The Grand Opening

Easter Sunday always carries overtones of new hope and fresh starts, and that was surely true the Easter that newly christened Mt. Tam Community Church reinvented itself as a seeker sensitive church. Our little band of about 40 souls had prepared meticulously for the big day, sending out thousands of fliers and turning the high school cafeteria where our church met into as welcoming a space as possible.

On the big day, I was asked to greet people in the parking lot and direct them to open parking places. Frankly, I feared that the lot would remain so barren that my presence would become laughable, but minutes before the service started, dozens of cars began rolling into view. Soon, I was kept hopping with traffic to direct and hands to shake. After this initial rush died down, I slipped into the cafeteria, where I witnessed a crowd 150 strong singing and clapping along with the upbeat worship music.

This gathering felt like a mob in comparison to our usual Sunday attendance, so we all had to admit that Pastor John’s methods had worked as advertised. And though the church didn’t draw 150 people every week, our regular attendance doubled in the wake of the Easter grand opening. Everyone was encouraged by our success and glad to have the “big push” behind us.

Everyone but John, that is. Seemingly unimpressed by the boost in attendance, he was soon laying plans for further growth. Step one was searching for a meeting place that was able to accommodate larger crowds, and before long, John had leased a spacious multipurpose room from an elementary school in Corte Madera. Unfortunately, the school could not provide us with any storage space, so John purchased a large trailer that could hold all the church’s sound equipment, Sunday School supplies, and other materials.

“Loading and unloading that trailer every week will be a lot of work,” I thought, considering the chain of labor from a detached, abstract perspective. “Good thing I’ve got the parking lot gig lined up.”

But shortly thereafter, John began pulling my friend Mike and me aside to make references to our “faithfulness” and “spiritual maturity.” This was an obvious prelude to being asked to perform some distasteful chore, but Mike and I failed to realize this and were soon designated the official “Ministry Team Leaders” of the “Set-up and Take-down Team.”

Despite the evident honor conferred by such responsibilities, I failed to see why these two functions were deemed inseparable. Why not let us take charge of the “Set-up Team” then go grab a donut while the poor slobs on the “Take-down Team” did the rest of the dirty work?

Looking back, I can only guess that the other poor slobs were wise to the “spiritual maturity” bit.