2010

One of my roles as Lead Pastor is to be the "big picture person." This means I have to look at the whole church and its mission, not just parts of it. I need to be the person who reminds each part that they are part of a whole body and help them fit together in a unified way.

It also involves me in long range and advanced planning--sometimes the first into a particular territory because people need me to scout and map the terrain. That's why I found myself in early June working on the overall worship plan for 2009-2010.

2010! I still find myself thinking of 2008 at times! But Bill Stine, our Choir Director uses his summer to prepare for the church's program year. For him to do his job effectively, he needs the big picture in worship from me. So this AM I completed the Worship Planner for 2009-2010.

We need to have advance planning to strategically place ourselves to do the work in a fast-changing and ever-changing world. But we must always do it with a certain sense of humility. James, the brother of our Lord wrote: "Now listen, you who say,'Tomorrow we will go this or to that city, spend a year there, carry on business, make money. Why, you don't even know what will happen tomorrow ... Instead, you ought to say, If is the Lord's will, we will do this or that." (James 4:1a-14, 15a)

All of our planning and all of our plans must carry the obedient flexiblity that keeps they in concert with God's will for us.