Religion — at least the way it has been understood up until now — is facing a modern challenge. It has little to do with numbers. Numbers are just evidence of a major societal change.
It has to do with the way we are wired. Young minds — Generation Y and the Millenials — have known only an interconnected world. These connections were not organized for them by their parents or tradition. They were formed by each individual opting in and out of friendships, groups, and causes at will. More than that, these generations have been taught to use modern tools to initiate actions to address their sense of justice and righteousness.
The thought of joining a church, building trust, identifying a need, communicating the need, and then rallying volunteers and support to address the need is foreign to modern thinking. This is good! The old way is archaic and inefficient by modern capabilities.
Those of us still hanging on to the past may still value a well-run organization. We look for leaders who can work together to define goals and connect with people and resources to achieve goals. Our measure of successful participation is how well members obey and contribute.
Our children don’t care about “organizations.” They are not just avoiding organized religion. They are not joining Leagues and Service Clubs either. This is not a lack of empathy. They realize they don’t need to sign on as foot soldiers in a cause defined by someone else. They can create their own networks and contribute their passion their own way.
Independence from structure is just beginning to hit the Church, where structure is worshiped at the right hand of God. If the Church thinks we are going to come up with innovative programs to attract younger generations back into the pew to contribute to church community the way their parents or grandparents did, we are chasing a dream. An expensive, doomed to fail, dream.
Let’s face it. One of the biggest challenges for small churches (and that includes most churches) is meeting the costs of professional leadership. Salaries and perks are the bulk of the budget.
At the first sign of financial distress, what do most churches do? Call a part-time minister.
What is the priority of every part-time solo minister? Preparing for worship and Sunday morning.
Often, that’s about all a small congregation can negotiate from their leaders. It is the frequent source of conflict.
Sunday morning preaching alone does not grow a church, especially when the sermon is delivered to only a few dozen part-time listeners. But the pressure on congregational lay leaders is to grow and transform or else, while all the congregation’s resources are tied up satisfying the salary requirement for a requisite pastor—whether that pastor is helping the congregation grow or not.
This must change.
Education is coming to realize that the responsibilities of teachers are changing. There is no longer any need for thousands of biology teachers working to craft a lecture on photosynthesis when just one expert educator can thoroughly cover the topic online, complete with visuals and links to enhance the lesson. This role can be competitive to ensure quality, but duplication in every school district is no longer necessary. The old model for education, born of pre-Information Age traditions, will soon be obsolete and recalled as quaint.
It is projected that the typical class day will flip. Listening to lectures will be the homework. Class time will be spent with instructors facilitating discussions, problem-solving and projects—what used to be called “homework.”
Similar changes will benefit the Church. Small churches do not have to devote scarce resources to pay theologians to craft a sermon on the same topic as a several thousand other pastors. This model belongs to the ages.
It may once have been necessary when information was harder to come by and many members were illiterate. As the economic model of Church shifted to totally monetary compensation, it has been pricing small churches out of existence. This is a shame. Small faith communities still hold the greatest number of total denominational membership. People like small churches. Soon, only the privileged will be able to afford to live in Christian community. The Church will have defeated its own cause.
Today, we need more pastors and fewer preachers. We need comforters, advisors, peacemakers, innovators, advocates, teachers and leaders. Knowledge of scripture and church teaching is still important in performing these roles. But the expense of dedicating one full salary to every congregation for the primary purpose of filling a Sunday pulpit is imperiling the entire Church.
If small churches are to return to prosperity, they need hands-on pastoring more than expensive preaching. Just as in education, the Church must turn its priorities upside down. Thoughtful preaching can be provided online and delivered by anyone who can speak well. Professional staff will free a day or two for hands-on interaction in the community.
Meanwhile, online preaching is being honed to an art. The temptation for many preachers is to post their ten-page sermon manuscript on-line. These do not fit the habits of online readers.
Online preaching must conform to the new rhythm of modern life. Pastor Jon Swanson broadcasts a short devotional reading daily and elaborates more fully in his blogs. 7×7 (very short daily devotion) and 300 words a day (a longer—but still short—daily blog lesson). He is growing an enthusiastic following — including 2×2.
