Every morning, at some point, I
look in the mirror and do something to get my hair in a presentable array – for
this day. And, as I am looking in the mirror and am fussing with my hair, I
also make a more strategic decision about my hair – Is it OK, for now? Do I
need a trim? Am I happy with this cut or should I consider going to someone
else? Should I think about totally changing the style (after all – it’s been pretty
much like this for years!)? And, if so, what might it look like?
Interim Ministry is a bit of a ‘mirror
experience’. Every day, I hold up a mirror and we do some work to figure out
what needs to be done that day. And,
there are more strategic decisions, at staff meetings and committee meetings,
in worship and in planning meetings and consistory meetings, I keep holding up
the mirror and ask, “What do you think?”
Sometimes you like what you see
and think it’s OK, for now. Sometimes you can imagine a ‘trim’ and just want to
spruce up what you see. And then, there are times when a significant ‘re-do’
might be a good thing. This is all part of the discernment, the reflection and
the assessment we are doing. Mirror-moments help us ask questions we may not
have been asking.
When we look in the mirror, we
hopefully see some things we might not have seen before. When we ask, “Why do
we do this?” It’s not necessarily a judgment, but maybe it’s a mirror-moment to
ponder and learn more about what we do and how we started doing it. “Is this
what God is calling us to do?” Maybe so
and maybe not.
We’d be a mess if we were always looking into the mirror. But, we’d
also be a mess if we never do. So, let’s make good use of this time to
reflect on what we see and to think about the church we are becoming.
Blessings
– Laura Lee
