Sunday's MAC Agenda

First, let me begin by reemphasizing some things I stressed on Sunday:

• This forum is a way to help us further discuss very important things that touch all of us.
• This forum is a way to enhance and clarify the issues that we need to make decisions about.
• This is primarily a way to share what is on your mind - a way of sharing your thoughts and your questions. Discussion, questions and clarification are fine as long as it is kept civil and respectful.
  
• Remember, written discussions often cannot clearly express the emotional intent of the writer. So, what may be intended as humorous or teasing or "tongue-in-cheek" may be misunderstood. So, try to be clear and succinct if you choose to participate.
• Or, you may just want to wait until our discussions on Sunday to share your thoughts, which is fine as well.
• Finally, as the administrator I have the ability to approve what is posted, or decide not to post something. If I choose not to, I will notify you with the reasons why.

Having laid the ground-rules for our discussions, now is the time for us to identify an agenda of items that need our attention. As an assembly of believers who desire to grow and change the world we live in, we are a public organization not a secret society, therefore what we portray to the public is critical; especially in our assemblies. While it may be argued that our assemblies are primarily for the purpose of the family, they are also our public expressions of how we see ourselves and our mission in the world. Just as critical as the discussion of our "name change," and the reasoning for its relevance, is the need to look critically at our assemblies and ask, " are they as relevant to our total Mission and Vision as they should be?" In fact, this is perhaps more important than the name change, for it matters little what we call ourselves if our corporate life isn't what it should and could be. Can we be a community sensitive to the relevance of our self-description, and not be just as diligent when it comes to our public manifestations in our assemblies, knowing these are the standards people will really judge us by?

In our public representations we must model what can only be called "life-relevance." Few if any have aspirations of enhancing life with a brand new "ice-box & wringer washer" (you younger people ask someone older). Similarly, we should desire to apply the life-relevance principle to all our public gatherings. Both in small nuanced ways and even perhaps in large paradigm shifts, we have the freedom and opportunity to dream and reevaluate what we hope to accomplish and how.

LET ME SAY CLEARLY, TO THOSE MOST SENSITIVE TO THE DISCUSSION OF CHANGE, IN NO WAY IS THIS AN INDICATION OR EXPRESSION THAT WE FEEL THE WAY THINGS HAVE BEEN DONE ARE BAD OR WRONG. QUITE THE CONTRARY, WE EMBRACE OUR PAST AND PRESENT AS THAT WHICH HONORS GOD AND HAS PAVED THE WAY FOR US TO HAVE THE FREEDOM TO DREAM ABOUT THE FUTURE AND CHANGE ACCORDINGLY TO ADAPT TO AND MEET THOSE DREAMS.

With all of this in mind, our public assemblies need to be rethought. If we are to start with what would appear to have the most challenges, then our Sunday morning assembly is not where we should begin. By far, our most neglected and statistically challenged services are our Sunday and Wednesday evening assemblies. With that in mind let us direct ourselves to what we should do with these times and their formats.

1. Sunday evening:

• continue or end?
• more dynamic for activities, service projects, children & fellowship?
• separate focus-group to bring back suggestions to church?

2. Wednesday evening:

• family emphasis - kid focus?
  
• earlier time - 6:00 vs. 7:00?
• complete specialty focus, such as Financial Peace University?
• do we wish to select other times for specialty projects.
  

Please give prayer and thought to these subjects and your active participation in these conversations. Failure to converse and move ahead is not an option; such will only drain the life from our family. Dreams linked to conversation lead to vision which produces dynamic growth. Please, come and be a constructive part of our families discussion on these matters.

Blessings
Jack