This is part 2 of yesterday’s post about Malcolm Gladwell’s new book, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants.

Yesterday, we pointed to Gladwell’s observation that true innovation comes from the Davids who fight established practices and wisdom. We promised examples from our experience today.

Ironically, the lessons we learned in our feud with the established church correlate with today’s post of the Alban Institute.

The post by Sarai Rice answers a frequently asked question. What are the emerging trends in the church?

Here are her answers with our corroborating experience.

1. A congregation’s identity does not equal its building.

Lutherans teach “the church is not a building.” This is not the only thing we teach that we do not believe!

Buildings are tools for ministry. Their financial demands can also impede ministry.

Our denomination desperately uses property as a weapon. Give to the regional body the way we expect you to give, or we will take your building off your hands.

This is in total violation of Lutheran polity. However, it is hoped that congregations will lack the will to fight.

People don’t go to church to fight, however righteous. Most Davids flee at the sign of trouble.

Our property was modest but had appreciated in an upscale Philadelphia neighborhood. That should be good news for the congregation. We had equity.

We planned a renovation project that would put our educational building to work in mission and which would provide a healthy income to support ministry.

But our equity was coveted by our denomination — not to benefit the neighborhood that provided it but to benefit SEPA Synod and its recurring budget shortfalls — (still a problem by the way).

Without our property, Redeemer was expected to disappear. Easy pickings.

Taking our building was supposed to be the nail in our coffin.

But Redeemer turned to home churches and after a year reached an agreement with a neighborhood ally for rent-free space. This had the benefit of strengthening our neighborhood ties.

We took our ministry online and learned a great deal about a medium that all churches should use, but almost none are. While our own doors are locked to us, doors opened all over the world.

With our experience in this new realm of ministry we would be in very good shape to conduct our own ministry in our own building for the benefit of the whole denomination.

But Goliath knows best.

We would add a Part B to this point.

A congregation’s identity does not equal its pastor.

This is somewhat covered in Rice’s next point.

2. Pastor does not equal a full-time position.

SEPA Synod seemed to be unable to work with our congregation without a pastor of their choosing in control. This too goes against Lutheran polity. The congregation is supposed to be part of the call process, but small churches are often given few or poor choices.

This expectation drains ministry. Valuable resources are spent on professional help who have little invested in the actual work.

Redeemer was told in 2000 that we had to accept the pastor SEPA wanted us to call or there would be no pastor for a very long time. The pastor they were recommending was upfront. He wanted to provide minimal service—just ten hours per week, just enough to keep his ordination status and benefits active. He would be happy. SEPA would be happy. Under the rules of a regularized call, Redeemer would be endlessly obligated with no promise of benefit.

Wisely, Redeemer turned down this ultimatum. But SEPA required THREE divisive votes before they stepped away from their demand. SEPA walked away. We were supposed to wither on the vine. Bishop Almquist even said, “In ten years, you will die a natural death.”

We found qualified pastors on our own and managed to grow.

In 2007, we presented a resolution to call one of them. We had worked well together for seven months. He had overseen the acceptance of 49 new members. Bishop Claire Burkat did not respond to our resolution. She met privately with the pastor and he never set foot in our church again.

3. Resourcing happens via drop-down menus rather than denominational staff.

The internet is a treasure that can be used by anyone.  “Even small congregations in remote communities know how to use search engines for everything from conflict management to curriculum choices,” Rice writes.

In other words, congregations don’t need to allocate great resources for help from the regional body. Regional bodies can and should downsize. This goes against our bigger is better thinking.

4. Group participation does not equal my congregation’s group.

Church members are loyal but not exclusive. Shunned by our own denomination Redeemer formed relations around the world. The amazing thing is that they have become intertwined. Denomination is never discussed.

Pakistan, Kenya, Sweden, Nigeria, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Boston have worked together in amazing ministry because they met us via our website. (None, except perhaps Redeemer, is ELCA!).

5. Worship does not equal Sunday morning.

Redeemer often meets on Sunday morning, but we also find reason to meet during the week.

6. Small groups and faith formation does not equal Sunday School in church buildings.

Redeemer follows the “meetup” concept. We have no place of our own but meet in homes, restaurants, trips, and theaters—even occasional bars.

7. Active membership does not equal weekly attendance.

Redeemer members stay in touch. We don’t have a church in which to take attendance, but we know that we have nearly 1000 people who read our website every week and participate in our various outreach endeavors. Our reach is broader than any other church in SEPA Synod that has a building.

We would add an eighth point to Sarai Rice’s observations.

8. Income does not equal offering plate.

Redeemer found ourselves suddenly with no church in which to worship and no offering plate to pass. Without a building or a pastor, we had little need to take offerings. But there were these pesky lawsuits (funded against us with our own money!). SEPA also threatened our members’ personal property. Money remained an issue. This is leading us down a new road to self-sufficiency. There is great promise in funding Lutheran ministry in East Falls with a combination of our school and a  mission outreach with entrepreneurial potential. We’ve laid good groundwork!

Should SEPA ever rightfully return East Falls property to East Falls Lutherans, they would soon have a viable flagship church where they have created strife.