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June 2012

A Recipe for Change: Lessons Learned in the Church Kitchen

Mom was Pennsylvania Dutch through and through. Dad, too, except that his Pennsylvania Dutch parents traveled to India where they raised seven children and worked as missionaries for 20 years.

The result: our comparatively bland Pa Dutch diet was occasionally infused with eastern spices, the names of which did not fit on the tiny spice jar labels.

Despite the early introduction of exotic flavoring, it wasn’t until well into adulthood that I embraced the joy of cooking with spices.

I learned to cook with spices in church.

Little Redeemer in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia has roots among Pa Dutch traditions, except that a good number of founding members shared a mongrel Scotch/Irish/English heritage. Still, the typical pot luck dinner at Redeemer was decidedly bland and heavy on meat, potatoes and pastry.

Then, around the turn of this latest century, we enjoyed having a student vicar from Puerto Rico. When he was about to leave, we planned a farewell party. “Any requests?” we asked.

“I’m really hungry for sancocho,” he responded. “Puerto Rican beef stew,” he translated. He waxed nostalgic at the thought of the peppery stew. When he noticed the horrified faces, he assured us. “It’s not spicy, just tasty.”

I googled sancocho and found a recipe with a lengthy list of ingredients, many of which were unfamiliar.

I have a basic rule in cooking. If I don’t know what it is I don’t put it in the pot.

I pared down the ingredients to the familiar, made some substitutes for convenience and filled a large pasta pot with the diverse ingredients: beef, spices, a ton of vegetables, lemons, bananas and burgundy. As I prepared to transport the pot to the church. My teenage son came running to help. “What smells so good?”

Once at the church, I did what any cook does. I stood back and watched. The pot quickly emptied. The vicar went back for seconds. Thirds, too. Success.

But sancocho was just the beginning of a new world of cooking.

It was at about the same time that our membership began to pick up among East African immigrants. Their cuisine was similar to the Puerto Rican fare I had just conquered. I learned still more about curries, garlic and fresh ginger.

And it was fun.

Savory soups and stews soon became the hallmark of Redeemer fellowship. Food was becoming a catalyst for change in our church.

Cultures began to blend with every stir of the pot. Changes which had been unimaginable a decade ago, were happening — under our very satisfied noses.

photo credit: avlxyz via photo pin cc
20 Jun 2012

Bernie: A Movie Review

Bernie, the village undertaker, is the nicest guy. He couldn’t possibly have murdered his sugar mama.

This the premise of this unusual film starring Jack Black and Shirley McClaine.

Bernie is a gregarious huckster of caskets with a knack for comforting the bereaved. He goes above and beyond the duty of most funeral directors. If the funeral service is falling a bit flat, he is likely to step to the podium and sing. He’ll appear at the bereaved’s door the next day with a quart of soup.

When one mourner goes missing, some suspect foul play at the hands of Bernie.

But it just can’t be, the town agrees.

And even if he did shoot the old witch, maybe she had it coming!

The film is produced in documentary style with the camera cutting away for interviews with townspeople. There is good reason to stick to the documentary format. The film tells a true story.

You will enjoy spending an hour and a half with this murderer. Bernie is likable. For church people, the sound track is a treat. You’ll hear a breadth of favorite hymns way beyond Hollywood’s usual repertoire, many of them beautifully sung by Jack Black.

There is nothing particularly deep or thought-provoking about the film. It is just a small piece of history, laced with a look at human nature, presented in an engaging way.

19 Jun 2012

Blue Ribbon Gaffes in East Falls Christendom

It was announced yesterday that the plan proposed by the Philadelphia Roman Catholic Archdiocese’s Blue Ribbon Panel for Education is not resonating with the peons in the pew—at least not in East Falls.

Several months ago, the esteemed committee reviewed its parochial school system and announced dozens of school closures and mergers. The Committee has already reversed a good number of its Blue Ribbon decisions, but not in East Falls. That property in East Falls is just too valuable to be wasted on the young.

And so, the Archdiocese announced with Blue Ribbon wisdom that the children of East Falls would travel several neighborhoods away to be part of a parochial school in Manayunk that would bear a new name, St. Blase. (St. Blase is the patron saint of people with fish bones caught in their throats.)

The Blue Ribbon committee made the mistake so common among hierarchies, real or imagined. They assumed the families of East Falls would thank them for their wisdom and, at their first opportunity, wind their way through the crowded back streets of Manayunk, checkbooks in hand, to enroll their little ones in St. Blase. But they didn’t.

