I have been blogging on behalf of my congregation (Redeemer Lutheran Church in East Falls) for nearly three years. It has become a discipline which has created many interesting mission opportunities for our little church without a building. It is something our members follow and discuss when we get together. It is our church blog.
There is always something new to learn! In 2011 we inched our way up from one visitor each month to 500 a month. In 2012 we improved our statistics about tenfold and doubled that again in 2013. We have used no gimmicks or strategies—no Facebook ad campaigns, no contests or elaborate opt-in schemes. We just created and posted content almost every day.
But how do our statistics measure? I had no idea.
Today I saw a recommendation for a utility that analyzes a website in comparison with others in a similar field. I think it does this by analyzing key words and results of key words. How would three years of work stack up in an independent, purely statistical, algorithmic review?
I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. Nevertheless, I started exploring.
The results are amazing.
2×2 is in the upper 20% of most church social media ministry categories and is NUMBER ONE in the category of church blogging. The lowest we ranked in any category was 47%.
Within the next two weeks we will tally our 40,000th unique visitor. We now have about 200 readers everyday (about half unique and half followers).
We are putting our four years of exile from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to good use. What we have learned could help many! Statistically, we may be the largest church in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod — measuring modern statistics!
But we are shunned. Our skills, our loyalty, our faithful mission, and our people are worth nothing in the ELCA. Our property and the protection of the people who created this mess are priorities.
Lutherans teach that the church is not a building. The church is the people.
But Lutherans don’t really believe what they teach. They have our building and evicted the people. They declared us closed—with no consideration for the people. A new church is now worshiping at the same time we once worshiped — right across the street from our locked building—proving that ministry is totally possible in our neighborhood.
But we knew that all along.
Will the ELCA ever see us as viable?
Not without some help.
Redeemer is not closed.
We are locked out of God’s House by SEPA Synod.
10 Oct 2013
East Falls: Religion’s Bank
East Falls, an eclectic Philadelphia neighborhood, was once populated with a vibrant spiritual community. Recent decades have seen several church struggles with their form of hierarchy. East Falls is always the loser.
The churches of East Falls, for the most part, were built by working class people with occasional gifts from successful East Falls entrepreneurs. For example, Hohenadel’s Brewery, now long gone, gave annual gifts to the churches.
Redeemer was the unexpected recipient of one such estate in 1987—the Steinle Estate. That’s when the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America started salivating.
First, came the claims of Lutheran retirement home, where our deceased member was planning to move. She died before that happened, but Paul’s Run wanted to keep her hefty deposit. We settled out of court giving them about $20,000. (I was present when our church treasurer visited Paul’s Run and asked to see the director. He was turned away. “The director is not in,” the people at the front desk said. Our treasurer turned and started to leave but abruptly opened an office door by the reception area. There was the director, sitting pretty as he pleased!).
A decade later, Bishop Almquist grabbed $90,000 from our bank account, but returned most of it after two years—a sort of forced, interest-free loan.
A decade after that, SEPA tried again, this time claiming everything but our people. They went after our people in court.
No one can say that Redeemer was not contributing to the Synod! By the way, contributions to the synod are not required constitutionally.
Why East Falls?
Denominations have few ways of raising money except to seek more offerings from fewer people. Far fewer people. The suburbs are feeling the pinch, too!
There have always been rich people in East Falls going back to the 1700s. Our streets and schools are named after them. Today, the richest live north of Henry Ave or along Warden Drive. The middle of East Falls—roughly Henry Avenue to the railroad tracks remains solidly working middle class, but rising within that class. The positive trend for East Falls is that the other side of the tracks, the homes of mill workers and the mills (turned condo), is experiencing gentrification. East Falls is coming up in the world!
Redeemer is centrally located to all of East Falls.
Government housing projects on three sides of East Falls had plagued this neighborhood for decades. It was difficult for the community to connect and they became havens of desperation and crime. This had always been a challenge to our churches (for which the higher church had no answers. I asked!). But now two of these projects are gone and the third is better managed. There is nothing stopping the value of East Falls property from rising. Entirely new populations are making East Falls home. Many were finding their way to Redeemer.
Good time to rethink ministry, one might think. And Redeemer did!
Many of those who fled the city in the 60s and 70s became cornerstones of suburban churches. Now the regional bodies are returning for what they left behind.
The land their heritage churches sit on has risen in value.
