Communication

Well as I have already pointed out, I was at a conference this week that focused primarily on communication with others in a spirit of love and joy. I had already been disappointed that I am unable to communicate with my girlfriend as much as I would like, so yesterday I went to a Verizon Wireless store (I tried to find one in Mansfield first thinking it would be easier to find then the one on I-20 but couldn't find it at all, only to find out that the one on I-20 was obsessively easy to find) and had my cellular plan converted into a new "Family Share Plan" and purchased a second phone. I then came home, programmed it with my cell phone's number in speed dial, downloaded a couple of appropriate ring-tones and then boxed it up and mailed it to her. So now we will be able to talk to each other as much as we want, whenever we want and not be tied into calling in certain time blocks or being limited by things like the phone being busy. I greatly look forward to being able to talk to the one I love even more.

In other news, this past week I received a letter from Gail Hallman, who is now ERCC’s Administrative Director now that Jim Cantleberry is having to leave the church, assigning me to clean the church in a specific time-slot, without ever asking me if I was willing or able to serve in this regard

I wrote her an e-mail yesterday to express this concern

Greetings Gail,

I am greatly disturbed by the manner in which this new clean team drafting process is being handled. If you had come to me and said “Nick, the clean team does not have enough people on it, would you consider joining the team” I would have considered it, with my other responsibilities, and I probably would have said yes. But you have not given me that option. We are coming off of a series in church called Simplifying LIFE and one of the main tenants in this series has been that we carefully consider taking on new responsibilities in our lives.

Several separate messages specifically said that we as a people learn to be able to say no and not take on new responsibilities so quickly.

You know from experience that I greatly enjoy helping the church in any way I can, it gives me great joy to know I’ve been of help in some way, but I do not appreciate that when there is a need that it be taken for granted that I will help fill that need, and I’m sure I am not the only one to think this way.

I have always been happy to stay after an event to help straighten up for the next event, but being told that I must appear at the church on a particular date and help because it’s the day I’ve been arbitrarily assigned to without even being asked if I was willing to help in the first place is not right.

I am disturbed in a broader sense that the church has not even limited this draft to the membership of Eden Road but by your own words “among all the regular attenders.” People are being drafted to do a specific task in the church without their consent and they aren’t even sure they want to be members of the church yet?

Because of how much this disturbs me I do not feel that I can easily do this task and maintain a mentality of love throughout it. I have therefore decided to exercise the lesson learned in recent teachings at Eden Road and respectfully say No, I cannot take on this task. I will gladly continue to stay after events and help setup for whatever is coming next if possible for me to do so, but I cannot come to the church at 9 o’clock in the morning on April 17th.

VR
Nicholas Moline