Larger Commitment = Louder Voice
It seems like every church has "that guy". He's the guy who does not serve, does not give, does not want to become a member, and does not contribute in any way, but has an opinion about EVERYTHING.
- The pastor doesn't preach right.
- The music is too loud.
- The staff doesn't communicate correctly.
- Small groups should run differently.
But...
Invite that guy to actually commit to being part of the solution to one of his endless "observations" and he has no shortage of excuses for why he doesn't have time, isn't the right guy, or doesn't feel "called". See, he doesn't want to actually DO anything, he just wants to have A VOICE into everything.
Too many times we allow this kind of behavior. Even though that guy is not committed to the mission and only contributes in criticism and complaints we often bend over backwards in an attempt to appease him and meet all his expectations.
Don't get me wrong, at Redemption we deeply believe that we can always do all we do more effectively. So, we love feedback. We value observations. We want to know how we can better shepherd and serve the people of our church.
But...
If you just want to sit on the sidelines criticizing the rest of us actually playing the game, your feedback is unhelpful, unwanted, and unnecessary.
But, if it's clear that you're committed to Jesus' agenda I WANT to hear what you think. If you're committed to moving the mission forward as a part of the family I NEED to see what you see.
Whether you're a pastor, a leader, or a member of a local church it's time to stop giving "that guy" the loudest voice. Let's love him (or her), shepherd them, call them to repentance and invite them into our families, but let's stop letting the laziest people have the loudest voices.
Instead, let's try something new.
The larger your commitment the louder your voice.
Speaking into the mission requires being committed to the mission. If you want to bring suggestions you should also be willing to be the solution. It's easy to coach from the couch, but it's better to be in the game. It's time to actually play. It's time to get to work. It's time to commit. It's time to be the solutions to what we see.
The larger your commitment the louder your voice. So, how large is your commitment?
