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July 2012

Called to Common Mission, Indeed!

Lutherans have hitched their star to the Episcopal wagon. Now what?
Here is an interesting and lengthy discussion of the challenges facing the Episcopal Church.

The ELCA hitched its star to the Episcopal wagon a number of years ago and announced with great hoopla that we are now in full communion. (Called to Common Mission)

Lutherans were promised that the alliance was for flexibility, broadening the resource pool. Lutheran clergy and Episcopal priests could now vie for calls and employment in either denomination.

But it has resulted in more fundamental changes. It is changing the way we think and act, which isn’t necessarily bad. But it’s not necessarily good either. Martin Luther left a good legacy.

The ELCA and its predecessor bodies are historically a broad demographic with both low and high church values represented, often among ethnic or cultural lines. The American experience, which never answered to the Archbishop of Canterbury or any European figurehead, has traditionally no such loyalty to hierarchy.

The Lutheran tradition of congregational polity is a strength which small congregations should never be asked to sign away. Small churches must be free to adapt to their changing communities. This is harder to do under hierarchies. Hierarchies understand “big.”

  • Did the decision, advocated mostly by clergy, change our polity? No, but . . .
  • Are there statistics on how much this has benefited anyone?
  • How much resource sharing has been going on? (There doesn’t seem to be a lot of resources for either denomination to share!)

It is becoming increasingly clear that dissenting Lutherans were correct about many things.

Lutheran leadership has become more and more hierarchical. It began with a shift in language, then in behavior.

In the negotiations, Lutherans did a lot of agreeing to Episcopal terms.

Lay people don’t tend to care much about things like apostolic succession. We know that our bishops (which we used to call more appropriately “presidents”) are elected. Now every Lutheran clergy to be ordained must submit to Episcopal approval. Many of them have probably never set foot in an Episcopal church, but now their calling needs their blessing.

From reading this report, it is clear that we have sacrificed the wisdom of our experience to a troubled denomination.

The Episcopalians are so concerned that some want to scrap their leadership structure entirely, realizing they cannot support, nor do they need, a hierarchy. We have written about this before.

Meanwhile, Lutheran leadership is separating itself from its constituency more and more. They are planning to have full church assemblies every three years instead of two. If they operate like our local Synod Assembly, it won’t matter much—and that’s too bad. The regional assembly is fairly well orchestrated to get the approvals it wants with as little discussion as possible. But at least there was a chance of making a difference every two years. But then, maybe this is an admission that the hierarchy has less purpose.

Regardless, the action serves to alienate lay people — who still provide the support and funding for the mistakes made by the hierarchically minded.

Soon, if Lutherans want to rise to a call to change anything, they will have to wait three years. This may save money but it is unwise. Change is happening at a faster pace. More forums are needed, not fewer.

But the deed is done. We are in full communion with a denomination that doesn’t know where it is headed to the point that some talk about starting over. Have we been set up for a bait and switch?

If you think this shift in governance isn’t part of SEPA’s attitude toward small congregations, think again. In East Falls, Bishop Claire Burkat was assisting our Episcopal neighbors—we suspect for hire—while trying to destroy her own denomination’s church a few blocks away, hoping for assets to make up their huge deficit. The Episcopal Church in East Falls was of no stronger number than Redeemer with a far less desirable location for mission purposes. Bishop Burkat gave the Episcopalians of East Falls more consideration than the Lutherans.

Called to Common Mission, indeed.


photo credit: Whitewolf Photography (retouched) via photo pin cc
14 Jul 2012

The Power in Waiting

We all wait. As children we wait to grow up. As young adults we wait to finish school and get married. We wait for the right job opportunity. We wait for the kids to leave home. The day may come when we feel we are waiting to die.

There are the day-to-day little “waits,” too. We wait for the roast to cook, We wait for it to stop snowing. We wait for the traffic light to change. We wait in line at the theme park. We wait for grocery clerk to call the manager to bring the key to reset the cash register.

Driving is waiting time. Your mind can do a million things while you wait for the car to get where it is going.

