The ache in a good idea

I love the rush of a good idea. Hope rushes in where frustration once drained off energy and failed attempts brought a dull plodding gait.

But the rush of a good idea often gets tempered with the ache of what you have to give up to get to that new place you dream of.

Our new 1pm Sunday service experiment is already looking like it could be that way. We are pumped about the prospects of breaking our growth barrier. But there is also an ache about what we give up. Like that feeling you get when you met the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, and then realize that being a couple, while cool, also requires you to give up some freedoms you enjoyed. I am very proud of my staff for choosing to do this even though it costs them a lot. For example:

1. Room for Sunday afternoon events. The church building will be a little fuller, and some ministries will struggle to find time for their big events.

2. Sunday afternoon lunches with our families. Sunday afternoon events, period. Holidays with family things that happen on Sundays will be challenging.

3. Energy. It's just two more hours, but we will leave weekend services, bone tired. And it will take hours to replenish that supply.

4. Desire to linger. When you have multiple services coming, you sometimes tend to reserve some relational energy, and not work as hard at connecting with people when you can because you might need some energy later for the next service.

5. Office time. Each of us have crushing loads of needed study, prep time, record keeping, follow up calls, and time to organize ourselves. But with two ore hours of service times, some of that office time will re-adjust a bit, leaving us with the possible temptation to stress out more.

Are there others? I'd love to hear your thoughts...