It doesn’t work like that any more. Neighborhood matters. Neighborhood is a choice people make—not hierarchies or Blue Ribbon committees. There may have been a time when Church was such a powerful force in society that people would follow edicts that were clearly designed to benefit hierarchy at the people’s expense. Those days are over.

And so, St. Blase is not to be. The Archdiocese has declared it. If it’s any solace to our Catholic neighbors, the Church is saving spots for their children in parochial schools even farther away. (They just aren’t getting the message.)

The Catholics aren’t alone in their mismanagement of the people of East Falls. Up the hill, the Lutherans thought they could just close the church on the white members of Redeemer and create a relocation plan for the black members. A simple hostile property takeover, thinly veiled in pompous rhetoric. Should have been quick and easy.

That plan isn’t working very well either.

Neither hierarchical plan makes any sense to people who actually know and care about the people involved. But those valuable properties just blind the Church from common sense—along with any sense of mission.

19 Jun 2012

In Praise of Church Artists (and that includes you!)

Educators in the arts are trained to understand the development of the human mind. Every child is born an artist, a musician, an athlete or dancer. From the time a toddler can grasp a fat crayola, the need to express ourselves is part of our humanity. Every child pumping themselves into the air on a backyard swing while belting out a song of her own invention is a musician. Every boy with a new pair of sneakers knows he is an athlete. Every girl spinning before a full-length mirror is in touch with her inner dancer.

Something happens to the human spirit on the path that leads from kindergarten to college. The need to master math and reading leaves the artist in many of us behind.

Ever notice how most adults who haven’t pursued art in school still draw like a nine-year-old? That’s because that’s about when the American education system stops stressing the arts in favor of academics. Art and music teachers know that this is a critical age for stressing art and music skills. The ear and eye need to be exercised along with the muscles and brains.

There may be a similar atrophy in the Church. We encourage our littlest members to try everything. But as they approach adulthood, the rule books and traditions start to erode interests and abilities rather than building on them or exploring untapped talents.

  • Preaching? That’s the realm of theologians. Male thinkers only, some still argue.
  • Music? We have a music director and organist, thank you. You can join the choir, if you like.
  • Instrumental Music? Well, as we said, we have an organist.
  • Design? We buy templates from the national church.
  • Dance? We’re not sure God would approve.
  • Leadership? What do we pay the preacher for?
  • Service? There’s a list of ways you can serve on the back of the bulletin.
  • Prayer? Just read the one from the worship book.
  • Poetry? You can’t improve on the Psalms.

Pretty soon you have a church where people come, sit in the pew, praise the leaders for their talents and go home.

After a while, they just stay home.

Perhaps one approach to reversing religious apathy is to discover the artist in each of us. We are what we can become. Only God knows our limits.

photo credit: Jason Paluck via photo pin cc
18 Jun 2012

The Every Day Dad — A Father’s Day Tribute

In today’s world, the measure of fatherhood is often cited as a statistic in parenthood as a spectator sport.

“My dad was there for every game.” “Dad came to every performance.”

Watching the little ones grow is a rewarding part of fatherhood, no doubt, especially when life is all promise, the path to a bright future is smoothly paved, and the children shine with a glow which casts light on the parents.

My dad is 85 years old. Was he there for every childhood event? Probably, at least a good share. My memory of childhood events is growing dim. But this I can recall. Dad was there every day. In the humdrum routine of daily family life, Dad was front and center. He still is.

Dad’s routines are all the more remarkable because his life habits have spanned more than eight decades.

Dad is a retired pastor. He was certainly capable of flowery prayer, prayer designed as much for an earthly audience as for God’s ears. But he was rarely so tempted.

To this day, Dad sits at the breakfast, lunch or dinner table—at home or in any restaurant. He waits for the food to be placed before each person. He bows his head, inviting others to do the same, and says the same grace said in many Lutheran homes.

Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest.
May these gifts to us be blessed. Amen.

The words never lose their meaning to us. I doubt they bore an infinite God. They are said with passion. In moments of crisis, they might even be repeated through tears.

Three times every day the family returns to its roots, our faith. Three times, every day, each family member of any generation, witnesses the priorities of our foreparents.

Some people on this Father’s Day, will praise their extraordinary fathers. My dad — he is just an every day father. That’s the best kind!

