One day last February, deacon chair Paul Thorp and I wandered through the lower level of BG’s Worship Center. He showed me how the building had been expanded since opening in 1956. But we were more focused on the future. How should this facility minister to people in the coming years?
Between us, Paul and I had about fifty ideas for what BG’s building could do. His ideas were the better ones. He had been ciphering on this question for a long time. He had thought of ways to open up more room for fellowship, even creating indoor-outdoor space next to the church. He had ideas to improve the kitchen, the north room, and the fellowship hall.
After an hour, we both saw the Worship Center differently. Instead of focusing on its limitations, we saw its possibilities.
That is how good changes begin: two people see the opportunities God has already placed in their hands. It’s tempting to believe that we won’t have any opportunities until God provides more resources. But God calls us to be active stewards of what we have right now. Like Jesus’s parable of the talents (Matthew 25.14-30), God gives more resources to some, less to others. But the call to take action as stewards is the same for all.
Paul recruited a team to investigate and make plans. Cynthia Cuykendall agreed to chair the group, creating focused, active agendas for each meeting. Dan Walker and Dean Shea brought formidable technical knowledge to the process. Sue Eggleston contributed a customer service perspective, emphasizing open spaces and clean designs. Heidi King looked for possibilities to gain more flexibility in spaces for children. Heather Soyring investigated the details of fellowship and food prep spaces.
These leaders did the hard work of filtering the best ideas from merely good ones. They prioritized ideas that should be done first—the painful decision to put a beautiful and necessary concept on the back burner. They also worked through disagreements. I am grateful to them for taking on this responsibility.
Here’s the important thing.
Almost none of the ideas Paul and I had that day in February made it into phase 1 of the renovation. That is fine with us. In fact, no one on the team got their favorite ideas in this phase. The crucial change is not to push our favorite ideas, but to show other people the vast array of possibilities.
We are all delighted with the way phase 1 has turned out. For the other possibilities, there’s always phase 2.