Warning: This blog post contains an extended metaphor
Two years ago we put a wood burning insert in our living room fireplace. One of the many satisfying experiences with this is putting on new logs (and maybe some newspaper) in the morning and having them catch fire from the heat still held in the coals from the previous evening.
There have been times in the last couple years when congregational life has felt like tending the coals, waiting for the morning to arrive when new fuel meets conserved heat and flares up for the new day.
I’m not exactly...