Denominational regional offices have noticed. One by one, the communities of faith have struggled with their hierarchies with land being the rope in the tug of war.
When Catholic and Episcopal leaders need money, they hold title to congregational properties. Their people can fight, but winning is tough!
Not so under the rules of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. But they flexed their muscles in East Falls anyway, hoping no one would know better. With all the land issues in the news with Episcopal and Catholic denominations, people wouldn’t notice that the Lutheran Church does not own congregational property. The scheme worked. The courts never heard the case, ruling they don’t have jurisdiction in church issues. If they say they own the property, that’s good enough.
No one in the Lutheran Church seems to care about this. They should. It is foundational to their future. Once seized land is sold for a quick financial fix, the ability to make an impact in neighborhoods is gone. Mission fails.
The Lutheran way has always been to empower the foundation—families first (Martin Luther felt the home was the hub of Christian learning), congregations second, neighborhoods third. Regional and national entities are supposed to serve that end. No more.
Land values in East Falls coupled with a working class population makes us seem like easy pickings. We are not supposed to be smart enough to know the rules they are breaking.
St. James the Less lost their battle with the hierarchy ten years ago. The ploy there was to fabricate doctrinal issues.
There were no doctrinal issues raised with Redeemer Lutherans. Any justification for the actions of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod was fabricated to support greed and prejudice after the fact. There was never a discussion with the congregation to test the claims. The synod made claims; that’s good enough.
It wasn’t supposed to stop here. SEPA lawyer stated in court that Redeemer was the first of six or seven churches they intended to claim, close and reopen as MISSION churches. Sounds good. Don’t be fooled.
SEPA STRATEGY: This is part of a complex strategy. Lutheran rules assign certain land rights to churches started by a Synod and initially funded by Synod. They are called mission churches. Congregations with roots as a mission church cannot leave the ELCA WITH their property. Many Philadelphia churches were NOT started by synod. SEPA strategy is to seize control of these congregations and make them mission churches so that property rights revert to Synod. That’s what all the incremental tweaks about Involuntary Synodical Administration in the constitutions are about. That’s why it is so important to SEPA that churches close first and reorganize rather than just outright serving them under their existing names and constitutions. They say its about eliminating baggage of the past. Part of that baggage is land rights. They want property rights. In some cases, the Synod may actually be spending the congregation’s money, but by claiming it as theirs first and then spending it, they gain property rights.
Redeemer’s Neighbor: St. Bridget’s
In recent months, the heart and soul of much of East Falls — St. Bridget’s Roman Catholic Church — has been feeling the impact of the hierarchical clenched fist.
Last year, their school was closed by the archdiocesan “blue ribbon” committee. How can you argue with people who have blue ribbon status before they do anything?
In community discussions, the voices of outrage are heard.
The school had weathered four years of recession better than others. Their closure was supposed to boost the enrollment of schools which were struggling but which the archdiocese had sunk some money into refurbishing. Now both schools are closed.
The school is now the focus of commercial and community developers. The opportunity to use the land to foster religion may be gone.
The congregation had been subsidizing the school by as much as 35%. One community member stated. “Our church is in the black without the school.”
They are in the black for now. The school was an investment in their future. School’s create family involvement and long-term loyalty. Check back in 10 years to see if St. Bridget’s is still in the black without their school.
Meanwhile, the finances of the archdiocese were not discussed. Funny how the focus is always on the finances of congregations and not leadership. The archdiocese is struggling with major legal problems stemming from wide-ranging clergy sex scandals. Children were the victims then. Children and their education are the victims now. Millions of dollars are being spent to settle claims. Schools are closing.
SEPA Lutheran Synod (diocese) is also financially strapped, running six-figure deficits or shortfalls every year.
When regional church bodies cannot support their salaries and rent, they know where to turn. To nice, working class neighborhoods with rising property values.
East Falls fits the bill.
The spoils of East Falls will last only so long.
It will be someone else’s turn tomorrow. Maybe other Lutherans will start caring then!
I led a workshop on writing press releases this evening.
We discussed the basics of writing a release, adapting it to different news outlets and audiences, understanding the interest and needs of news editors, developing your own distribution channels and more!
Some attendees had an interest in church communications so it was a great discussion.
We are nearing the end of the year exploring Luke’s Gospel. Soon Jesus will be entering Jerusalem for his final trial.
But as he sets his face for Jerusalem, he encounters still more marginalized members of ancient Palestine—the lepers.
