Dear Friends,
In every organisation there are people who are upfront and well known. They receive most of the praise and recognition, the accolades and awards. They speak to media, they go to important meetings, they know everything that is going on and they can make decisions that influence the future of the organisation at any time.
There are also hidden figures who work tirelessly in the background doing time and business critical work without which the whole place would collapse. This is the story of the movie Hidden Figures. It is also the story of every church everywhere.
Hidden Figures is the story of three brilliant mathematicians who worked on NASA’s Space Program in the 1960s. They learnt and taught Fortran, provided parabolic analysis for spacecraft to return to earth and engineered the craft to ensure the safety of the men who were in them. They worked tirelessly in the midst of segregated America in a man’s world. They were women. And they were black. Thus, hidden figures.
The movie tracks their emergence out of the shadows and into the midst of the upfront and well known. It is a feel good movie and recognises the difficulty skilled black women had in the midst of the oppressive and fear-driven world of unapologetically embedded racism. The movie is not 100% accurate but it does make many clear statements including the call to never underestimate or devalue the people who are hidden away in the back offices. Fame is no measure of value.
In our church there are lots of well known people. But there are also many people who are known to those they sit near in church or those in their GG and few others. But fame is no measure of value.
It is dangerous to start listing out the hidden figures in our church but they are everywhere. People who volunteer to cut, fold, sort, file, pick up, drop off, wash, rake, clean, listen, ring, cook and much more. They are unknown to most and rarely seen doing the things they do. But they are busily using their gifts to the Glory of God.
It worries me that so much of what people do now is motivated by recognition. As an example of this, a school principal told me that when they do fundraising they will receive 500% more money if the end result allows for givers names to be on show to everyone. Surely that is an indictment on our culture.
The names Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn and Mary Jackson were hidden to me until this week. The names of those who serve our church in hidden ways are unknown to most. But their value to God as they serve him is immeasurably more than any of us might imagine.
To all our Hidden Figures, thanks!
In Christ
Nigel