Huge expectations
I found myself admiring the pope's integrity in abdicating. His admission that he was not able to lead the world's one billion Roman Catholics was refreshingly and unexpectedly honest. The Vicar of Christ is human with limitations like the rest of us.
Church leadership is not for the faint of heart or spirit in the 21st century.
Significant challenges face Jesus' Church in a rapidly evolving world that seeks quick fixes, the newest gadget or the slickest theory to make church "successful" once again.
Expectations of the new pope are huge. The New York Times says: "somebody who can actually make the church work, not just lay it out in theory and someone who will be the church's missionary in chief, showman and a salesman."
I am asked often how can we fix Jesus' Church: what can we do to be "more?" Usually it centres on having more cultural signs of success: people, money, programs and opportunities. I don't have the magic key to unlock the door of congregational utopia.
Having said that, I do know why I keep doing what I do. I love God and I have experienced that love all through stormy seas and calm waters of my own life. It has a grip on me that will not let me go.
Jesus inspires me both to accept who I am and to become all that he has made me to be. Moreover, I keep doing this because I want others to have a chance to experience and share that same love.
Jim Short can be reached @ladnerunited.org.