All of us pioneers in the social media world have analytics at our fingertips. We can test and hone our skills, using actual data. Pastors preaching in sanctuaries have to guess and wait a week to correct their course.
The role of ministers must change if ministry is to remain affordable to most congregations.
So Jesus is walking along the countryside, minding His own business, doing his teaching thing, when some bystander dares to interrupt, “Save me!”
You’ll need an accomplice for this, but that should be easy to find.
Choose an object that will create a distracting annoyance.
You might have someone honk a horn or rattle a noisemaker. You can ask the organist to hit a foot pedal, seemingly by accident, but repeatedly.
If you have a self-assured 10-year-old in your congregation, he or she could play this role perfectly. Your accomplice can sit in his or her usual spot, but on cue create some kind of disruption. Your congregation is bound to react with a corrective frown the first time before they catch on. All the better to make your point.
Blind Bartimaeus wants to be noticed and isn’t about to be turned away by the well-meaning disciples or crowds. They just want him to shut and slip into the background where he has likely spent most of his life.
“Save me,” was his cry.
We’ve heard that cry before in this Gospel and in some of the Old Testament companion texts, especially the passages from Job and the Psalms. The cry is heard in steadily crescendoing tones. We will hear the cry again as Jesus enters Jerusalem. All propriety will be set aside. The crowds will shout together, “Hosanna!” Please, please, save us!
And then . .. Jesus will!
End your object lesson with one last sounding of the annoying noise or have your congregation shout “Hosanna!”
We have spent these post-World War years of prosperity building a model for success that only a small percentage of congregations can hope to sustain. Many congregations exist and serve amid this atmosphere of hopelessness. It is not uplifting.
There is no need to wallow in this failure, pointing blame at the people, society or the clergy.
It just doesn’t matter. The model of Church as contained in a building and managed by a person trained in theology is about to be replaced. It’s long impending doom is at last being recognized. It was born of an era when the larger church controlled wealth and a feudal mentality, providing for its support, was ingrained.
When we found ourselves living in capitalist, industrial, corporate economies, it all began to crumble. The maintenance expenses exceeded the means of the communities we intended to serve. People became less and less engaged as more and more was expected.
No need to mourn this passing! What is going to evolve is going to be so much better!
The changes will be enabled by the First Estate (the Church) harnessing the power of the Fifth Estate (the web).
Imagine.
Here are just a few ways the Church is going to be transformed.
STRUCTURE
OLD: A hierarchy manages all education, communication and publishing, assuring that doctrine and tradition are maintained.
NEW: Congregations will seek help beyond denominational lines. It will be readily available to them online at a fraction of the expense.
OLD: A hierarchy oversees the placement of qualified leaders, with long “settled” ministries being the measure of success, making sure their salaries and benefits meet prescribed standards. Meanwhile, these desirable, settled congregations are constantly urged to “transform.”
NEW: Congregations will forsake the single pastor model as poor use of their resources. They will seek qualified help for specific short-term challenges and form ongoing relationships with several pastors. Flexible teams of ministers will serve without affiliating with any one congregation.
MISSION
OLD: A centralized office seeks theologically trained candidates, immerses them in a culture, provides additional training, and places them and their families all over the world. Congregations participate by giving offerings. Missionaries return every few years and make a tour of congregations to solicit continued support.
NEW: Individual congregations will begin to make contact with like-spirited Christians all over the world online. Denomination will be reflected in their actions not in their management. Many members will correspond, share and pray for one another with weekly engagement. Members of all ages will be online pen pals with multiple Christian fellowships. Eventually, congregations will raise money to send a few members of the congregation to visit, strengthening bonds begun online. The network of online churches will crisscross the world.
WORSHIP
OLD: Large structures with a dedicated building, common liturgy and accepted “playlist” of hymns is replicated across the country every few miles. One certified theologian is given status to repeat the words of our Lord from the Bible. Church members participate in assigned roles. Their names are listed a month in advance in the bulletin.
NEW: The structure of worship will embrace many cultures. Multiple church members will lead. Sermons will be preached online by the best articulators of the Word. Local discussions will elaborate on the Word. Members will become accustomed to weekly, spontaneous participation. Published liturgies and hymnals will be passe.
