Which is better -- Stop until I say, "Go," or Go until I say, "Stop"?
Interestingly, negative directions can give more freedom. So sessions and boards to pastors and directors, if these your staff are standing still waiting for your permission on an idea or instruction on what to do, good luck. However, if you sessions and boards say to your pastors and directors, "All we ask is that you do nothing inconsistent with our purpose or immoral or illegal," you have said what not to do (the negative) and given them permission to "get going." Life and ministry is open before you. Be creative.
Of course, pastors can say this to their boards or sessions. It isn't just a one way street. And pastors and boards or sessions can say this to members. It's called permission giving by saying not what to do but by saying what not to do. Go for it.
I have been going to Cocoa Presbyterian Church for almost 10 years now and have seen changes come and go. I am now visiting up in NC and got the chance to go to an Baptist Country church, which average age is probably 65 if not younger and they had a program that included even the youngest person in the congretation. The children didn't leave the service and yes it was a little noisey but that was okay. They actually had a large group of teenagers there. I love seeing the younger children there and that they weren't stuck on doing the same thing all the time. The bullentin only had prayers request and what was going on this week, the services of what going on during the noon servicers wasn't in the bullentin so you had to pay attention. I was raised southern baptist and thought the type of service was gone, but it isn't. The CPC need to think out of the block instead of not whating chances
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