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Commentary

In Search of Wisdom in the Church

We are reposting some information which has a permanent home on the 2×2 web site on our Proverbs Page.

SEPA Synod Assembly convenes one week from tomorrow. We always hope that as a body, Lutherans can improve their policies and services to the many small congregations which make up their membership. As long as small churches are seen as prey to fund Synod’s budget shortfalls — limiting services (for which all contribute) to the clergy and larger churches — there will be inequity and injustice within SEPA.

The cannibalism of the church must stop for the good of all. 2×2 has visited 44 SEPA congregations. We’ve seen many of them facing challenges with little hope for help from the denomination they joined in the 1980s. Many feel alienated and wary of involvement with SEPA.

This is a weakness that can be fixed!

The Lutheran Church was founded by a man who called out to the Church of his era to end policies that took advantage of weakest members. Any Lutheran who claims today that leadership cannot be challenged is denying this proud heritage.

We hope that someday the many members of SEPA Synod will muster the fortitude to right the wrongs against Redeemer and other small congregations that have been victimized by intentional neglect (which Bishop Burkat terms “triage”).

The prevailing “wisdom” must be challenged.

We collected some wisdom from the heritage of our members—all of whom have been locked out of the Lutheran church and denied representation at Synod Assemblies for four years. The first section is a collection of proverbs from Africa—the majority membership of Redeemer. The last entry is a very old tale from the tradition of our European heritage. Enjoy!

A shepherd does not strike his sheep.
For lack of criticism, the trunk of the elephant grew very long.
When a king has good counselors, his reign is peaceful.
The powerful should mind their own power.
A clever king is the brother of peace.
The house of a leader who negotiates survives.
To lead is not to run roughshod over people.
A quarrelsome chief does not hold a village together.
Threats and insults never rule.
He who dictates separates himself from others.
A leader does not listen to rumors.
If the leader limps, all the others start limping, too.
Good behavior must come from the top.
An elder is a healer.
One head does not contain all the wisdom.
A leader who does not take advice is not a leader.
Whether a chief is good or bad, people unify around someone.
The cow that bellows does so for all cows.
A powerful leader adorns his followers.
True power comes through cooperation.
The chief’s true wealth is his people.
Where trust breaks down, peace breaks down.
If you show off your strength, you will start a battle.
A leader should not create a new law when he is angry.
What has defeated the elders’ court, take to the public.
It is better to be a lion for a day than a sheep all your life.
If your only tool is a hammer, you will see every problem as a nail.
Do not call a dog with a whip in your hand.
Leaders who use force fear reason.
To agree to dialogue is the beginning of peaceful resolution.
If two wise men always agree, then there is no need for one of them.
If you feast on pride, you will have no room for wisdom.
When the village chief himself goes around inviting people to a meeting,
know there is something very wrong going on.
Other people’s wisdom prevents the king from being called a fool. 
Force is not profitable.
Do not light a fire under a fruit-bearing tree.
In times of crisis, the wise build bridges.
It is easy to stand in a crowd; it takes courage to stand alone.
Be sure you stand on solid ground before you stretch out to grab something.
Be a neighbor to the human being, not to the fence. 
Calling a leader wise does not make him wise.
A leader who understands proverbs reconciles differences.

Of course, there are a host of proverbs in the Bible!

We have one remaining proverb/parable from the tradition of our European members. Some little child should speak up and say, “This is sheer foolishness.”

______________________________

And so the Emperor set out at the head of the great procession. It was a great success. All the people standing by cheered and cried, “Oh, how splendid are the Emperor’s new clothes. What a
magnificent train! How well the clothes fit!” No one dared to admit that he couldn’t see anything, for who would want it to be known that he was either stupid or unfit for his post? None of the Emperor’s clothes had ever met with such grand approval!

But among the crowd a little child suddenly gasped, “But he hasn’t got anything on.” And the people began to whisper to one another what the child had said till everyone was saying, “But he hasn’t got anything on.” The Emperor himself had the uncomfortable feeling that what they were whispering was only too true. “But I will have to go through with the procession,” he said to himself.

