Administrivia

When I post, I try to keep Matthew 7:3-6 and Luke 6:41-43 in mind. It’s not your life I should be examining, but my own.

Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. (Matthew 7:5 KJV)

That’s why most of what I write is nothing more than Bible verses and how I look at them. What you see in them may be different – I’m certain that God’s plan for your life is different from what mine is. You may not enjoy being responsible for administrative services in your church. But I’m having a wonderful time.

We had our first AWANA and Children of the King meeting for the 2008/2009 school year earlier this month. There were so many of the children that I had not seen since last year. Pastor’s Wife got me off to a great start on preparing the nachos for the group. That was our introductory treat. Now we’ve gone back to cookies and juice. We’ll have some special treats along, too.

Each child is to bring a sheet with their personal information filled in. Since many of the children come by bus and their parents are not at the church, we need that information. Last spring there was a tornado warning in our area. In such an emergency, parental contact is so very important. Fortunately, it was not necessary that evening.

It did, however, challenge me to see that this year our information is more complete, earlier than before. This is not endearing me to several people. But ‘administrivia’ is something I do quite well. For example, out of the 74 children attending that first week, only 48 sheets were turned in. Of those, a majority had both address and phone number – but only a slim majority!

Each year some children move away, and new ones come in. The ones that leave carry a bit of us with them, along with our prayers for safety. For some we are seriously concerned. Would you join with us this week in praying for these children entrusted into our care for such a little while?

Compiling a brochure, building a church membership list and publishing a directory, tracking attendance – these keep me busy at church, too. I hope you have as much interest and pleasure in your church as I do. As I say my prayers, as my reader you will be included, for I will pray for you unto the LORD. (1 Samuel 7:5b KJV)