Business as Usual?

Earlier today, I ventured over to the Episcopal News Service website. I go there every few weeks to see if anything much has happened in the Church since my last peek. I read a few articles. The one that caught my attention was the summary of the "goings on" at the recently concluded Executive Committee meeting (this is the body of lay folks, clergy and bishops who manage various aspects of Church life in between General Conventions).

As I read the summary of the multi-day meeting, I will admit that most of the content was a bit foreign to me. Lots of accounting verbiage. Lots of policy, procedure and resolutions. Lots of management stuff. Not much of anything about mission or ministry.

For all of our studying, debating, report writing, counter report writing, and whatever else is going on in the Episcopal Church, one thing is clear to me --we are more comfortable with word-smithing resolutions than engaging, in real time, the work such resolutions might actually entail.

I continue to pray we won't confuse gobs of meetings with actually proclaiming the Gospel (in word and deed), but I also recognize that keeping ourselves busy with meetings prevents us from facing squarely into the resurrecting power of God.