So he drew himself up and walked boldly on holding his head higher than before, and the courtiers held on to the train that wasn’t there at all. — Hans Christian Andersen

26 Apr 2012

Hey, Church! Put on Your Listening Ears

A first rule in business is “Listen to Your Customer.” Good businesses are good listeners . . . and amazing responders.

The Church can learn from this.

Every time we are tempted to think we know what’s best for the people we hope will support our churches we should stop dead in our tracks and ask, “Is our ministry driven by their needs or by our needs.”

Are we listening?

Listening is humbling. It is admitting we don’t have all the answers.

We want people to accept us just as we are. That’s natural.

Strangers to church are looking for the same acceptance. We are equally needy.

And so we are on a treadmill. The Church keeps on churning out variations on the same themes, done pretty much the same way, by the same people . . . with the same results.

What we have is cinema’s iconic “failure to communicate.”

When people care enough to tell us exactly why the church has turned them off, we owe it to them to listen — not in a patronizing way. “Poor souls! They just don’t know how wrong they are.”

When we don’t listen, we don’t know what we are missing.

The modern church needs to listen to modern people.  If people are talking to us at all, that’s a sign that they care. If all we do is nod our heads and then criticize them as soon as their backs are turned, we will never be able to reach them.

And they will have proved their point.

An argument is always that we are not of the world. We are here to transform others—to follow the way. However, we are hoping to reach people who are of this world. God sent his Son from heaven to come to earth to be like us, to suffer and die. The only reason He had was that He cared about us. That’s how He approached transformation. The least we can do is listen.

Listen to objections. Find ways to overcome objections. Look for ways to help the entire congregation overcome objections.

Of course, some of the objections are nothing more than excuses. Keep listening until you find the real reason people prefer separation from God’s people.

You’ll be demonstrating that you care.

photo credit: The Pack via photo pin cc
26 Apr 2012

Following Jesus or Following Orders?

“Since they haven’t talked to us they don’t actually know what we do, but they inferred something from something.”

This quote from Sister Simone Campbell, head of Network, a Catholic social justice lobby, sounds so like Redeemer’s experience. We, too, have faced criticism that defies explanation or proof.

The Sister goes on to analyze the Roman Catholic Church’s male-dominated hierarchy. She claims it simply doesn’t know how to deal with the encouragement women religious received under Vatican II.

We suspect the rift has less to do with male hierarchy than the nature of hierarchy itself.

The Lutheran Church, which constitutionally is not a hierarchy at all, is exhibiting the traits of the Roman and Episcopal Church hierarchical systems. The ELCA is no longer male-dominated. Nevertheless individual Lutheran bishops are muscle-flexing. The three 2×2 knows the most about are women.

The church in the 21st century is entering an era where hierarchies have little purpose. Consequently, those who have reached the pinnacle of church leadership find themselves with little to do — hierarchy-wise.

Lutherans as a congregation-based denomination have similar challenges. Top leaders have meetings, travel, visit, write occasional messages to the people, and seek the status of appointments to high level advisory positions — while the churches they serve operate without them.

Try this—write to Chicago (Lutheran national offices) and ask for help. If your experience is like Redeemer’s, you will receive no response or a letter denying responsibility for involvement.
So what do we pay them for?

Lutheran constitutions give the power to manage congregations not to the bishop, not to the parish pastor, but to the congregations.

Unfortunately, current challenges to the national church involve assuring member churches that all the players follow the rules. No one is watching the constitutions. They are becoming meaningless. That puts lay people at risk — if they insist on following the rules. Any volunteers?

Economic challenges have exacerbated the problems of purpose-challenged hierarchies. Self-preservation becomes a priority. This exhibits itself in budget crises and in leaders’ relationship with member churches. They can view the respect given to their role as power. Power craves control — bigger staffs, more programs. But bigger staffs and more programs are proving to be unneeded. Decreasing staff and cutting programs feels like failure. It’s not. It just feels bad.

Constitutionally Lutheran bishops have very little power. The constitution calls for consent of the congregation at every turn. Bishops are assigned the role of servant leader, which doesn’t mix with illusions of power very well.

