Have you ever been asked to be on a committee? Not just at chruch, I mean, but anywhere--PTA, ladies auxiliary, Grange, Masons, whatever? Or maybe you have had to ask someone to be on a committee. And what is the usual response? Not wild enthusiasm right? Because committees have a bad reputation.
Even now just writing about the word, I'm starting to feel antsy, remembering all the boring meetings in which I've been entombed. The number must be well up into the thousands by now, although it seems like more than a million. Imagine--what amounts to two years of my life spent sitting on hard, uncomfortable chairs listening to people drone on about incomprehensible things of no ultimate consequence. A whole industry consists of supplying those dreadful chairs, which are designed specifically to make you want to ruse up out of your seat and volunteer for whatever will bring a speedier conclusion to the meeting.
Size is no indication of quality. I attended my first town meeting years ago in Maine expecting a stirring protrayal of democracy in action, and found I could barely keep my eyes open during the interminable discussions of what color the new fire truck should be, and whether the town should plow someone's driveway. My hard, backless seat kept me from actually falling asleep, lest I plunge to my death behind the bleachers to a floor littered with chewed gum and candy wrappers.
Yet the church seems to cause committees to spring forth with alarming regularity, especially the United Methodist Church. We must have a method to this madness! If an army marches on its stomach, surely the church advances on its committees. It really started with the early church. The book of Acts tells how 7 people were elected to handle the finances of the church. The leaders met to decide issues that arose as the church grew.
On Easter Sunday six people joined the church. With them, we promised to support the church by our prayers, our gifts, and our service. There's no escaping it. Sometimes we have to have committee meetings to do the work of the Lord. When we're working together for some good cause the time flies by. So be a good sport. Pull up a hard metal chair and join a chruch committee. If you can't be there in person, we need your prayers and your gifts during this exciting and challenging time in our church
Happy Easter Season from your Pastor,
Jean Marsh