Half-year Assessment - July 6th, 2021
We are into the summer, and I have been at Mountainview for about 6 months now. I figured this would be a good time to pause for some reflection and then begin a look at how we can move forward. I know, or at least assume, that there is formal and informal assessment of me going on among you. All good. I just want you to know that this is, of course, a two-way street. Pastors are in one of those strange roles where you are both an employee and the leader at the same time and it is a bit of a dance to walk between the two with balance.
The first thing I want you to hear is that you have been wonderfully welcoming and hospitable in spite of the fact that it has been difficult to host. There has been excellent response to different requests to connect or participate. It feels like people are eager to engage and we look forward to that desire growing into action.
Secondly, and maybe I notice this because it is not my nature, you are very structured and organized as a community. Ruth Ann and I have noticed that if something happens here it happens every third Thursday or second Monday of the month. There are patterns and schedules and policies guiding what happens. All this speaks to an attention to detail and quality. And those are pretty good values to have in place.
Third, I keep finding out all the different ministries in which people are engaged. Both groups in the church as well as community ministries. Mountainview is engaged in mission. So as we continue to talk about missional, maybe many of us need to hear “continue be intentional about being missional” and not “start being missional”. Again, there is a good foundation here on which to build.
Fourth, you are generally appreciative of my work and really exuberant about Ruth Ann’s. Don’t worry, I know that I have been riding her coattails since our first congregation and I appreciate her work too.
Fifth, you are human (I know, astute observation) and humans like to talk about change more than engage in changing. Likely, many of us are thinking more about how change would do some other people good and saying, “I am fine the way I am, thank you very much, and if I am not I am rather comfortable in my present state and able to endure my stuff.” As I said, human. And so I plan to practice what Paul calls “patient endurance” and continue to push, prod, poke and persevere. And I suspect you will find ways to do the same, perhaps with a passive approach. I am learning to pay more attention to God’s timing and keep watch for where and with whom he is at work. I trust that God will move us in his time to where he wants us to be.
Which brings me to the area of Pastoral Care. I have noticed that we have many excellent elders, deacons, care-workers, and congregants who naturally and capably connect with and care for others. There seems to be a good system in place, and I hope to work with that. Now that Pastor Fred has completed his official role among us, I will take over the responsibility for pastoral care. However, I plan to do that with as much help as possible. Karin Terpstra, as office administrator, has already quite often been the natural point of connection for people. You are welcome to keep that happening. In her role of making sure communication takes place among different people and groups, she makes sure that staff and office-bearers are in the loop. You may also contact me directly, of course, by phone or email. And you may continue to connect with those who have been caring for you already. As you may be hearing, I am working toward a community of care. There are no simple rules about when an elder visits and when a pastor comes. And so as we work through this year I hope we can figure out a rhythm together that helps us all have a sense of being cared for in community.
Which brings me to my next point (I lost count): Mountainview as a community is pretty careful in the way it gives feedback. This too is a good thing. I have received excellent questions by email as people wonder about what has been said or written. I encourage careful feedback. By that I mean, lots of feedback, but always spoken in a careful way. If we have to deal with how something is said, before we deal with the content, that just makes the whole process more complicated. Thank you for respectful communications and keep them coming.
Which brings me to what should be my last point for today. We are going to be engaging in challenging conversations. There are about a dozen people among us who will be given some facilitator training in September. (If you want to be one of those people, let me know, as there is always room for a few more.) Those trained facilitators will guide us in groups of about 10 through a series of conversations based on our denomination’s Human Sexuality Report (HSR). This report was meant to be at Synod (the North American CRC annual meeting) this year, but Covid has delayed it and given us opportunity to talk about some tough topics. I would suggest that along with the HSR topics there are a number of other areas where we could benefit from engaging in these challenging conversations. We don’t always like to talk about these things, but our community will grow in depth when we do.
There is more to say, but there is also all summer to say it. So, stay tuned.
Thank you for your support and feedback. Let’s keep walking this journey together.
Pastor Erick