Making the Most of Mistakes
Stuart Briscoe
Failure is the path to success, but only if we learn from mistakes and press on.
— Stuart Briscoe
Before I came to Elmbrook Church, a good friend said he didn't think I would last twelve months (I had no previous experience as a pastor, and I was new to America). To survive, he said, I had to avoid two things: a building program and a constitutional revision.
The first week after I assumed pastoral responsibilities, the deacons reported that the constitution was outdated and needed a revision; they had waited for my arrival to begin the process.
Bearing in mind my friend's "prophecy," I stalled for twelve months, but then we got into it. After several committee meetings without incident, one night, at a congregational meeting, I went through a cheese grater.
We were discussing the mode of baptism when some disagreements surfaced. The meeting quickly turned into a debate between me and one person after another who jumped up in the congregation. At first they addressed the issue, but as tempers frayed, they began to attack me. Someone suggested, "If you don't like it in America, it might be a good idea if you went back to England."
My wife, Jill, felt people were beating up on me, so she stood to speak in my defense. But before she could finish a sentence, she burst into tears and ran from the auditorium. A half dozen others walked out of the meeting. It was quite unpleasant.
That night I drove home with a deep sense of failure and disbelief. I had done what they asked: suggested ways to bring the constitution in line with our actual church practice. But the result had been open conflict and anger. I had gone into the meeting with somewhat naive assumptions, and when tempers began to flare, I didn't manage the conflict well.
I had ...
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