"Good Problems to Have"

When growth occurs in a person's life that is usually considered to be a good thing. When a person's mind and heart grows through education or experience, that is good. When a person's muscles grow through exercise and training, that is good. When a family grows through the birth or adoption of a child, that is good. When a business grows through new clients and opportunities, that is good. When a local church grows through the increase of people involved in giving and receiving ministry, that is good. And when this growth occurs, as good as it may be, new obstacles and challenges are introduced. Most people refer to these obstacles and challenges as "good problems to have," because such things reflect positive changes taking place in the life of a person, family, business, or church.

At Emmanuel BC, these are days of growth, which is good, and which means we are facing new challenges and obstacles; in other words, the problems we have are "good problems to have." I prefer to look at these challenges, obstacles, and "good problems" as opportunities. For us, they include a need for more ministerial staff, a renovation/expansion of our current facilties, a more effective and efficient way of ministering to the people already here and assimilating the people who are coming here.

On one hand, it would be great if there really was a such thing as an "Easy Button." I could press the button and we would staffed with the right people in the right places instantly. Then, I would press the button again and our facilities would instantly be adequate for our growing congregation. But, that will not happen. God loves us too much to short circuit a process by which we will learn and grow, so we have to face these opportunities as they are presented to us. Failure to do so would lead to our "good problems" becoming real problems, and we don't want that to happen.

So, we move ahead. We press on. We pray. We talk. We work. We plan. We pray. (I know I already said that!) And all the while we view thank God for the good problems we have, and we seek to address such problems in a way that will facilitate further growth, which I know will mean more challenges and obstacles, but that will be good!