“The
kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and
hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of
heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding
one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (Matthew
13:44-46, NRSV)
We invest ourselves in what
is important to us. This is true of
individuals and of churches. We may
develop ambitious vision, mission, and goal statements, but we know what is
really important to us when we look at where church members invest their time,
what the staff gives priority, and how we use our financial and physical
resources.
For example, if we say we
value serving the community and deny the use of our building to a ministry directed
to the homeless, we are lying to ourselves.
If we say we value children and don’t volunteer to work with them or
allocate resources to improve the facilities they use, we are hypocrites.
We invest in what we
value. The first step in measuring success
is to determine what are our values as a congregation. Values undergird everything
we do. We often express a set of superficial
values that is very different from our deep intrinsic values. If a person says he values family time, but
works 16 hours a day, six days a week, I question that assertion.
Every church should take to
time to discuss and identify its values.
If we value the beauty of our facility and want to maintain it in a pristine
condition, let’s be honest about it because that will determine how we allocate
our resources. If we value engagement
with the world, we will let some other things go in order to pursue that value.
Values are our “north star.” When the storms of time, space, and budget
allocation buffet us, our values call us back to what is important to us as a
church.
What do you really value?
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