I mentioned in my last post that Aaron was asked to be a deacon and that we had been thinking about leaving our church. I thought I might explain just a little bit because I have been asked what a deacon does.
Well, our church just seems to be broken. Nobody knows what they should be doing, and it is seriously affecting all aspects of the church. We love it there, and love the people...BUT we feel like something just isn't right. I'm not sure exactly how to explain it. When we joined we were told that our church is "elder rule"...meaning that there is a group of 12 men that pray and make decisions of where things should be going. Well, I guess awhile back our deacons were the ones who did this, but things happened and that is not the case anymore. Now the staff are the only ones making decisions....
So, the children's groups need help, the deacons don't know what role they are playing, our church isn't following it's bilaws (the group of elders), and things are just an all around mess. Nobody has any direction. When you offer help it is turned into "take all of it" not just help with it. It is seriously frustrating....
So, to answer the question "What does and Deacon do?" Right now, not a whole lot in our church. They should be the leading force, but they are not. Aaron was told that a lot of changes are being planned for this next year.
We had been planning on looking for another church, but Aaron was asked to teach Sunday School...he accepted we stayed. We had planned to leave, and Aaron was asked to be on the church planning committee basically figuring out what is needing to be fixed (everything in my opinion) he accepted and we stayed. Now He has been asked to be a deacon, he will be ordained on April 2 if they decide that God wants him there...we prayed, he accepted, if he makes it (which at this point it sounds like a formaility) then we are committed to staying for 5 years.
All of this has happened within the course of the last 3 months, and the latter 2 within the course of the last month. We feel that God has us there to help the church through the ripping off of the band aid and putting on the medicine so that the wounds can be heald. It doesn't matter how the wounds got there, just that they are there and need to be fixed.
It will be a long time to heal, but I think that God has big plans for us and our church.
2 comments:
Shannon - I am soooo sorry to hear what is going on in your church. It is always a difficult thing. I love your attitude with it and I know that God can do great things through your family with that attitude.... I love the quote "it's not your ability, but your Availability" and I believe that because you have made yourself Available to God, HE will use you in great ways and will continue to do so as long as you keep that amazing attitude. I hope it all works out for your church... I pray favor and blessing on you in this long road ahead!
Sounds like Aaron is just what the church needs right now. I hope things can get better for your church and you can feel better about it.
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