The disease was so feared that colonies were created in the most bleak areas to separate them from the healthy.
Leprosy is rare today. It can be cured. In Jesus’ day it was a disease that you could not hide. It was a death sentence, at least as far as living with any quality of life or ever living with anyone but other lepers ever again. The tenth leper was separating himself from the only people he had probably known since his disease became apparent.
This painting is by William Brassey Hole who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Hole was very fastidious in his details. Here is a link that discusses his methods. He traveled to study and learn the culture of the regions he painted. However, he couldn’t escape his time. He often depicts architecture that wasn’t built in Bible times and the wardrobe (which he collected for his models) was often more Arabic than Jewish as the demographics had changed in 1800 years. What I like about this depiction is the focus on the face of the thankful leper. The happy lepers are blips in the background.
Also from the 19th century is this version by French artist Jean Marie Melchior Doze. He takes a much more dramatic approach to telling this story. All those lepers just begging for Jesus’ attention. Doze concentrates on cure—not the reaction!
The story has long caught the attention of artists for centuries. This dates back to medieval times.
I like this one with the life of the times depicted as much as the key characters. Jesus is walking along probably passing many a shepherd, goatherd or cowherd. Then he encounters people who need care just as much as the animals need care.
Don’t you just want to join the happy dancers in the background? They are leaping off the page with joy. This image appears in several places on the web. No one seems to know the artist. If you know, please share. I have a guess but I haven’t been able to verify.
Today, we can learn from Jewish neighbors and colleagues.
A problem with religion in general is that we all live in our own worlds. We approach problems as if they are unique, threatening only to what we in our self-imposed isolation are doing.
In fact, most churches, denominations, and faiths face the same challenges.
We just don’t identify the challenges correctly.
We all live in the same world with the same changing demographics, the same societal changes, the same economic dilemmas.
Churches die before they can adapt. They die because they are chasing the transformational dream. They die because they are encouraged to change while lacking the tools or structure that will foster change.
It is time to admit that the emphasis of the of last 20 years has been wrong. Churches do not need to transform. We don’t need to change who we are or our message. We DO need to adapt to the world we all live in if we hope to reach the world we live in.
What we need to pursue is adaptive ministry.
The Church’s two-decade old quest for transformation has failed because we all have been looking at each other, waiting for someone else to do the transforming. We isolate the few successes—without really analyzing why they were successful or waiting to see if the success is sustainable. We try to copy one trendy methodology after another.
The last thing we would think to change is the structure of the Church. Heaven forbid!
This approach blinds the church to truly adaptive ministry.
Rabbi Hayim Herring addresses this in his blog today. He talks about many of the things 2×2 discusses—the need to reach people where they are in ways they can actually relate—and sustain.
He calls it “building a platform.” Platforms are structures!
What is an organizational platform (and I can highlight only a few dimensions in this space)? A platform is an enabling space for people to interact and act upon issues. An organization that becomes a platform enables individuals to self direct their Jewish choices and express their Jewish values within the organization’s mission. That is a radical shift from organizational leaders directing people how, when, where, why and with whom to be Jewish—in other words, the dominant paradigm of more established Jewish organizations and synagogues!
Becoming a platform is also a mindset. It means embracing the desire of individuals to co-create their experiences, opt in and opt out of Jewish life, do new things and old things in new ways-of course, within the organization’s mission. This mindset operates within the building, outside of the building, on the website, and anywhere else. It also requires a much more creative and intentional use of technologies to tell individual stories and organizational stories and a redefinition of professional and volunteer leaders’ roles, new governance models and even new professional and volunteer positions.
There is little need for traditional church structure in today’s world. People know this. Church leaders don’t. That’s why churches, large and small, are failing. That’s why the population in the sanctuary is quickly aging.
This failure of the Church to adapt its structure will continue to strangle the breath from the Church. If we can adapt structure, we can avoid a sure and certain death.
Redeemer was leading the way in this regard—still is. We didn’t really know that we were building a platform—but we were!
Redeemer was doing many things in ministry right. We hadn’t gotten there without stumbling a few times, but we had learned a lot in facing problems. We had identified a niche ministry that was growing quickly. We had faced the economic challenges of small church ministry head on. We came to realize that associating with just one pastor was impeding ministry—limiting us to one vision while sapping our resources. We had found pastors willing to work within the new paradigm that was needed for success, while our regional body had only one position: there were no leaders willing to serve us.
