On Deck Chairs and Churches

I had a grand conversation this week with a friend, about deck chairs.

Yes, the proverbial ones, the ones that get re-arranged whilst the boat is sinking… and the people that do that.

It’s an amazing thing, with good friends, when you can unpack and parse out multiple meanings and implications of overused adages, in ways that can shed light on possible applications.

With the deck chairs, we talked about how the surface level concept is that some folks end up in activities, that ultimately are useless. So we started pondering the why.

We considered that perhaps some folks rearrange those chairs because they don’t actually realise, or simply can’t acknowledge, the bigger picture of change.

Some do it as it’s all they know how to do, and they can’t imagine any other ways of doing things.

Others may find comfort or solace in the repetitive patterns – even if they realise the futility.

Some chair re-arrangers, despite evidence to the contrary, actually believe that their rearranging behaviours are addressing the root problem.

Perhaps others engage in the activity knowing the inevitable outcome, but with a need to present a calm exterior – for their own benefit, or for the other folks in the chaos.

And then, there’s the folks who are just lounging on said chairs, ignoring (willfully or otherwise) the impending outcome.

That discussion led to some interesting tangents, as we started discussing ideas and experiences that we’ve had, where sometimes we’ve been those people.

And, as people who work with people, we identified that we can so often see other folks in those chair-rearranging activities; and how we do our best to help them find healthier, more productive ways to expend their energy.

The conversation with my friend left me pondering. Our recent times have highlighted the need for change in many of our institutions – churches included. While every congregation and community will have its own contextual experience, the entirety of the church of God is changing – evolving – adapting. Which means that we need to change along with it. Elsewise, sitting in the ‘comfortable pew’ will be akin to lounging on the deck chair.

What great privilege we have, then, to recognise the role and responsibility we have to focus our energy on what matters – the boat – rather than getting stuck thinking about deck chairs. It will take courage, conviction, hard work, and some pain is inevitable; it will take faith, too – but I believe the church is on course to a bright future, where the glory of God is of a much higher priority than the positions of the chairs.