EDUCATION
CURRENT: Sunday School begins at age three and ends at age nine with desperate attempts to fill in the gap between childhood and old age with confirmation, youth ministry, singles clubs, and adult forums, following expensive curricula supplied by church hierarchy. Less than five percent of the congregation participate.
NEW: Churches, via their web sites, will link members to meaningful online forums, supplementing them with local engagement either online or in church. Short daily learnings will replace hour-long classes. Congregations linked online will share their resources and traditions.
STEWARDSHIP
OLD: Church members are encouraged to pledge to the maintenance of their building and sustenance of their clergy. Regional bodies, seminaries, and various social service entities within the church beg for additional funds. The national church adds to the appeal for dollars supplied by the same small pool of people.
NEW: Church buildings will have to multi-task their usage in the community to afford their cost. Many communities will rent or borrow appropriate space in the neighborhood. Regional bodies will provide fewer direct services. Their staffs and budgets will be trimmed substantially. Church social service agencies will completely abandon church affiliation as they recognize that cord was cut when they began seeking public funding. Congregations will choose to support service agencies that resonate with their sense of mission, regardless of their affiliation with religion. This will be an opportunity for church members to personally witness in the secular environment.
CHURCH MEMBERSHIP
OLD: Members are expected to attend worship regularly and to live within an easy commute of a church building.
NEW: Members can be anywhere in the world and participate in community online. Online statistics will be published along with membership and giving numbers.
TODAY
Much of this is already happening. 2×2 is part of this evolution revolution and already experiencing many of these transformations.
In the Church, we are still shaking off the dust of the Middle Ages. Back then, as always, there was a crying need to organize society, partly due to unparalleled spread and power of Christianity.
Who would have the power?
Who would control the wealth?
Who would protect the wealth and power?
Who would pay for everything?
There was tension between church leaders and the people they relied upon to protect their impressive assets. This ragtag group of warriors would be most effective and reliable if they were given some official status and a smidgen of power.
Somebody came up with the idea of “estates.”
The First Estate included the clergy. They controlled much of the wealth, demanding contributions of the faithful. They paid NO taxes.
The Second Estate included the warriors that were to become the nobility. They were willing to risk their lives to protect the Church, and so, they were allowed some very nice tracts of land and the power to get the general population to work for them. They paid NO taxes.
The Third Estate was everyone else—about 97% of the population. THEY paid taxes.
As for upward mobility—it was next to impossible to enter the Second Estate by any means other than birth or marriage. Is it any wonder that there was no shortage of clergy in the Middle Ages?
Then came the printing press. The Fourth Estate was born. It was soon recognized that anyone who owned a printing press held power that had to be respected (and controlled, if possible). The press became the Fourth Estate.
Along came America and the power of the press was given constitutional protection.
Today we stand at the threshold of new possibilities and the birth of the Fifth Estate. The term seems to have started in Canada, referring to the media. It is evolving to include the power that lies in the hands of millions of unfettered individuals (the same 97% who have been supporting the power structure of both Estates One and Two for a thousand years).
Enter the power of the blog—The Fifth Estate.
This is a new form of power— a bit like the press but rawer and more independent, uncontrolled by any structure and empowered as much by the low cost as the technology..
Blogs are available to all.
Blogs do not require wealth and backing.
Blogs can create their own following.
Blogs are immediate.
Blogs have no cumbersome internal power structures.
Blogs are not restricted by the costs of print, marketing and circulation.
Blogs are not beholding to advertising for revenue.
Blogs are controlled by everyone’s ability to respond if they disagree.
Blogs are protected by the same Bill of Rights that protects religion and the press.
Anyone can become a thought leader in this new world. You won’t need a title or fancy degree.
The Fifth Estate will outpower every other Estate.
We have already seen the Fifth Estate affect government and international relations—swaying elections, inciting rebellion, changing the world.
We are beginning to see the Fifth Estate change education with free and easy access to course material once available only to the privileged.
Business has changed. Publishing has changed.
Will the Fifth Estate change the First Estate—the Church?
It will…if we start using the power at our fingertips.
The Church’s resistance to change—which begins at the top—will hamper it. Leaders will try to protect the status quo, which is their expertise. They will continue to rely on outdated communication techniques—20-minute sermons in cavernous, empty sanctuaries, newsletters filled with fluff, feel good web sites that invite little interaction or thought leadership.
