2×2 has an unusually broad reach for a very small congregation. Our blog has made amazing things happen.
A local reader introduced friends of hers who are missionaries in the far north of Sweden to 2×2. They became regular readers and contributors.
They have been back in the states for a few months and asked to meet us.
The four of us had a lovely afternoon sharing mission stories.
Sweden is a traditionally Lutheran nation that has over the years become somewhat secular. Religion is respected, the churches are open, but large sanctuaries are far from filled.
Sound familiar?
Their mission centers on house churches. Many denominations use this concept in America with success. The church we visited with the largest attendance was a Presbyterian Church in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia. There were well over 200 at worship. We noticed in their bulletin that they had invitations to several house church meetings during the week. Two of them were in our neighborhood!
There is something attractive in the concept. Large gatherings can feel overwhelming. People lose the intimacy so important to faith-nurturing.
Lutherans have never been particularly strong on this idea, stressing the corporate nature of church even as their numbers steadily fail. It might be worth considering.
2×2 has some experience. We met in our homes for the first year and a half after being evicted from our property by the Southeastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. We enjoyed the experience but it was difficultt to have any outreach or influence. We felt isolated from Christian community—which was the whole idea behind locking our doors. In isolation, we were expected to disappear.
We took to the idea of visiting churches with enthusiasm and our Ambassadors enjoy our visits.
So much of Lutheran attention centers on property and there are advantages. A church property is like a large billboard—a visual presence in the community. But if anything good is to happen inside that property, it is up to the people to nurture it—and that often happens best in small community. A dichotomy!
So it was interesting to talk with people who use the house church concept to reach individuals and thereby begin building Christian community.
So far, 2×2 has concentrated on building community with its web presence. That, too, is an interesting experimental mission — uncharted territory, really. We’ll take all the ideas we encounter to see what might be most effective for today’s faithful.
Today’s object is a cage. It should be obviously locked—perhaps with an extra lock to add some drama.
Today’s lessons revolve around the lesson from Acts 16:16-34. Paul and Silas are beaten severely. The Bible leaves their pain to our imaginations. We all know what it feels like to be beaten — if not literally, then figuratively.
The beating is a biblical act of bullying. Some important people are upset. They use their influence to incite the masses. The masses are all to eager too please the influencers in their lives.
The bullying doesn’t end with taunting and beating. Paul and Silas are thrown into jail—the ultimate punishment that causes ongoing shame even after release. Death might seem worse. But living with the history and memory of incarceration is a life-long challenge.
All the verbal and physical punishment means nothing compared to the wielding of power that the cage or jail cell represents. It is meant to control and wear down the encaptured. Cages are meant to change who you are. (And it is usually not meant to make you better!)
Cages keep us from reaching our true potential.
What do Paul and Silas do in their cage—aching with the pain of beating, shackled, robbed of their freedom and mobility, hidden in the most desolate part of the prison?
Paul and Silas sing hymns of joy.
They are able to do so because of the gospel of love, including today’s reading: John 17:20-26.
This passage is the “Other Lord’s Prayer.” Jesus prays expressly for his disciples.
He prays to His Father (and our Father), “that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
Bring this prayer to your listeners today. Reread that and substitute the word “we” and “us” for “they” and “them.”
The promise of the coming glory makes the cages of our lives bearable—and we all have cages. We may feel trapped in a job, trapped in a marriage, trapped in a toxic relationship, trapped by bureaucracy, trapped by tradition, trapped by our own weaknesses and shortcomings.
Which brings us to the joyful psalm of the day. Perhaps this was the song that Paul and Silas were singing. Psalm 97.
Here’s an excerpt.
Psalm 97: 10-12
The Lord loves those who hate evil; he guards the lives of his faithful; he rescues them from the hand of the wicked. Light dawns for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!
If your prayers were answered and you somehow escaped your personal cage, what would you do? It might depend on what we do while we are in our cages!
As you and your congregation repeat the psalm together, open the door of the cage.
The Transformational Tool the Church Is Waiting For
The Church is slow to understand Social Media and how it could impact the local congregation.
The fact is Social Media can benefit congregations—both large and small. It can do more. It can transform them.
Larger churches have more resources for exploring this new world, but the emphasis should actually be on helping small churches master Social Media. Their success will benefit the entire Church.
People like small churches. Most churches are small. Most small churches are struggling. Social Media could change this.
The power of Social Media, if unleashed, could change how we understand church and mission foundationally.
Church structure has been pretty much the same since Moses. Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy. With that command in mind for thousands of years, God’s people have gathered once every seven days for worship. The structure of Christian worship is built on the traditions of Jewish scripture.
It’s quite a heritage. Why change?
There are at least two reasons.
The number of people following the age-old traditions is dwindling.
For the first time in history, we CAN make significant changes.
