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Judith Gotwald

Avoiding Burnout in Congregational Ministry

wheatBurnout: The Plague of the Modern Church

We often hear today of pastors feeling burned out. This term belongs to the modern age. There was no such thing allowed when we were an agrarian society. A farmer cannot face a field of ripe crops and succumb to burnout. A herd of cows with bloated utters must be milked. We had no choice but to do the job that was our lot in life. And still we found time for church.

In those days, there was always a reward at the end of such tasks. The reward was fairly immediate. You had vegetables and milk to consume or sell.

There were also dire consequences for not doing what needs to be done. If crops were not reaped on time, there was no seed money for next year. If livestock was left unattended, they were deadstock.

There were few people to blame when things went bad in an agrarian society. It was either the weather or the farmer—or perhaps the government.

Burnout in the church happens because goals and rewards are less clear. Responsibility is something of a roulette wheel. Add to this expectations that are dated or unrealistic or which are no longer desirable and you have a perpetual malaise. Consequences are delayed. Failure can go on for a long time without the congregation taking steps to change things. In fact, not changing things in the face of failure is encouraged.

Pastors can complain of burnout. They may be well-trained and prepared for calls that no longer exist—at least the way they have been taught to expect. When they spend several hours writing a sermon, week after week, that they will deliver to fewer and fewer people, they get discouraged. “Why am I unappreciated?” is the question that must go through their minds. Clergy have other clergy shoulders to cry on.

The same problem plagues the laity. They have fewer places to register their complaints without being judged. Lay people volunteer their time, week after week. They rarely get credit, often face criticism, and have no support system except their family and friends.

The result: a deadend blame game that polarizes the Church. The clergy blame the laity. The laity blame the clergy. The only ones who are happy are the ones who accept the status quo.

The Prevention of Burnout

The church needs to do a better job at supporting both the clergy and the laity.

The problem may be that our whole structure of expectations needs to be turned upside down. We are trying to “do church” the way it has been done for a long time but under very different conditions—both socially and economically.

Things are generally a mess in the mainline church, but dwelling too much on reality is painful. A new church will emerge but it will not resemble the church that is failing.

In the new and emerging church, the pastor will play a different role, concentrating on reaching people where they are — and it is not in church on Sunday morning.

The skills of lay members will be elevated in importance and put to work. Part of the failure of today’s church is that it is relegating enormous and varied lay talent to tightly structured roles that are no longer challenging, necessary or satisfying. The wealth of lay talent is ignored and often seen as in competition with clergy.

Skilled lay leaders —movers and shakers in their communities — are offered few ways to contribute beyond being a lay reader or usher or some other tightly defined task that doesn’t compete with clergy expectations and which pose no rewarding challenges. Lay people of tomorrow’s church will want to know that they are making a difference. If the Church does not allow them to use their skills in service to God, they will find some other place where they can grow and serve.

This is already happening. People are shopping around for ways to give back that have meaning and grow their skills at the same time. There are many other places they can spend their evenings and weekends.

The Emerging Church Will Be Entrepreneurial

The old economic model has already failed — yet we keep measuring success by the offering plate. Congregations that survive to be part of the emerging church will be entrepreneurial. They will have to fund ministry without relying on member contributions.

This is OK! Churches should be serving the people least likely to be able to contribute.

The size of a congregation will mean far less than its reach. Congregations with the greatest influence may be very small indeed.

Clergy will eventually look for calls not by the size of the congregation but by their resourcefulness. Why?

Because the ones that don’t will burn out.

photo credit: miez! via photopin cc
14 Mar 2013

We Have A Pope

Congratulations to Our Catholic Friends

popeToday the Roman Catholic Cardinals chose a new pope. Pope Francis of Buenos Aires stood on the balcony in St. Peter’s Square and asked for the faithful to join in prayer. He stood in silence for a long moment before saying a word. We are encouraged that the cardinals chose a man known for humility and servanthood and pray, as he requested, that he will nurture such traits among all religious leaders.

Best wishes as the Roman Catholic Church enters a new era.

13 Mar 2013

Art: Jesus Visits Mary and Martha

Another Favorite Story for Artists Through the Ages

There are many depictions of the story of Jesus’ visit to the home of Mary and Martha.

Mary:Martha:IconHere are a few, beginning with a straightforward representation of an icon. Icons are for contemplation. Icons present the basic story but leave the interepretation to the viewer.

