. If everyone will work together, I believe that the Lord will add to the church. If we are faithful in the small things, God will provide and give us greater responsibilities.
Your church may be running with less than a full crew, but God's Spirit can fill your sails with his love and power. He can lead people to get on board and man their positions. He can move your church out of the dock and send it on its way to the next port. With Jesus at the helm, God will take you and your church into uncharted waters where the adventure and life on the high seas of ministry never stop. It's time to get on board, put your hands on the halyard, and hoist the mainsail. Anchors aweigh and God speed as your church rides the high tide of God's glorious power.
Taking orders from Jesus the Captain of our ship,
Pastor Steve
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(more afterthoughts)
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