But They Get Mad!

I was recently teaching a class of persons in training and formation to become ordained priests who will serve small congregations. We were having a lively discussion about change and how difficult it is to lead it, especially in congregations that have spent most of their years managing and maintaining the way they have always done things. The subject of life cycles and death of ministries came up. In the course of the conversation one of the students cited a recent conversation in his congregation about a ministry that has exhibited all signs of death: little to no attendance; lack of energy; no one willing to lead and a general malaise and not knowing what to do about it. Yet when the subject was broached about allowing the ministry to die, a cry arose and they got mad about the very idea of shutting it down. He said that emotional reaction ended the conversation. The ministry limps on.

People predictably will grieve and get angry about the death of a ministry in which they have invested their time, energy and resources. Ministries that have outlived their usefulness are often such a part of the life of a congregation that the people involved do not want to let it go, even if it has totally lost its usefulness. Memories of a once fruitful ministry often become more valuable then the current reality. Helping people assess the vitality of ministries and helping them let go of ones that sap the church of its finite energy are hard work.

It is a leader's responsibility to guide a group in letting go.

This takes leadership skill. I have witnessed leaders who have arbitrarily and unilaterally shut down ministries and seen the resulting fall out. This is not skilled leadership. Bringing people into the reality through assessment, listening, discussion and necessary decisions will help move people forward. Life and death of everything is a spiritual journey. "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven..." Ecclesiastes 3:1.

It is critically important for leaders in the church to understand that they are the ones to help others in their spiritual journeys. Life in Christian community is about movement. It is about witness in the world. It is about fruitfulness for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

So the next time 'they get mad' when it comes to change in the church, step back, say your prayers for wisdom, discernment and a listening ear. Then be prepared to walk beside and a little in front of these persons on their journey. Know as a missionary leader you play a critical role in persons' spiritual growth and understanding that ministries are meant to be life giving, not life taking. Avoid the temptation to be a museum curator for memories of ministries that have long outlived their purpose. Instead, keep your sights on ministries that contribute to and renew the spirit. For it is there that the Holy Spirit is at work.

Be willing to say last rites over dead ministries and celebrate the birth of vibrant new ones. Only then can the church be renewed.

Church Has Left the Building

I just got back from a great conversation with a priest who has a tremendous capacity to think outside the box when it comes to being creative with his congregation. He has fostered a culture of creativity for the 12+ years he has been there. He shook this staid congregation when he first arrived and persons uncomfortable with spontaneity and creativity left for places of greater predictability.

This priest has shaped a culture at this church to expect the unexpected. To anticipate that God will bless the unusual. To be ready to work hard, have fun and be faithful and creative in the process.

He has worked at identifying persons who have gifts and strengths in different areas and put them to work in appropriate ways to support these efforts. This has generated a level of empowerment, enthusiam and anticipation that has undergirded the great outreach they have undertaken.

One of the imaginative things they did as a congregation this year was "Church Has Left the Building". A large team of persons organized the event and lined up a variety of activities from which the membership could participate on a Sunday morning in lieu of going to church. Everything from working in soup kitchens, repairing homes, cleaning out elderly residences, to addressing invitations for a cancer center's benefit were undertaken on that day with three fourths of the attendance involved in some act of love and service. There were appropriate activities for every age group from three year olds to the oldest members who were not mobile. When it was all said and done 235 members had participated. The results were amazing and the fruit of these acts of love in the name of Jesus has multiplied, not to mention what it did for the spirits of the persons involved. They have now asked the question, "What's next?"

I raise this example to demonstrate how important it is to get outside of our routines, to allow for inspiration and trust that God will bless this kind of creativity. Our natural inclination as congregations is to look internally, to think that Church is inside the building. But the reality is that for the Church to be healthy and responsive to a world that doesn't know God, the Church has to get on the road.

Activities of this nature are never easy. Often leaders have to battle the resistance of congregational members who are fearful of creativity. But this is about faithfulness, being willing to risk for the sake of sharing Christ's love. We will never know what fruit will be born until we are willing to take these risks.

When was the last time your congregation left the building, set about to take the church on the road? What creative idea has God placed on your heart that needs to be explored?

Step out. See what happens. The results may truly amaze and bless you and all that are involved.

Let's get out for a road trip!

Sharing Faith Stories

NO excuses for not having written this blog since the first week of October. However, I have been in three other dioceses working with clergy, bishops and laity on congregational development and then back home to oversee our own clergy conference. (What's that about no excuses?) There seem to be common themes amongst all of these circles. One is the undercurrent of a sense of urgency about the need for change in our churches. It feels like there is a sense of anxiety about what that means. People are talking about needed change but many can't define what exactly needs change. The other themes I am hearing are 'doing more with less' and the challenge of 'what to do with empty buildings'. But there is a common theme I am also hearing and that is 'sharing our faith stories'. All of a sudden lots of folks are asking how to help others articulate their faith.

