It’s about Focusing!
By the time this blog is posted (having been composed late last year) the Transitional Task Force (TTF) members will already have been commissioned and begun their work–collecting useful information and meeting with members of the church. The tasks of the TTF include addressing mission and vision, a comprehensive self-study, and visioning a future staffing configuration for Overland Park Lutheran Church. When this begins, it will still be the season of Epiphany, which can also mean a time when something is seen or known in a new or different way.
Seems appropriate, doesn’t it? Here’s a time we begin the process of discerning: (1) where the church has been along its journey, (2) where is it now, (3) where is God calling it to go next (4) what gifts are available in congregation that God can use and (5) what gifts may be needed in the next pastoral leader for a successful ministry. In other words, it also can be seen as time to focus! I ask for your prayers for the members of the group as well as the council. While this is certainly an exciting time in the life of OPLC, it can also be a time of uncertainty, and anxiousness. The fact that these are normal responses during the interim ministry time doesn’t make it any easier!
But to lower your uncertainty, here’s what you can expect during the next six months or so. First, as already begun, the TTF members will gather information so the council can craft a Ministry Site Profile (MSP) via several means. The Ministry Site Profile is the document utilized by the Central States Synod to enable them to match potentially viable candidates with our church. The Ministry Site Profile includes the church discovering a new identity and realizing a new sense of self and confidence. The call committee likewise reviews the MSP and uses it in conjunction with the list of candidates synod provides. The search–including interviews, a site visit, meeting the council and congregation follow. Then a decision, negotiation, installation, and startup take place. All of these are steps in the process too. But that’s getting a bit ahead of ourselves. Let’s pause here and with God’s help, let the process unfold.
Interim Pastor Alan