It is interesting to watch the conflicts in the Roman Catholic Church. One can’t help but wonder if this latest pronouncement will distract attention from the other challenges facing the American Roman Catholic Church — a drought in the pool of clergy and religious professionals, the clergy sex scandals and its drain on the Church’s assets, the departure of the faithful from regular  participation in the parish and the resulting trickle-down effect on one of the traditional strengths of the Roman Catholic faith community — its school system (its future).

Lutherans have plenty of problems as well. We don’t seem to have leadership that is ready for the 21st century.

How should our non-hierarchical leaders keep busy?

They should be serving the congregations most in need. That’s the way Lutheran governance is designed. And it’s biblical.

As the Sister concludes, “I don’t think the bishops have any idea what they are in for.”

They should — but probably won’t — start by listening.

21 Apr 2012

9 Common Tactics for Church Growth — Good, Bad and Ugly

The Church has fallen on hard times. This is widely documented — no need to go into detail.

It’s hard to blame the world. The world was here long before the Church. Reaching the world has always been the challenge, yet we remain surprised that the world is not lining up at our doors, wallets in hand.

Today, however, after some mid-century prosperity, we’ve forgotten that the Church’s mission is to reach out. It is not the world’s job to embrace the Church. It’s our job to embrace the world.

We typically greet the challenge with a number of tactics. Some show initial success and then fade. Some are the foundations of long-term ministry. Some are a mixture of frequently used bad ideas. All the ideas below represent actual ministry tactics — for better or worse.

  1. We can pretend to be someone else.
    We can figure what the community wants and pretend to be the answer. You might gain some currency in your community but it is most likely temporary. Community interests change and will probably change just as you are getting the hang of yesterday’s priority. In chasing public demand, we often forget who we are and what we are about. We start to look for best ways to meet demands and that often means abandoning our mission. Religious social services, which routinely deny their connections to the Church so as not to jeopardize government subsidies are a prime example. Services are provided. The Church is buried.
  2. You can scale down ministry.
    This is a frequent road traveled by struggling congregations. It never works. When a congregation decides to go “part time” in its ministry, it projects failure. Any part-time solutions should from the beginning be approached as temporary measures. Clergy chosen for part-time ministries must be missionaries. They rarely are.
  3. You can hire more help.
    You want to reach families so you hire a youth minister. You want to tend to the elderly and sick so you hire a visitation pastor. Soon you have a budget that is out of control and threatening the congregation’s ability to conduct any ministry at all. This avenue is taken by individual congregations, regional bodies and even national denominations. Hiring someone and creating an additional monetary challenge may make us feel like we are addressing needs. By the time results are measured, the newly created positions are secured by custom whether or not they proved effective.
  4. You can copy the equally challenged.
    Churches are great at copying one another’s ministry ideas. However, they often copy before the results are tested. Result: failure is replicated. Individuality and creativity are lost. The church becomes less meaningful.
  5. We can form alliances to pool resources and diversify our talent pool.
    This idea needs more testing in the church. It is somewhat foreign to church structure which traditionally focuses all energy and resources on one leader and many followers. This worked well for the church when small, homogenous communities were the norm. The world is changing faster than the Church seems to be able to adapt. We need each other now more than ever.
  6. We can employ teamwork.
    This sounds like something churches would embrace but it actually hasn’t worked very well. We are all protective of our own territory in the church. The structure for alliances is fostered in theory but rarely used. Church bodies have congregations, social service agencies, missionary outreach, seminaries, schools and church camps. All are looking to the same membership to provide support, but often the major sources of support — individual congregants or congregations — have very little interaction with arms of the church. Congregations hope that members will remember them in their wills, but you can bet the regional offices, seminaries and social service agencies with funded development offices want a big piece of the same pie. Interaction in the church suffers. Congregations are the financial losers. The others, recipients of occasional windfalls, slowly erode their long-term foundation of support.
  7. We can become predators.
    This is a very real dynamic in today’s church. We don’t help struggling congregations when help is first needed, we wait for years as downward trends continue — and almost all congregation’s are experiencing downward statistics. Our inability to support one another in ministry forces congregations to close. The dice are rolled to divide assets. We need to find ways to help the weakest among us so that we can all be stronger. Survival of the fittest may work in nature, but it is not the foundation of the Gospel.
  8. We can live beyond our means.
    This tendency in the church has created predatory ministries. The terrible lessons are being learned slowly and at significant loss. When those with hierarchical power operate on deficit budgets, they jeopardize the ministries of their supporting congregations. It becomes easy to find fault with them and force them to close in ways that guarantee assets are turned over to them.
  9. We can return to our roots.
    We can study the evangelism techniques used by Christ and the apostles. There are good lessons in the scriptures. Why is it that this is often the last place we turn for help?
20 Apr 2012