Most church leaders view Social Media as additive. It’s something new they have to do in addition to all the things that already keep them busy. That’s one reason why they never get around to mastering new skills.
But Social Media can be so much more. It can be a game changer. It can turn church life inside out and connect congregations to the very people we have so much trouble reaching.
Look, for instance, at what is happening in the world of education because of the influence of social media.
The old model of education is to gather students around a teacher who lectures them. The students then go home and do homework to reinforce what they learned. Students who understand breeze through their homework. Students who don’t understand often return to the classroom to hear another lecture without mastering the foundations of the previous lesson. This model of education works for students with an academic mindset. It leaves a lot of great minds that think differently behind.
But now, progressive teachers are beginning to understand that the best lecturers in the world can present the lessons to students online. There is no longer any economic benefit to gathering students around one teacher to hear them talk. One excellent teacher can lecture a million students! Students can listen to the lesson before they come to class. They can repeat sections they don’t understand and search for additional information, if they are so inclined.
The role of “teacher ” changes. When the students gather together for the state-mandated school attendance, the teacher can work with them hands-on. The classwork (as opposed to homework) can involve debate and projects and individual instruction. Using this time to lecture is a waste!
How does this apply to Church?
We are accustomed to the gathered people of God coming together once a week to worship and listen to the Word. The Word is presented by one person who may have spent a day preparing the message. The format is 20-40 minutes — way longer than the modern attention span. There is little or no actual exchange with the congregation (unlike the accounts of Paul’s preaching in the book of Acts). There is no way of reinforcing the message. Even the best sermons are forgotten before the Sunday dinner table is cleared!
Social Media can change this. It means changing habits or perhaps creating a new discipline.
News flash: Preachers do not have to wait for congregants to come to them!
There is no reason a preacher cannot interact with congregants (and seekers) every day of the week. Short, thought-provoking messages tied to the daily lectionary as well as the weekly lectionary can bring the congregation together on Sunday prepared to be more involved in worship. Worship and post-worship can become more hands on. The pastor may learn much more about the congregation he or she serves and new mission ideas and opportunities are bound to surface.
What could come from this is a new understanding of the talent that today is simply sitting in the pew. Congregants, with daily reinforcement, will make religion more a part of their lives. With daily inspiration, they are more likely to talk to others as they go about their work and family lives. When they come to church once a week, they will come not as passive listeners but as empowered, knowledgeable Christians who are eager to put their faith to work. They might argue with the preacher (just as the temple-goers in the Bible did). They might present new ideas or come up with new mission possibilities—which can then be addressed online during the week—for all in the community to read. It will expand a congregation’s witness.
For Social Media’s power to reach full potential, we must be willing to transform how we structure our expectations of pastors. Pastors and educators of pastors must be part of the transformation.
It may even change the role of seminaries. All the newly empowered lay people might see value in studying more about their faith—not necessarily to become pastors, but to become more involved and knowledgeable lay people.
Once a month Redeemer worships in East Falls. Our Ambassadors were happy to be home this week. One of our Ambassadors had just returned from a trip to St. Augustine, Florida, and was brimming with news of her visit to a Missouri Lutheran Church there.
She had been invited to attend a Catholic church with some of her travel companions, but she was determined to visit a Lutheran Church in this old and historic city.
We did the research in advance and found there were only two—one ELCA and one Missouri. Both were quite a distance from the hotel where she was staying.
She talked of her $10 taxi ride to find the church with the taxi driver looking at a map with a magnifying glass as she hunted for the address.
She found a small church of 55 members. They were celebrating ten new members, nearly 20% growth! (Redeemer had 82 members when SEPA took us to court to force our closure. We were growing, too.)
Two members took her under their wings, invited her to the new member reception, and drove her back to her hotel.
The church gave her a gift of a cross with Luther’s Seal. They had fashioned the nice medallion to sell to raise money for property renovation. They are encouraging others to emulate their successful fundraiser. We are all for congregational entrepreneurship!
Another Ambassador had brought a painting an artist in a previous congregation had given as a gift many years ago. The artist, now deceased, had become quite famous and has works in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Our Ambassador had rich provenance from his personal relationship with this artist and shared many stories. It happened that another Ambassador was planning to attend a social that very afternoon featuring an appraiser from PBS’s Antiques Roadshow. We convinced him to take his “Lutheran” painting for appraisal.
We began worship sharing our week’s activities but soon settled down to hear the message of peace that was the lectionary theme for the day. Peace — that elusive, misunderstood, but welcome Christian concept.
We long for peace that doesn’t dehumanize us. Peace with passion, perhaps. Peace that doesn’t discern victors and victims.