Wait, wait, wait.

Churches wait too. Churches wait for attendance to improve. They wait for a new pastor. They wait until there is more money. They wait until school is out, until summer is over, until Christmas is over, until Easter is over. . .

There is an art to waiting. Game show hosts know this very well. And the winner is . . (pregnant pause), wait, wait, wait . . . . . contestant number 2.

Waiting is a way to create focus. Today’s solution to unruly school bus behavior is to provide bus monitors and surveillance cameras. Fifty years ago, a school bus driver had a simple, effective solution—pull the bus to the side of the road and sit until behavior was under control. No verbal exchange. Just the power of waiting.

The nature of waiting is changing. There was a time when people in waiting mode might strike up a conversation. Now when you glance across a crowded waiting room, faces are glued to smartphones. A few may be leaning back with an iPod in their pocket linked to their ears with earphones. The few engaged in conversation are talking to companions they already know.

Waiting time is a valuable resource!

Waiting time can be retrospective. Permission to daydream granted.

Waiting time is a chance to do what we want to do. Television commercial breaks are getting so long that programming is slight. Advertisers think we are sitting watching 20 ads in a row. Smart people reclaim this part of their lives and do a chore or two or fit in a phone call or turn to a book or press the mute button and talk to the others in the room. Smart people may even find there are more engaging things to do than watch TV!

Waiting time is an opportunity to do the things we don’t have time for — to plan and reflect. It is a time to work on your visions.

Waiting time can give you that chance you were looking for — to pray.

Waiting time is gold. Spend it well.

photo credit: chuckp via photo pin cc
14 Jul 2012

Object Lesson for Adults: July 22

Cats enjoy touchThe Power of Touch

Mark 6:30-34, 53-55

Touch is important in our lives right from the start.

New parents react instinctively when their child breathes its first breath. They swoop their newborn into a loving embrace.

Touch continues to be among the most powerful senses.

Here is a video of how the sense of touch is immediately embraced by very young children. It shows a baby, barely old enough to walk, looking at a magazine. This child approaches the magazine as if it were an iPad, touching the images waiting in vain for a response.

The common form of greeting and agreement, the handshake, grows from our need to touch. In ancient days the outreached hand was a way of saying, “Look, I am not armed. I am your friend.”

The power of touch is central to this story in Mark.

The apostles (sounds like there was a good number of them) have returned from their 2×2 mission trips. It’s time for debriefing! They attempt to hold a retreat.

A couple of weeks ago, the Gospel was about one woman who stole Jesus’ healing power by touching his garment with faith. Jesus responded.

Now the word is out. People far and wide have heard about Jesus.

Everyone is clamoring to touch Jesus. They are carrying their ailing loved ones across the rocky, hilly countryside to get near enough to Jesus to touch him.

Touch is important in our world. Sometimes, when words fail, a hand on the shoulder or a sudden embrace comes to our rescue.

We find comfort in a kind touch. We are repulsed when the sense of touch is abused.

We long to be touched, to be connected to one another, to be connected to God. Think about that today as we pass the peace. When we touch someone, it should mean something.

photo credit: Malingering (retouched) via photo pin cc
13 Jul 2012

Exploring Justice in the Lutheran Church

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On Sunday, September 9, from 3-5 pm, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod (SEPA) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will hold a discussion of the national body’s proposed social statement on criminal justice.

The Church’s concerns for justice might be more credible coming from people who do not hold themselves out as being immune from laws which apply to everyone else.

When faced with honest disagreements concerning Lutheran polity and interpretation of its constitutions, the ELCA and at least one regional body (SEPA Synod) has used the justice system to bully its members.

Instead of working with congregations as the constitutions define, SEPA made up its own rules, replacing their founding Articles of Incorporation with conflicting bylaws, putting congregations that actually read both documents at disadvantage.

This is counter to normal law. Articles of Incorporation outrank bylaws. The ELCA Articles of Incorporation even state that the regional bodies may not amend their constitutions in violation of the statutes of the founding charter. But that hasn’t stopped SEPA (and a few other synods, too).