The ELCA, while stumping for transformation, couldn’t deal with transformation when it bit them on their Achilles heel. Ouch! What was that?
Regional bodies have serious problems of their own and they have only one way out—getting fewer lay people to give more. If that doesn’t work, take it.
That’s what they did in East Falls. They took what did not belong to them, attempting to destroy ministry to salvage structure. It hasn’t worked very well.
Redeemer’s transformation continues. Our online ministry teaches and involves people who would never bother with Sunday School or religious education. We are discovering our own world view—not waiting for a national church to point out needs and remedies to select problems. We continue to pursue the economic challenges of all neighborhood ministries and we think we have some answers. There is no reason to lock the members of Redeemer out of Church life—except the desire for our assets.
We have built a platform. We work at it every day. We work at it with no help from the structured church. We have learned a lot about ministry in today’s world.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, for the most part, is not listening. They are worried about their retirement years. Their ears are growing old, their eyesight is growing dim. But we, their faithful children, still love them.
Today’s Gospel is Luke’s account of Jesus’ Curing of Ten Lepers. All are made clean. Nine go on their way rejoicing. Only one (and a Samaritan at that) returns to thank Jesus for changing his life.
Today’s object is a Thank You card.
You can hold an actual Thank You card in your hand. You might even read the actual words.
Or you could create a giant Thank You card on a flip chart as you talk.
Writing Thank You cards is one of the first skills we teach our children. Often, it is one of the first skills forgotten as we reach an age of independence.
One habit of successful business people is writing Thank You notes. Some even have custom cards printed, sitting on their desks so that “the work” of finding and writing cards doesn’t stand in the way.
Giving thanks restores something inside of us. It unites us to community. You might make the point that only one of the lepers was truly 100% healed!
Examine with your adults (or children) the reasons why they might fail to show appreciation for a gift or action.
We might feel entitled. I’m the mother. I carried you for nine months. I deserve a nice gift. OR I don’t have to thank my Mom. She’s my mother.
We might feel the cost of thanking someone via mail negates the value of the gift. She gave me a $20 gift certificate. If I buy a card and mail it, that’s 20% of the value of the gift.
We may feel that the time it takes to thank someone doesn’t fit into our schedules. They know I’m grateful. I don’t have to go out of my way.
The feeling of superiority or equity might stop us. After all I’ve done for them, I rate a box of candy. I invited their family to dinner five times. It’s high time I get a return invitation.
We really do forget!
So those are reasons we offer to justify ingratitude. We, like the nine happy lepers, can go on our way using any of these reasons.
But what made the Samaritan leper return to smother Jesus with words and gestures of appreciation?
Let your congregation answer this question and write their words of thanks on the chart.
They might include:
Love for the donor.
Fear of the donor. (The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.—from today’s psalm—Psalm 111) (Did the Samaritan realize that if Jesus had the power to heal he might also have the power to destroy?
Words of gratitude might be an insurance policy of sorts. Keep the gifts coming!
But there is always the possibility that the beneficiaries of kindness are just plain thrilled that someone notices and cares that we walk this earth even as unclean outsiders.
When people see their thoughts in writing, their words carry more weight. As you finish today’s object lesson, have the congregation read their giant Thank You card out loud and together.
If you really want the message to hit home, put a thank you card in the mail tomorrow to each member of your congregation. (Not difficult for small churches!). Be specific in thanking them for their contributions to your church community.
Thanks is often a two-way street! We feel good when we are thanked for even the littlest thing. Imagine how God might feel having sacrificed his Son.
EXTRA
If you blog about your lesson—you do blog, don’t you?—here is a link to share with your congregation to reinforce the discussion on giving thanks. It’s just for fun. People learn when they are having fun!
Bishop Kinisa was listening to the young pastoral candidate, but she was growing impatient.
The whole experience was bizarre—a recent seminarian coming to her with a proposal for a call. “If I listen to Bruce, how many other seminarians will line up at my door?” she wondered.
The time had come, she thought, to cut to the chase. She respected Gil and had enjoyed teaming with Bruce on the Undercover Bishop visits. But now she was not sure how to respond to Bruce’s appeal, especially since Gil was clearly in his corner before either had thought to approach her.
Young pastors were usually eager to be considered for any vacant church. Her usual role was to interview candidates, make recommendations to call committees and oversee the negotiations.
What was happening today was not the way things are supposed to be.
Bishop Kinisa decided to take charge.