Seventeenth century Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer’s rendition concentrates on the three key figures—Mary, Martha and Jesus. Jesus is being so patient as he explains his view of the situation to Martha. Focusing on the three main characters is a common approach. The biblical account suggests there were many more people present, including Lazarus and the Disciples.

Mary:Martha:VermeerMost artists tell the story in the setting and garb of their own era.

During the age of the still life, many artists put brush to this topic. Here is one by Italian artist Vincenzo Campi. Martha in the kitchen, surrounded by all the wonderful textures of a still life, is the foreground. Are you looking for Mary and Jesus? Pull out your magniying glass and look in the upper left background—behind the dead poultry. Martha sure has her work cut out for her.

Mary:Martha:VincenzoCampi

Then turn to this modern depiction by Maud Sumner, a 20th century South African artist. Mary is lost in her thoughts. Martha is thinking about the work that needs to be done. Where’s Jesus? That might be him, reflected in the mirror on table. He looks a bit exasperated with both the ladies.

maud sumner-mary-and-martha

Here’s a link to a marvelous sculpture. Annette Everett intertwines the figures of Mary and Martha into what seems like one sweeping persona.

The last image is a touching detail from the story. Jesus’ gesture of love and acceptance comforts the criticized, adoring Mary. Martha is out of the picture.

Mary:Jesus

13 Mar 2013

Cartoon: State of the Church

State of the Church

12 Mar 2013

Why the Church Cannot Handle Power

Oh, to be free from second-guessing

The Church loves power.

We talk about servanthood and sacrifice but there is always the temptation to accumulate wealth and prestige.

In order to accumulate wealth and prestige you must make people happy—especially people who already have some wealth and prestige.

These people hold power over the whole Church. They, by virtue of their status, are responsible for the Church’s success—and its failure. Don’t wait for them to admit it.

We are now watching the celebration of power, in its highest Christian form, with the activities in Rome.

But the Roman Catholic Church is not alone. Most church bodies are tempted to organize around power.

It’s funny. All this power doesn’t seem to help the Church grow.

Living within a power structure causes the people of God to look over their shoulders. The smallest idea or initiative, regardless of its potential, is likely to die before it can be tested.

  • An individual brings an idea to a committee.
  • The committee has to check with its version of elders.
  • The elders have to check with the pastor.
  • The pastor has to check with the bishop.
  • The bishop doesn’t have time.
  • Everyone promises to pray.
  • Nothing happens.

Perhaps one definition of “saint” is a Christian who steps outside this power structure and gets something done.

12 Mar 2013

Adult Object Lesson: Jesus Visits Mary and Martha

coffeeIt’s a Matter of Priorities: John 12:1-8

Here is a video link that will help you springboard a conversation about the domestic conflict that results from Jesus’ visit to the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus.

Your adults are surely familiar with today’s gospel story. Jesus comes to visit Mary and Martha who become indebted to him for resurrecting their dead brother, Lazarus.

Mary sits at Jesus feet and anoints his feet with very expensive perfume. At least one disciple is upset. The narrator of this story, John, does not hold back in letting us know how he feels about Judas.

In comes Martha. While Mary has been doting on Jesus, Martha has been preparing to feed and entertain Jesus and his entourage. Dinner for at least 16—no small feat in the pre-appliance age.

Jesus responds with a lesson in values and priorities.

If you can share this video with your members, please do. Show it in church, during fellowship, or at least include a link in your weekly email newsletter. (You do have a weekly email newsletter, don’t you?).

If you can’t show the video, tell the story. Your object can be a cup of coffee — or two cups of coffee—one paper, plastic or styrofoam cups and one more elegant. You might conduct your own experiment and offer an assortment of cups to your group. You might show the video at coffee fellowship.

Note that the professor in this video serves coffee to his guests after listening to a gripe session. He is not unlike Jesus in this regard. The former students were feeling put upon by the world — like Martha.

This story is not so much about right and wrong as it is about priorities. Weave the video’s message with Jesus’s message about how we determine what is important in our lives. Discuss the viewpoints of each key figure in the story—Jesus, Mary, Martha, Judas, and Lazarus. You might also include the author of this gospel, John. He chooses to tell this story for a reason!

Enjoy a cup of coffee.

photo credit: H is for Home via photopin cc

11 Mar 2013

A Lesson in Transparency in Church Unfolds in Rome

Behind the Vatican’s Locked Doors  

Is God Working in Secret?

What is going on in Rome right now might be of interest only to our Roman Catholic neighbors. But when one denomination boldly claims to be the one and only true church, they invite the attention of the rest of us neo-Gentiles.