SEPA proceeded to violate the statutes, betting that no one would stand in their way. When Redeemer, a member church, objected, their FIRST action was to file a law suit against them. Forget the constitutional grievance process.

Once they had the court’s attention, they argued that the case, which they filed, should not be heard because of separation of church and state.

The national church has watched in silence. They are busy regarding their leaders and disregarding their members.

This issue went to the Pennsylvania Appellate Court which dodged the issue, agreeing to no jurisdiction with an important dissenting opinion. The dissenting judges ruled that if the law is applied, the congregation’s arguments have merit and should be heard. If high-ranking judges disagree, there is room for honest disagreement within the church.

SEPA Synod views itself as above the law.

It would appear that SEPA Synod’s view of the justice system is that it exists as a tool to be used against dissenting members—an alternative to actually working out problems within their polity. It is  a way to bypass the inconvenience of its own constitutions.

The draft statement includes a paragraph advocating responses of love and advocacy for those embroiled in the justice system. Redeemer has seen no such tolerance within the ELCA, SEPA Synod or even within its congregations. Summary of Draft Version of the Justice Statement

We suggest the ELCA and SEPA Synod stay out of this discussion until they can enter it with cleaner hands.

13 Jul 2012

God is doing something new AGAIN in East Falls

Redeemer, East Falls is too small to serve its “missional” purpose (“missional” is not a word but church people seem to understand it).

That was the premise used by Bishop Claire Burkat and her coterie. It was never true. It sounded good to the people they needed to convince in order to have their way—which had nothing to do with mission but was all about money and property and synod’s habitual deficit spending.

SEPA’s actions did tons of damage to our people, our congregation and to our neighborhood, but Redeemer’s mission continues to grow. That’s what happens when you work a plan with selfless resilience and flexibility!

One of our projects was to develop our ministry online (since we had no building). We started slowly, doing research and following best practices. The site grew slowly at first, but after about six months, it was apparent there was a foundation for steady growth and an inexhaustible potential.

The site has grown steadily over all. There are day-to-day peaks and valleys, but the weekly and monthly trends reveal steady growth that is picking up.

In the last two weeks a few remarkable things have begun to happen on www.2x2virtualchurch.com.

We now have 100 people who read out posts by email each day. We have an additional 50 unique  visitors every day. Our weekly unique readership (not counting those who follow us on Facebook, Twitter or email) hovered between 180 and 275 for the last six weeks. Adding our subscribers or followers to that number puts us at around 1000 readers each week.

Our global reach is picking up. There are a few countries that check in daily—France, Canada, Great Britain, Netherlands, Australia, Kenya, Pakistan, the Philippines and most recently, India. Twice this week our foreign readership outpaced United States readers, at least until the very end of the day when there is often a surge in North American readership.

People are slowly beginning to participate in the discussion, often by email rather than on the site.

Yesterday, we had a request to find a way to have the site translated into Urdu, so Pakistani Christians might have access to our posts.

We invited churches to follow the site. That invitation has led to interesting friendships with four other congregations—two in Kenya, one in Pakistan and one near to us in Philadelphia.

Redeemer was never more able to fulfill its “missional” purpose. We believe our mission and ministry activities measure well with every other congregation in SEPA (large and small) — who now have the benefit of our resources.

photo credit: jurvetson (retouched) via photo pin cc
12 Jul 2012

Creating A Church Education Environment for Youth

Our Ambassadors read a flier advertising a church’s upcoming Vacation Bible School. It advertised classes for children up to age 10. Fourth grade.

Ten!

Ten is still fairly young to be the cut off age for the type of program VBS can be.

Many adults remember very little of their childhood before the age of eight. When these children become parents in another 10 or 15 years, they will have little to remember of Bible School to want to pass on to the next generation.

When Christian education stops at age 10, you end up in a few years with a church of unknowledgeable members—and probably a lot fewer of them. These unknowledgeable members will be expected to lead the church and vote on ministry decisions both within their congregations and in the broader Christian community. Without a strong church education, they will be puppets of the strongest influencers. We will become a Church of followers.