17 Jun 2012

18 Questions for Mainline Church Denominations

  1. If a group of Christians can afford ministry but can’t afford a minister, can they still be a “church”?
  2. Has religion become unaffordable? Has access to Christian community become something for the affluent?
  3. What is the purpose of church hierarchy in a world which is largely literate and rarely dependent on benefactors? Does church hierarchy make any contribution to the lives of the laity?
  4. Can the Church minister as effectively as secular not-for-profits?
  5. If the Church separates its social services from its Christian message (in order to qualify for government support), is it still ministry?
  6. If Church-related institutions for higher learning, separate their mission from Christian mission (to qualify for government support or to appeal to richer demographics) are they still Church-related institutions?
  7. Are our seminaries training theologians or pastors?
  8. Are pastors leaders or servants?
  9. How will the congregational/pastoral model, developed in eras of slower social change, function in the modern era of constant change and life-long learning?
  10. What is the future of the Church and its reliance on pastor-centric leadership in a world where success is often the result of teamwork and intermeshing of multiple and changing skills and talents?
  11. How will the role of pastors change if the laity in the Church are expected to “transform”?
  12. How do we become inclusive and diverse when sociologically people tend to find comfort in conformity?
  13. Can the trend toward larger churches serve the needs of smaller communities?
  14. Why does the Church allow congregations to fail while shuffling the pastors who served them to new leadership positions?
  15. How can an institution based on trust and respect guard against abuses of power (as seen in the clergy sex scandals, for example)?
  16. How can a system based on hierarchy protect supporters from bullying?
  17. How does the Church reconcile the Christian mandate to reach all the world with its reliance on demographic studies for church-planting and support.
  18. How do Protestant churches, which often have no parochial school structure, educate youth in the limited time modern families allow for “church”?
16 Jun 2012

The Virtues of the Modern Evangelist

There was a song taught to children back in the 50s or 60s. It taught us to think of ourselves as missionaries.

Just around the corner lives a stranger child.
Did you smile at him? Were you kind to him?
Did you tell her of the one who loves us so?
Father, Comforter and Friend.

( I updated the lyrics to include the “forgotten” gender.) The question today is “When do we stop thinking of ourselves as missionaries and evangelists and start leaving that to the paid “experts.”

Today many churches and denominations have lost the sense of evangelism. It is just a big word that’s part of a church name. St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, for example. Often—despite the name—congregations, regional bodies and denominations forget that their purpose is to spread the gospel to every stranger. It is so easy to become something of a club—one in which you have no right to play if you don’t sufficiently pay.

Fixing this requires an attitude adjustment—an infusion of “evangelical” thinking.

There is good news! It has never been easier or less expensive to fulfill our evangelical purpose. Any church of any size can participate.

Things have changed in the world of evangelism. Decades ago, missionaries had to be carefully trained. They needed to thoroughly understand theology and immerse themselves in a new culture and language. While, this is still helpful, the internet makes it possible for any congregant to interact with any other Christian anywhere in the world. Language barriers are toppling. So are cultural barriers.

There may be some dangers in opening mission work to the less trained, but there is a cure for that. Train us!

Training can begin with the fostering of evangelical traits.

  • Evangelists must be patient. Patience means listening. Patience means allowing for missteps. Patience means taking time—as much time as it takes.
  • Evangelists must be generous. Generosity does not have to mean money. Think first in terms of giving time and attention.
  • Evangelists must think constantly of others. The minute the attention turns inward, toward your congregation and your people or yourself, you will begin to fail.
  • Evangelists must be transparent. Deceitful practices leave lasting scars.There is no room for deceit in preaching the Gospel. Jesus looked for this trait in his disciples and he found it in Nathaniel. “Truly, here is an Israelite within whom there is no deceit.”
  • Evangelists preach a consistent message. We can make the Bible very complicated and confuse even ourselves. If we are confused, our message will be lost on those new to the Gospel. It may help to stick with one Gospel to get started. The Gospel of John is simple and direct, but deep in interpretation that crosses cultural barriers. It is also very inclusive with stories of Jesus’ interaction with men and women, Jew and Gentile, and both the educated and working class.
  • Evangelists cannot be arrogant. God made us all equal in His love.
  • Evangelists cannot be selfish. Our work is not about us.
  • Evangelists must be humble, patient and kind, slow to anger, and steadfast in love and teaching. 
  • They must be curious—full of questions, helping others to discover answers.

Begin your congregational outreach by fostering these traits in your congregation. Start telling the old, old story. Your web site can be your hub. Start publishing mission content and Christians from all over the world will begin to find you.

15 Jun 2012

A Lutheran Family Reunion—A Goodly Heritage

Last weekend there was a gathering of a Lutheran family with deep roots in American Lutheranism. Seated around the picnic tables were the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Franklin Clark Fry, the venerated leader of the Lutheran Church in America in the mid-twentieth century. The son of his immediate right hand on the national LCA staff was present. Across the table were the same generations descended from the Secretary of Foreign Mission of the National Council of Churches and a career Lutheran missionary to India. The families of five (or more) living Lutheran pastors were present. They were able to recall the past generations who taught at Lutheran Seminaries (Wittenburg and Gettysburg in the past and currently at Luther Seminary). Photographs of some seven generations of Lutheran pastors were on display as Lutheran heritage was discussed. Family trivia included trying to name the congregations planted by our ancestors.