“Bruce, correct me if I’m wrong, but you are not rostered in NEWS Synod.”
Bruce had anticipated the objection. “That’s right, I was sponsored in seminary by my home congregation which is in another synod. Frankly, I enjoyed working with you and the three Undercover Congregations. I have no real loyalties to any synod. It was only my home congregation sponsoring me. I have no financial obligations to my home synod. I thought it would be a good idea to explore possibilities. If my ideas have merit they may have wide-ranging benefits.”
“What hubris!” Ruby thought, but she maintained her calm.
“I confess I’m confused, Bruce. Are you here because you want to be considered for a call to a NEWS congregation? If so, I really don’t understand all the talk about Social Media.”
“I can see that what I’m trying to say might be confusing. I assure you it’s not my intention to cause difficulty. I keep thinking back to that conversation we had earlier this year, Bishop Kinisa. You asked me if I would consider serving in a small congregation. I’ve spent the best part of the year thinking about this. It seemed natural to return to the person who asked me the question in the first place.”
Ruby was encouraged with Bruce’s response. “And your answer is…?”
“I’d love to serve a congregation like Grace, Zion or Pleasantville. But I’m married with two boys about to enter college.”
“So your answer is no . . . just like so many other pastors.”
Gil interjected.
“Ruby that’s what Bruce is getting to. He has an idea that might make it possible for him to work with smaller congregations in a truly creative way.”
He turned to Bruce.
“Lay it out for the bishop, Bruce, just like you did for me at the conference last week.”
Bruce swallowed hard.
“Bishop Kinisa, I’d like to serve a small parish part-time, perhaps even two yoked small congregations. I’m hoping that such a call might support my ministry with a base salary of about $2000 per month.”
“But we know you can’t live on that,” Gill prodded.
“No, I can’t support my family on that, But I’m hoping to interest NEWS Synod in funding an experimental Social Ministry Model. I’d like to pilot a program that would help all 200 NEWS churches learn from my work.”
Both Gil and Bruce paused for Ruby’s reaction. She hesitated to answer at all, but finally said. “Bruce, I just don’t know enough about internet ministry. My gut reaction is that no one will be willing to support this idea. If there was any interest, someone would already be doing it.” She paused and smiled. “That being said . . . I’d have no trouble turning down either one of you…but the two of you together!”
All three enjoyed a laugh. That broke the ice.
At last Ruby said, “Bruce, I’d have to seriously study your proposal. Of course, I’d have to run it past the Synod Council and perhaps even the Synod Assembly before we could get funding.”
Gil interjected. “I think we can make it work. It will take a few months of meetings. Bruce will have to make presentations—beat the bushes, so to speak. The Synod Council might need a meeting or two to make a decision. That will leave only a few months left in this fiscal year. We can find the money.”
“Who do you think will give up their budgets for this?” Ruby asked.
“Social Media is so new that it doesn’t fall under any one committee. That’s probably why we have done so little with it. No one sees it as their job!” Gil said.
Bruce interjected. That’s the beauty of Social Media. It fits under several committees. It can be used for Witness, Education, Evangelism, Communications, Social Ministry, Justice Ministry and some churchwide agencies might be willing to get involved.”
Ruby smiled “Oh, to be young again,” she said. “I’m warning you, it won’t be easy.”
Gil added, “Bruce, it’s going to be your job to convince the movers and shakers in each area that there is something in this for them.”
“I’m up to the challenge, Bishop. Seriously, I really feel called in this direction. I hope I can count on your support.”
Ruby was not yet ready to commit one hundred percent, but she saw Gil’s enthusiasm and decided to leave the door open.
“I’m not yet on board, Bruce—at least not with both feet. A lot of work must be done before I approve this idea. But I am willing to put you in front of some people and see where you take us.”
Gil started humming, ”Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.” Bruce and Ruby joined in the last words. “Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me. Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.”
Bishop Kinisa was listening to Bruce James as he talked with exuberance about the potential for Social Media in ministry.
She was conscious that listening to the young, recent seminary graduate was work. Her mind was hearing his words, but other thoughts—defensive thoughts—kept creeping in.
Social Media was a mystery to her. There was just one thing she hated about being bishop—reading email. In fact, she had delegated her email to her secretary. Pam saved her hours a week by prioritizing her messages. She managed to whittle 150 morning messages down to just a dozen or so. Ruby was proud of her office’s efficiency. Less time online meant more time in mission.
