A Little Latin Leakage
At the end of January, our church went through its yearly ritual of the Annual Church Membership Meeting. The design is something like the State of the Union address with reports on the past year’s financials, membership, and new challenges we face in the new current year. A major component is the election of officers to serve for the current year and the attrition of the membership. We hope our reports do not include attrition but sadly, with contributing factors, we report more attrition than addition. The word attrition has an interesting etymology. Without breaking down each nuance of meaning, the word comes from the Latin attritio which means “hardship, tribulation.” Today’s broadened interpretation means the “gradual wearing down” of an organization’s ranks through death, retirement, or resignation. I also found it interesting that the word refers to wearing down with a result of becoming weaker and less effective.
These sentences are so depressing that using the word in a Christian context seems highly inappropriate. Yet the word arose in a spiritual context related to repentance. What makes this last church meeting so much different is that it did not have an air of depression. Attrition can occupy our minds so much that we feel we are beating our heads against a brick wall. I reaffirmed my own teachings that leaving everything in God’s hands puts us spiritually where we should be. There are other satisfying parts of ministry such as the closeness of our group which makes Berean feel like home.
I cannot begin to tell you the numbers of thoughts that run through my head on this subject. I have learned that friends I was not sure of were friends all along. There are times I thought certain people were trying to undermine the ministry because of disagreements. I have learned that disagreement is not always in the same category as disrespect. If I were a typical independent Baptist pastor, I would necessarily interpret it that way. Disagreement is potential disaster and thus there is only one tolerable opinion in the church. I have always wanted to heed Peter’s advice and not make myself the Lord of the church. I have responsibility to be doctrinally sound, so I am not talking about compromising scripture. The hard part is discovering the times when members lack enough respect or confidence in the pastor, though seasoned as he may be, that he has ability to interpret scripture. The disappointment is watching people you love go astray and refuse godly counsel.
Bulletin articles may start out with one intent and end differently than expected. I rarely have an article thought out from beginning to end. I may wander a bit, but things I am most thankful for are that our sovereign God knows our heart and will complete the excellent work He began in us (Philippians 1:6). Scattered on my desk are an open Bible, materials for our afternoon class, and a list of tasks completed for the week. This is the last one, so it ends up catching all those loose thoughts that run through my brain. I do not always promise to be coherent. Read for what parts you understand and bless you. Leave the rest and someday you will figure out what attrition does to the pastor’s heart.
Pastor V. Mark Smith