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SEPA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod)

Low Expectations and the Under-achieving Congregation

Science documents that expectations play a powerful role in laying the groundwork for success.

Good parents know this.

If we expect nothing of our children, they are likely to fail. Expecting failure takes less effort.

If we expect great things, we go to work for our kids. We cheer for them and help to create the conditions for success. We are not surprised when they change the world.

The same science works on adults and in communities. Jesus did his best to build up the people he encountered. He loved them. He showed them he understood them. He challenged them. He gave them the opportunity to fail. He showed them how to pick up the pieces and try again. That’s the training by example that he gave his disciples.

Many church leaders today have given up on the Church. They look through the statistics and see declining attendance, membership, and giving. So sad. Too bad.

A prevailing attitude among today’s church leaders is to accept failure as the norm. Bishop Burkat even recommends doing nothing to help small churches in her book, Transforming Regional Bodies.

The malaise is contagious—and deadly.

Redeemer will never forget Bishop Burkat’s first visit to Redeemer in December 2006. Bishop Burkat likes to claim publicly that she worked hard with our congregation for an extended period of time to no avail. This is what really happened.

It was a study in the power of low expectations, fueled by prejudice.

She walked into our Fellowship Hall. Gloom filled the room.

No bishop had visited Redeemer to talk with our leaders in nearly a decade. In 1997, Bishop Almquist came to break the 18-month term call (contract) he had made with us and one of his staff members just three months earlier. We were bitterly disappointed. (Bishop Burkat likes to claim that Bishop Almquist worked long and hard with us, too, but he was largely absent and he confiscated a sizeable amount of our money for two years.)

We went without a pastor for a year after that and for most of the following decade. Our lay leaders had worked hard to find ministry solutions on our own with mixed success. Still, we were enthusiastic about our prospects, especially since things seemed to be poised for significant change.

The memory of synod’s abandonment was still fresh for our leaders if not for the many new people who had come to Redeemer. We weren’t sure what to expect from the newly elected bishop, whom none of us had met, but we came ready for a fresh start.

It didn’t take long to dash our hopes. Bishop Burkat greeted us with what sounded like a rehearsed string of criticism.

She walked into the equivalent of the living room of our home and complained that the place looked junky. “No visitor will want to return to a place that looks like this.”

We explained. Epiphany, a neighboring church whose building was condemned, had just moved their things out of storage and into our fellowship hall. We were trying to help our neighbors.

We moved on.

Next. “You have no parking lot,” Bishop Burkat noticed. “A church with no parking lot has little chance of survival.” Our Ambassador visits have proved that the size of the parking lot has nothing to do with attendance at worship, but we answered defensively.

We pointed out that parking at Redeemer had never been an issue. The school and library, which share our intersection are closed on weekends and in the evenings when most church activity takes place.

The conversation continued.

Churches have personalities, Bishop Burkat said, with the clear implication that Redeemer’s personality left something to be desired.

What could we say? We turned the attention to our ministry efforts. We talked enthusiastically about the number of East Africans who were showing an interest in our congregation and the multi-cultural environment that had been fostered by one of our part-time pastors. We wanted to continue in this promising direction.

Bishop Burkat said a puzzling thing, “You are not allowed to do outreach.”

Huh? Say that again.

We told the bishop that we were disappointed in SEPA’s treatment of our ministry and very hurt that Bishop Almquist terminated our call agreement for his own convenience. That was a pivotal loss (by design, we think) for lay people to overcome, but we rose to the challenge.

The meeting ended abruptly. The bishop had a serious family emergency and we urged her to go to be with her family. Bishop Burkat promised to schedule a meeting in three to five months to talk about our concerns and try to heal some wounds. (Never happened,)

We sighed with relief when she was gone.  She exuded negativity. We were glad that only our key leaders were at that meeting. Her attitude would have dragged down the entire congregation. It would have undermined all the work we had done.

Our next encounter with Bishop Burkat, eleven months later, was similar. There were more people present. Redeemer had grown significantly during that 11 months of neglect, accepting 49 members! We came to that meeting with our recently completed 20-page ministry plan and with a resolution to call the pastor who had been serving us for about seven months.

Bishop Burkat began this meeting by ranting that Redeemer was “adversarial.” She used that word repeatedly in her opening statement. We still don’t understand her wrath!