One day soon, the power of the Fifth Estate will force open the doors and windows that have been sealed for centuries. The change is not going to be dictated by the seminaries or bishops or even the clergy. It is going to come from the bottom up and it is going to be truly transforming.
If we expect nothing of our children, they are likely to fail. Expecting failure takes less effort.
If we expect great things, we go to work for our kids. We cheer for them and help to create the conditions for success. We are not surprised when they change the world.
The same science works on adults and in communities. Jesus did his best to build up the people he encountered. He loved them. He showed them he understood them. He challenged them. He gave them the opportunity to fail. He showed them how to pick up the pieces and try again. That’s the training by example that he gave his disciples.
Many church leaders today have given up on the Church. They look through the statistics and see declining attendance, membership, and giving. So sad. Too bad.
A prevailing attitude among today’s church leaders is to accept failure as the norm. Bishop Burkat even recommends doing nothing to help small churches in her book, Transforming Regional Bodies.
The malaise is contagious—and deadly.
Redeemer will never forget Bishop Burkat’s first visit to Redeemer in December 2006. Bishop Burkat likes to claim publicly that she worked hard with our congregation for an extended period of time to no avail. This is what really happened.
It was a study in the power of low expectations, fueled by prejudice.
She walked into our Fellowship Hall. Gloom filled the room.
No bishop had visited Redeemer to talk with our leaders in nearly a decade. In 1997, Bishop Almquist came to break the 18-month term call (contract) he had made with us and one of his staff members just three months earlier. We were bitterly disappointed. (Bishop Burkat likes to claim that Bishop Almquist worked long and hard with us, too, but he was largely absent and he confiscated a sizeable amount of our money for two years.)
We went without a pastor for a year after that and for most of the following decade. Our lay leaders had worked hard to find ministry solutions on our own with mixed success. Still, we were enthusiastic about our prospects, especially since things seemed to be poised for significant change.
The memory of synod’s abandonment was still fresh for our leaders if not for the many new people who had come to Redeemer. We weren’t sure what to expect from the newly elected bishop, whom none of us had met, but we came ready for a fresh start.
It didn’t take long to dash our hopes. Bishop Burkat greeted us with what sounded like a rehearsed string of criticism.
She walked into the equivalent of the living room of our home and complained that the place looked junky. “No visitor will want to return to a place that looks like this.”
We explained. Epiphany, a neighboring church whose building was condemned, had just moved their things out of storage and into our fellowship hall. We were trying to help our neighbors.
We moved on.
Next. “You have no parking lot,” Bishop Burkat noticed. “A church with no parking lot has little chance of survival.” Our Ambassador visits have proved that the size of the parking lot has nothing to do with attendance at worship, but we answered defensively.
We pointed out that parking at Redeemer had never been an issue. The school and library, which share our intersection are closed on weekends and in the evenings when most church activity takes place.
The conversation continued.
Churches have personalities, Bishop Burkat said, with the clear implication that Redeemer’s personality left something to be desired.
What could we say? We turned the attention to our ministry efforts. We talked enthusiastically about the number of East Africans who were showing an interest in our congregation and the multi-cultural environment that had been fostered by one of our part-time pastors. We wanted to continue in this promising direction.
Bishop Burkat said a puzzling thing, “You are not allowed to do outreach.”
Huh? Say that again.
We told the bishop that we were disappointed in SEPA’s treatment of our ministry and very hurt that Bishop Almquist terminated our call agreement for his own convenience. That was a pivotal loss (by design, we think) for lay people to overcome, but we rose to the challenge.
The meeting ended abruptly. The bishop had a serious family emergency and we urged her to go to be with her family. Bishop Burkat promised to schedule a meeting in three to five months to talk about our concerns and try to heal some wounds. (Never happened,)
We sighed with relief when she was gone. She exuded negativity. We were glad that only our key leaders were at that meeting. Her attitude would have dragged down the entire congregation. It would have undermined all the work we had done.
Our next encounter with Bishop Burkat, eleven months later, was similar. There were more people present. Redeemer had grown significantly during that 11 months of neglect, accepting 49 members! We came to that meeting with our recently completed 20-page ministry plan and with a resolution to call the pastor who had been serving us for about seven months.
