The 80%

Benjamin Franklin wrote in his Poor Richard's Almanac: "There are three Things extremely hard, Steel, a Diamond, and to know one's self."

The quest to “know one’s self” is almost as old as humanity. It was a maxim of Plato’s and philosophers before and since have struggled with the pursuit.

In our context here we frame things a bit differently and seek to know ourselves in relationship to God, to know ourselves as the people God has called and claimed us to be. To do so requires honest introspection, exploration of our innermost feelings, attitudes, and postures with integrity knowing always that what we find, God already knows—and God seeks relationship with us in spite of all that we might not wish to disclose or uncover.

Yet, we know that any relationship requires honesty – and our relationship with ourselves requires more than most.

On October 23^rd of this year, the folks gathered for worship on that Sunday, participated in a detailed survey of US Congregations which are growing. The purpose of the survey was to examine the worship life of those churches and then to evaluate strengths, connections, and spiritual growth. The survey, and its interpretation, will be the focus of our Annual Meeting on February and we’ll do the Richard Dawson imitation of “Survey says!” hopefully with emphasis on “Family” and not “Feud!”

Yet, to provide a glimpse, there were a few interesting trends relative to our strengths:

There were two general areas in which we were consistently in the lower percentiles, meaning that among other congregations of our size, more rated themselves higher than we did. Those areas are Spiritual Growth and Feeling Connected. I wasn’t surprised that these areas are not among our self-perceived strengths, but I was, actually taken aback at how low we rated ourselves. Although folks had very positive ratings of the worship service itself, their own sense of growing spiritually – in all aspects of their lives – was somewhat meager.

The second area, of feeling connected, is also a challenge and one that warrants focus. Creating stronger connections for a downtown church where most of you travel some distance to get here, where few of you live near each other, and where no one lives within a few blocks of the church, requires intentional effort and is obviously going to be a continued priority.

The second trend indicated that there were, as well, a number of areas in which we rated ourselves very, if not extremely, high: Our care and nurture of young people, our focus on the community, the ways in which we welcome, our path to empowering leadership, and our look to the future!

We rated in the 94^th percentile on that last one – apparently we are an optimistic and enthusiastic bunch! The statement in that group that garnered the highest response rate, nearly 80%, was this: “I feel the congregation is always ready to try something new.” Well folks, today’s the day to test that out!

Many of us feel pulled and tugged in myriad ways and spend some percentage of our lives feeling distracted and even confused.  We could lament over the impact of technology and the speed at which our lives are lived, but suffice to say that it’s just hard to keep up, get ahead, or even sense that we have the time to savor the lovelier moments of our existence. I believe all of that is related to our perceived lack of spiritual growth – there’s simply no app for that!

I invite you, for the next 10 or 15 minutes, to get up and wander. There are designated areas of the sanctuary at which you can explore, you can contemplate, you can “know one’s self.” At one, you’re invited to light a candle as you pray for someone or someplace in need – perhaps even yourself. At another, you’re invited to reflect on ways in which you’ve turned from God, or haven’t lived into God’s potential and fullness. In the front of the sanctuary is a Communion Table covered with cloth on which to note a relationship in need of reconciliation, and here too, you’ll find the font, a place to dip your hands into the water of renewal and to remember God’s claim on your life.

As we do, a pastor and an elder will also be standing near the front for any who wish to pray.

This is something new – so at least 80% of you should be excited by the prospect of trying it! It’s also a way of knowing one’s self – an extremely hard task that 100% of us should pursue.

Friends – in the company of those with whom God has placed us for this segment of our journey – may we continue our quest to know ourselves as the people of God.