Integration

In the 20s & 30s group that I serve with at my church, my leadership role is that of Integration. On of our core values reads “Integration: As part of [the larger church body], we hope to fully integrate ourselves with it by being tied to the ministries and people of [the larger church body].” This is taken from two passages of Scripture: Romans 12:4-5 and 1 Timothy 3:15.

Romans 12:4-5 – Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

I Timothy 3:15 – “if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.”

Our group is a part of the body of Christ that forms our whole church. We are not a church within ourselves rather we are a ministry within the church. Therefore we ought to be connected to the larger church. Unfortunately this is not the case at my church. Our group is very much segregated from the larger congregation and it would seem that most of the 50+ members are content with that. My responsiblity is to find ways to encourage integration. I’ve had the privilege of being involved in children’s ministry, volunteering with older members of our church, outreach events and others. It has been a great encouragement to me to meet others in the church and get to know them. I even joined an intergenerational co-ed small group to have yet another opportunity to build relationships with others in the church.

Each leader gives a one year commitment to their position. I began with so many ideas of how this might look and an excitement at the possibilities. I’ve had the blessing of integrating in a number of ways and I was looking forward to encouraging others to do the same. However, since I assumed my role in August, in the 5 months that have passed, I have hardly done anything. As time goes by, my excitement has waned and my motivation has plummeted. Why? I’m not sure. Perhaps the busyness of work and its accompanying transitions have made it difficult. Perhaps the lack of enthusiams and even opposition I met from some when I suggested various ideas has drained me.

Maybe it’s a combination of these things and others but I find myself feeling rather guilty at my lack of enthusiasm for my position. We have a group meal this weekend where I think I will find encouragement to remember why I wanted to do this in the first place and why I should keep trying no matter what obstacles I face. And then perhaps by the time our next leadership meeting comes around on 2/17, I will have a more clear idea on what the next steps might be.