Bishop Burkat began this meeting by ranting that Redeemer was “adversarial.” She used that word repeatedly in her opening statement. We still don’t understand her wrath!
The rant was undeserved. Only three of the thirteen people present had met the bishop before — two of us briefly, a year before. The third was the pastor we hoped to call who had been a member of her seminary class. All but two had joined the church within the last 10 years and knew nothing about ancient problems, which synod seemed ever-ready to resurrect.
The meeting lasted more than two hours and we were able to turn the tone around, ending, we thought, on a very positive note. The bishop promised we could work with her newly appointed mission director, Rev. Pat Davenport. Our people began to sing a hymn together as we rode down the elevator and crossed the parking lot. We were excited and united.
And then NOTHING happened.
After four months of silence, including numerous unreturned phone calls, we all received letters from the Bishop announcing she was closing our church.
We wonder how many other churches have experienced such low expectations from leaders.
If this is how every church is treated, it is no wonder there is so little progress.
Our leaders have no faith in their message.
They don’t seem to care about or even like the people they serve. They don’t model their teachings about peace, repentance, forgiveness, reconciliation, love, justice, humility, or transformation (though they talk about this a great deal).
Pastors and congregations soon begin to avoid the regional body. They may even fear it.
The only transforming that takes place is destructive.
What would happen if we expected success—if church leaders went into congregations and asked one question: “How can we help you serve?”?
What if pastors—and bishops—were held accountable?
The Philadelphia Inquirer has discontinued its religion beat and reassigned its religion reporter to the Philadelphia’s suburbs east of the Delaware River. The Inquirer joins the media trend which leaves many city people wondering if we live in Pennsylvania, New Jersey or Delaware.
There is no area of American life which needs an occasional outside eye more than religion. It’s hard —but more likely—to get the attention of media when things are going smoothly. Otherwise, the media often fail to pay any attention until things are dire. They can be dire for a very long time when no one knows what goes on behind closed church doors. It’s religion—nobody else’s business.
Religion is at the heart of a great deal of world conflict. The lack of empathy within and between religious groups is the root cause of much unrest. It’s not insignificant. It actually changes—and sometimes costs—lives.
Religious leaders exercise authority over people who think they join church to honor and serve God. They consider God to be the ultimate authority in their lives and they are encouraged to believe that. They can then be taken advantage of by their leaders—who revel in separation of church and state.
Religion can be a haven for the unscrupulous. Just fake it ’til you make it and coast unquestioned after ordination.
Religious leaders enjoy autonomy unlike any other arena of American life. Some denominations own all the untaxed land and wealth contributed by their members. Others have internal rules regulating the control of land and wealth. The Bill of Rights guarantees that no laws will hinder their operation —or enforce their rules.
When the courts declare no jurisdiction, the Church itself looks the other way, and the fourth estate finds things too complicated to explain—church members are sitting ducks for all kinds of abuse. Meanwhile, church leaders have proven that they do not mind using the courts (from which they themselves claim immunity) to ensure their autonomy, imperiling any members who dare to challenge their actions.
The resulting lawlessness creates the conditions for a modern Inquisition. The last few years have brought to light the incredible disregard by some religious leaders for both law and doctrine. Predictably, the weakest members of the Church are the easiest victims.
The child sex scandals rocking the Roman Catholic Church took years to come to light. Countless lives are shattered. Settlement expenses are surely contributing to the church/school closings affecting dozens of neighborhoods who trusted the wisdom of their leaders. It may even be a root cause of empty pews on Sunday morning. Who knows!
The situation in the Wild West that is today’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is similar. Our denominational leaders provided a church structure they call interdependence. The belief in the priesthood of all believers, they thought, called for cooperation between levels of the church. Lay Lutherans were proud that this empowered them, but it has become a vague concept that is defined and redefined at whim. Interdependence is interpreted by those with a lust for power as anything they want it to be.
Funny thing! Of the three tiers of church life — congregation, regional body, hierarchy — the higher the authority, the more dependent they are on the people. You’d think they’d make friends!
But no, synodical leaders ignore their own governance prohibiting the conveyance of congregational property without the consent of the property owners. They arrogantly assume that they cannot be stopped by the law or by those elected to oversee their work—a good number of whom rely on synodical leadership for their jobs and many more who simply don’t want to imagine misbehavior by their trusted leaders.