I find the first three themes to be predictable at a time the statistics tell us that attendance numbers are slowly decreasing, we have aging congregations and we have an abundance of property. But the fourth, concerning sharing our faith as individuals, is, indeed, very hopeful.

I frankly don't care what has caused the tidal wave of interest in this topic, I am just glad it is being talked about. I have been an Episcopalian all my life and I remember the stigma attached to talking about one's personal relationship with God in Christ. I have heard numerous people say that they ran away from other denominations that emphasized this activity and were so glad that the ability or williness to share one's faith didn't seem to be important or 'required' as Episcopalians. This comment was often followed with a seeming sigh of relief. A defining description has often been that 'Episcopalians live out the faith not talk about it.'

There is so much our church has to offer, especially to persons who appreciate the opportunity to ask questions and not be judged for doubting. Perhaps it has been this culture of acceptance that has inhibited the certitude of faith sharing. But there comes a point when our inability to be open about our spiritual lives diminishes us. I find that bonds of friendship and community grow dramatically when individuals and communities articulate the power of God in our lives. So many of us have experienced blessing, transformation, reconciliation even the miraculous because of our faith. These are stories of hope and power. These are stories that should be shared, dare I say, must be shared to those who do not know God.

It will be messy and perhaps uncomfortable to take on new practices of sharing our faith stories as Episcopalians. I am convinced we will all be the better for it. I think it has something to do with what Jesus asked of us..... Let's encourage these new ways of living together as believers. I can't wait to hear the stories of my fellow Episcopalians who will hopefullly grow in their ability to tell them!

Authentic

There is lots of buzz around the church about what the "emerging church" looks like. So often in conversation it is held up as the model for the future, even though people, especially clergy, aren't quite sure what it looks like. However, there are some descriptors that are often used to visualize it including the words 'relational', 'informal', 'intimate', 'liturgical', and 'culturally relevant'. And above all else it is described as 'authentic'.

What in the world does that mean? I recently heard a young adult say he "hates religion but loves Jesus". Now that gets to the root of the challenge.

There is a movement around the American church to do away with the word 'Christianity' and replace it with 'Christ Followers'. Apparently the mental model of what a Christian church looks like carries huge baggage that a younger generation is ready to dismiss for something they consider more 'authentic', modeling and following the life of Christ in the ways it lives out mission and ministry. This movement implies that the institutional church, including our own, doesn't do a very good job at being 'authentic'. I believe in many ways we deserve this judgement. On our way to becoming an institution many of our congregations have lost their vibrancy, reflectiveness, spiritual vitality and witness. We have become quite predictable.

There are a number of things about our church that should be re-assessed to determine if the predictability is fruitful. For one, the comfort of our liturgy, knowing almost anywhere in the world you will find some similarities of rite on Sunday mornings can be a blessing and a barrier. The routine and rhythm can satisfy our souls but lull us into a state of slumber if we aren't careful. Our liturgy has the power to connect us to God through the practice of ancient rites, especially the Holy Eucharist, the very act that Jesus told us to replicate. If we are going to make inroads with a younger generation and help create a new mental model of the church we must share our worship and why we do it. We must allow it to become 'informal', 'intimate', 'relational' and 'culturally relevant' in ways that honor the basics but are open to emerging new ways of being church. We should not fear how God might be utilizing these fresh expressions to attract persons into community. The institutional church needs to open its heart to how it can partner with those courageous young leaders are are willing to take the risk to try new ways of reaching those who are searching for God. The emerging church will succeed if the institutional church opens itself to the work of the Holy Spirit in this movement. This might mean support through people power, sacrificial giving and prayer. It might mean parallel worship expressions. It might mean taking a good hard look at the way we do things. Some of our churches are doing this work as they journey into the future. Some of our churches are fearfully bound to predictability. Wherever we are on this spectrum we are called to be authentic witnesses to the power of God, individually and corporately. Working with our missionary leaders who have the courage to risk new ways of being church can be an amazing and holy journey. How are you called to be a part of this work?

Helping People Understand and Discover

I just returned from a three day retreat in Indiana where I had plenty of time to create an environment of self reflection, lots of discussion, bible study and learning for a group of 50 people. It was about getting in touch with one's God-given passion, giftedness and call. The teachings were grounded in raising awareness of how the Holy Spirit dwells in each of us and is yearning to work through us so that others can see that glimpse of God. This is a new understanding for lots of Episcopalians to internalize. It has huge implications and becomes an avenue for spiritual growth or a barrier to it. Only on this foundation of understanding can one begin to discover and explore the possibilities of personal call to serve Christ. And call is so misunderstood in our denomination. It has been almost exclusively thought of in terms of those who feel called to ordination. We must help every person understand that God calls and equips them with passion and giftedness in addition to skill and innate talents and abilities.

There is alot of teaching, studying and discussion that needs to happen for people in our pews. This is foundational identity-in-God discernment. I think the church doesn't spend much time doing this work because it doesn't understand the value of it. And it is work. It is our loss because we don't emphasize discovery and discernment. Congregations will never be spiritually mature until the individuals in them do this critical stuff.

