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Rethinking Small Church Ministry

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer

Today’s Alban Institute Roundtable weekly post is depressing. It features an excerpt from a book on the condition of the church, written by Kenneth J. McFayden.

It is a “Litany of Loss”—a list of ten losses to the modern church which seems all the longer for its hopelessness.

Very few in the church are unaware of the fragile state of the neighborhood church. Perhaps larger churches, in modern, squeaky clean facilities, in thriving suburbs can escape (for the time being), but small town/country churches and urban churches face challenges.

There is commonality. They are older than suburban churches (in most cases) and have experienced shifts in their communities that the Church never foresaw. Suburban churches have yet to face the same challenges — the same litany of losses.

They will.

Let’s learn from experience.

The challenges facing so many neighborhood churches might never have happened had the need for change been addressed decades ago.

Too much was left unattended. This is a failure of leadership, not of Christian community.

As long as bills were paid, the coming challenges were ignored. As times grew tougher, less was done but more was needed. Part time pastors were called when full-time effort was called for. Paying the existing bills became the mission when money was needed for change. All church activity was scaled around maintaining church as it was known. When things changed, the Church was unable to meet its fundamental mission — to reach first its nearest neighbors.

This didn’t happen overnight. It took years of neglect.

The lessons:

  • If we focus ministry on existing community, we will face trouble when that community ages or relocates.
  • If ministry focuses on tradition (including denominational traditions), there is little to attract new members from different traditions.
  • Little changes are hard. Big changes are closer to impossible. The Church must foster an atmosphere where little changes are not so momentous as to shake traditions or threaten security. Make change a habit.

For denominational leaders and professional leaders to neglect their congregations’ needs for little changes over the years and then descend upon congregations with domineering strength when they face challenges damaging to the foundation of Christian community—fails fundamentally to nurture and empower the faithful.

Small congregations do not need dramatic overhauls. They need love. They need it now.

Love feeds hope. Hope fuels action. Action brings change.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Romans 12:12 (NIV)

02 Apr 2012

Church Competition (It’s not who you think!)

Did watch manufacturers ever predict that their major competitors would be cell phones? That’s what has happened. Cell phones display the time prominently. No need for a watch. Bulova, Timex, and Seiko were watching each other while T-mobile and the Iphone began to make them obsolete.

Understanding your competition is important to successful honing and implementation of mission.

Many churches have no clue that there is competition. There is.

We often address symptoms of the competition and miss the diagnosis. The competition is not:

  • the neighboring church of a different denomination
  • the church with the charismatic pastor or hefty endowment
  • the bigger church of your same denomination
  • Saturday morning sports
  • demands of the schools on family time
  • dysfunctional families
  • televangelism

These are symptoms.

The competition is the force that separates people from God and wanting to be in communion with the people of God. There was a time when the religious were bold enough to give it a name . . . Satan.

Most churches act as if their mission were to attract the biggest piece of the existing religious pie.

That’s what happens when you rely on demographers to direct mission efforts. Demographers can measure the known. Careful studies count the number of existing “Lutherans” in a geographic area. They compare it to how many “Lutherans” were in that area a decade ago. They measure the household income of the people in the neighborhood.

That’s where the train jumps the track.

Mission is about reaching those who are not measured by demographers and will not have the inclination to support ministry with a piece of their household income for some time.

The biggest problem (and there are many) in this approach to mission is that it keeps churches from working together.

Denominational church structures are designed to facilitate mission, but in tough economic times they can become self-focused, making decisions that protect their own status quo.

Denominations and congregations cannot serve our neighbors while we are coveting their people, their money, their staff, and their property.

When each visitor is seen as a potential “sell,” we fail to reach the soul of a seeker longing to know God. When each congregation is measured by its ability to support the denomination, not its community or mission, we fail the Church as a whole.

There is a trickle down effect. Unaddressed problems spread over the years. Failure to help one struggling church becomes ten neglected churches within a decade or so.

Our Ambassadors have visited many congregations. We have seen separate communities facing the same challenges—most of them in isolation. Some of them are within a three-mile radius (in well-populated areas). Some of them face closure—one at a time—over the next decade or two. Since the ability to support an expensive structure is put before mission, they fight an uphill battle even within their denomination.

There is untapped power in working together. Yet the Church that talks about unity is crippled as they seek success and solutions that help their bottom lines today.

When the church understands that their mission is to reach the world outside their demographics, progress will be made.

We offer a quote prominently displayed on another website.

People shouldn’t have to find a church.

The church should find them.

photo credit: mbgrigby via photopin cc

31 Mar 2012

Women Are Key Influencers in the Church (always have been!)