Christians are like that. They are blind and fail to see.
This defines Redeemer’s conflict with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Redeemer was not the first victim of SEPA greed. We may be the first to say “no,” which is within a congregation’s rights. In the face of a massive recurring six-figure annual deficit, at a time when support was in steady decline, synodical leaders sought to close small churches so that they could keep operating as usual, guaranteeing their own jobs and salaries above their mission.
Instead of working for mission, church leaders engage in a waiting game. Small churches with valuable assets are neglected by design in hopes that they will fold and leave their assets to the hierarchy. But in Lutheran governance a church voting to close can dispose of their assets as they choose. “There’s got to be a way around this,” runs through leaders’ minds. “We need that money—-uhh—for mission. Let’s create a Mission Fund and feed it with the assets of churches we close. We can use it any way we like. No one will notice.”
Church leaders scramble to make new rules concerning “termination” and “involuntary synodical administration” and lock out the local leaders (literally) while they get their ducks in a row. Anything to protect those assets—for themselves.
Lay people are at risk, especially those who are knowledgeable enough to know the polity of their denomination. They have the least power and voice, especially when the denomination fails to provide clergy to serve them.
Courts have determined that they have no jurisdiction to require church leaders to honor their own governing rules. But two judges dissented, citing the law. There is hope!
Last February, The Inquirer looked into the East Falls land grab attempt in 2008 which has been in the courts ever since. They determined that the story might be too complicated to be told in 16 column inches. Most major newspapers have an online presence with no space restrictions, so that’s an outdated excuse.
Meanwhile, another synodical land grab is being attempted in the metropolitan New York area. Here there is an invocation of a brand new unwritten constitutional status — “permanent synodical administration.” More brazen all the time! This follows a midnight raid to seize church property in New Jersey by the Slovak Zion Synod. There will surely be more. Each unchallenged hierarchical action makes the next one that much easier!
They count on people being to timid or uncommitted to care. They also rely on the resources of every congregation fund the law suits against a congregation and the resources it can muster alone.
The courts have given an answer to the question raised in our headline.
Who is watching the priests and clerics?
In America, it’s up to us lowly Christians—the more lowly, the more likely.
We are coming to the close on our series on branding. Just a post or two left.
We are going to end this series where most discussions of branding begin—the visual images used to represent your mission or congregation.
The logo.
Developing a logo is a stretch for many small congregations. You may not have an artist in your congregation and the expense seems frivolous.
A logo is not a necessity, but it does have value. Consider this even as you work on your Mission Statement. It may help you focus on the words!
Common imagery includes: a cross, dove, open Bible, water, shells, people, hands, geographical features (mountain, river, plants/trees that distinguish your locale, for example cactus or pine), grain, chalice, fire or flame, building scape).
Think about style: modern vs classic. Same with fonts. Formal vs informal, script, san serif or serif or a combination.
Images communicate more powerfully than words. They trigger emotion quickly and deeply. In fact, the best writers are known for their ability to “paint a picture” with words. It’s a neurological reality. Messages received through imagery resonate more strongly and last longer in the memory.
Medieval Europe knew this. There faithful attended mass and listened to messages preached to them in Latin, a language few of them spoke and nearly none of them could write. Tthe cathedrals and chapels all across Europe are covered, floor to ceiling, with mosaics, sculpture, murals. Even the windows tell the Story.
Eastern Europe still makes imagery the focal point of contemplation with the use of religious icons.
Moslems forbid certain artistic representations but have developed symbolic imagery to a high art.
Families developed crests. Businesses mounted shingles with simple imagery.
All of this led up to the modern logo. A simple “picture” designed to tell many thousands of words every time you see it.
It may be worth finding someone to develop a logo concept for your church. There are also inexpensive logo design services on the web. This doesn’t have to cost a fortune. It can be accomplished for as little as $50 and certainly no more than a few hundred.
Here are a few web sites that will create a logo based on a collection of stock art (least expensive) to a custom logo.
http://www.churchlogogallery.com
http://www.thelogofactory.com/
http://99designs.com/
Just Google church logo design to find more and compare.
