I Had No Idea

I Had No Idea

I have been outside the church workforce for almost two months and I had no idea what people go through in their daily work life. I honestly tried to understand but I had no clue. 

For the past 8 weeks I have been serving as a volunteer at Fort Clinch State Park and as a septic repair guy for a local septic company. During these weeks I have learned a lot that I wish I knew as a pastor. Here are some things I have learned.

1. The pace and rhythms of employment are very different than ministerial rhythms. I now know what a commitment it is for people to get up and go to worship on Sunday morning. For those of you who regularly not only attend but also serve, thank you!

2. Most of what you do during the week goes unnoticed and unappreciated. While I would send hundreds of postcards a year to say, “Thank you!” for what you did in volunteering at church, I never thanked you for what you did during the week. So “Thank you!” for your work.

3. I never knew the extent of the moral decisions you make on a daily basis. You work for people whose moral compass may be very different than your own. This forces you to make decisions that have spiritual, financial and familial implications. I know have a greater understanding of the New Testament world and why followers of Jesus would sell everything to help each other. It was not a mandate from Jesus as much as it was an intersection of a moral and financial necessity. So know that I now understand what you face on a daily basis.

4. I have spent the last 28 years in a church office. I have learned through my time outside that office that human beings are all over the map. Some are mad at the world and want everyone to know it and suffer with them. Some are the kindest, most giving people I have ever met. Regardless, I have found that God’s prevenient grace is at work in more ways and in more lives than I ever knew. I have had more gospel conversations in the past 6 weeks than I have had in the past 6 years. God seriously loves people and is desperate for those folks to know how much He loves them.

5. People are spiritually curious. I have been asked questions about God and morality that I have never been asked before. I thought I had heard it all but I was wrong. It didn’t take long for me to discover that people are asking questions about God and morality that the typical church is simply uncomfortable talking about. If we live a life that is genuinely interested in the people around us, they will begin to ask us questions. If we respond well, they will keep asking questions and gospel doors will open.

I am excited to have learned these things, and so much more! What I am learning is serving to shape the First Coast Network as we organize to launch a micro church network here in Nassau County, Florida. To all the laypeople I served over the years, thank you for what you do every day. Thank you for loving the people around you. Thank you for being the heart of your church and community. I am sorry but I had no idea.