A business blogger recently posted statistics claiming that women are the most powerful “brand ambassadors” in the world. The business world sometimes uses a church term, evangelist, for this job description. Once again, the church can learn from the world of business.

Steve Olenski, in socialmediatoday, cited a study that showed that:

  • Women are 80% more likely than men to try new products/services based on advice of a friend.
  • Women are 74% more likely than men to encourage friends to try new products and services.
  • Women tend to stay more engaged (74%) with products and services they like.
  • Women are 42% less likely to share negative experiences with products or services.
  • Women are only 32% less likely to avoid products or services based on a friend’s negative experience.

These interesting statistics remind us of something we encountered in our own experience and on our Ambassador visits. Redeemer’s greatest period of growth was nurtured less by pastors but by the presence of a deaconess, who ran the educational and social programs in the church. Older Redeemer members could tell us the names of pastors but they talked about the work of the deaconess. In our visits we encountered several churches that referred lovingly to a long-departed deaconess.

And then we remembered the power of the women’s group at Redeemer, which operated independently with their own budget and bank account. Unhampered by church council they chose their own social pursuits — all of which reflected well on Redeemer as a whole. We thought back to the days of the Women’s Auxiliaries and Ladies Aid Societies.

Many of the churches that struggle today to afford pastors have their roots in the less recognized and less compensated devotion of women.

In a television program that follows well-known entertainers as they research geneology, Actress Helen Hunt appeared to be mortified by the revelation that her great grandmother had been a powerful force in the women’s temperance movement of the 19th century and early 20th century. She sat with an historian who pointed out to her that this movement was actually revolutionary, fighting serious societal problems that were affecting their communities in a world that gave women no vote or voice.

Women have always had a voice — just not a publicly recognized one. Their voice was easily overlooked because men controlled publishing as well as the board room. The powerful women’s groups of the era grew from passion, commitment and perseverance to make a difference in a world that refused to recognize their abilities.

No more!

The church would be considerably stronger today if it recognized and unleashed women’s powerful inclination to nurture — which is what the statistics quoted above reveal.

Consider this as you make plans for church growth. The challenge is to find modern, equitable ways to do this.

30 Mar 2012

The Beauty and Creativity of Small Church Worship

Our Ambassadors have visited 43 churches in the last 18 months or so. We’ve been to large churches and small. We’ve heard 15-member choirs with paid section leaders and small churches with small choirs and solo musicians.

The worship experience isn’t fashioned to compete, but our Ambassadors can’t help but observe. There is a big difference in the worship experience in a church with more than 50 in attendance and the many smaller churches we visit.

We have found some of the most creative and enriching worship experiences in congregations with less than 30 in attendance. Our last two visits were prime examples.

Tabernacle Lutheran Church in West Philadelphia has a great pianist who led a breadth of musical selections throughout a two-hour service. He was in sync with the pastor and the choir and shifted seamlessly from liturgy to Gospel music and hymns to anthems with additional meditative offerings. Except for the quality of his work, you might not be aware of his presence, it so complemented the worship experience. A third of the worshiping body was robed and singing in the choir. The congregation was actively involved, often singing along with the choir. Members of the congregation rose to offer lengthy prayer petitions. The service was an expression of the people in every way.

St. John’s in Ambler also had a wealth of music throughout the service, led by a small combo of flute, piano/cello, organ and a cantor. Sections of the liturgy were sewn together by musical interludes that were frequent and beautiful, diverse and appropriate. Worship was not rushed but evolved at a pace that the entire congregation seemed to find comfortable. By the end of the service, half the congregation had taken part in worship leadership.

In several small churches, lay members even filled the pulpit. At. St. Mark’s, Conshohocken, a school teacher read her own meditation. At. St. Michael’s, Kensington, a lay leader read a sermon prepared by the pastor but delivered with her own passion. She deftly addressed the children in a hands-on children’s sermon.

In our experience, congregational singing excelled in smaller churches. In larger churches, the collective voice of the people was often drowned out by organ power. (Organs were installed and designed with full sanctuaries in mind — rarely the case today!)

Larger churches often featured the standard three/four hymns and an anthem with appreciative congregations that were comfortable with a structure that asked little of them.

Why does the small church worship experience often stand out?

Small numbers may make it necessary for churches to nurture skills that might be hidden in larger churches, where paid talent makes the worship choices.

The small church worship experience is owned by the congregation. The members of small churches are accustomed to stepping forward to provide leadership. Such initiative might be impossible in large congregations.

