My Dad's Dementia as the Model of CGGC Ministry

I love my dad more than I ever have.

Yesterday, I babysat him while my mom was having a stress test.  As a result, the state of his mental health is vividly fresh in my mind.

Dad is experiencing some form of dementia, though not Alzheimer's.

These days, dad lives entirely in the present.  He has no short term memory.  What happens in one moment seem to evaporate from his consciousness almost as soon as it takes place.  Dad also has no conception of the future, even a few minutes hence.  And, I can see how stressful living with him is for my mom, who has virtually full-time care of him, though she loves him deeply.

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Thinking how it felt to be the one caring for him for about two hours yesterday, I am struck with how much being a part of dad's life resembles being a part of the CGGC.

It seems to me that, in the CGGC, we possess the same total orientation to the present moment that is characteristic of my dad's failing brain.

Think, for example, about the response to the same-sex marriage thing.  At the moment that decision was published there was an incredible brouhaha from leadership down in the CGGC about it.

Yet, what are we doing about the ministry challenges--and OPPORTUNITIES--the Supreme Court decision has created?

In the immediate aftermath, some leaders published commentaries.  My Region held a seminar that touched on the issue, as a part of other concerns.

And, now?

Nothing.

Typical.

Life entirely in the present:  A characteristic of ministry dominated by shepherds.

One positive thing I can say about being a part of the CGGC for all these decades is that it has prepared me to observe the decay of my dad's mind.

I desperately love dad and the CGGC.  But, I'm saddened by the dementia that is destroying both.