The rant was undeserved. Only three of the thirteen people present had met the bishop before — two of us briefly, a year before. The third was the pastor we hoped to call who had been a member of her seminary class. All but two had joined the church within the last 10 years and knew nothing about ancient problems, which synod seemed ever-ready to resurrect.   

The meeting lasted more than two hours and we were able to turn the tone around, ending, we thought, on a very positive note. The bishop promised we could work with her newly appointed mission director, Rev. Pat Davenport. Our people began to sing a hymn together as we rode down the elevator and crossed the parking lot. We were excited and united.

And then NOTHING happened.

After four months of silence, including numerous unreturned phone calls, we all received letters from the Bishop announcing she was closing our church.

We wonder how many other churches have experienced such low expectations from leaders.

If this is how every church is treated, it is no wonder there is so little progress.

Our leaders have no faith in their message.

They don’t seem to care about or even like the people they serve. They don’t model their teachings about peace, repentance, forgiveness, reconciliation, love, justice, humility, or transformation (though they talk about this a great deal).

Pastors and congregations soon begin to avoid the regional body. They may even fear it.

The only transforming that takes place is destructive.

What would happen if we expected success—if church leaders went into congregations and asked one question: “How can we help you serve?”?

What if pastors—and bishops—were held accountable?  

What if we believed in the message we preach?

All things are possible.

20 Oct 2012

Who Is Watching the Priests and Clerics?

The Philadelphia Inquirer has discontinued its religion beat and reassigned its religion reporter to the Philadelphia’s suburbs east of the Delaware River. The Inquirer joins the media trend which leaves many city people wondering if we live in Pennsylvania, New Jersey or Delaware.

There is no area of American life which needs an occasional outside eye more than religion. It’s hard —but more likely—to get the attention of media when things are going smoothly. Otherwise, the media often fail to pay any attention until things are dire. They can be dire for a very long time when no one knows what goes on behind closed church doors. It’s religion—nobody else’s business.

Religion is at the heart of a great deal of world conflict. The lack of empathy within and between religious groups is the root cause of much unrest. It’s not insignificant. It actually changes—and sometimes costs—lives.

Religious leaders exercise authority over people who think they join church to honor and serve God. They consider God to be the ultimate authority in their lives and they are encouraged to believe that. They can then be taken advantage of by their leaders—who revel in separation of church and state.

Religion can be a haven for the unscrupulous. Just fake it ’til you make it and coast unquestioned after ordination.

Religious leaders enjoy autonomy unlike any other arena of American life. Some denominations own all the untaxed land and wealth contributed by their members. Others have internal rules regulating the control of land and wealth. The Bill of Rights guarantees that no laws will hinder their operation —or enforce their rules.

When the courts declare no jurisdiction, the Church itself looks the other way, and the fourth estate finds things too complicated to explain—church members are sitting ducks for all kinds of abuse. Meanwhile, church leaders have proven that they do not mind using the courts (from which they themselves claim immunity) to ensure their autonomy, imperiling any members who dare to challenge their actions.

The resulting lawlessness creates the conditions for a modern Inquisition. The last few years have brought to light the incredible disregard by some religious leaders for both law and doctrine. Predictably, the weakest members of the Church are the easiest victims.

The child sex scandals rocking the Roman Catholic Church took years to come to light. Countless lives are shattered. Settlement expenses are surely contributing to the church/school closings affecting dozens of neighborhoods who trusted the wisdom of their leaders. It may even be a root cause of empty pews on Sunday morning. Who knows!

The situation in the Wild West that is today’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is similar. Our denominational leaders provided a church structure they call interdependence. The belief in the priesthood of all believers, they thought, called for cooperation between levels of the church. Lay Lutherans were proud that this empowered them, but it has become a vague concept that is defined and redefined at whim. Interdependence is interpreted by those with a lust for power as anything they want it to be.

Funny thing! Of the three tiers of church life — congregation, regional body, hierarchy — the higher the authority, the more dependent they are on the people. You’d think they’d make friends!

But no, synodical leaders ignore their own governance prohibiting the conveyance of congregational property without the consent of the property owners. They arrogantly assume that they cannot be stopped by the law or by those elected to oversee their work—a good number of whom rely on synodical leadership for their jobs and many more who simply don’t want to imagine misbehavior by their trusted leaders.

Christians are like that. They are blind and fail to see.