This is a joy of small church ministry. Everyone can grow. The experience is the responsibility of the people. The result is spiritual growth. There is growth in other ways, too. The congregation becomes tolerant of the imperfect, forgiving of miscues, and encouraging to the early efforts of the timid. Worshipers begin to recognize their fellow worshipers in a broader dimension, experiencing their offerings of expression.

Perhaps, what the Church needs is more SMALL churches and a way to better plan to make their good work known!

photo credit: bass_nroll via photopin cc
28 Mar 2012

The Church and Monday Morning Amnesia

It’s Monday morning, just 24 hours since you may have walked out of church.

Quick, try to remember . . . what was the sermon about?

Which hymns did you sing yesterday?

If you are like many, you won’t remember!  You were there, but it’s all a bit foggy. You may remember who sat in front of you or a conversation with a friend after church. But the service itself is likely to have slipped into mental oblivion.

The members that left 2×2 worship yesterday are more likely to have an answer to that question. We passed around a copy of a painting that helped us discuss the Shadow of the Cross.

Without that visual aid and the impromptu comments as each reviewed the artwork, our members, like others, would be groping to remember the message by Sunday dinner.

It’s the start of a new week and your pastor is probably already reviewing next week’s scripture. He or she is likely to ponder the message all week until a carefully crafted treatise is polished and delivery is practiced. Soon it will be Sunday morning. D-Day (Delivery Day). And then the process will start over.

And very few will remember.

So much effort, time and money spent on ephemeral benefits.

Why do we revolve our worship lives and ministry around communication that isn’t working?

05 Mar 2012

How Do Church Leaders Find Time for Social Media?

As we noted in our latest Social Media post, finding the time for social media is the biggest hurdle for churches in acclimating to the digital world.

“Church” has been done the same way for centuries. People entering ministry have expectations for how they will spend their time when they are called to a parish. Something like this: Monday will be spent on office housekeeping and reflection in preparation for next week’s sermon. Parish calls are made on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Wednesday is bulletin day and Bible study, choir practice or some other group activity. A few hours of Thursday might be spent with colleagues over lunch. Meetings will be scattered throughout the week. Friday is for polishing the sermon. There are always emergencies. And one of these days is a day off.

Time must be found. Social Media is simply too powerful to ignore. If you are serving an aging congregation it is all the more vital. Your older members may be willing to forego it, but the current coming-of-age generation — Generation Y — lives with their cell phones epoxied to their palms. If you want your church to have a future, you MUST speak the language and use the tools of the future.

How do you make the time?

There is no doubt it will be hard to adjust the routine. It is an adjustment for everyone! We suggest a two-pronged approach:

  1. Set aside 30 minutes a day for social media. Start your day with it. End your day with it or follow your lunch break with it. Make it a routine.
  2. Let others help.

Carving out a half-hour may be the easiest of the two steps to take, especially after you begin to see results. In our experience that took six months of daily posting to grow readership to our current average of 50 readers a day and a thousand each month. Warning: A half hour is a start. You will find Social Media so compelling that it will become more vital to your church community.

The second part — letting others help — is a major shift in church structure but it is going to happen. Top-down church leadership is quickly becoming a thing of the past. If people do not have a voice in their churches they will fill their lives with things that engage them.

This adds a new church emphasis for which your social media can be a tool. Education. You want members engaging in online religious issues to be knowledgeable. Many churches have neglected education. Use Social Media to break that cycle. We’ll address this in our next Social Media post.

photo credit: ebby via photopin cc
03 Mar 2012

Christians and Jews Face Similar Challenges

Monday’s Alban Institute Roundtable featured the thoughts of Rabbi Hayim Herring presented in his book, Tomorrow’s Synagogue Today: Creating Vibrant Centers of Jewish Life.

The conditions he cites are faced by all religious groups today.

  1. organizations cannot exclusively control their messages
  2. information is more accessible and less private than in the past
  3. people energized by a vision will collaborate freely
  4. mistakes made by any one member of a group can be corrected by others
  5. success is tied to the ability to distribute knowledge and leadership
  6. synagogues can become a “platform for organizing people with similar interests” rather than remain a “top-down” operation
  7. synagogues are challenged to see “communities that do not yet exist”
  8. synagogues “should recognize the importance of niche communities and foster linkages among them”
  9. ongoing feedback mechanisms are vital
  10. organizations need to focus on what they do best

2×2 has already discussed many of these points. We think every one creates a positive, new strength with truly exciting potential.

We also predict that the upper echelons of church leadership are going to resist embracing new societal realities. They will continue to think like hierarchical leaders. Some may stubbornly oppose the inevitable, using their last vestiges of power to create real harm and chaos.

