We've Got It Down to a Science

Faith and Saint James are both hosting a Doing What Matters Bible Study during Epiphany. Jordan Krey wrapped up his work on Pastor Matthew's Call Committee just over a year ago. He and his wife have been attending this study. They've been very active members of Faith for a handful of years. Here are Jordan's thoughts on Doing What Matters:

A guy named Newton once wrote down three laws of motion:

An object at rest will stay at rest.
An object in motion will stay in motion.
Each action has an equal and opposite reaction.

The first law describes a congregation that from the looks of it is vibrant and healthy. The pews are filled and money is not all that difficult to come by. But something is missing. Bible study is not very well attended, people are uncomfortable praying out loud, and words like "pledging" and "tithing" make people cringe. What is missing? And does it matter?

The second law describes a pastor. One full of energy, with hundreds of new ideas and thoughts on how to implement them. Our areas of weakness are the areas about which this pastor is most passionate. The pastor seems to have a finger on what is missing and can say for certain that it matters.

The third law describes what happens when the two come together.  When the congregation is pushed, it pushes back. A lot of force is required to move such a creature as a Lutheran congregation.

Another guy, named Einstein, came up with a formula you may have heard of:

E = mc^2

 (or for our analogy)

Spiritual Energy = (What Matters * Congregation) ^ 2

For you math whizzes out there, what happens to your spiritual energy if your doing "what matters" reaches zero?  More importantly, what happens as doing "what matters" reaches infinity?  If you are still with me, this may seem like a lost cause.  If the congregation is at rest and requires a massive amount of force to get it moving, how will it ever start doing what matters?  

This is where the exponential comes in. The congregation will not move on its own or move because the pastor is pushing it. God is the one who will do the heavy lifting.  People -- including the pastor -- plant the seeds. They do what matters and their effort is squared. Jesus says that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we can move mountains.  Even the most stubborn of congregations cannot compare to that.