Why is age ten the cut off?

The easiest answer is that’s the age when children become involved in other activities.

But that’s the easy answer. There are other reasons. Some of them involve the Church’s inability to serve this age group.

Admittedly, the Church competes with a broad spectrum of organized activities for older children. It would be a shame if we were abandoning our youth’s faith because we have nothing to offer.

Children, still under the influence of parents, will find time when the family sees Christian education as a priority and when the educational experience meets their developmental needs. It is not acceptable to turn our backs on youth because we don’t know how to serve them and are unwilling to find a way.

Here are the challenges:

Older children are more work! Ten or eleven is the age that children are starting to come into their own and are more difficult for inexperienced volunteer teachers to handle. If we can’t train volunteers to work with our youth, we must find them. (See VBS-Aid concept).

It’s also the age when learning must become experiential. Older children cannot be confined to classroom talk. They must be challenged.

If churches want to continue to nurture youth beyond the age of ten, they must create learning environments and experiences that meet the children where they are developmentally. 

The challenge of teaching older children requires more time. Older children must participate in a program with a sense of accomplishment or they won’t return. They must be free to experiment and discover their abilities. Middle School teaching is known for being hands on. A summer program for youth requires more than five days.

Older children need camaraderie. They want to be part of groups. Five day Bible Schools are not long enough to create a sense of community unless the activity is more intense than a classroom atmosphere usually allows.

Children this age need to be silly. We expect them to try new skills. They are self-conscious and prone to taking themselves seriously. Church education for children this age should give them a chance to laugh at themselves and just open up. Allowing them to be silly gives them a soft place to fall.

At times, children this age need to be dealt with in subdivided groups. While this goes against modern inclusive thinking, other fields are meeting the challenges of interesting youth by developing some separate programming along gender lines. One reason sports is perennially popular for this age is that sports recognizes this need. The music and art world is discovering that boys become involved with enthusiasm when they are not with girls. Ask boys this age to sing with girls and you will get very few volunteers. Allow them to sing with just boys and they sing with an energy you would never see in a mixed chorus. Here is a video posted by one proud teenage boy singer. Boys-only ballet programs are cropping up and improving enrolments. Here’s video about boy dancers. Giving girls a chance to bond as girls has similar benefits. They are maturing at a different rate and may need a forum for what’s on their minds. The challenge is to make sure that their time together is enhancing their potential not excluding them.

Programs that separate boys and girls find that when the groups merge (which should be often) there is greater involvement among both boys and girls.

Churches rarely take the time to consider educational developments like this, but there may be something for us to learn.

If we want our young people to continue their church involvement into adulthood, all congregations must address the challenge. To assume lack of interest on the part of young people without any effort to interest them is short-changing them and our future.

photo credit: rileyroxx (retouched) via photo pin cc
12 Jul 2012

Adult Object Lesson: God Takes Our Measure

Today's theme is judgment.Amos 7:7-15, Psalm 85 verses 8-13 and Mark 6:14-29

Today’s theme is all about judgment.

In the Amos story, the Lord  appears to the reluctant prophet Amos with a plumb line. This would have been a common household tool at a time when people built their own houses and fences. In this passage, the plumb line is symbolic of judgment. The Lord intends to make sure his people measure up. Amos is sent off on a plumb line mission. (Talk about object lessons for adults!)

The Gospel story for today is the execution of John the Baptist, performed against the better judgment of Herod. His dilemma: do the right thing and break a bad promise or live up to conniving expectations and deflect potential criticism for not keeping his word.

For an object lesson today, use a modern tool that symbolizes people’s fear of being judged. Carry a clip board with a piece of paper and a pencil. Walk up to a willing member or two and engage them in idle chatter. (Warn them beforehand.) Ask about their work? How’s the family? While you talk, pretend to take notes or be checking boxes.

