At today’s Spring Congregational meeting, I was elected Board President for a second time (I was also President in 2005-06). I really had no idea what I was getting into last time – this time I think I do. And while I’m sure something will come up that no one is expecting right now, I think it’s going to be a good year.
We have a lot of work to do, mainly in regards to our transition from a fellowship to a church, from mostly lay-led to (eventually) having a full-time minister. The past two years have seen some growth and changes – we have more coming.
The Board’s priorities for the year will be determined through a collaborative process, but I have three and only three:
1) The spiritual growth and maturity of our members. No matter what spiritual path we follow, we all can do a better job of connecting to our highest principles, whether we call them God, Goddess, our our better selves. What services, programs, and activities will help us to do that better?
2) The spread of liberal religion throughout Denton and North Texas. We simply must become more outwardly-focused. There are people out there who need what we offer – how can we reach them, and how can we keep them once they show up?
3) Moving toward becoming a full-service church with a full-time minister. I think we mostly all agree that we want this – where we differ is on exactly what that means and how we can best accomplish it. Certainly it will involve looking outside our walls more often – as an old boss used to say (all the time), we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We need to find the best practices of other congregations who have made this journey and learn from their experiences.
About ten years ago, I was passed over for a promotion at work. My boss at the time said I had the intelligence and the business skills, but he didn’t think I had “passion for the job”. Although I couldn’t see it at the time, he was right. I would have made a lousy leader not because I didn’t care about the job, but because I didn’t care passionately about the job.
I care passionately about this church and its mission, and I’m going to do everything I know to do to help it succeed.
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