Ironically, the American Church may have the most difficulty adjusting to new ways. Separation of Church and State, a precious American right, gives the Church powers other organizations cannot claim. Parishioners, equally protected by the Bill of Rights, will find their denominations lording their protected status over them. Courts will not be able to sort out the resulting feuds.

Parishioners providing ideas and leadership that are welcomed in the secular arena, will be challenged by church leaders who are desperately hanging on to control mechanisms they enjoyed since the Reformation.

The emerging Digital Church Age with all its promise will spark a great power struggle. Much of what the Church teaches will be forgotten along the way, beginning with the Ten Commandments. Servant leaders were never more needed. If they prove to be in short supply, as we suspect they will, innocent lay people will be hurt, rank and file pastors will be silenced, and church leaders will meet in increasing seclusion as they come to distrust the people they lead. It could return us to the Middle Ages and the Inquisition.

We hope the coming revolution in the Church will be a short transition as young leaders, coming of age sometime since 1985 reach leadership positions. But meanwhile, it could be very ugly.

The sooner Rabbi Herring’s observations are embraced, the sooner the Church will enter the wonderful new world of the 21st century. It could take a decade or two . . . or three! Plenty of time to build a bunker!

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01 Mar 2012

The Unmeasured Strength of the Weakest Link

That weak link — the one you wish you didn’t have to worry about — well, it turns out it could be your most valuable asset. Sociologists are learning that it is the weakest links which drive innovation.

Scientists have done studies to identify how new ideas take root and where the sources of great success stories lie. People think it is in fostering alliances and friendships with the like-minded or the movers and shakers — the powerful, the well-connected, the jet set.

The big churches — not the small churches.

Turns out they are wrong. In story after story the sparks of great ideas prove to come from the serendipitous—the people you barely know, from small groups of people struggling with ideas in a very hands-on way.

Read this for an interesting take on how this affects social media.

This is an interesting analysis of the value of networks. Let’s focus on one quote:

“The way networks have their effect is not by getting information from people, but rather by finding people who are interesting and who think differently from you,” —Ronald S. Burt, Neighbor Networks

What does this mean to the Church?

Most congregations are fairly homogenous in membership. Redeemer’s Ambassadors visited 40 in the last 18 months. Only about four had significant diversity — at least visually. We tend to gravitate toward people who are like us, dress like us, and act like us. The minute things start to change, we become defensive. Liturgical dance . . . no way! Tambourines . . . never! The barriers we put up are designed to protect our sense of identity and comfort.

We want to recognize ourselves in the person sitting beside us in church. It is proof to us that we are accepted.

The whole structure of Church is designed for sameness. We rally around one leader and conform our ministries to that leader’s interests and skills. When encouraged to invite others, we invite people like us.

When congregations attempt innovation it is likely to be the same sort of dabbling taking place 10 miles from us. Properly sanctioned innovation.

Redeemer struggled to grow until we began reaching out to people who were different from us.

Then new ideas began to spread. Of course, we were wary of change, but we quickly learned that we didn’t have to change all that much. Change did not have to mean abandoning who we are. We added to our heritage.

With this web site, we continue to find new spins on evangelism. Churches across the country and around the world are sharing with us and we respond. We have learned that Jesus’ commission for us to go out into the world is not so much to make the rest of the world transform to our ways but for US to learn NEW ways from them.

If the Church as a whole wants to change, it must foster relationships with our weakest acquaintances.

Redeemer, through our 2×2 site, has become pen pals with a church in Pakistan and another in Kenya. We’ve helped individuals with projects across our own continent. We’ve learned more in the last four years than in our congregation’s previous 120 years.

This sense of mission may not be for every church, but we encourage you to look at your own “weak links.” Who in your congregation is borderline involved, a bit uncomfortable? Engage them. You may find they have insights and skills to offer that you didn’t know you needed.

Use the power of the web to reach the neglected. One church close to us has studied the needs of families with autistic family members. Because we knew of their interest we were able to introduce them to another ministry designing worship opportunities for the autistic.

This is a golden age for the church. It was never more possible to fulfill the Great Commission. Will we meet the challenge? Or will we continue to reward and encourage the efforts of homogenous ministry?

UPDATE: June 2013. 2×2 now has a network of six churches internationally. They’ve gone out of their way to get to know each other. Our members are in contact with them regularly—often weekly. Locally we’ve visited 62 of our sister churches. They tend to avoid communicating with us but then they all found our property to be of more value to their leaders than our ministry was in our community or the world.

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29 Feb 2012

Encouraging Social Media Engagement in Congregations

Among the most frequently asked questions among new bloggers/social media practitioners is “How do we get people to “like” us or “comment.”