After two or three casual interviews. Return to your preaching location and engage members in a conversation about how they felt having a conversation with someone who was taking notes and in effect grading them.

Tie their answers to the Old Testament story of Amos and the role he has been assigned—to go among God’s people and prophesy in order to keep them on the straight and narrow.

Follow up the story with today’s Psalm (85:8-13). It, too, is about judgment, but it stresses restoring our relationship with God. Bring them back to the plumb line. The walls will be rebuilt. This time they will be built on a foundation of forgiveness.

photo credit: seminarianvoitus (retouched) via photo pin cc
11 Jul 2012

SPOTLIGHT on Five Small Church Ministries

God is doing something new  . . . .

2×2 invites small churches to join this page and share ministry experience—not just successes but ideas, criticisms, problems and challenges. If we don’t talk about things, how can we improve?

(If you’d like to join, send us your story. There is no cost and no money changes hands. We share our experiences, ideas, and pray for one another.)

Five churches have been part of our exchange in our first year. In this post we will spotlight their exciting ministries.

SPOTLIGHT on Glory of Pentecost in Eastern Kenya

Glory of Pentecost’s leader, Silas Kadenga, first wrote to us last spring asking us for help with their Vacation Bible School. They had read about our idea for helping small churches restore their summer outreach efforts. Their first email did not give their location. We started asking questions. We were surprised to learn they were in eastern Kenya. Our first reaction was there was little we could do to help. Our program was focused on the USA and even more locally. But we kept firing questions. The responses revealed a very different ministry scene than anything we expected.

How many students do you expect? Do they speak English? How many teachers do you have?

The answers: About 200 students. Most speak English as a second language. Three teachers and a few more that show interest but need training. Their obvious need was training for teachers and for resource material.

We pointed them to some free resources on line and kept in regular touch.

Today, their pastor sent us a notice of a new program and asked that we help publicize it.

Please join us in prayer for their new ministry.

Welcome to The Silas Faithfull Foundation

The Silas Faithfull Foundation (SFF) is the only Kenya-wide child protection charity dedicated solely to reducing the risk of children being sexually abused. We work with entire families that have been affected by abuse including: adult male and female sexual abusers; young people with inappropriate sexual behaviours; victims of abuse and other family members.

Drawing on our expert knowledge about child sexual abuse we offer a broad range of services for professionals and members of the public. These include: assessments, intervention and treatment of known offenders, case specific advice and support, training and development courses and workshops, educational programmes for internet offenders and their families, circles of support and accountability and internet safety seminars for schools (teachers, parents and children).

In 2009, The Silas Faithfull Foundation established the prevention campaign, Stop it Now! Kenya East Africa which supports adults to protect children through providing information; educating parents, carers and other members of the public; training those who work with children and families and running a Freephone confidential helpline_+254 708 403 409 +254 707 434 093_silasabali@yahoo.com  More information Stop it Now!

Through that we are looking forward to request your Support for this Organization to continue to Help more people all over the world your support of Prayer will make our Vision and Mission to be complete 

Together We Can Change the World 

 Message from founder of Silas Faithfull Foundation Kenya-wide

SPOTLIGHT on Kiorori Church in western Kenya

Simion Sagwe and his wife, Florence, have been caring for a number of widows and orphaned children in Kisii District, Nyanza Province, Kenya.. They work hard to feed and clothe them and find the money for their medical care and schooling.

We sent them a recording of a little song we thought the children might enjoy. They wrote to tell us that they learned the song and sang it in church. Now they sing it all the time. Meanwhile, back in East Falls, we often use the hymn in worship as well!

Simion has been traveling to attend classes at a Bible College. His wife is making jewelry in hopes of starting a cottage industry to support their mission work. We may be able to help their efforts. We will work on that.

We get weekly reports of their Sunday services and walks through the village afterwards to interest new people.

SPOTLIGHT on New Life Fellowship in Faisalabad, Pakistan

Pastor Sarwar Sadiq writes to us daily, sharing Bible verses and reports of his ministry. He wants to learn as much as he can about our church and writes his prayers for us, asking about our members by name. He describes the difficult mission of growing a church as a minority religion and the effect it has on their families and their children in school. He sends many photos of their ministry.