She recalled how Gil had insisted their Communications Director sign her up for Facebook. She had agreed reluctantly. Now months later, her Facebook page just sat there. “If it’s so great, why don’t I ever feel the urge to look at my own page?” she wondered.
But there was another nagging thought that was muting the words of the seminarian. She knew him better than the other members of his seminary class who were knocking on her door, looking for calls. She had grown to like him and felt friendly towards him. But this is the first time a seminarian had come to her with anything but hat in hand. Much as she liked Bruce she couldn’t help but marvel at his nerve. Was this the same Bruce James she had worked with just a few months ago?
Gil noticed her lapse in attention.
He pressed Bruce to skip over his theories. “Bruce, it sounds like you have something concrete in mind. How do you see this working?”
For the first time, Bruce stammered in his presentation.
“I feel a bit awkward,” he confessed. “I am usually not this forward. It’s just that this idea is so real to me—so promising. I know it must sound crazy to you but I just feel compelled to pursue it.”
He paused to read Ruby’s and Gil’s reactions. He saw encouragement in Gil’s face, but wasn’t sure he was reaching the bishop.
He decided to try another direction.
“Bishop Kinisa, we traveled together to three churches earlier this year. I worked with you for several months after you revealed that you were their bishop. I felt very lucky to be part of that experiment. I learned more visiting the three “Undercover Congregations” than I did in my field experience these last few months—maybe even in my three years of classes!”
Ruby felt the need to gain some control in the conversation. She resorted to her usual interview techniques with first-call pastors.
“Where did you spend your field experience, Bruce?”
Bruce answered quickly. He wanted to be polite and respectful, but he also wanted to get his message across.
“I served with Pastor Rolf Anders at First Lutheran.”
Ruby knew both Pastor Anders and the large suburban congregation well.
“How did you like being in a large congregation after spending so much time with Pleasantville, Grace, and Zion?” she asked.
Bruce answered. “I expected it to feel different, but the longer I was there, the more that I saw that First has many of the same challenges as the much smaller “Undercover Congregations.”
Gil, at last, jumped into the conversation with both feet. “Tell us about that, Bruce.”
“Well,” Bruce ventured with some hesitation, “there are just two major differences, really. One, there are more people—obviously. Two, they had a long-term relationship with Pastor Anders. These two factors defined their ministry.”
“And how did this make a difference?” Gil prodded.
“It’s really hard to explain,” Bruce answered. “When we were working with the Undercover Congregations, the people were always in—I’ll call it ‘problem-solving mode.’ You know what I mean, don’t you? The people were always presenting ideas, looking for new possibilities, constantly reinventing themselves. The people of Trinity seemed more content in the ministry they had built over the years with Pastor Anders. Their approach to ministry was more about doing the same things better.”
Now Gil was taking charge. “So which experiences shaped your passion for Social Media ministry, Bruce?”
“That’s the easiest question you’ve asked me so far!” Bruce commented. “The answer is BOTH!”
Every thousand years or so the Church should reexamine the way it works. Something might have changed that might influence our methodology and our success in mission.
The Church has survived the early days of Greek democracy, Roman Imperialism, feudal governments, monarchies, papist states, the re-emergence of democracy in a New World, and Western Colonization. That’s just a sampling.
You’d think the experience would have made us flexible.
So here we are at the dawn of a new age—the Information Age or the Connection Age.
The Churches of the Western World are largely spectators in our changing society. A new era arrived while our lamps were unlit.
Part of our thinking is skewed toward the habit of culturally dividing the world into Eastern and Western Hemispheres. Today’s world is more culturally divided by Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
The dividing line is actually slightly north of the Equator. The Northern Church is fading. The Southern Church is growing.
The Northern Church is used to being in charge—the leaders. Ultimately the Northern Church will follow the Southern Church. Where is the latest pope from?
What’s the difference between the two hemispheres? The Southern Hemisphere carries less baggage. Christianity is new and refreshing. The language, music, and customs of the North didn’t relate. There was little expectation that they would.
The Northern Church carries a ton of baggage. We don’t know where to begin in unloading it!
The current methodology for reviving mission is to concentrate on individual congregations. Dealing with the baggage of the past is one of the first steps church leaders take when working with congregations in transition. This can come in the form of discussion, or it can come from strong-arming congregations—even evicting them and taking property with the excuse that a new foundation for mission with no baggage is needed. Out with the faithful. In with . . . . who knows?