Protestant leaders tend to emulate the Roman Catholics, often forgetting the reasons we separated 500 years ago. Some of the reasons have disappeared. Other have not. It’s probably envy for the attention the media gives to the pope.

Truth be told, Protestants have their own messes to clean up today—lots of them, in fact. We don’t really need to be watching so closely.

Nevertheless, beginning this week, all eyes will be on Rome. The process promises to take us close to Holy Week. Guess how much attention Protestant churches will get from the media this Easter season.

We don’t know how things will turn out. One learned church authority described the process and closed his statement saying, “In the end, it’s God’s choice.”

Really? God needs the help of 115 old men, each with considerable self-interest, to name his new Saul or Peter?

Why is the process so secret? Tradition is not a good enough reason anymore. Tradition has led to horrific abuses. Furthermore, tradition has condoned the abuses and made a habit of victimizing any voice of dissent. Again, Protestants share in these atrocities. For once, they can be glad the media concentrates on the Roman church.

Can we, perhaps, learn and adapt traditions so they make sense?

Secrecy in choosing leaders reveals distrust in any human ability beyond the chosen elite. It leads the Church down the road of management not leadership. Managers tend to preserve what they have as they seek to maintain and expand the same power structure. The privileged will remain privileged. Outsiders will fight for a voice.

Leaders, on the other hand, assess the existing resources and add dreams—their own and those of others. This is what the Church today — Roman and Protestant — needs badly.

Leadership has been with us always. In recent years, sparked by the Renaissance, the Reformation and the rise of Democracy, the concepts of leadership have been studied. Much of this research and analysis emerged during the last century but it continues as the world is redefined by digital communication. Old principles will be applied in new ways.

  • We know now that heredity does not ensure good leadership.
  • We know that occasionally the best leaders come from outside a given structure.
  • We know that genitalia is not a predictor of effective leadership.
  • We know that there is no chosen race that excels in leading.
  • We know that the most effective leaders are often unarmed.
  • We know that input from all leads to better decisions.
  • We know that any voting process is not foolproof.
  • We know that any power, however and once bestowed, needs to be watched.
  • We know that future power might be sitting today in a jail cell.
  • We know that power need not be a life-long mandate. Power can be passed on to successors peacefully and former leaders can return to “civilian” life.
  • And with all this new knowledge about leadership, we know mistakes can still be made and power can be abused.

Yes, we know more than we did some 2000 years ago, when someone had to figure out what to do upon the demise of Christ’s hand-picked favorite — the mercurial and passionate Simon Peter. They got it wrong a few times, terribly wrong for a while, which brings to question the conclusion that this is God’s process.

We have ample experience these days with dictators and despots—some benevolent, some ruthless.

We have learned that secrecy and exclusion is a predictor of problems.

Good leaders operate in open ways, building trust with honesty and accountability.

The Church has been very bad at this.

Protestants fall into the same trap. In our denomination there seems to be a behind closed doors vetting process. You have to play to have a say.

The archaic processes are designed to evoke mystery and keep the sheep at the far end of the fold with a few barking dogs between them and the emerging leaders.

Just look at the customs that are revealed on the evening news.

  • The papal apartment is sealed. Against what?
  • The stoves and chimneys are installed so that smoke can signal the cardinals’ progress. Come on! Even Pope Benedict used Twitter.

The mind games, always part of the process, become tiresome in the media. They would have us believe none of the cardinals aspire to stand on the balcony with the world watching. They are all so engaging as they describe their reluctance. One candidate is out of socks. Another just wants us to know he bought a roundtrip ticket. Coach or first class?

But again. This is all the business of the Roman Catholic church. It doesn’t involve the various branches of Christianity, including the Orthodox who were the first to leave the self-proclaimed one true Church. (Or did the Roman Church leave the Eastern Church?)

Orthodox and Protestant Christians are not involved in choosing the leadership of the one, true Church. Neither are most Roman Catholics. (Click to Tweet)

The difficult thing to understand is why Protestant leaders, excluded from the club, travel to Rome for photo ops with the pope. There is zero benefit to their denominations, which are surely footing the bill.

The reality is this: the papacy and all church leadership face a new age in which hierarchies as we know them will topple.

It could come hard. It could come easily. It’s going to come. Whomever God or the conclave chooses will be managing or leading God’s people into a new religious era.

