Wednesday we worked at the Star of Hope and then ate there with them. It was a great experience, I just wish it would have been longer. Well, yes, the Spirit of God we hope. A church can be driven by programs or buildings. Personalities or events of the calender can drive the church.
Finances can certainly drive it, and so can tradition.
The most effective and fulfilled people and institutions are driven not by things like these but by their true purposes. I have been quite encouraged, working with vestry and other leaders to find effective ways to structure parish life. Our aim is to be a church driven by key biblical purposes, so the model is called The Purpose Driven Church. The elements of the model are outlined in a book of the same name by Rick Warren, Pastor of Saddleback Church in southern Orange County, California. As we absorb the material of the New Testament, the lens rotates and the purposes of the church come into focus.