I’m sure you’ve read about this by now.
An elderly parishioner was upset at the moisture damage on a 19th century fresco in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church near Zaragoza, so without any kind of approval, this well-intentioned 80-year old woman proceeded to scrape away some of the paint, leaving marks on the painting.
What did she do next?
I’m sure you can see by the photos above what she did.
“… she took out a paintbrush and replaced the strokes of artist Elias Garcia Martinez with her own …”
Yikes!
Can you imagine how this women must have felt?
Serving in the Church
How often does this kind of stuff happen in the Church?
Untrained “sound technicians”, inexperienced “web developers” and unseasoned “painters”?
This not only illustrates the importance of making sure those who are serving in particular areas of the Church know what they’re doing, but it should also be a reminder for us to consider whether or not we know what we’re doing. There’s no shame in hiring someone or finding a solid third-party solution. It may seem like it costs more, but in the end, you’ll be saving time, energy and maybe even a 19th century fresco.
For those of you that are not currently serving in your local Body, think about what you’re good at and what you know, and start there!
I am well versed in audio production and it was at least three years before I started serving in the A/V ministry. What’s even worse than that, I didn’t consider it until I was asked.
Shame on me.
How about you?
[via New York Post]
Curtis says
I agree that getting appropriately skilled help, whether paid or volunteer, can save a church many headaches. At the same time, avoiding headaches is not the number one goal of a church. The number one goal is to provide a place for worship for all, and ministering to the needs of the community. Expecting that everyone have A-1 credentials before they can participate in the life of the church does not lead to a participatory community of worship and service.
Perhaps a church can do both. Hire a professional decorator to design the sanctuary, but providing a space in another room where parishioners can contribute their own idea of art and beauty can be even more heartwarming and community-building, even if it never wins any design awards. Similarly, the church staff may feel a need for a professionally-developed website to communicate their vision of the church, but a church could have a separate community-driven website, built by amateur volunteers with a passion for ministry, and open to contributions from the entire community, not only contributions that have passed the “communications specialists” criteria.
Professional and amateur contributions do not have to be mutually exclusive if they are both provided their appropriate context and structure. Allowing each member to contribute as the Spirit moves them provides for a much more rich and participatory church culture than telling everyone “do not touch unless you are professionally certified”. Do we require auditions before people are allowed to sing in worship? Then why to we restrict so many other aspects of church life to “professionals only”.
Worship and community are often messy things. While we seek professional consultation when appropriate, we need to make sure we leave room for the real church, with all of its messiness.
Eric Dye says
Agreed, however, the individuals who are contributing DO need to have a sense of what they’re doing. Either they’ve trained themselves or have some idea as to what is needed to be done to fulfill the task. That’s the real takeaway. Make sure you have some sort of clue what you’re doing, not turning and twisting nobs that you have no clue what they do, nor care enough to take 15-min to Google or ask someone who knows. Most things a church is pursuing can be learned relatively easy if people are interested. Are church buildings usually built by professionals or amateurs? For the most part I’ve seen a mix, but never amateurs only.
Curtis says
I agree. There needs to be some kind of “firewall” around the work that amateurs do, to limit potential problems. But that is different than saying amateurs should never touch anything at church.
Eric Dye says
Agreed. You have to start somewhere, and considering our worldview on discipleship, there’s no better place to foster experience.