A United Methodist Pastor's Theological Reflections

"But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory (nikos) through our Lord Jesus Christ." - I Corinthians 15:57


Monday, May 6, 2013

First UMC Staff Retreat - Being a Relay Team for Christ & the Church


[Picture of our staff team: Pastor Cheryl is holding the relay race baton because we discoverd that she is our fastest runner! From left to right: Pastor Robert, John Coen, Deb Silvia, Sandra Yerian, Pastor Cheryl, Pam George, Peg Parker, Sandy Roberts, & Clarence McCoy.]

Our staff held a planning retreat today at our Crossroads facility. Our focus was on being a great relay team for Christ and the church. A good relay team knows the importance of practice, holding on to the baton, placing your runners in the best position, improving track speed, and handing off the baton smoothly within the exchange zone.

Carrying the relay team theme to church leadership, we thought about how we also need to be disciplined and strategic in our church's ministries. We said how our relay team consists of the staff and the congregation and how the baton is the good news of Jesus Christ that needs to be shared with the people in our church and community.

We spent the first part of our morning discussing the book by church consultant, Bill Easum, Staffing for Effective Churches. Rev. Jim Waugh from our Capitol Area South District office spent the 2nd half of the morning showing us demographic information that can help our church be more effective in reaching out to our community.

After a wonderful lunch provided to us by our Staff/Parish Relations Committee, we brainstormed ways for our church to improve in helping people to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. During the day, our staff had fun participating in two relay races. We also shared in worship together.

We left our retreat with a renewed commitment to help our church run the race that God has given us.

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