Either way, we avoid the reality that where change is most needed is in broader church structure. Talk about baggage! Most of the baggage in the church is in the overhead compartments!
Being the target for mandated change is a frustrating process for congregations. We are asked to perform the same old way, a lot better and faster, and with less encouragement and fewer resources. Meanwhile, Church leaders do nothing to change.
Truth be told, change is even more frustrating for regional bodies. They are desperate for success they can control and measure and that will sustain them. At the same time, they feel they must maintain the image of leadership—even as the economic foundation for their existence is eroding.
Congregations can exist without hierarchies. Hierarchies cannot exist without congregations.
Sadly, the latest methodology is a symbol of desperation. The Church actually kicks people out, announcing that they will start churches over under their superior management. This hasn’t been working. The show of superiority and force is a turn-off in today’s world. . Promising starts have faded within a decade. Mission churches fail at an alarming rate!
How do we change 2000-year-old thinking?
We have to be mindful that church involvement is a habit. The Church cannot survive without the cultural habit of weekly attendance and offerings. It’s these figures that we use to measure success.
We have relied largely on tradition to reinforce attendance and giving habits. Unfortunately, new traditions have replaced them. The Church probably has to concentrate on developing new opportunities for spiritual habits.
Habits are triggered by need. The Church has to identify the needs of modern society.
Why do people go to church? Why do they stay home?
People don’t go to church to be counted or to fill offering plates.
People don’t go to church to be loyal servants of clergy.
Habits are based on some trigger—some personal need.
Triggers might be:
Tradition
Personal Need
Imperative of Faith
Curiosity of Faith
Social
Compelling Emotion
Too often, we concentrate on triggers that no longer exist.
Love of organ music and 18th and 19th century music.
A desire to listen to one person’s interpretation of the Word.
A love of ritual.
Maintenance of property.
90% of most church resources are devoted to sustaining things that people no longer relate to.
The first step in reviving ministry is to identify the current triggers in your community. What triggers might change spiritual habits?
Stop sifting through baggage. A baggage-free church is an empty church.
Baggage will always be with us. That’s what the cross is for.
photo credit: loungerie via photopincc
2×2 Foundation of Redeemer Lutheran Church in East Falls, has spent much of the last two weeks promoting consciousness of the horrific events in Pakistan. There have been three bombings in or near churches that killed about 125 and wounded 250. We reported the stories of terror from our friends in ministry there. We asked for contributions to assist the Christian community in northern Pakistan, mostly to help with the ongoing care of the seriously wounded.
Tomorrow we will wire the gifts sent to us earmarked for Pakistan. There were four contributors, including two Redeemer members and two followers of 2×2. We did not raise much money—just $250. But we are betting that this is more than most other Lutherans.
We looked for an organized Lutheran effort which might facilitate getting the gifts we raised to the right people.
We discovered that Pakistan is not on the Lutheran map. There are no companion synods in the ELCA. Lutheran World Relief which is jointly supported by the ELCA and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod has no indication on its website that it serves the needy in Pakistan.
That part of the world just isn’t on our map.
Keep Your Friends Close and Your Enemies Closer
The problem may be that enemies of freedom such as Al Qaeda and the Taliban have links to Pakistan.
And so we keep all the people in that region at a distance. Out of sight; out of mind.
It might be wiser to pay more attention. We may not think we are part of the problems of that region but Muslim terrorists equate US policy with Christianity. It would be short-sighted to believe that they will limit their aggression to Christians in their own land for long. Or did we learn nothing on 9/11?
The Christian Community should take note of what is happening in Pakistan. We should find a way to express compassion. They are very aware that the Western Church knows nothing of them. It’s a lonely feeling. And yet they continue to witness, knowing that they are political targets. Their church buildings, their families, their weak and needy—all targets.
We will probably have to experience a similar loss on our soil before we are able to empathize.
2×2 can’t do much. After all, we don’t even exist according the ELCA. We are no longer part of the great interdependence of Lutherans. We’re on our own.
We’ll keep their needs before the world and contribute as we can.
Send contributions marked Pakistan Relief and we can wire them to Christian leaders in Pakistan
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
This painting is by William Brassey Hole who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The story has long caught the attention of artists for centuries. This dates back to medieval times.
Don’t you just want to join the happy dancers in the background? They are leaping off the page with joy. This image appears in several places on the web. No one seems to know the artist. If you know, please share. I have a guess but I haven’t been able to verify.
