Sunday, I spoke about the need to name our own demons, both personally and as a church. We have a tendency to become so comfortable with the way things are that we don’t recognize that there is a problem with the church. We just show up and things keep going the same old way. I asked the question if having a huge swathe of empty pews bothered you. And what are you going to do about it as an individual. We expect others to step up and solve our problems and our only contribution is to complain about the way “they” are fixing it. We have a lot of reasons why we can’t get involved but when you get right down to it, most of them are excuses. For example, there was a woman who during a stewardship campaign said she couldn’t commit to praying for the church on a daily basis because she didn’t think she could remember to pray for the church every, single day. I told her God would forgive her if she missed a day or two during the year but praying for the church is something that everyone can do even if you are homebound.

I personally have a tendency to overschedule my life and so I have taken some concrete steps to stop. I have decided to step down as the Chair for the board of the Arkansas Methodist Museum, for instance. There might be a demon in your life that you need to overcome. Naming them is the first step. Praying about them and then doing something about them will help you overcome them. God will be with you every step of the way.

Blessings,

Rev. Candace