His blog first proposed reading it together, chapter by chapter, a week or so ago.
I admit I read ahead. Pastor Swanson is catching up with me now. (look for 7 minutes with God on his blog)
The book is exciting reading in itself, but for me and for us at Redeemer, it is a revelation.
The story of Nehemiah is the story of Redeemer.
Against enormous odds, the people find ample leadership to rebuild the plundered temple. They get more support from the neighboring king than they get from Jewish leaders. The “religious” leaders pull every trick in the book to try to stop them — not because what they are doing is wrong (although every attempt is made to make it look that way) but because they feel their position and power is somehow threatened by other people succeeding at what they failed to even try to do. What they said was impossible is being accomplished before their very eyes and they can’t stand it!
I’ve been following the daily blog of Pastor Jon Swanson, 300 Words a Day. This week he has been retelling the momentous story of the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, told by Nehemiah. The story is gripping — all the more because it cuts to the “Why?” of ministry.
Why look upon destruction that is so vast that no one bothered to clean it up much less rebuild it.
Why cry for it?
Why, when given the opportunity, petition a foreign king for permission to rebuild?
Why face the opposition that you know is plotting against you for daring to organize efforts to make things better?
Why record the details of the work crews that rebuilt each gate and wall?
Why be bothered? No one else seems to care!
Perhaps today’s church needs some of Nehemiah’s passion.
We have become very brazen about the state of our church. Attendance down? Oh, well. It’s time for ministry to die. Is attendance down in 90% of a region’s churches? It’s just a sign of the times.
The quote from church leadership should be alarming:
Congregations that will die within the next ten years should receive the least amount of time and attention. They should receive time that assists them to die with celebration and dignity. Offer these congregations a ‘caretaker’ pastor who would give them quality palliative care until they decide to close their doors. It is the kind of tough-minded leadership that will be needed at the helm if your organization is to become a Transformational Regional Body.” — Transforming Regional Bodies, by Claire S. Burkat and Roy Oswald, a guidebook used to train leaders of regional bodies
The most troubling part of this quote is the time frame. Ten years! In the Lutheran Church that’s almost two terms for a bishop.
Our regional leaders are encouraged to stand by, implementing a ten-year plan to DO NOTHING (and get paid for it).
A ten-year time frame is enough time to revitalize a ministry, to rebuild its foundation. But the plan advised to leaders of regional bodies is to help only the churches with a proven cache of money. Go where the work seems easiest.
This trend continues in the church unquestioned because the blame is placed on the people with the least voice or sway — the lay people. Wisdom of church leaders should not be questioned. Regard for their professional status outweighs regard for lay volunteers.
When we are busy protecting church leadership, we forget to ask the “why” questions. Why are we here in the first place? Why does anyone care?
If life was always peaches and cream, we would have no need for religion. We turn to God in weakness to find our strength.
So in comes the Church.
Church leaders will explain God’s ways. We will have a roadmap for solving problems.
Church leaders are rarely at a loss for words when it comes to advising congregations. They preach guidelines for peaceful and productive lives in Christ.
Followers nod in agreement. They file out of church assemblies with a sense that they are leaving a place where people care about one another and will follow God’s Word.
A pastor recently shared his story.
He had listened to a bishop address his synodical assembly with words of peace, admonishing them to work with one another to resolve differences in accordance with the Scriptures. It was a moving message which drew a standing ovation.
This pastor and his congregation were having some issues with Synodical leadership. He was encouraged by the message. He managed to buttonhole the bishop before the end of the Assembly. He told him he was moved by his sermon.
“Let’s do it,” he said with enthusiasm. “Let’s get together and talk through our issues.”
The bishop responded. “Uh, OK, why don’t you write an agenda and send it to my office. We’ll set up a meeting.”
The pastor was excited. He drafted an agenda of the issues his congregation wanted to discuss and sent it to the bishop’s office.
Months went by with no response. At last, the bishop responded that he had been advised that the issues might end up in court and he should not meet with the congregation.
You read that right! The issues MIGHT end up in court. So what’s the point of talking.