11 Mar 2013

Small Church vs Large Church — Looks Are Deceiving!

trinity-redeemer

Comparing SEPA’s Largest Congregation
with the Church SEPA Says Doesn’t Exist

What do Trinity, Lansdale, and Redeemer, East Falls, have in common?

We both engage with more than 700 followers each week.

According to Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Trend reports, Trinity, Lansdale, stands alone among Southeastern Pennsylvania churches in numbers. It has nearly 5000 members and an average worship attendance of 725. Most other large churches in SEPA — and there are only a few — average around 400.

Most SEPA churches are much smaller with about 100 or fewer at worship (many much fewer). ELCA Trend  measures only membership, attendance, income and expenses (in various configurations).

There are new statistics that will mean more in the emerging church. Churches don’t have to worry about collecting the data. The internet tracks results for you. This is where Redeemer is breaking ground no other SEPA church seems to be seriously exploring.

Redeemer is no longer listed in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Trend reports, although the congregation never voted to close. We’ll take that up with the ELCA later.

Redeemer was growing quickly although we were still among the SEPA churches with fewer than 50 in average weekly worship attendance—the only engagement most churches measure. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod seized Redeemer’s property and locked our doors in 2009—something about inability to fulfill mission. (They approved a $275,000 budget deficit at the same time they claimed our property.)

There was plenty to question at the time, but no one did. There is more to question now!

Redeemer has continued its ministry without our property. There is no rule that a congregation must own property.

Locked out of God’s House in East Falls, we took our ministry online with our blog, 2x2virtualchurch.com. We now have an average weekly following approaching 800 in new traffic and about 150 who subscribe to our site daily. We engage between 1000 and 2000 readers each week.

Redeemer may have the largest engagement of any SEPA congregation! The potential for effective mission is huge.

While the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the ELCA has tenaciously tried to destroy our ministry, we adapted — and grew!

2×2 is written with lay leaders in mind. Our experience as a small church is that lay leaders are the innovators in ministry. Most have part-time pastors. Growing churches is not part-time work. The passion of lay people (an undervalued resource) is keeping many churches going.

Small churches need resources that don’t rely on paid skills.

We had an additional challenge. Redeemer is multicultural and multilingual. No single age group dominates. That means we can’t just turn to a choir or a youth group or a Sunday School class to create interesting activities. We developed materials that could be adapted to any eclectic grouping.

When we still had our building we posted these resources on generic ministry websites.

Two years ago we began posting them on 2×2.

We posted an Easter play Redeemer performed for all East Falls churches in 2009. It was downloaded 300 times last year and 3000 times this year.

This tells us how we can further serve the large audience of small churches. Search engine analysis shows us that people are beginning to find our content by specifically plugging in terms specific to our site (“2×2 Easter play” — not just “Easter play).” Our content is gaining a following.

We post at least two features a week which congregations can adapt. Early in the week we post an object lesson intended for adults based on the week’s lectionary. Mid-week we post an analysis of art that complements the week’s theme. These can be adapted to multimedia presentations that some churches now show before worship (just as Redeemer did). We will continue to build on this foundation.

In addition, we offer our experience in using social media with dozens of how-to posts.

One large church recently wrote to us: “A lot is written about social media and the church, but you are the only church actually doing it.”

In all likelihood, Redeemer has the widest reach of any church in SEPA Synod with followers all over the world. We engage with them one-on-one. We share ministry problems and successes and rely on one another for prayer.

What does this mean for ministry in East Falls? It means our worldwide reach can now benefit our local ministry. We have a new potential source of funding for ministry.

Redeemer always was viable despite SEPA’s self-interested reports. Our day school, locked since SEPA interfered, would be generating upwards of $6000 per month. (That’s nearly $300,000 of squandered potential over the last four years.) The web site could begin to generate several thousand a month within a year of nurturing—plenty of resources to fund a neighborhood ministry without a single coin in an offering plate.

Redeemer has never had more potential.

If mission is the goal in East Falls (and it is definitely our goal) the best potential for ministry is to make peace with the Lutherans who have steadfastly maintained and grown mission during the last six years of conflict. The property should be returned to Redeemer. This would be in keeping with Lutheran polity.

Our journey has been a leap into the future of the church. We could still be a small neighborhood church serving a few, focused on survival and paying a pastor—as is the case of so many small churches.

We’ve learned that it is possible for a small church to grow. We are very aware that 2×2 can grow beyond our own vision.

Meanwhile, the largest church in SEPA and Redeemer, the largest online church, are both fulfilling their mission with impressive results.

