The question on the table was, “How do we hold it together to keep it from falling apart and still let it grow?” I am learning about plants and gardening. I recently transplanted a houseplant from a small container to a larger one and it is not doing well. In my effort to let it grow, I’m learning that it was perfectly happy being held together in its original pot. Some things like predictable and defined spaces.
There is a flowering plant in the front yard that my husband said was getting “leggy”. Cut it back, he suggested. I was hesitant. Those legs had flowers on them, green leaves and dots of color. Should I cut off what looked to be living? I learned that cutting it back gave it the strength and room it needed to grow. Some things like to pare down to the essentials in order to flourish.
The question on the table, “How do we hold it together to keep it from falling apart and still let it grow” had nothing to do with plants, however. The question was posed by a group of clergy sitting around a table at clergy conference and talking about leading congregations. It is the pondering of every clergy I know when it comes to congregational life and the continued health of our church.
It is a tough job, no doubt. Our society is more and more less inclined to go to church and so the pressure to attract others is strong. The financial position of many is tenuous and yet the church depends on the finances of others. The big picture of congregational life and growth is often situated with a few, yet the changes that occur impact many. Despite genuine efforts, it is difficult to take a group of 50, 100, 150, 200 people and ensure that each person is happy, satisfied, in agreement and on the same page. The church is our sanctuary from the world, it needs to a place of refuge. The church is the prophetic voice of the world, it needs to be a place of demonstrating change. There is always that tension between holding it together and letting it grow – with plants and with parishes.
After some wrestling, the answer the wisdom at the table came up with was obvious, yet not easy – the answer is to hold it, but hold it lightly. When we grasp too tightly, the Spirit finds a hard time getting in and moving about. When we are reckless and let it all go, the Spirit has nothing much to work with. So hold it, but hold it lightly.
I’ve taken this wisdom with me into many areas of life. In difficult situations that involve many, I hold it lightly, lest I try to manipulate the outcome I’m hoping for. In unknown situations that make me uneasy, I hold it lightly, lest I mistake the mind of God with my own mind. In tense situations where not everyone is pleased, I hold it lightly lest I let my impulse to please cloud the important and sometimes uncomfortable work of transformation.
Perhaps the wisdom of holding it lightly applies to places in your own life. If so, I invite you to put your hands out and be gentle. Hold it together and let it grow, whatever it may be.
Lori
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