This parallels Redeemer’s experience. Bishop Burkat had a lawyer at her right hand (literally) at her first meeting with Redeemer leaders.
This attitude of—not all, but more than one—current bishops in the ELCA violates the Gospel and is a dereliction of their assigned duties. They are no longer shepherds but predators. Clergy’s key advisors are lawyers—not more experienced pastors, not people with a spiritual gift for wisdom, and not the Bible.
The Gospel is clear that we are to attempt to work out differences without the courts. But in today’s church, leadership is not looking for resolution. They are looking for the WIN.They are looking to be seen as powerful. Resolution might call for ceding some power. Opponents must be defeated!
The Church is following the way of the world—exactly as the New Testament (both Gospel and Epistles) cautions. It is crippling the Church, one little conflict after another. Every WIN by intimidation is a defeat for the Gospel.
“Resolution” is so distasteful that the word is avoided. SEPA Synod is billing an upcoming workshop as conflict “transformation.”
Today’s Church does not believe its own scriptures.
It is a sad day when the only thing separating the Church from the world is tax exemption and immunity for its actions—but not those of its opponents—under the Bill of Rights.
Yesterday, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America announced an upcoming workshop for congregations. We first saw this listed as Weathering the Storm, but notice it is now advertised as Weathering the System.
Weathering the System
October 27, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
St. John’s Lutheran Church
505 North York Road, Hatboro, PA 19040
The six-hour workshop on conflict resolution is advertised as conflict transformation.
A buzzword unused is an opportunity squandered.
How do you weather a storm?
Make sure you win! Winning, at any cost, even at the expense of mission, outranks problem-solving in today’s church leadership. As one leading businessman wrote today, “It’s because defeat and power and humiliation and money have replaced ‘doing what works for all of us.'”
Although the names of presenters are not posted, you will learn from the best. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Lutheran Church in America, has been involved in years and years of conflict. They know the ropes!
Topics within synod’s expertise include:
how to create and define conflict using deceit
intimidating the opposition
exploiting vulnerable volunteers
how to identify which volunteers to eliminate to ensure victory
discouraging lay involvement to assure managerial success
how to pit clergy against laity to maximize success
guidelines for effective use of inflammatory language
when to apply the constitutions
when to ignore the constitutions
how to use Roberts’ Rules of Order
how to ignore Roberts’ Rules of Order
isolating the opposition from the rest of the Church
divide and conquer: tried and true techniques to guarantee divisiveness
tips for withholding professional services while appearing to serve
demonizing your opposition
use of litigation as a management tool
ignoring facts that do not serve your purpose
how to use partial truths to gain popular support
when to lie unabashedly
best practices in name-calling and finger-pointing
how to camouflage objectives with semantics
use of charm and charisma to deflect attention from the issues
how to keep knowledgeable people from asking questions
when and how to declare your opponents as non-existent
the underestimated value and strategic use of prejudice
creative use of statistics
techniques for silencing opposition
maximizing the “gotcha” factor
when and how to ignore Gospel imperatives
counting coup: the proper way to celebrate victory
The announcement quotes a former participant:
“Conflict and stress are a part of life. Both can be positive. It’s all in how you deal with it.”
Don’t miss the upcoming workshop. Learn how to deal with conflict from the masters!
Update: a subsequent announcement names The Rev. Dr. Jennifer Phelps Ollikainen of Liberty Lutheran as the presenter. Liberty Lutheran is independent of SEPA Synod, so content may actually be helpful!
See the countdown box to the right. 2×2 Foundation, which grew from Redeemer’s ministry, is counting the days to the third anniversary of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s excommunication of all Lutherans in East Falls so that they could take our property and assets as their own.
We are marking the occasion with the issuance of our annual report which will include a report of our 50 visits to other SEPA churches.
Nine months after they locked our doors, SEPA’s Synod Council, with no constitutional authority or any contact with Redeemer members, voted to officially close our congregation. We found out a year later when we Googled our name. SEPA’s idea of working with us! Perhaps all churches should Google their names to see if they are open!
Why these actions do not outrage SEPA Lutherans passes all understanding. The Gospel is totally abandoned when the subject of Redeemer comes up.
‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ — Matthew 25:40
Redeemer is not closed. Redeemer is locked out of God’s House by SEPA Synod.
We look forward to sharing our annual report three weeks from today.
Here’s another answer to the question “Why don’t churches blog?”
Church leaders don’t understand the reach and impact of the internet or the new definition of community.
Congregations, by tradition, are geographically bound. For several decades, congregations which had support from people who lived some distance from the church building were criticized. Membership was considered “scattered.” The regional or centralized church didn’t care about this as long as offerings were flowing, but if there were any signs of fiscal trouble, a “scattered” congregation was in trouble with its judicatory.
Geography is no longer as important as it once was. There are definite benefits to physical community, but it is not the sole criterion.
Community is a group of people with common interests. People, today, are discovering people with common interests all over the world. Just because this was not possible from 35 A.D. to 1985 A.D. doesn’t mean it has no value in 2012 A.D.
Recognizing that the Church and its sense of community has changed WILL redefine Church and its structure of support and service.
2×2 is on the frontline exploring this new definition of Church. We are learning every day. Our effort, barely 18 months old, has taken our ministry to places we never imagined.
Our regional office considers us “scattered and diminished” and worthless.
Scattered? Not when they made this claim, but today, maybe. But now it doesn’t matter!
Diminished, not at all. 2×2 (Redeemer) is reaching more people every week than it ever reached on a weekly basis at any time in its history. We can prove it!
Some contacts are fickle accidents. Others are developing into true friendships. That’s really not so different than the neighborhood church that reaches many visitors with only a small percentage actually joining.
We made all of these connections by blogging daily on diverse subjects, analyzing the wealth of online data, and producing content that answered the needs revealed in search engine data.
We did it on a shoestring budget — less than $100 per year. We followed our own members’ interests and talents.
We’ve only just begun. We’re here to help and serve.
Contact us if you need help developing an online ministry.
The Alban Roundtable discussion this week presents cautionary tales on what can go awry when using email to communicate.
Comments so far have been: We know, we know. But this is the world we live in.
They are right. If people are going to email, there is nothing you can do to stop them. You CAN, however, provide good content to encourage reasonable and helpful online dialog.
Create a church blog.
2×2 advocates the development of church blogs as a less emotionally charged way of promoting online discussion. Blogs invite participation. Thoughtful posts will result in thoughtful comments—moreso than on Facebook and Twitter. Blogs allow you to moderate comments, but generally we recommend that you moderate the first comment only, simply as a way of verifying that the contributor is not a spammer. Access to the online discussion must be fairly free. If you start editing or rejecting comments, your blog will be seen as the voice of the favored in the church.
Establish guidelines for your commenters. People will cooperate. If you feel you must edit a comment, you can tell the contributor (offline) why it violates your community rules.
There are many advantages to blogs. Some you can anticipate. We’ve listed some above.
Here are Mark’s insights as they have applied to our church blog . . . and can apply to your church blog as well.
Blogging heals
Redeemer, the sponsor of the 2×2, is a congregation experiencing ongoing rejection and bullying within the Church. It’s painful, and the Church has been unresponsive—hoping we would just roll over and die—even five years after that tactic has proven ineffective!
Blogging has given us a voice which is healing to our community. It has given us reach and it has validated our ministry (to other Christians if not to our nearest neighbors). We know we can still fulfill our “missional purpose.”
Blogging connects
This has been the most amazing benefit of our blog. We have connected with other Lutherans, other denominations, other religious institutions and ministry efforts all over the world. We have come to know many by name and hear from several daily. Some have been helpful to us. We’ve been helpful others as well. We have invitations to visit in Asia and Africa!
Blogging defines
Where does the church stand on issues? Often we allow church experts to draft statements about what we believe, but let’s face it. They are rarely read or used more than a month after they are published.
Why do we allow others to decide what we think? In the past, there was little choice, but dialog online can help congregations participate in issues and respond at the local level. The official response can be helpful but it shouldn’t replace our own consciences.
When you take an issue you aren’t quite sure about and start to write, you can begin to sort out your thoughts and realize what you believe. Sometimes it surprises you!