I think one of the reasons why leaders in congregations often act as if the church is just another non-profit is because they have never learned what differentiates the two. Leaders who understand the life changing call to be missional have a hugely different motivation to serve than leaders in non-profits. They are both about serving, but missionary leaders understand their call comes from God and doesn't eminate from any other need.

The 'aha' lightbulb moments this weekend were fun to watch. People began to say, "I now understand how God has uniquely made me for ministry." Holy visions surfaced, a number of persons left convicted with what they were called to do. I had a tremendous sense of gratitude knowing this effort was fruitful. Some told me it was "life changing."

There is lots of work to be done in our churches in this regard. I hope we will spend more time helping people understand and discover God's unique design on their lives. The results could be transformative and holy. What is more important than that?

Caring Enough

I was recently in a conversation with a young priest about his congregation. It is a young church with leaders who love it and want it to grow. It has much to offer in spirit and opportunity. Yet when I asked him how he gathers contact information about first time visitors he said, 'we are inconsistent, we try but aren't always successful.' I was really surprised and pondered on this response for a couple of days. Why wouldn't a young church with energy and potential not be more intentional about gathering information from visitors?

What does it say about a church that doesn't seem to care enough to put high priority into this task? Do they think they are being too pushy if they systematically do this? Is it one of many things needing to be done that just doesn't get done very well?

I decided to think about the visitor's perspective. Here is a person who screws up courage to visit a church they have never been to before. They might have impressions of what to expect born out of previous experiences with churches. Or perhaps this is a person who is so unchurched that this visit may be the first EVER to a church outside of a funeral or wedding.

The following might be a few thoughts running through this first time visitor's mind:

" The people seemed nice enough, but I was surprised that no one asked my name".
"I really didn't want anyone to approach me because I am not sure what I want. However, I left that church really not too impressed. I have no idea if there is anything there for me anyway."

"If they really are interested in me, you would think they would have taken down my contact information. I want to know more about the church and not sure what I need to do to find out. I guess I will visit their website. Maybe I will try again later."

Of course, these are just a few possible responses. But one thing is for sure, visitors have an unspoken expectation that they will find something that represents God at a church. Isn't God caring? Loving? Does God care about me? Isn't that what churches are supposed to do?

Not caring enough to capture contact information from visitors is like saying, 'we are doing well enough here without you'or 'we don't value your visit enough to respond to you'. Anyway you slice it, not caring enough to capture contact information and responding to it with at least a 'thank you for attending' says 'you really don't matter to us'. That is personal. That is counter to every thing we profess as Christians in terms of caring for others.

Let's raise our awareness of how well we do this critical 'welcome' ministry in our churches. It should be very high priority. It truly represents how much we really care.

A Target Audience of 5 Year Olds

Yesterday I had the privilege of worshiping in a congregation that was celebrating the 25th anniversary of its founding. What a turn around story!! This was a church that had a number of 'dark' experiences in its past. This was a church that lost much of its will to exist, falling from a congregation of about 100 average Sunday attendance in 2000 to about 45 souls struggling to hang on. Yesterday the church had 175 people in attendance, 40 of them children and youth.
What happened?

This is a classic example of faithful, mission minded leadership. A middle aged priest felt he was called to this church five years ago. He was so sure that God wanted him to go there that he and his wife put money down on a home near that location before he ever visited with the Bishop about having the opportunity to go there. This church, this move, would be 175 miles from his cure. He was certain God was calling him there and it was going to happen. Once he had the opportunity to visit with the Bishop about his hope to move he was told that the congregation simply couldn't afford a priest, it was an impossible situation. But two days later, the leaders of that church called the Bishop saying they were willing to take one last chance and offer up 6 months salary for a full time priest. The rest is history.

This priest had an inspired vision for this congregation which evolved around children. He set about to identify with the parishioners a new sense of mission, core values and a vision that focused on five year olds. He instilled a 'with God's help all things are possible' attitude. He worked to empower and release very talented parishioners for ministry. The church was spruced up. Much emphasis was put on invitation and welcome to newcomers. A comprehensive and very creative rotation Sunday School for children was established. Cheerful spaces were created for children of all ages. Families began to come, stay and get connected into relationships and ministries. The liturgy began to reflect the casual and contemporary style of the congregants. And the children became central to the closing of the main service every Sunday. A new practice of inviting children of all ages to come to the front of the church was encouraged. Baskets brimming with musical instruments and noise makers always await little hands to dive into for the selection of their choice. As the children pour into the front of the nave, some in mothers' arms, a cacophany of joyful noise builds to a crescendo as the recessional concurs. This precious moment is a powerful,joyful noise unto the Lord!

Watching this activity unfold yesterday made me reflect on the numerous congregations that lament that they have no children in attendance. I know there are no simple answers. But I also know the power of faithful, prayerful leaders who are determined to believe 'with God's help all things are possible'. This church is a testament to the power of the Holy Spirit to transform a congregation. Focusing on five year olds has born great fruit.