I am an introvert. It can sometimes be difficult for me to find my way around large groups or crowds, especially when I don’t know people, or when the group of people I am trying to connect with has a “close/tied” relationship with one another. While over the years I have acquired different relational tools to help me navigate this aspect of who I am, it can sometimes still be a challenge. When I started serving as a District Superintendent, I set a goal of visiting all the congregations in my district in 2 years. During these visits, I wanted to worship with the congregations and get to know their leaders, but I also wanted to learn about their hospitality practices. Sadly, on several occasions, my experience as a visitor (sometimes as a “special guest”) was not very good. On one visit, I managed to enter and exit the worship service without anyone noticing/acknowledging my presence. In all these instances, I observed congregants being nice to one another and relating well to each oth
R ead: Nehemiah 1:1-11 | In my time as a pastor, a leader, and now as a District Superintendent in the United Methodist Church, I have come to group people and leaders into two basic categories: The Talkers and The Doers . The Talkers are those who have an opinion about everything – yet we seldom see them in action. They criticize everything and everyone. They always have a better idea or way of getting things done. In their “talking” they feel they are solving all the problems in the world. These days, social media has given the talkers a platform to go viral (I sometimes don’t want to check my Facebook, simply to avoid them.) Talkers say things like: - What our church [denomination] needs is … - I can’t believe our government officials. If I were there, I would… - Our schools are really in bad shape, someone ought to do something about it Have you met a talker? I think we all have, right? Gripers, complainers, and self-proclaimed proph