Redeemer’s 2×2 Website Surpasses 5000 Visitors

Redeemer’s experimental congregational web site just tallied its 5000th first-time visitor.

Little Redeemer reaches more people every week than most large churches reach on Sunday morning.

Redeemer started 2x2virtualchurch.com in late February 2011.

The site was started as a mission vehicle when  Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod (SEPA) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America seized our property.

Redeemer knows that small churches are capable of big ministry. The internet seemed to be a perfect vehicle for a congregation with no church building.

By the end of summer 2011, 2×2 had only a few dozen visits. We were posting sporadically — a few times a month.

We began posting daily.

We focused on three strengths of the congregation: Social Media, Children in Worship and Multicultural Ministry. The site also includes commentary on issues facing many neighborhood congregations today.

We learned to create content with others in mind.

We write interdenominationally, but we don’t hide our Lutheran roots.

We link to other related sites and engage in conversation in other religious forums—all things encouraged in this new communications medium.

Statistics guide our content development.

At Easter we posted a short play, written and produced by Redeemer a year before our doors were locked. It was downloaded 150 times. We responded to this interest by posting a Pentecost resource for small churches.

Much of our traffic comes from our ongoing exploration of Social Media topics.

Our Multicultural series did not attract as much attention, but it was reblogged — linked from other sites—more often. This tells us that there is intense if not broad interest.

Several seminaries posted articles from our website for discussion. One of our recent posts was broadcast by a retweeting engine.

We now have more than 80 followers who subscribe daily via Facebook, Twitter or direct email feed. An additional 30-80 visitors per day represent every state in the Union and more than 70 countries with just shy of 1000 visitors a month. As that number continues to grow, we expect to have between 12,000 and 20,000 readers by the end of our second year.

Our highest international traffic comes from Canada, France, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Belgium, South Africa, and Australia. Traffic is growing in the mid-East and Africa.

There are interesting, inexplicable spikes in readership. One day we had 26 readers in the Bahamas! The very next day we had 16 readers from the Netherlands.

We hear regularly from small mission congregations in Pakistan and Kenya and support one another with ministry ideas and prayer.

We are encountering Christians from many denominations — some of them represent very large ministries. We learn of interesting projects and try to help by providing links. A college student in Texas, who has created a ministry recycling VBS materials, gets a few daily visitors from 2×2 links.

Redeemer may be one of the most active and growing congregations in Southeastern Pennsylvania—even if we are shunned by our own denomination. SEPA justifies its actions in East Falls with accusations of lack of mission focus. There is no lack of mission focus at Redeemer. We are just using a very wide-angle lens!

We will be glad to make a presentation to SEPA Synod Assembly on our growing experience in web ministry. Just contact us!

Redeemer is not closed;
 we are locked out of God’s House by SEPA Synod.

photo credit: Absolute Chaos via photopin cc (retouched)
17 Apr 2012

How to Bypass the Democratic Process in the Lutheran Church

Learn from the Roman Catholics.

Name a Blue Ribbon Committee.

Who gives out those ribbons to committees as they are about to go to work? Shouldn’t the blue ribbons be given after the work is done and the decisions have proven to be wise? Or does the ribbon automatically make the decisions wise? Chicken or egg?