This defines Redeemer’s conflict with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Redeemer was not the first victim of SEPA greed. We may be the first to say “no,” which is within a congregation’s rights. In the face of a massive recurring six-figure annual deficit, at a time when support was in steady decline, synodical leaders sought to close small churches so that they could keep operating as usual, guaranteeing their own jobs and salaries above their mission.

Instead of working for mission, church leaders engage in a waiting game. Small churches with valuable assets are neglected by design in hopes that they will fold and leave their assets to the hierarchy. But in Lutheran governance a church voting to close can dispose of their assets as they choose. “There’s got to be a way around this,” runs through leaders’ minds. “We need that money—-uhh—for mission. Let’s create a Mission Fund and feed it with the assets of churches we close. We can use it any way we like. No one will notice.”

Church leaders scramble to make new rules concerning “termination” and “involuntary synodical administration” and lock out the local leaders (literally) while they get their ducks in a row. Anything to protect those assets—for themselves.

Lay people are at risk, especially those who are knowledgeable enough to know the polity of their denomination. They have the least power and voice, especially when the denomination fails to provide clergy to serve them.

Courts have determined that they have no jurisdiction to require church leaders to honor their own governing rules. But two judges dissented, citing the law. There is hope!

Last February, The Inquirer looked into the East Falls land grab attempt in 2008 which has been in the courts ever since. They determined that the story might be too complicated to be told in 16 column inches. Most major newspapers have an online presence with no space restrictions, so that’s an outdated excuse.

Meanwhile, another synodical land grab is being attempted in the metropolitan New York area. Here there is an invocation of a brand new unwritten constitutional status — “permanent synodical administration.” More brazen all the time! This follows a midnight raid to seize church property in New Jersey by the Slovak Zion Synod. There will surely be more. Each unchallenged hierarchical action makes the next one that much easier!

They count on people being to timid or uncommitted to care. They also rely on the resources of every congregation fund the law suits against a congregation and the resources it can muster alone.

The courts have given an answer to the question raised in our headline.

Who is watching the priests and clerics?

In America, it’s up to us lowly Christians—the more lowly, the more likely.

That brings us to the Fifth Estate. More later.

19 Oct 2012

Ambassador Returns to Holy Communion, Philadelphia

One ambassador made a return trip to Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion in Center City, Philadelphia. She was looking for help with our very serious situation in East Falls and the prospect of 11 of our members losing their homes so the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod can secure the clear title to our church property.

She had attended services in this church for many years and sang in their choir. She was happy to participate in a Baptism but was struck by the few in attendance over all—really not much higher than a service at Redeemer. She enjoyed the solo, “Deep River.”

She was recognized by one member who asked how she was. She responded that she is incredibly sad at the situation in East Falls. She received the answer we hear commonly. “I don’t know anything about that.”

A second typical answer we hear, usually from clergy, is “There is nothing I can do to help.”

This, of course, is nonsense. Clergy are in the best position to raise questions and demand answers. What they mean is “There is nothing I can do to help without it affecting my standing in SEPA Synod and perhaps endangering my congregation in a similar way.” This is sad. It is also enabling!

An article in Holy Communion’s bulletin addresses an upcoming discussion on Lutherans and their historic discomfort with “works righteousness.” There is not much to worry about, if Lutheran leaders are afraid of righteous works!

Our lone Ambassador put two notes in the offering plate—one to Bishop Burkat, who holds membership at Holy Communion, and one to the pastor.

Redeemer has long sought peace, writing a letter a month to Bishop Burkat in 2008, hoping to avert all the problems of the last almost five years. All were ignored while the bishop makes false public claims suggesting she tried to work with us to no avail.

Our hopes are not high that anything has changed, but we are still trying!

photo credit: stevec77 via photopin cc
14 Oct 2012

Rebuilding (transforming) the Church is nothing new

 . . . and it is still hard and lonely work

I’ve been reading the book of Nehemiah with Pastor Jon Swanson. (He’s crafting the art of internet preaching to an art form, by the way.)

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!

That’s the story of Nehemiah.

It is also the story of Redeemer.

Is it the story of your church, too?

photo credit: Pensiero via photopin cc

03 Oct 2012

Growing Christian Community with Conflict

Two Redeemer members relaxed for a moment after a particularly rough day. One member came within a day of losing both her home and her income to court actions that have resulted from the conflict with SEPA Synod.