2×2 posts some ideas, knowing they are not fully defined. Sometimes the ones we think are most nebulous start to get responses — often by email—thanking us for our position. We often learn that others are struggling with the same issues. They add a penny or two to the dialog—which we incorporate in future posts.
Blogging teaches
Mark Schaefer points out that his blog opens his eyes and teaches him. 2×2 says “ditto!”.
Blogging inspires
2×2 looks for messages that inspire and includes them in our editorial mix. We often get emails thanking us and telling us how they intend to use the information in their ministry.
These are five things every church needs. Why aren’t we doing it more?
We have one answer to this question! Tomorrow’s post.
It’s the first Sunday of the month, the week Redeemer members pass our locked church to worship together in a community theater and gather across the street in a neighborhood bar afterwards for fellowship. The bar even added us to their calendar. (God is doing something new!)
We had many things to celebrate and give thanks for today. Two of our members were awarded good jobs and one is starting a business. We were particularly grateful that one of the retired pastors who worships with us regularly was back with us after a four-month rehabilitation after surgery.
We enjoy having our own worship—singing the hymns we choose, praying our own prayers, enjoying our own fellowship. We also enjoy our Ambassador visits on the other Sundays of the month. But there is nothing like being at home.
We know that the only reason to lock our people out our church was to destroy our community. Lesson to church hierarchies: Find another way!
We were reminded in today’s sermon of an ongoing theme of our Australian pastor — that church is not about what we “get out of it.” It is about God and His relationship with us and our response to His love.
There isn’t a church in East Falls that isn’t challenged. Some of the challenges come from the religious apathy of the community. We can’t blame them to some extent. It’s rather dangerous to be a Christian (or at least a Lutheran) in East Falls.
The greatest challenge is from the Church itself, who values property above community. It is too expensive to operate religious schools. Send the kids elsewhere. Rent the buildings.
The people who invested their time and offerings in Redeemer and St. Bridget’s (and perhaps a few other church communities before them) have had their gifts squandered by outside interests. Fallsers gave to contribute to their community. Their gifts were confiscated or devalued by people who thought they had better uses for our resources but haven’t a clue how to serve East Falls.
If only the courts could hand out consciences as easily as property!
There are reports that the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is negotiating the use of Redeemer Church with community leaders. SEPA spent no time considering the use of Redeemer Church with the people who built the church — the Lutherans of East Falls. They continue their attacks on our members in the courts. That should give the people of East Falls some idea of the character of the people with whom they are negotiating. East Falls beware!
At the heart of SEPA’s problems in East Falls is loss of mission — or to use church-speak — the loss of “missional focus.”
If SEPA cares, they should note: Redeemer is still a worshiping community.
Talk to us! You have a better chance of serving East Falls with the Lutherans of East Falls than without us.
As for the excommunicated members of Redeemer, we will serve the Lord.
If churches want to reach millions of independent-minded young Americans they should learn a thing or two from craft brewers. . . . It’s time, he said, for “craft churches” that reach niche audiences.
This is an astute observation. Small churches have been serving niches for some time.
Our Ambassador visits reveal that most churches, large or small, serve a niche, but probably with little intent!
The largest church we visited (non-Lutheran and twice the attendance of the largest Lutheran church we visited) was a congregation of 25-35-year-olds.
Birds of a feather . . .
Small churches know their niche. Any intention of being all things to all people, though tempting, is out of reach. Even if people wanted that kind of ministry, (and most mission statements sound like they do!), finding leadership is daunting.
Church leaders often view small churches as failures—undesirable places for pastors to serve. Part of this is economics. All churches must rise to the same budget expectations, which in the modern era have priced many communities out of the faith business. Pastors assigned to small churches often view their role as care-taking, never bothering with outreach. Some even use the offensive term “hospice ministry.”
Perhaps it’s time to seriously examine the economics of church.
People will make their church home where they can see their offerings and efforts at work. They will neither participate nor attend a church where they do not feel fully welcome.