Which brought our Ambassadors to talking about the signs that have gone up around Redeemer this week. The patronizing signs chastise local dog owners who let their pets run freely on the vacant property. I listened for a while as the Ambassadors talked about the desecration of sacred property. I thought they were talking about the dogs desecrating the property, but I soon realized that they considered the heavy-handed signs revealing an attitude of superiority to be the desecration.
Blessed are the peacemakers. Anyone know any peacemakers?
Or is peace one of those concepts Lutherans believe in theory only?
SEPA has had control of Redeemer’s property for nearly four years. It sits there unused— vacant with its paint peeling. Unused property in an urban neighborhood is quickly claimed by dog lovers.
Redeemer occasionally had to remind the neighbors that the yard is used by children. Mostly they respected that. No big deal. But now it’s different. When we worshiped this Easter on the sidewalk we watched one dog owner after another shortcut through the yard.
The people of East Falls were quite upfront at the Community Council meeting SEPA attended more than a year ago. SEPA was putting their best foot forward, trying to impress the locals with their concern for the neighborhood—something they failed to show their own supporting members in East Falls. Rev. Pat Davenport was all charm as she gratuitously asked the community what they would like to see on that corner. The members said, “a dog park.”
The absentee landowners are now peeved. Ever-accustomed to wielding a mighty arm without resistance, SEPA now resorts to signs on every corner. Signs on the signboard. Cardboard signs propped up on folding chairs (at least they haven’t taken ALL our folding chairs).
Clearly, they mean business!
They warn the neighbors that they don’t intend to clean up after their dogs.
That should make mowing the yard very interesting.
Their attitude toward dogs is similar to their attitude towards Redeemer’s people.
East Falls is not going to take well to it.
Sometimes neighbors just have to put up with neighbors. If SEPA ever wants to open a word and sacrament church in East Falls — as Rev. Davenport claimed, but we doubt — they should adjust their attitude. Fallsers have a long memory. As new owners of old East Falls land they are already, in East Falls vernacular, considered “squatters.” (And in SEPA’s case, they are squatters who showed no mercy on the people of East Falls in pursuit of our community’s riches for their gain.)
A little advice from Redeemer on how to get along with your neighbors:
The only thing that draws more flies than dog dirt is honey.
It isn’t Redeemer members you are dealing with now. It is all of East Falls.
Redeemer and 2×2 takes SEPA’s recent request for congregations to make multimedia presentations about their ministry seriously. It is a goal of 2×2 to conquer video for use on its website, so it was a welcome challenge.
We learned basic recording techniques and syncing sound tracks to slides. We added transitions. We’ve got a lot to learn, but we are happy with our start and will soon share our experiences with others.
Blogging may be good and it may reach all over the world. But the word of God says, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another . . . . ” (Hebrews 10 :25) and to my understanding I am going to church.
We have never advocated blogging as a replacement for Christian community. We see it as enhancing Christian community.
There is value in assembling as a people of God. Most of the people who read and correspond with us through our blog are active in such assemblies and send us many photos of their congregations.
Assembling as a congregation is not in itself an evangelism tool. The sizes of these assemblies are shrinking—big churches and small churches alike. Most are experiencing sizable decline. As they shrink, they are becoming protective of who they are. In a sense they forsake who they might become, if they actually had a way of reaching out.
The value of blogging is that you reach beyond the four walls of your congregation and start to learn about the people who are not part of your assembly—yet.
As for the people of 2×2 and Redeemer? We have been locked out our place of assembly by all the other Lutheran congregations in our region. This was an unnecessary cruelty and was designed to make taking our property, our offerings and possessions easier.
And still we attend church — sitting several times a month with the very people who condone this action—some actively, most passively. We worship, we pass the peace and sometimes commune with them. We listen to words read from the Bible that point to the wrongs of these actions. We have visited 60 happy and contented congregations who would rather not be bothered. We live the Good Samaritan story every day. The Levite and Pharisee pass us by.
We worship with others even when it is difficult to do, even when we are treated with only minimal hospitality and no recognition of what their communities have put our community through. We have abided condescending platitudes. We have also met some really nice people!
Congregations seem to find justification in their communal acceptance of wrong.
We still believe in local assembly and gather in our own “upper room” in a theater that has loaned us the space for three years while our church has persisted in vilifying our members to justify their leaders’ actions. We pass our locked church, a symbol of atrocity, every day.
We still get together once a week for worship and often during the week to work on projects or just enjoy one another’s company. We still help one another through tough times and celebrate good times. We still pray for one another and for the rest of the church that treats us so badly.
We agree with you! Go to church.
But beware! Just being there is not enough. The gospel—including the book of Hebrews—makes other demands on us.
Don’t forget the teachings of love, forgiveness and reconciliation. Don’t forget the admonition to go into the world and make believers of all.
Blogging has made this possible for every Christian.