She learned of the problem by accident with only a weekend and a day to do anything about it. Every effort was being made by a half-dozen Redeemer friends to stop the travesty and by noon we heard that there had been some success.

And so we paused over coffee and a donut.

One might expect hate and despair and finger-pointing to reign in such an atmosphere, but the opposite has been true in our faith community.

One member commented that one blessing of the conflict has been that we’ve really gotten to know each other — and some of us have known one another for a decade or more.

We started talking about what we had learned about the character of our members, how their very differing personalities that we once enjoyed as passing acquaintances on Sunday morning had become endearing and appreciated.

Conflict defines character.

After this conflict, we know whom we can count on. We know which preachers mean what they preach. We know to whom we can turn for action, for prayer, for ideas, for legal knowledge, and the list goes on. We gather for Sunday worship and brunch as an eclectic mix of people brought together by faith and a common cause. We leave on Sunday, each with our individual spiritual gifts, ready to serve.

After such a close call, it would be no surprise if the endangered member had thrown up her hands in despair and vowed to have nothing to do with us or religion ever again.

Instead, by the end of the day, she had presented a few new ideas for our ministry as the holidays approached. Amazing!

We know each other well. Too bad SEPA doesn’t know us at all.

01 Oct 2012

A Letter to SEPA Lutherans

 ELCA please feel free to read, as well.

Dear fellow Lutherans,

By now you should be aware of the horrific conflict being waged in your name by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America against the Lutherans of East Falls.

For four years, it has been the forbidden topic — ignored and danced around—everyone making nice like nothing terrible is happening.

Litigation as a ministry tool creates this climate. It’s a bullying technique and it works!

For us in East Falls, it has been a daily part of our lives for half a decade. Clergy skedaddled early on, leaving lay people to take the heat. SEPA wanted our property to meet their budget. The 2009 Synod Assembly approved taking our property at the same time they approved a $275,000 deficit budget. And yet SEPA denies that closing churches is a plan. There is ample evidence that it has been part of a plan for some time. Money from closed churches was laundered through its Mission Fund — there supposedly for mission purposes but regularly filling the six-figure operating deficit.

Voting on a congregation’s property by Synod Assembly is forbidden by SEPA’s Articles of Incorporation. The consequences of this ill-advised and improper vote is devastating to both SEPA and Redeemer. But let’s not talk about it!

Why is it OK with SEPA Lutherans to treat fellow Christians so heartlessly?

The only way to justify this is to demonize Redeemer members. Bishop Burkat as much as said so in a letter to pastors back in February. It’s heartbreaking, she wrote, but they didn’t do as they were told.

We deserve this?!

The Lutheran Church, born of dissent, historically allows for stands based on conscience. Redeemer challenged the decisions regarding our ministry on constitutional grounds and conscience. We were sued as a congregation and some of us as individuals before the constitutional provisions for dissent could be exercised. The process was manipulated and SEPA Lutherans followed like sheep. Leadership in Chicago turned blind eyes, siding with hierarchy with no regard for the laity.

SEPA used its position and power to create an unfair process that they hope can be replicated. They sent SEPA legal counsel, John Gordon, to Chicago to teach their process to all Synod Counsels. If this process is right and part of Lutheran polity, why must it be taught as something new and innovative?

SEPA is so focused on power and attaining our property that in 2009 they ignored all other issues we brought to Synod Assembly’s attention. They used this improper vote on one of many issues to justify every action before and since—voted on or not.

The behavior of SEPA synod is wrong. Going after a member congregation to the point of attacking individual lay members and threatening their homes and livelihoods is wrong. ELEVEN Redeemer members face the loss of our homes while SEPA maintains an empty property which could be generating income to pay the congregation’s debt (as the congregation had planned). By the way, eleven is just two shy of Redeemer’s total membership, according to SEPA. The ruin of every Redeemer member is OK with SEPA—as long as their assumed power is recognized. SEPA trustees reported our membership as 13 when their own records listed 26. But Redeemer had grown significantly since the figure 26 had been reported. SEPA has recognized this in court, holding the congregation to a quorum for a membership of more than 70.

There is a powerful disconnect between what SEPA Lutherans preach and what they practice.