We at Redeemer know the difference between being welcome to attend church and being welcome to participate. Our bishop made it clear that we are not welcome to participate in SEPA Synod. She seized our property and pledged to close our church and reopen it under new leadership. She wrote to us that current members could attend this new, improved Lutheran church but former members would not be permitted to participate. She unilaterally denied us vote or voice. When we started visiting churches she sent a letter to pastors warning them!
How’s that for a welcome statement!
Redeemer was welcoming East African immigrants who were moving into our community—not just to use our building, which is the more common outreach approach, but to join their traditions with ours. We saw our unique niche ministry as adding to the mosaic of the greater church.
But SEPA was determined that one population had to die before a new population could be fully welcomed. As Bishop Burkat said, “White Redeemer must be allowed to die, black Redeemer . . . we can put them anywhere.” Control of assets was the objective.
Religion is not supposed to be a spectator sport.
Part of the problem with niche ministries is that few pastors are trained to serve niche populations.
Defining a niche (while recognizing the likelihood that niches will change every decade or so) may not be such a bad idea. It will take decades to recognize and train leaders to actively serve niche ministries and not view them as “hospice” assignments.
Another problem with niche ministries is that the “niches” that are most in need (the ones the Bible talks about), often can’t support them.
The true mission of the church is defeated by cost—at least with today’s budget and funding expectations.
Meanwhile, rejected and criticized by our denomination, Redeemer has created a niche ministry. You are visiting it now. Today, two months into our third year, we are reaching more people every week than the largest church in our denomination’s local region. We are just getting started.
Tons of property now stand empty in the greater Philadelphia region.
Episcopal Bishop Bennison says, Where is the Gospel in this?
Good question, Bishop Bennison. The question should have been asked long ago!
The article deals with the stones and mortar problem church leaders are facing.
It barely mentions the lives of the people who have been affected.
The Church misplaced its priorities long ago. They point to a changing economy and demographics. Where were the experts on change when the changes were happening?
The neglect of God’s people is the real problem.
Most of the church leaders quoted in this article are from Roman Catholic and Episcopal traditions where church property is owned by the denomination.
One person quoted in this article, Bishop Claire Burkat, comes from the Lutheran tradition, where property belongs to the congregations. Her actions, in one neighborhood (East Falls) defied the rules of the church she serves. Courts have refused to hear the case the congregation brought. They want churches to settle their own problems, citing separation of church and state.
The Church does not have a good record of solving its own problems!
Now, they, like the hierarchies modern Lutheran leaders emulate, have a problem. They have successfully acquired property they cannot support or have any use for! Each denomination is competing for few willing buyers.
Costs are rarely discussed openly. This article states the realistic cost as $55,000 per property. No figure like this appears in the regional Lutheran church budget!
The real problem began years ago. The Church fled neighborhoods and considered the people left behind or newly moving into those neighborhoods as demographically unsuitable for their investment in ministry. They paid experts a lot of money to support their decisions.
They sought short-term solutions that would one day be someone else’s problem—presumably the laity’s.
They routinely, assigned part-time, minimal effort, caretaker pastors to see how long they might keep money flowing without actually ministering to the community.
Reliance on demographic studies is not helpful. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America analyzed Philadelphia’s demographics and found only one zip code in the city worthy of mission investment—Chinatown.
Eventually, they officially quit trying and started helping congregations close. Initially, in the Lutheran Church, they allowed the congregations to dispose of their assets as is Lutheran law. But regional bodies were struggling, too. They started imposing new “rules” which would make the assets of congregations go to them. Any such new rules are in defiance of the ELCA Articles of Incorporation and cannot be changed by fickle, expedient bylaws. Only Redeemer is challenging this, although the practice will one day affect many.
The plan is backfiring. Even suburban churches face serious challenges.
Regional bodies are looking for any way to put properties they now manage to work. They would rather work with hot dog vendors and theater troupes than people in the neighborhoods who profess the same faith.
It’s time to start looking at more than property. 2×2 will examine the more important question.
What happens to the people and neighborhoods when churches close?
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.
MISSION INSPIRATION OFFER
A visual and biblical guide to help congregations define their missions.
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).
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
. . . and it is still hard and lonely work 
