Three values

Dear Saints!

What are your values? Not all of them, but your 3 most important ones in your life right now? Not an easy question, right?

During our worship on Jan 23rd, we did an exercise called "value mapping". The idea was to come up with one’s personal 3 most important values in life. The results are a beautiful picture of why our congregation is so wonderful.

After everyone had shared, we grouped similar values. That way we were able to identify the 3 values most of us prioritize in life. Since people make a church, we assumed that those 3 values are our church's most important values. They are:

INTEGRITY

COMPASSION

RELATIONSHIPS

In the upcoming months, we are going to look at our ministries through the lens of our values. To see where they connect and where something might be missing. We will also talk to our sister churches about their values and hopefully find lots of common ground plus a tool to name differences.

Now, obviously, those are great values for anyone to have. But what do they say about us as a church?

Relationships. We value relationships. Among ourselves and our members. With God. With our neighbors. That sounds very churchy. And very hard. Because relationships have to be built and tended. Especially when we disagree with each other. Or with God. Because it’s OK to argue, it’s OK to disagree. Even with God. Jacob disagreed with and wrestled with God. Job did, too, and never accepted a sentence he felt he didn’t deserve. Jesus did and bargained for a sweeter cup than death by crucifixion. We can disagree and still stay strong in our faith that is our relationship with God. We can disagree with each other and still love each other as members of the one body of Christ.

Integrity. The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles (per the English Oxford Living Dictionaries). Integrity doesn’t mean that we will always be right or that we won’t make mistakes or even hurt others through words and actions. Integrity means that we will own what we do and say, because we value relationships more than anything. And there are no relationships without integral truth-telling. Because the truth will set you free. And nothing else.

Compassion. It’s what holds integrity and relationships together. It’s what enables us to have strong moral principles and do the work of building and nurturing relationships even when we are in disagreement. Compassion means seeing things from the other person’s perspective. To walk a mile in their shoes. To feel what they feel from the place where they are in. To be gracious because we tried everything to understand each other and to feel not just for but with each other. God showed us what that means when God died at the cross, suffering the worst pain. In compassion with a world in pain.

These are great values to live up to. May God bless us on our journey.

Blessings,

PASTOR TIA!