Today’s object lesson can be a gift-wrapped package. Inside the package should be some symbol of peace. There are yard ornaments — rocks with peace written on them. (You could paint your own rock.) Or you might pull out a dove from a Christmas decoration. Think of some physical symbol of peace. Ask a member of the congregation to open the gift.
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus is preparing the apostles for their mission without His physical presence. He knows that their journeys are not going to be easy. Most will die martyrs’ deaths. He sends them out with the assurance that He will somehow, in a way beyond normal understanding, be with them. He offers them peace.
That’s quite a promise!
How can He possibly deliver on that promise!
Well, it’s not the type of peace the world gives you, He explains.
There’s something to talk about in that because the world is always at war, it seems. Yet we still long for individual oases of calm. Lake houses of serenity.
Talk of the Spirit is never far away. The Spirit is about to figure prominently in the post-Easter story. The Spirit keeps the sense of peace in motion. The peace of the Lord is an active peace. Less of a lake house of serenity and more like a boat on a storm-tossed sea—that Jesus has the power to calm!
A great gift deserves a response.
Given the gift of peace, what are we going to do with it?
Don’t just let the question dangle in the air. Help your congregation explore answers. When they pass the peace later in the service, it may take on new meaning.
In fact, when you come to the passing of the peace, you could physically hand the symbol of peace you unwrapped from one congregant to another. That will be a reminder of your teaching this morning.
2x2virtualchurch is the web project of Redeemer Lutheran Church in East Falls, Philadelphia, shunned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. They view us as too small to fulfill any mission purpose and seized our property and locked out our members.
2x2virtualchurch is now two years old. We started knowing very little about the web but it seemed to be a logical and viable mission opportunity for a congregation raped of its heritage.
It’s been a voyage of discovery.
We’ve documented our growth statistics before but in the last month we began to add new dimension to our ministry.
About a month ago, businessesgrow.com (Mark Shaefer’s marketing website) featured a 2×2 guest blog.
That blog was picked up by five other major blogs including a couple of business web sites and two Christian Social Media web sites. (These are the ones we know about!)
Yesterday, we received a request to participate in a podcast for a Christian Social Media site. At the same time we are about to launch our first multimedia video.
This is all within a few weeks!
So the progression has been:
2011: Readership grows from 1 reader per month in February to a few hundred per month
2012: Readership grows from an average of 20 readers per day to 50 readers per day
2013 to date: Readership grows from 50 readers per day to an average of 90 per day and more than 4000 per month
This makes Redeemer and its 2×2 ministry the congregation with the widest reach in SEPA Synod—which declared us to be closed and unfit to manage our own ministry in 2010. (They wanted our property.)
The lessons to be learned from our ministry:
Prepare to give a solid year of dedicated work before making any value assessments. 2×2 started to gain momentum when we started posting daily in the summer of 2011.
Post frequently at least three times a week.
Look for interests that aren’t being addressed. We discovered a demand for object lessons for adults that draws daily traffic to our site. Churches are also looking for easy dramas—plays that don’t require a lot of costumes and rehearsals. We are trying to figure out how to offer music!
Your audience is the world once you begin using the web. You can write for just the people who live near you but don’t close the doors on interesting opportunities. We have many stories to tell of how our ministry is impacting the lives of Christians thousands of miles away in surprising and exciting ways.
Be helpful to your readers. Our free resources geared to small congregations drives our traffic.
Cast a wider net when fishing for men. Most church web sites are all about them. They may succeed locally with this approach, but they will be missing mission opportunity.
Don’t look to professional leadership to have the skills needed to forge the way in this type of ministry. They have been busy learning other things. Turn it over to lay people.
Don’t rely on hierarchical support. They are not likely to understand the potential of the web. They were born of an era when church structure was locally focused with distant oversight. This is not likely to change without a major reformation.
Don’t expect accolades for your success from the greater church. Again, they frequently don’t understand the web and are still assessing congregational viability by 1950 standards. It will be five years at least before they realize what they are missing. By then things are likely to have changed still more.
Don’t expect regional bodies to admit their weaknesses.
Where to from here?
2×2 has gained credible blogging skills. We will now look to be adding more video and podcasting and more helpful resources for small church ministry and world mission.
We hope to cooperate with other local ministry efforts, offering our expertise to their causes.
We’ve grown a bit “like Topsy” but we will now become more intentional in creating our ministry plan—something Redeemer was always good at!
We have achieved this success on a $0 budget as our hierarchy claimed all our offerings at the same time it challenged us with legal expenses. We now have a readership base that can monetize our ministry. The economics of scale will allow us to do this at prices far lower than traditional publishing and we will remain dedicated to providing most resources for free as part of our mission.
There is a lot of hard work in learning all these new mission skills. We will be glad to share our experiences with any church interested in diving in!
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
