You may remember that we originally planned on having a Vision Retreat in March, like we did last year. The purpose of the retreat was to refocus ourselves and to put into place some of the dreams that we have been dreaming. I have been a part of many churches that have had Vision Retreats, but who never seemed to get around to actually DOING anything!
When Lynn Ball (our district support person) checked in with me to see if we were still planning the retreat, I had to tell her, “We don’t have time! We’re too busy doing stuff!”
I have held these Vision Retreats regularly throughout my ministry, just to keep us sharp and to come up with new ideas. But here at Bonita there doesn’t seem to be a need to come up with new ideas – they seem to percolate up through the congregation regularly! YesUKan, Easter baskets, community breakfasts, prayer walks, feeding programs, church clean-ups, omelet breakfasts, book club, summer reserve, updating the web site, being an affirming church, sound system renovation – the ideas keep coming!
We still plan on having some sessions with Lynn Ball over the summer, but right now it’s good to be active in ministry and to use the retreats as tune-ups along the way.
It does my heart good as a pastor to hear you not only talk about your dreams but take the initiative to put them into action. I want to foster an environment where you can try something you’ve never done before and not be afraid of failing. Failure is not the enemy; inaction is! God can teach us from our failures, but we learn nothing if we never try.
Thank you for allowing ME to try and fail, too! We’ve done some…INTERESTING things during worship, and it’s good to know that we are learning together.
I’ll leave you with this – “Seek FIRST the kingdom of God, and His righteousness – and all of these other things will come in time.” (RBCV – Rev. Bill Colloquial Version)
- Rev. Bill