East Falls is still reeling with the news that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese has determined, with the help of a Blue Ribbon Committee, that the parochial school children of St. Bridget’s in East Falls should no longer walk to their neighborhood school but should hop on buses and head to a brand new (well, somewhat renovated) school three neighborhoods away—if you take the most commonly traveled route, Henry Avenue. (East Falls, Wissahickon, Roxborough, final destination Manayunk)

A new name has already been bestowed on this school. There won’t be any fighting over existing names and no debate among vying factions. St. Blaise it is. (Read what has happened since!)

There! Turn in your blue ribbons, committee members. Thank you for your service.

The Blue Ribbon Committee was entrusted with the fate of every Catholic School in the Archdiocese, most of which face economic challenges. They originally announced 40-some closings but changed their Blue Ribbon minds on more than a dozen of their decisions after protests were staged and appeals heard.

You have to wonder why the Blue Ribbon Committees don’t listen to the people before making Blue Ribbon decisions.

St. Bridget’s in East Falls has not fared well in the reconsideration process. They wrote letters, signed petitions, solicited the support from the community council and government representatives—as if Blue Ribbon Committees give a hoot about the views of elected officials. The Catholics of East Falls are left at this point with little but the knowledge that they tried. And we hope they keep trying. (Redeemer is in your corner.)

Why Manayunk?

The Blue Ribbon Committee reports that the parishes of Manayunk have already experienced loss and they don’t want to inflict more on them.

It’s East Falls’ turn to suffer.

Sounds familiar to us at Redeemer, just up the hill from St. Bridget’s.

Redeemer once heard the same reasoning. It was 1998. There were three struggling Lutheran Churches in Roxborough. None in Manayunk. None in Wissahickon. And then there was little Redeemer, sitting on a prime property (owned and paid for by the people of East Falls) with a healthy endowment.

In moves SEPA Synod and the Lutheran bishop with an attempt to close Redeemer.

Bishop Almquist appointed his own version of a Blue Ribbon committee. He called them “trustees.”

“Ministry in East Falls is not good use of the Lord’s money,” one Synod official said.

“We want to merge the churches in Roxborough into one riverfront church,” said another.  Redeemer’s assets were to fund the project. Redeemer was never consulted.

Some even dared to invoke the Resurrection parallel. Redeemer should die so that the churches of Roxborough might live. When in doubt turn to Scripture.

Only Redeemer was not dead.

There was a plan made by the Lutheran version of the Blue Ribbon Committee. Redeemer was  supposed to submissively fund this venture — which was never likely to work. The three congregations in Roxborough, the largest geographic neighborhood in Philadelphia, were too different. It might have been possible, but there was no unification plan short of ordering Lutherans to do as the Synod says, which doesn’t work very well. Those pesky constitutions keep getting in the way.

The Lutherans of East Falls successfully fought this folly, but the memory of our advocacy for our own ministry in our own neighborhood (the Lutheran way) festered in the minds of SEPA Synod leadership. Pastors disappeared. SEPA Synod began the death watch.

Ten years. That ought to do it.

In 2008, a new bishop moved in again. This time, there would be no fooling around with any attempt at working with the Lutherans of East Falls — which by now was an almost entirely new membership. Bishop Claire Burkat asked for action against Redeemer from the Synod Council—having never met with leaders of Redeemer. Then they waited nearly five months with not a word to the congregation that they were assuming control.

When the cat jumped out of the bag, Redeemer fought back.

The Bishop visited our property with a locksmith. Redeemer turned her away. Fort Sumter.

Bishop Burkat used the committee angle, too. She didn’t call it “blue ribbon.” That probably wouldn’t fly among Lutherans, who believe in the equality of lay and clergy leadership. She named trustees. She simply announced by letter that the trustees were replacing the elected leaders of the congregation — the names of which she didn’t bother to check.

The name change trick was invoked. When Plan A—to sell the property out from under the congregation—failed, the talk turned to closing the church for a few months and reopening under a new name, this time with a synod-approved council.

If only the people of East Falls could have been relied upon to vote the Bishop’s way! Then all this would have been unnecessary.

