“Joy is the business of Heaven.” –C. S. Lewis
What started me thinking of this was a line from former FBI director James Comey’s book A Higher Loyalty.
“Although I have had a different idea of ‘fun’ than most, there were some parts of the Justice Department that had become black holes, where joy went to die.”
Sound familiar, pastor?
“Where joy goes to die.” A fit description for a place–a business, a family, a team, a congregation–characterized by low morale, battle fatigue and discouragement.
I’ve worked in places like that. I’ve pastored a church or two like that. And I’ve known several such congregations.
God help your church.
Comey says,“The more stressful the job, the more intentional I’ve always been about helping my team members find joy in our work. Laughter is the outward manifestation of joy, so I believe if I’m doing it right and helping people connect to the meaning and joy in their work, there will be laughter in the workplace.”
This blog is about churches and church leaders, not governmental offices or bureaucracies. So, let’s think of those churches where joy goes to die…