First Baptist Church of Herndon

Just Say It

Linda Soller | May 08, 2023

There are times when we get into our heads too much. We ponder, consider, rethink, and ponder some more. In a show I watch, a young man asks a girl out on a very mundane date. The girl is not impressed.  He says, well it sounded better in my head. It wasn’t until he said it out loud and heard her reaction that he understood her viewpoint.  Sometimes if we keep things rolling around in our heads, they get stuck and bring on anxiety. No one needs more anxiety. This is not to say everything that crosses our mind has to be blurted out. A certain level of judgement comes into play.

Recently our church had a business meeting. We got through the standard list of things to do quickly and turned to the real purpose for our meeting, communication. The pastor and the deacons wanted to know what was on our minds. Like what is working well, and what is not? How can we serve our community better?  I was so proud of our church leadership. It’s not easy to open yourself up to potential criticism, but sometimes you need to open that door to gather new ideas.  We met in random small groups around the room. I was at a table of “talkers”, so our deacon was lucky to get a word in edgewise. In the end he had a couple of lists to take back to the next deacons’ meeting. The meeting was stopped on time for lunch, always a wise move. Conversations had been started and ideas had begun to flow. We left with a positive energy and optimism. It was good to have had a chance to say what we were thinking.

The next time you have an idea, concern, or question let me suggest that you consider it carefully, judge who might be the best person(s) to hear it, and then just say it, nicely. You can’t control their reactions, but sharing is what families do and a church congregation is a family.