SEPA’s actions are wrong

  • theologically
  • scripturally
  • ethically
  • constitutionally
  • and two appeal judges wrote a dissenting opinion that suggests they are also wrong legally.

One judge pointed out to Synod Counsel that this was not a “slam dunk” for them. There was room for honest disagreement.

The answer is so simple that a third grader could advise us where concepts fail the learned theologians. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

SEPA Lutherans talk about doing the right thing but are powerless to check their own leaders.

This conflict is unnecessary. Peaceful remedies are available. SEPA leadership has no interest in peace or reconciliation. They want to win—win at any cost. Pride, power and greed have fueled the conflict. Apathy and fear keep the engine purring.

Redeemer has maintained its ministry as best it can for the last four years. We’ve done well, following the mission plan presented to SEPA trustees in 2007 with adaptations for the hostile circumstances. There were never constitutional grounds for SEPA’s actions against Redeemer.

SEPA wanted our property to pay their bills. That end is the only justification of their means.

We believe from our many visits that SEPA Lutherans know better, but they are too insecure to question the leaders they elect as servants.

Our faith is meant to empower us all to look beyond our own interests. Christian leaders are expected to embrace servanthood. Christian followers are not expected to be passive.

Not in SEPA.

Shame!

Are there any blessed peacemakers in SEPA Synod? Does anyone have a vision for ending this?

30 Sep 2012

Change in the Church Can Be Difficult for EVERYONE

Take the Regional Assembly of many denominations. We’ll call it Synod Assembly, since that’s what we know best.

Synod Assemblies are constitutionally mandated gatherings — the business meeting of the Church. They have two major functions—to elect regional leadership and approve the regional budget.  

It’s almost October. Seven or eight months from the next rash of Synod Assemblies in the ELCA— plenty of time to plan for the hundreds of delegates who will gather in one place to discuss the ministry of the Church.

Attending the Assembly are Synod staff, every rostered leader and 2-5 lay delegates from each of about 150 congregations. They will spend the bulk of two days, mostly listening to reports. Not much more happens for all the expense. Spectacular worship experiences will start and end the gatherings. Pump people up; leave them feeling good.

Many delegates will leave long before the end of the Assembly. All will return to their congregations and report the most inspiring moments. We are supposed to feel as though we were represented and part of the process.

Truth be told, we are being shut out.

The agenda of most Synod Assemblies is controlled by the current leadership who are elected to serve but who have self-interest. The flow of information is top down even though the purpose of the Assembly is to generate bottom up involvement.

Why is this?

Function of the Synod Assembly follows form.

The form was created before the information age. It was once unwieldy to poll members of 150 congregations scattered over 100 or more square miles. Communication with every member was costly and awkward. No more. But we are stuck with the form of the past until there is a vision that this isn’t the way it has to be.

Here is what has happened in church governance in the last two decades of decline (the entire life of the ELCA).

  • As church attendance declined, so did the pool of knowledgeable, seasoned delegates.
  • Replacing older members, who spent much of their lives in church and Sunday School, are people who have little experience — as enthusiastic as they might be. Event planners plan around the sensibilities of the inexperienced, steering away from hard discussions on serious questions and filling the time with frills to engage the newly initiated.
  • The typical Synod Assembly includes one-third clergy, who have considerable self-interest, and two-thirds laity with a broad range of life experience but a diminishing knowledge of church business.
  • The delegates are most likely people close to the pastor. When unsure of decisions, to whom will they turn for advice? People with self-interest. (The ELCA has even imposed a level of control over who the delegates can be, requiring that they meet gender requirements and giving additional votes to minorities and youth.)
  • The Synod Assembly becomes a forum ruled by self-interest — the opposite of its purpose.

Function has followed form.

A large percentage of delegates haven’t a clue of the ramifications of the issues presented to them. They know little or nothing about the names presented on ballots. Face it, some lay delegates come because they are the only people in the congregation willing to take Friday off and donate a Saturday. Some are enthusiastic newbies being groomed for church involvement, but not knowledgeable about church history, protocol, or issues. The Church encourages this (and it’s not all bad), but the fact is many votes are taken by people who don’t know what they are doing.

Function has followed the form. Good news! The form can change. Here’s how!

