Churches, Porta Potties, and Toilet Paper
I think churches should care more about toilet paper and porta potties.
My work career gave me experience on these matters and provided numerous life lessons. I learned managers should be supervised differently, everyone can contribute something, and volunteers perform best when tasks match both desires and abilities. Similarities to church management, volunteer/service systems, and tithing can be seen, but what’s the deal with toilet paper?
Believers and unbelievers alike use restrooms within churches. All need to be considered when building facilities and purchasing supplies.
As an executive at one non-profit, my role during the annual 5-mile walk fundraiser entailed serving on the crisis team. Specifically, I would listen to anyone who voiced such critical concern that reputational harm might ensue. And yet, once walkers left our sight, I reached for toilet paper and refilled porta potties.
We all know what it’s like to encounter lack of resources when urgently needed. Friends to provide a spare square can’t fit inside porta potties. Not only could I relate to potential discomfort, but I believed a sure way to create a high attrition rate for walkers rested inside these port-a-potties. I could handle and enjoyed both jobs. Crisis management required executive skill; toilet paper duty-not so much.
Churches can learn which roles members desire by providing multi-level engagement mechanisms. Passive systems providing avenues for feedback, alongside active recruitment, not only allows opportunity to discover hidden skill alongside overt talent but enables innovation for unimagined service avenues. It’s easy to place people in roles based on position, yet long-term success rests on each person serving in areas needed, wanted, and perhaps not considered.
We might also consider establishing passive and active platforms to discover truths pertaining to worship styles, music choices, or communication platforms, to mention a few areas. We don’t want to devalue any segment of our family by not listening to everyone.
We attend church not to be blinded by stage lights but illuminated by God’s truth. Not to be deafened by music but silenced by God’s Word. Not to be comfortable in padded pews but nudged by the Holy Spirit.
While on self-appointed potty duty at one of these big events, I saw a volunteer I knew. He came to participate, using a wheelchair, specifically suited for distance. He asked if we set up an accessible porta potty.
“It’s ok if you don’t have one. I wore diapers just in case you didn’t think of me.”
He represents everyone entering the doors of the church… The ones who don’t know if the church is prepared to meet their seen or unseen needs. They don’t know what to expect, how they might fit in, or if anyone will notice their presence. However, they anticipate that basic needs will be met in order to fully participate.
We are all the same and need accommodation. We all search for place. We want to be seen and heard and expect it within the church. And when people attend church, they expect to see and hear God.
God is always watching and listening. Are we?