So take notes, Lutheran bishops. Blue Ribbon committees carry more clout. Forget the constitution. Just find a few loyalists, give them Blue Ribbon status, be clear about the game plan, and declare your work done.

Blame the committee if things go wrong.

Oh, and those three churches in Roxborough. Grace and Epiphany are closed and Bethany soldiers on alone.

photo credit: kevinthoule via photopin cc
14 Apr 2012

Let’s Get Rid of the Saints . . . and All Pitch In!

This week a Founders Day celebration was held at a nearby institution that is friendly with Redeemer. One of our members attended the pricy event.

The emphasis of the night was “honoring heroes.” A slate of a dozen or so people influential in the institution’s difficult past was called forward. Friends and supporters applauded enthusiastically as each name was read and each honoree accepted a plaque and a handshake. It was a love fest with words of encouragement:

“Without you . . . . (followed by a long list of potential disasters that would surely have occurred if someone hadn’t done something).”

More striking was the behind the scenes banter. Among themselves, the celebrated heroes talked about the lack of the support, the drain on their energy and personal funds, and just how difficult their work on behalf of the institution they loved had been. There was a sense that any one of them would have traded the honor for a few more willing hands when the going had been tough. But still, they emerged before the assembly, proudly accepting the accolades of the less committed.

Hero worship is an interesting ritual. It’s a way of passing the buck. Let someone else take the risks; award them if they happen to succeed and if they fail we can say with our clean hands comfortably tucked in our pockets, “We told you so!”

And it’s also a chance to raise some money!

It’s easy for us in the Church to rely on the sacrifices of others. It’s the foundation of our whole religion! We expect sacrifices from the most faithful.

With plentiful biblical example of widows giving their last and martyrs standing up as stones are hurled—and let’s not forget—crucifixion, we encourage the faithful to give and sacrifice for their churches. Like the rest of society, we assuage potential guilt for our own lack of perseverence by bestowing honors on those foolish enough to really lay things on the line. We justify our own inaction with a few Bible verses about trust.

How much healthier would the Church be if there were no heroes (sometimes we call them saints)—if everyone got his or her hands a little dirty!

The next time we attend a ceremony to honor local “heroes,” we should think about what we might have done to have made their lives less trying.

Christ died so that we can!

photo credit: CRASH:candy via photopin cc
14 Apr 2012

The Underestimated Value of Small Churches

There isn’t much difference between small churches and large churches and their mission potential. Redeemer’s Ambassadors have visited nearly 50 neighboring churches. We’ve seen small churches with impressive worship. We’ve seen large churches with ordinary worship. We’ve seen volunteer choirs in small congregations perform as well as larger church choirs with paid section leaders. We’ve seen small churches with amazing track records for supporting neighborhood mission. We’ve seen large churches doing similar things. We’ve seen innovative, scalable mission projects in several very small congregations.

Yet large churches have preferential ranking in the minds of denominational hierarchy. That’s because there is one thing larger churches can do better than small churches. They can better support hierarchy.

Hierarchies are expensive and self-perpetuating.

There is rarely talk about reducing hierarchy. This may be precisely what is needed.

Hierarchies are responsible for keeping church professionals employed. They are also supposed to provide services to congregations. Most congregations have little contact with their regional office unless they are calling a pastor.

Clergy rely on the denomination for access to and approval of a call. The regional body becomes their employment agency.

In the corporate world, employment agencies work for either the employer or the job-seeker. In the church, a regional body, acting as employment agency, holds some power over both the job-seekers and the limited pool of employer congregations within their region. They serve two earthly masters and tend to favor the clergy.

When pastors are vying for the most lucrative or beneficial assignments, the regional body as employment agency begins to judge congregations by their ability to meet clergy needs. If a congregation insists on finding a candidate that fits ministry needs, they can be judged as uncooperative—a judgement that could follow them for decades.

Mandated initiatives that make no sense to congregations can result. The regional body might recommend merger or acceptance of an interim pastor for an undesignated time—or they may recommend closure.

Denominational leaders are acting as managers. Looking at the map, it may make perfect management sense to merge two or three congregations within a two-mile radius. The thinking is that if you merge two 150-member churches, you will have one church with 300-members and that’s a magic number for supporting clergy.

