This is a long blog but well worth the reading i promise.
My wife and i just spent the weekend in Dallas with an old high school buddy of mine and his wife. There are four of us that graduated together in 1973 that have stayed friends for life. We try and meet together for lunch or dinner about once a year. This year we all met in Dallas. My wife Becky, and myself, stayed the night Saturday and then attended church with the my friend we stayed with.They have been members of Prestonwood Church in Plano for around 10 years or so. The weekend was challenging for me because it caused me to put things into perspective in many ways. Here is what I mean…
FAITH
I am Administrative Pastor of a church in Waco with average attendance of 1500. We have 200k square feet of buildings on 9 acres that runs 2 blocks long. Our annual budget is just under $3mil and we employ a staff of 28 plus a full time daycare and full time recreation center. Keep in mind the average size of a Baptist church is 100 people. Prestonwood has 13k people each week, has a budget of $30mil with 600 hundred employees, a full time school, full time sports fields and a facility the size of most big city convention centers. The Sunday we attended the service hosted a 400 student youth choir.
Putting it all in perspective was challenging to say the least. I was reminded that both churches are doing the same ministry, both reaching out to our communities, and doing the Lord’s work. The level and scale of things are just different!
LIFE
My friends home is a 6 bedroom, 5 bathroom home, with a pool, hot tub, three car garage, sitting room, covered patio with fireplace and furniture , the whole place decked out to the max. We stayed in the suite upstairs with our own whirlpool tub and balcony. It was hard at first to get comfortable and I found myself comparing it to what we have. When we got home it was like going to a parade of homes tour and then coming home and trying to redecorate your own home to match. My friend and his wife were so down to earth and welcoming and that made it so much better for us.
During the weekend as i looked around the dinner table and the group of friends and their spouses, I realized that each one lived at a different level and still we were all great friends and that material things did not really matter.
HEALTH
My perspective on life many times is “why am i struggling Lord? Why can’t i get ahead?” One of the friends that meets with us each year I have been best friends with since high school. She has always been energetic, talkative, and full of life! A few years back she had a brain aneurysm and went into a coma for weeks. Long story short she came out of it alive but is on a walker, can’t speak very well, and needs constant help. That will put things into perspective for you really quick.
In church administration we have to keep things in perspective. Operate out of what is real and relevant to your situation.
Keep in mind…
There are churches of 50 people, 500 people, and 5000 people.
There are people that make $20k a year and people that make $200k a year.
There are 1 bedroom homes, 3 bedroom homes, and 10 bedrooms home.
Put it all into perspective!
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