God is doing something new at Redeemer, East Falls.

Can you perceive it?

10 Mar 2013

The Strategy and Tactics of Love in the Modern Church

The strategy and tactics of love are the backbone of most storytelling.

Here is the standard scenario.

Boy sees girl or girl sees boy. They want to get together. (Strategy)  They plot to be together, surmounting one obstacle after another until they are happily and forever in each other’s arms. (Tactics)

Is this not like the longed-for scenario of church work?

In the Church, achieving togetherness (oneness with God) is the strategy. Tactics are the methods used to reach this goal.

Too often in church work, we employ tactic after tactic with no clear strategy. Strategy starts to stray — usually in the direction of making a traditional budget.

We write mission statements to remind us that the strategy of the Church is to reach God’s people with the message of love.

What follows should be an examination of tactics. Too often it is simply putting into place the tactics of the past.

Typical tactics include:

  • Membership drives
  • Pot luck dinners and seasonal festivals
  • Visitation
  • Worship innovations
  • Educational and social opportunities
  • Newsletters
  • Sermons
  • Service projects

There are new tactics that the Church has not yet conquered.

  • Social media

This contains a host of sub-tactics — blogging, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, podcasting, video, etc.

But what is the strategy?

The message of the church is love. The strategy never changes.

The strategy is engagement.

Jesus engaged people.

He approached them as individuals.

  • The woman at the well
  • The midnight lesson with Nicodemus
  • The paralytic by the pool of Bethesda

He engaged them in groups.

  • The wedding guests
  • The disciples
  • The multitudes on the mountainside
  • The people in the temple
  • The family of Lazarus at the graveside

Once engaged, Jesus employed tactics.

  • Miracles
  • Rituals and observances
  • Personal conversations that often had a supernatural nature
  • Teaching
  • Storytelling
  • Protesting (clearing the temple)
  • Service (blessing the children, feeding the hungry, curing the ill)

We must emulate these tactics. We must teach and serve, pray and worship. We must do some things in a traditional way and we must do many things in more modern ways. To some extent we must do them simultaneously because we live in transitional age.

A common tactic employed by regional bodies is to close churches on older memberships — expecting elderly members to assimilate into other congregations that might also be forced to close within a few years. This is a cruel and dead-end tactic because it has lost view of the overall strategy of the church. The strategy of engagement has been overtaken by the strategy of economics.

The rut which is engulfing the Church is that we have become accustomed to people coming to us. We expect this and even demand it—without success, but we keep doing it anyway! This expectation is becoming less realistic with every passing day. The problems we face today are because the tactic of neglect has been employed for decades.

And so we must adjust our engagement tactics.

If people are not going to come to us, how are we going to reach them? How do we engage God’s people today?

09 Mar 2013

3 Programming Ideas for Small Churches (Holy Week-Pentecost)

Worship Resources for Post-Easter

The Easter play we published last year has been downloaded about 3000 times this year. We are grateful for your interests in the content we are providing aimed to enrich the worship experience of even the smallest churches.

As Holy Week approaches, we point you to three other ideas that we tested in our small congregation. Two of them work best in small churches with as few as a dozen in attendance.

Maundy Thursday

This Maundy Thursday service combines the Passover Tradition with the Christian tradition drawn from the Pennsylvania Dutch observance of Green Thursday — a term drawn from the English pronunciation of the German word for grief. It involves the serving of a ceremonial and symbolic meal (like the Seder) but with the symbolism pointing to the Resurrection. It can be used with larger groups, but it is quite easy to do with small groups.

Palm Sunday

Florists supply dried out palm fronds but small churches must purchase far more than they need of these token palms. Actual palm plants are usually available at this time of year for about $10. Have your congregation cut their own fully branched palm to wave during your Palm Sunday celebration. One large palm plant will easily provide for a congregation of 20 or 30. (We often had a nice palm plant left over even after we “pruned” it pretty well.

After Easter (Pentecost or Ascension Sunday)

The Roman Catholic tradition celebrates the Stations of the Cross. The stations chronicle the scenes of Jesus as he heads toward Calvary.

The same idea can apply to the interactions of Jesus post-Resurrection. This service (easily adapted to your liking) celebrates the 14 Stations of the Risen Christ. It follows the  sightings of Jesus between the Resurrection and the Ascension with scripture, prayer, commentary (supplied by your worship leader) and hymns.

This service can be used in one setting. It fills an hour easily. It can also be broken up over the long Pentecost season with each scene acted out.

08 Mar 2013