So… I’ve been going to the same church for nearly three years now. Based on the suggestions I get whenever I ask how I can help with the church life, I have come to the conclusion there is a vast difference between the things I have to offer and the things other folk perceive I am capable of.
How I see me:
Qualified & enthusiastic information professional (therefore good at handling information flows)
Breadwinner (so able to budget and manage money)
Super-organised (can do three things at once)
Kind (so generally nice to strangers and lost people)
Good at networking & bringing people together (and therefore facilitating connections)
Hospitable (quite like cooking. Ask me for cake)
Sure of my faith if not convinced of everything (helpful for other waverers?)
Bright and inquisitive (will ask questions)
Friendly (strangers and lost people)
Healthy and fit (can move heavy things)
Conference presenter (able to read out loud)
Writer (could put words in the magazine)
Academic (could edit other people’s words)
How my church sees me:
Can make tea
Quite handy with a duster
sarabatts.co.uk 
Interesting item, particularly as your self-view is mainly one of what you ARE, but the view of those in the church is mainly in terms of what you DO (or can do!) Is that a significant observation?
It’s a good point and I have edited it to reflect how what I am feeds into the things I *could* do, other than make tea or dust things…
A good point well made. I had a student on one of my preaching courses who had laboured hard and long over her sermon – putting in many hours of preparation. When the great day came to preach it, what was the incisive comment she got from a member of her congregation?
“I don’t like what you’ve done with your hair”
Lost for words…
Lawks. How utterly demoralising that must have been!
I like you list 🙂
I could probably come up with a long list, too, but at the moment I’m not even willing to offer my gifts/services to my church cos they wouldn’t want them…
[…] the Blogging world, Sara Batts looks how she see’s herself verses how people see her in church, while in the week that England drop out of a world cup before it even begins Jon Butler looks at […]
Another very late comment! I can really identify with this. It was one of the reasons I left my last church. And i think it’s a problem that many women struggle with in church life.
It’s good to find your blog, by the way. I’ve been on a mission to find more blogs written by Christian women this week and have found some good ones 🙂
Thanks for your comment, Hannah – glad to have been able to help this week!
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