How do you speak to yourself in January? Have you ever thought about it? Following the excitement, busyness and disruption of Christmas, and then the post-festive lull it can take time and effort to once again motivate ourselves for the next season. I’m writing this opener in the first week of January. By this date, are you already raring to go for the spring term or still wanting to crawl back under the duvet for further hibernation? To be honest, I’m somewhere in between, but probably close to the latter.
My family and I were away over Christmas, so this past Sunday was our first service back in our home church since mid-December. Sitting in the socially distanced, well-ventilated, and sparsely attended congregation I found myself questioning what this term (and the year ahead) might look like. My initial thoughts were not hugely positive, I confess. As the opening worship finished, I started to brace myself for the expected sermon on New Year’s resolutions and how we might challenge ourselves this year. After all – this is a staple ‘go-to’ topic for those preaching on the first Sunday in January. January is the time to intentionally motivate ourselves and pick ourselves up. My Personal Trainer from the gym had already texted that week to say they were expecting to see me back for training sessions ASAP, so why should the church be any different. So, it was refreshing to hear our Associate Minister preach, (albeit virtually from her house as she had recently tested positive with COVID), that she would be avoiding the temptation to adopt (and inevitably break) New Year’s resolutions this year, and instead would be focusing on just one thing – remaining close to the person of Jesus.
Here for me, lies the truth of the gospel and the very reason that so many UCAN members run around frantically to serve their local churches. The person of Jesus is real, worth knowing, and powerful. It is only through Jesus that we can receive true hope and true peace. He brings transformation and remains sovereign. So, however you are speaking to yourself, trying to motivate yourself, or populating your to-do list for 2022, make sure one item is front and central – make sure 2022 is a year spent increasingly with Jesus. Developing your personal relationship with Jesus is the most effective thing you can do for yourself, your family and friends, and your church. Let’s remember the lesson that Martha learned in Luke 10 – her sister Mary had chosen the better thing – time without distractions, spent with Jesus.
The second challenge I head this week came via my 7-year-old son. He has developed a love of reading and language and has a vocabulary that already outperforms most of the general population. Whilst reading the 10th volume of Hiccup’s memoirs (How to Train your Dragon series) he came upon the word ‘invincible’ which prompted him to ask: “If things can be invincible, can they be vincible?” I confess I had no idea, so out came my phone and Google to the rescue. The answer is yes – vincible is a valid but not often used adjective, describing something that is ‘able to be overcome or conquered’. Obviously ‘invincible’ is a commonly used term, but ‘vincible’ doesn’t get a lot of airtime. Equally, we commonly use ‘inevitable’ but would rarely choose to say ‘evitable’ which would correctly describe the ability to ‘avoid or prevent’. Interesting I hear you say, but what does this lexicological discourse have to do with church administration?
My point is this: Language matters. It matters how we speak to ourselves. Often, how we speak to ourselves will affect the narrative of our lives and the narrative experienced in our churches. If we talk about something being inevitable and never changing, this may continue to be the case, but it doesn’t have to be. So, as you consider the start of 2022 and your personal and work priorities, alongside the predominant encouragement to remain close to Jesus, please can I encourage you to ask the following:
What is vincible this year? What issues CAN be overcome, beaten, and conquered this year, for the glory of God and the coming of his Kingdom on Earth?
What is evitable this year? What CAN you prevent happening or what pitfalls can be avoided through advance planning, consultation, and above all, by listening to God?
Good administration can overcome issues and hindrances – even those which appear invincible. It can prevent unhelpful things from occurring, even when the common narrative is that they’re inevitable. “Oh, communication is always a problem in churches”. “We’re always short of volunteers”. “There is never enough money”. “You can’t keep good staff members for that long”. “Trustee meetings are boring and unproductive”.
It’s time to change the narrative and create a new story.
2022 may provide the opportunity to resolve long-standing communication deficits in your church. Maybe governance or management relationships can be improved, broken systems fixed, lack of income addressed, organisational frustrations overcome, or volunteer shortages met. Despite previous narratives to the contrary, the repetition of destructive issues is not inevitable. Nothing is invincible when God is on our side.
So now is the time to ask ‘How are we speaking to ourselves’ and if we find ourselves recycling an unhealthy narrative or burdening ourselves with unfair limitations, we can best address this by reminding ourselves of how our Heavenly Father chooses to speak to us:
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6
I pray that for 2022, you set and experience a narrative that is ineffective, insurmountable, inconsequential, and insubordinate to God’s purposes for your life and your church.
Now to Him who is able to do so much more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20
It continues to be a privilege for UCAN to support you in your ministry. Alongside our continuing offering of the online forum, local groups, central support, online resources, and events, we would like to particularly highlight the introduction of our Churchworkers.net HR service our Cutting Edge residential conference in June, our distance learning course with Cliff College, Cohort 3 of our ILM Church Management Qualification and our bi-monthly programme of virtual roundtables.
Yours in Christ,
Andy Bagwell
Executive Director, UCAN