A low-cost solution is often sufficient for congregations. You are evangelizing and communicating within your neighborhood as opposed to the world, so it doesn’t matter so much if another church in a different denomination 1000 miles away is using similar imagery.
You can make a boilerplate image your own by adding distinctive type.
These sites are a good place to go for ideas. Have your committee look at the catalogs of stock images to see what ideas might fit your mission message.
The imagery should somehow reflect your mission statement or the name of your church or community.
If nothing else is available, take a photo of your building or something distinctive about your sanctuary. You can play around with photo-editing programs like Photoshop to make it more artistic.
Keep your logo simple so that it reproduces well in black and white for stationery and bulletins but color can be used on the web and mobile, where people spend more and more time!
The colors you choose can be used throughout the implementation of your ministry efforts. Think of how your favorite sports teams are identified by color even when the imagery is lacking.
This series has addressed evangelism in terms used most often by people in marketing and advertising. Again:
Advertising is getting the word out.
Evangelism is getting the Word out.
We’ve concentrated in this series on branding, applying this term to a favorite strategy of church developers — beginning a ministry with the tactic of writing a Mission Statement.
Often that’s where this sort of evangelism program both begins and ends. The Mission Statement is written and it’s back to business as usual.
One of the leading voices in the marketing world is businessman Seth Godin. He recently presented a concept and granted permission to share it. So let’s take a look at what he has to say.
Seth Godin’s Acute Heptagram of Impact
According to Godin (who has initiated countless ventures and helps many more kick-start their dreams) all of these seven qualities must be present if a project is to succeed. The absence of even one can snuff out the light! I revised his Heptogram to make it make sense to me. The concepts crisscross as if you are drawing a star, but otherwise it is Seth’s.
Start at the top of the star. Godin says you can have a STRATEGY but if you do not define your TACTICS and if you lack the SKILLS to EXECUTE those tactics. the STRATEGY won’t matter. Your ability to garner support from sponsors or workers depends on your REPUTATION. Nothing mentioned so far matters if the DESIRE to succeed is not present and the individuals involved do not PERSIST. The biggest enemy of PERSISTENCE is FEAR. And with this, you return to STRATEGY, completing your seven-pointed star.
Each point on this Marketing Star applies to any Congregation engaged in forging a new mission.
The strategy to create a Mission Statement is the tip of this seven-pointed star.
Start to draw the star and you come to tactic. That is the Mission Statement!
Keep drawing. You now need tp decide what skills and assets you already have or need to help you execute your Mission Statement.
Cross over to reputation. If you have a problem with reputation, begin to address it immediately. It may take a while!
Work with your membership to foster desire. Chances are your leaders understand the need to evangelize better than other church members. Leaders must find a way to communicate their enthusiasm to the rest of the congregation.
Then you have to start working your plan. Chalk up some success. Address each failure (and you will have some).
Don’t let fear of failure or making mistakes keep you from trying.
Godin claims that when things aren’t working, one or more of these elements are amiss. Often, he says, none of them are quite right. The biggest danger, he suggests, is the concentration on tactics before the full scope of the project is understood.
And that’s a problem with concentrating so hard on the Mission Statement that we miss everything else!
Join Bishop Ruby Kinisa as she visits small churches "under cover" to learn what people would never share if they knew they were talking to their bishop.
Undercover Bishop will always be available in PDF form on 2x2virtualchurch.com for FREE.
Print or Kindle copies are available on Amazon.com.
For bulk copies, please contact 2x2: creation@dca.net.
Contact Info
You can reach
Judy Gotwald,
the moderator of 2x2,
at
creation@dca.net
or 215 605 8774
Redeemer’s Prayer
We were all once strangers, the weakest, the outcasts, until someone came to our defense, included us, empowered us, reconciled us (1 Cor. 2; Eph. 2).
2×2 Sections
Where in the World is 2×2?
On Isaiah 30:15b
Be calm. Wait. Wait. Commit your cause to God. He will make it succeed. Look for Him a little at a time. Wait. Wait. But since this waiting seems long to the flesh and appears like death, the flesh always wavers. But keep faith. Patience will overcome wickedness.
—Martin Luther
Religion — at least the way it has been understood up until now — is facing a modern challenge. It has little to do with numbers. Numbers are just evidence of a major societal change.