Their internet service is iffy and we are going to try to help them by setting up a mirror service on our site.

They have a vibrant ministry in their neighborhood but take mission trips into more remote areas to spread the Gospel. The above photo is from one of their mission trips.

They pray for better and affordable space for their ministry.

SPOTLIGHT on Prince of Peace, King of Prussia

Prince of Peace is a small, suburban congregation near Philadelphia. They happen to be the first congregation our Ambassadors visited two summers ago. We have stayed in touch and tried to help them with some projects.

Their current project is called “No Family Left Behind.” It aims to reach all families with worship and learning opportunities, including families including elderly, disabled, or children with learning disabilities. They are partnering with the Community Center directly across the street from their church and with Ken-Crest, a Lutheran Social Service agency.

They plan to make iPads available to help people with disabilities communicate, read, and take part in activities. The Rev. Dr. John Jorgenson, a retired pastor serving the congregation, has drawn on his years of service with the LCA in developing curriculum to develop the innovative program.

SPOTLIGHT on Redeemer, East Falls

Much of this web site talks about Redeemer’s very active ministry so we’ll list just a few.

  • Redeemer Ambassadors visit churches
  • 2×2 Foundation pioneers Social Media Ministry
  • Maintaining a Lutheran presence in East Falls
  • Staying active in East Falls organizations and government
  • Working to maintain Lutheran congregational polity by challenging actions of SEPA Synod
10 Jul 2012

Dissent in the Church — Mum’s the Word

A random Google search brought up an interesting, if dated, web site.

The site owner was disturbed about the ELCA’s impending alliance with the Episcopal Church—Call to Common Mission. He had written to all major church leaders with deep concerns, which he took no care to hide.

Frustration with hierarchy brings people on the sidelines to exasperation fairly easily. This disgruntled Lutheran cared enough to post every response from mostly regional bishops. A few of those who responded to his letter gave carefully reasoned answers. More are condescending in tone with uncamouflaged arrogance.

The writer predicted an incongruity with the new alliance with historic Lutheran values. Some form of “not to worry” was the universal answer to his concerns.

This exchange was dated 2001. Reading it eleven years later reveals that this concerned Lutheran, so easily dismissed, was right. The Lutheran Church is abandoning its historic polity. This has changed attitudes of leaders, which in the Lutheran tradition are respected more as servants than as CEOs. It trickles down very quickly to affect parish dynamics which are troubled—if not by conflict, then with complacency. Don’t rock the Church boat!

When property issues become involved, it is landing the denomination in costly court battles. The ELCA is banking that the courts will ignore their constitutions in favor of staying out of the fight under the Bill of Rights. It is a tactic that is working at least for the moment.

One thing is likely to continue. The voice of dissent—the founding platform of our denomination—is likely to be easily dismissed by the leadership club called the Council of Bishops and their coteries. Some will write smug letters. Some won’t respond at all. Very few will give the concerns meaningful consideration. Dialog will take place behind closed doors or in controlled forums. Historic Lutheran polity has been traded for some undefined benefit.

Eleven years reveal that the owner of this site was rightly concerned. The ELCA took a giant step backward in its partnership with the Episcopal Church. It doesn’t make much difference to the hierarchy. They lost no time in assuming “powers” not given to them under their own constitutions.

It makes a huge difference to lay people. They can now be assured that any dissenting voice will be muted or ignored if it attacks the powerful.

10 Jul 2012

Scalability: Religion Seeks It But Can’t Embrace It

Exponential Growth vs Scalable Growth

The Christian Church has recently focused on the Gospel account of Jesus sending his disciples into the world 2×2.

Jesus’ concept of mission was built on exponential growth. If two people are each successful in reaching two people — for a total of four — and they in turn form teams of two reaching four more— that’s exponential growth. The effort and cost must be repeated again and again. The church will grow with hard work and dedication.