  • The process can be opened up to include ALL the people of the church. Events can be planned to take advantage of the at home audience. (SEPA’s Assembly is already streamed live. Great move. But this year you needed a password to watch. Control!)
  • Make key presentations available a month before the Assembly. Post them online so congregations can watch and discuss issues. Delegates could attend the Assembly knowing what the people of their congregation think — which is how it is supposed to be. Air the same presentation at the Assembly and give the presenters an opportunity to field questions from people who have actually had time to study their message.
  • Make schedules of presentations available so people can watch at home.
  • Allow for feedback from the people. Use Twitter and Facebook. Nurture involvement and purpose.

Synods are great at demanding change at the congregational level. Can they change?

26 Sep 2012

Ambassador’s Visit St. Mark’s, Broad & Chelten

The Ambassadors attended this church in the Oak Lane neighborhood of Philadelphia. It was a return trip for one of the Ambassadors who attended this church 30 years ago.

The service was part of a long day for St. Mark’s with fellowship and education beginning at 9:30. The service began at 11 and was close to two hours in duration with more fellowship afterwards. Afternoon obligations forced us to leave before the Eucharist, but we enjoyed the spirit and wealth of music.

Attendance at the beginning of the service was about 40 but within a half hour the numbers swelled to about 60. About a quarter included children and youth which was refreshing and rare.

Pastor Leonard’s sermon talked about the temptations that ambition and power present to ministry, tying it to Mark’s account of the disciples vying for importance. Once again, we saw a disconnect between what is preached and what is practiced. The conflict SEPA congregations have with Redeemer is fueled almost solely by greed for our property and the need to prevail in power. We note that Rev. Leonard has served on Synod Council for much of the duration of this conflict and has been in a position to influence and temper the conflict without success. In his sermon, he even talked about bishops who covet the position for the status and money. It was all we could do to refrain from shouting AMEN!

The service included lots of hymns. A lengthy opening praise section was led by a praise team. The hymns were many of Redeemer’s favorites. A portable mic was passed among the congregation so that many congregants could participate and be heard. A new liturgy was used, peppered with warhorse hymns from Fanny Crosby’s Blessed Assurance to the Gospel hymn, Lead Me, Guide Me — the favorite hymn of a Redeemer member who died shortly after the lockout. One Ambassador commented that she enjoyed the drum accompaniment to all the hymns.

The sanctuary is beautiful and well-kept and was a pleasant place to spend this cool autumn Sabbath.

We noted that they do not have a web site listed in the synod records but opened a one-post blog in July. We encourage them to expand on that platform. We’ve had great responses from our blog!

23 Sep 2012

Rebuilding the Church: Is It Worth 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.

Church leaders need to reread Nehemiah until they can shed tears for the temples within their charge. There can be no dignified celebration of church closings when the closings have been brought about by designed neglect. (Click to Tweet)

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?

It is time for this to change.

photo credit: UGArdener via photo pin cc
21 Sep 2012

It’s All About Love . . . or Is It?

Some 2×2 readers who live in the Middle East are being seriously impacted by the recent violence prompted by a single video posted months ago on the internet that was suddenly discovered by Muslim viewers all over the Middle East. Most Americans have seen no more than one frame in the news magazines. We are told it ridicules Mohammed.

Behind the rage is the misunderstanding that one person’s view does not necessarily represent an entire nation’s sentiment. It is the view of the people who made and posted the film. Americans, for the most part, never noticed it sitting out there in “American” cyberspace.

So blood is spilled and lives are lost because the views of very, very few are projected onto the entire American nation. The lives of Christians in predominantly Muslim countries—not an easy position even in peaceful times—are disrupted needlessly.

Other nations view America as a Christian nation. It is undeniable that our founding values were rooted in the Christian understandings of the time, but Americans know that freedom to not be Christian is also part of the American tradition. The fabric of American life is a tight weave of many religions.

The actions that incited the current violence were not the actions of America—a difficult point to make amidst the rhetoric of gunfire.

Most religions are about good values. Christianity is centered on love. But the message is all too easily put aside by the desire to be right and the desire to dominate.

We don’t have to go to the Mideast to see these powerful anti-Christian sentiments displayed by people who consider themselves to be religious. It is the stuff of history — in the early church, in the Crusades, in the Reformation, in our own era of slavery and Indian wars. We can see it today in our local churches—the need to win at any cost.

That cost is the abandonment of our very purpose.

We are praying for the Christians in Middle East just as hard as they are praying for the Lutherans in East Falls.

19 Sep 2012