Also present were three members of the beleaguered Redeemer, the church the ELCA has decided is expendable, not worth caring about, the individual members deserving five years of litigation at the hands of the church they served and for which they sacrificed for decades—all because they dared to challenge a bishop’s decision (a decision that two Pa Supreme Court judges also found worthy of challenge.)

You can bet a lot of the conversation was about the failings of the ELCA which have become apparent with only 24 years of history under its belt—leadership straying from its purpose as stated in the founding documents and hierarchy that has become more of an employment agency for pastors than a shepherd of congregations.

Also on display was Lutheran loyalty. Faith has a way of preserving loyalty even among the most frustrating circumstances.

It is likely that more church issues were discussed at this five-hour reunion than were discussed at many two-day, pre-programmed Synod Assemblies!

13 Jun 2012

Blogging for Your Church This Summer

Many churches run on fumes all summer. Pity! Summer is the time of year that people tend to make big changes in their lives. They wait for summer to move and change jobs. They may begin their search for a new church home, right when many churches are all but closed, except for Sunday worship.

Consider this when planning summer ministry. There is a lot to think about. The church web site or blog is a good place to prepare for summer ministry.

Review your site and make sure that any summer events or services that might attract visitors are well-publicized and that the events are truly welcoming to new people. Explain the events on your web site as if the reader knows nothing about your church. If you are doing a good job with your web site or blog, many readers will be learning about your church for the first time.

From Advent in late November and December, to Easter in March or April, followed by the Ascension and Pentecost, all church activities revolve around events in the life of Christ. This is followed by the long church season of ordinary time or in many traditions the season of or after Pentecost. This is the longest season of the liturgical year (June through most of November) or about half the calendar year.

The lectionary typically explores the everyday ministry of Jesus during this time. It is an opportunity for your congregation to be creative.

As you blog this summer, begin with the church lectionary for ideas. Try to tie them into ministry. For example, if the gospel is about healing miracles, explore your congregation’s or denomination’s ministry to those dealing with illness.

Summer is often a time when the favorite hymns are sung. Explore the hymns of Pentecost. Look up the history of a hymn and share it. Run a poll on favorite hymns.

Look at the congregation’s calendar. Will you have a Vacation Bible School? Publicize it. Read the curriculum and share ideas from it. (Give proper credit!) You may not be able to get older children or adults involved during your VBS, but many VBS curriculums publish material for older kids and adults. Get a copy and write posts on the topics presented. Make sure every parent gets the link, so they can learn along with their children.

Scan the church calendar for picnics, service projects and church camp events. Publicize them beforehand. Follow up with photos and testimonials from participants.

In late summer, start to write about back-to-school events. Let people know that activities will soon resume. Work at attracting support for them.

Plan a Rally Day and start to publicize it.

Make sure that any reader who happens across your summer web site is introduced to your church at its most vibrant.

11 Jun 2012

More on the Competitive Spirit in the Church

Comparisons go along with competition.

  • How does your church compare to other churches in your neighborhood?
  • Are you friendlier?
  • Do you have more money?
  • Are you more grounded in Scripture or tradition?
  • Are you more active in mission?
  • Are you more attractive to families?
  • Are you more appealing to clergy?
  • How does your ministry stand in the minds of your regional body?

Small churches know very well, the power of comparisons and the competitive edge they can give larger churches.

One problem with comparisons is that they begin and end with current experience and definitions of church work. If you are forging new mission ideas, there is nothing to which outsiders can compare your congregation. If this describes your church, prepare to be discounted.

The remedy in this case is to draft your own comparisons. Compare your ministry to

  • other ministries,
  • past ministries (your own and others)
  • secular efforts in the same ministry areas,
  • a scriptural ideal or
  • an ideal of your own definition.

This gives the small church a chance to shine!

Your shining light will grow in brilliance if you control your message. That means using your own media network to define your successes.

TELL YOUR OWN STORY. Use your own words and pictures. Channel the message through your own social media (Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Pinterest, YouTube, etc.).

Don’t rely on your regional body to take notice and help you build your reputation. Regional bodies often have their own agenda and current experience is that it is not in supporting small church ministries.

Small churches are well positioned to minister in their communities in ways that would be ignored by larger church ministries.

Small churches, build on your strengths. Don’t allow larger ministries to grade your papers!

10 Jun 2012