This is particularly difficult in the church setting because Social Media breaks a 2000-year-old tradition. Preachers preach. Congregants listen. Traditional communication is one way.

If pastors are encouraging parishioners to voice theological thoughts in public, they are asking people to make a major change in their spiritual relationships with God, the Church, and with other people. They may feel awkward, vulnerable or unqualified. This will take time.

Encouraging religious dialog among the laity is a worthwhile goal and long, long overdue. Trust must be established. Confidence must be built. Faith must be prepared for inevitable challenges. It’s a tall order and not to be rushed.

Here are some ideas.

  • Start with younger members. They are closer to their confirmation years and much more comfortable with social media, although many do not see it as a place for serious thought. Still, they are a most likely to consider it. The challenge will be to build their confidence to speak outside their circle of peers.
  • Prime the pump. Ask three people to write a blog or start a conversation on Facebook. Help them. Teach them. Guide them.
  • Engage the congregation or forum group in conversation about the online dialog and specifically ask some of them to share their insights on line. You can lead the way with your own “like” or comment.
  • Create an online poll asking questions that the posts raised. This is an easy first online engagement for people. It’s anonymous but people can see how it works.
  • Repeat this cycle monthly or quarterly or as topics arise in your community or congregation.

One more idea:

Blogging Roundtable

Have a blog roundtable. Sometimes these are called blog carnivals. It’s a new idea so you can choose any name you like. Make it fun. Blogging rodeo? Blogging round-up? Blogfest?

Ask several or many people to write on a given topic and submit a 500-word or less post in email, text or document format. Post an introductory blog to present the topic and explain the roundtable concept. Set a deadline about 10 days away. Do some behind the scenes nudging to make sure you have at least a few responses. Run a few tickler posts on the topic to get mental juices flowing. On the appointed day, publish ALL the posts at once and encourage participants and readers to mix, match and compare. You might even run a “like” contest or poll to see which ideas resonate best.

This could help rally people and engage them in a fun way.

photo credit: lovestruck. via photopin cc

23 Feb 2012

Does Social Media Threaten the Future of the Organized Church?

A veteran parish pastor, now retired, loves to tell the story of a conversation he had many years ago with a young adult congregant who was drifting away from church after years of faithful attendance as a child.

“I don’t believe in organized religion,” the young woman said. The pastor quipped, “Do you prefer disorganized religion?”

Today, that pastor could safely quip, “Not to worry! There is no such thing as organized religion.”

The organized Church is unraveling.

The Roman Catholic Church, the paradigm of structure, is scrambling to bolster its traditional teachings against changing popular sentiment and practices. Its hierarchical structure is threatened by disinterest. There are fewer candidates for priesthood and religious orders. That means the power of the hierarchy is made available to fewer candidates, leaving weaker talent to rise to the top. It should be no surprise that scandal has followed. Without the traditional pool of workers to staff parishes, the foundations of parish traditions — the schools — are closing or merging. They may be more economic but will struggle to provide the parish identity which parishioners value as highly as the quality of education.

Protestants are not immune. They tend to get less media attention, but they, too, face challenges attracting professional leadership, dwindling support, and their share of scandal.

What does this mean to the average believer?

It means the laity will carry a greater burden in maintaining and administering parishes. They will do so with negligible support from any hierarchy. They will be asked to commit  time and resources that begin to outweigh the investment of professional leadership. They will have no support system when there is trouble—and there WILL BE trouble.

As a result, lay Christians will think twice before committing to supporting any congregation. The remaining hierarchy will reward the laity who are strong followers and penalize the laity who step into the leadership void. The faithful will have a tougher time meeting the expectations set for them in healthier days. Since lay involvement is, for the most part, volunteer, they, too, will become fewer in number.

As things deteriorate the blame game will begin. As the stakes get higher, the game will become nastier. The basic tenants of Christianity will be tested.

Much of this prediction is already happening.

If you don’t believe in organized religion, there was never a better time to sign up!

But 2×2 does not like to leave any reader feeling hopeless. While troubling, we view this as growing pains. 

The old structure is crumbling but a new Church is emerging. New life will take root in the ruins of the past.

The internet is rebuilding the foundation of the Church. The laity now have a voice. The hierarchy won’t like it and will try to control it. They will fail.

There are controls, however. The “joy stick” is not in any one person’s hand. We are entering a time when we will be held accountable by one another, not by a hierarchy.

Hang in there, Christians. This is going to get exciting!

photo credit: Denise ~*~ via photopin cc
22 Feb 2012