It doesn’t work that way. In the church . . .

1 + 1 = One half

Churches are little communities, something like families. They come with their own traditions and social structure. Merging them to save management costs makes about as much sense as merging three or four unrelated families to make utility and grocery bills more reasonable.

You cannot mandate community. Attempts to merge congregations often end up with one even smaller congregation.

There is another side effect. In the corporate world, mergers and management decisions often result in similar products and services replicated in similar ways. The beauty of small congregations is their individuality. Without small churches we will end up with cookie cutter large churches, worshiping in similar ways and providing similar services and mission opportunities.

The loss of neighborhood ministries will be felt far more deeply than any temporary gains of church closures and mergers.

We must make small congregations a priority. We must find ways to help them get over decades of neglect.

10 Apr 2012

Redeemer Celebrates Third Easter Locked Out of Church

Redeemer members gathered for a third Easter in front of the locked doors of Redeemer Lutheran Church in East Falls.No stone was rolled away at Redeemer this year. Maybe next year!

Nevertheless, Redeemer members gathered in front of the church, read the Easter Story, and prayed before heading to a member’s home for Easter fellowship. We had three new attendees this year, which has been steady growth since the lock out.

Please keep in mind that Redeemer members still live in fear of SEPA leadership. Not all will agree to be in a photograph—very sad commentary on the state of ministry in SEPA Synod of the ELCA.

(Our sign, which Bishop Burkat couldn’t wait to have torn down and destroyed as she pretends to honor the memory of Redeemer, will continue to live on as a witness to our ministry through the magic of Photoshop!)

We had a wonderful Easter — no thanks to the church!

Christ is risen indeed!

09 Apr 2012

Can the Church Be Fixed?

Are our church doors truly open?

Are our church doors truly open?

The Alban Institute’s Roundtable is unusually active this week. The weekly topic laid out all the failings of the mainline church. The resulting dialog was a mild outrage.

“Why are we going over what’s wrong? We know what’s wrong? How can we fix it?” Among the most desperate and honest questions is, “Can it be fixed?”

There is still a disconnect between church leadership and church members which may be at the heart of a general disillusionment with the Church.

Why do people become involved in church?

  • Some are born into church-respecting families.
  • Some seek answers to life’s problems.
  • Some are looking for peace and comfort
  • Some are seeking validation or acceptance.
  • Some are seeking God.

One way or another, many people find something in the church worth making it part of their lives. Something attracted them. It was probably someone humbly modeling the teachings of Christ.

That opens the door. Then what?

Church always asks more of us. It asks us to learn and to grow. It encourages us to take stands on issues. We are asked to influence others.

And then the rules begin. Rules are prompted by leaders who want order and power. This lessens the potential of the Church.

The laity hit a glass ceiling. Take a stand—but follow us.

Laity have a choice. We choose to become involved when our initial needs are met and we can make a difference. We don’t join churches to take on more financial woes. We don’t join to have more authority figures. We want to feel loved. We want to know God.

Part of the gift of the Reformation — a cause for which many gave their lives — was the empowerment of the laity. Grace is freely given. No middle man is needed. That message is clouded today in a Church where any “stand” is accepted only if it is politically correct.

The Church is at its strongest when it fosters courage by example.

There is an old Sunday School hymn, probably long forgotten by most:

Dare to be brave. Dare to be true.
Fight for the right for the Lord is with you.
He knows your trials, when your heart quails.
Call Him to rescue His grace never fails.

The Church often speaks out of both sides of its mouth. Be brave. Do as we say.

One commenter in the Roundtable discussion wrote an impassioned essay on his frustrations on spreading the Gospel. He concluded with his own battle cry—that he would remain faithful in knowing God.

He is correct. That is the foundation of all that is good and can be better in the Church. It is fundamental. Work at knowing God and the message we send will ring loud and clear. Then we will know when to follow and when to lead. We will be empowered to do both.

photo credit: Autumnsonata via photopin cc
05 Apr 2012