This was remarkably effective. Within a few hundred years, the Gospel spread to the farthest borders of the known world.

Scalability is a bit different. It is a term that centers on the power of technology. How can teams of two reach a thousand or more people using the same effort it takes them to reach four?

The answer is incalculable—and entirely possible. The tools are in our hands to make mission work scalable beyond the wildest dreams of the early Christian apostles. The same work required to reach or teach 100 people can also reach or teach a million for basically the same outlay of resources.

So why aren’t we doing it?

Roadblocks to Scalability

Sadly, the church is not set up to take advantage of scalability.

Try this, for example. Take an idea to a religious institution. They will have a great deal of difficulty thinking beyond their own constituency. “But don’t you see,” you might argue, “you have the power to reach beyond your congregation, beyond your geographic territory, beyond your denomination.”

They will respond with confusion. “But it’s our job to serve our constituency. We work for [name the regional entity.]”  

They will try to be helpful. Scratching their heads, they will suggest, “Take your idea to [another territorial constituency that might be a bit bigger]. Maybe they can help you.”

Any denomination can reach congregations and clergy of all denominations all over the world with truly helpful information—all for the same effort that they might put into a local symposium or workshop which they would charge 50 people $25 each to attend. They won’t, though, because tradition outweighs potential.

Oddly, the efforts to take advantage of the power of the internet are not coming from the higher echelons of the Church. Many regional web sites are of poor quality and virtually all are self-focused. Some of the flashiest regional web sites focus on only their own work—not the work of their members. They are ignoring the potential to strengthen community. They are also ignoring the potential to reach the unchurched — which is their mission.

Church leadership is accustomed to publishing and teaching coming from top down. There was a time when this was necessary. Not everyone owned a printing press and distribution system. There grew to be a comfort in the control which was part of this outdated system. Because control was once possible in publishing they mistakenly believe that it is necessary. It is not only unnecessary in today’s world; it is impossible.

The system of the past is clumsy and archaic, but the Church’s entire structure is built around it.

Smaller entities—individual institutions, small congregations and even individual church members are making stronger headway.

Examples

One example,  www.workingpreacher.org, a project of Luther Seminary, features guest theologians from many backgrounds, analyzing the weekly lectionary. Directed towards pastors, anyone can study the week’s scripture guided by the insights of a seminary professor.

Another: ministry-to-children.com is a web site started by Tony Kummer, a youth/family pastor. It is a lively, interdenominational exchange of ministry ideas and resources that has a large community participating and helping one another. A small church in Africa asked for 2×2’s help in finding affordable educational resources. We directed them to this web site and they were delighted!

Jason Stambaugh writes a blog, www.heartyourchurch.com. He is an individual layperson who works in social media and is a member of a small congregation. He writes about social media in the church and other church issues.

A college student in Texas, Virginia Smith, has used the internet to help small congregations access used Vacation Bible School resources. She’s just one young person passionately engaged in mission, armed with the web. (www.vbs247.webs.com/) Virginia has been very helpful to 2×2 in networking.

And then there is this site, 2×2, the project of Redeemer Lutheran Church, East Falls, Philadelphia, a church the Lutheran denomination (ELCA) determined was too small to fulfill its mission (the old-fashioned way). Three years after locking our members out of our church building, 2×2 is reaching more than a thousand readers a month with a significant local readership with global reach. (And we are just beginning.) We offer ideas for small church ministry and attempt to prompt dialog on small church issues.

Scalable projects are our passion—not to make vast amounts of money, as is often the aim of online enterprise, but to build an new infrastructure that will provide hope and help for neighborhood ministries that we believe are the strength of the Christian Church. We believe there is fiscal potential that would provide the hands-on resources to neighborhood churches that can’t afford them the old-fashioned way. (And this is a large number of churches!)

Meanwhile, denominations concentrate on building Christian communities of a certain number so that they can afford a pastor/building and support their regional and national denomination.

This is not scalable. And it is failing. But it’s still how the Church measures success!

09 Jul 2012