We talk about servanthood and sacrifice but there is always the temptation to accumulate wealth and prestige.
In order to accumulate wealth and prestige you must make people happy—especially people who already have some wealth and prestige.
These people hold power over the whole Church. They, by virtue of their status, are responsible for the Church’s success—and its failure. Don’t wait for them to admit it.
We are now watching the celebration of power, in its highest Christian form, with the activities in Rome.
But the Roman Catholic Church is not alone. Most church bodies are tempted to organize around power.
It’s funny. All this power doesn’t seem to help the Church grow.
Living within a power structure causes the people of God to look over their shoulders. The smallest idea or initiative, regardless of its potential, is likely to die before it can be tested.
An individual brings an idea to a committee.
The committee has to check with its version of elders.
The elders have to check with the pastor.
The pastor has to check with the bishop.
The bishop doesn’t have time.
Everyone promises to pray.
Nothing happens.
Perhaps one definition of “saint” is a Christian who steps outside this power structure and gets something done.
Willis points out that large churches are historically a new phenomenon—only 100 years old!
2×2 has made this point for a while. Most churches set out to serve their own communities with little thought of growth.
When churches grow, it is usually because of societal change, not a dedication to mission, fueled by a carefully drafted mission statement.
Willis points to the rise of mega church as a result of mobility in society made possible by mass transit and a reliable highway system.
The article quotes Tony Pappas, an American Baptist minister:
So for the first time in human history, thousands of people could get to a one- or two-hour event and get home for lunch! So large churches, big steeples, big pulpits, Old Firsts came into being. As we think of them today, large churches have only been around for a little over a century–only 5% of the history of our faith.
Before the concept of mega church, most congregations were pretty much the same in their needs and mission. Pastors were expected to do the same things and there was little mobility. There was no need. Pastors served the same church for decades.
Today, a pastor may, in following a call, carefully calculate how accepting the call will position him or her for a “better” or more lucrative call in three years.
Meanwhile, the congregations still think they are calling a pastor for the long haul.
The article makes a case for the mega church as an attractive business venture. Business entrepreneurs supported large congregations as an investment.
The early mega churches included congregations of just 1000 or 2000 members. Today, the mega church aims for five times that number. (Churches with 1000 or more members are called corporate churches. There aren’t many of them either.)
A model church budget today relies on the support of 1000 members. Most churches with 1000 members have only 10% worshiping on a typical Sunday morning.
In our 55 Ambassador visits, we have encountered only a handful of churches with worship attendance of more than 100. Most of those were on holiday Sundays. The average attendance of all the churches we have visited has been under 50. One congregation listed its average attendance as 400 in its Trend Report. Attendance at the 11 am service the day we visited was 27 (including us, the pastor and the organist).
In the last 100 years, we have created a model that the Church and its volunteer memberships never set out to support. And can’t.
So here we are in 2013, looking at the ruins of our church. And we are still thinking — if everyone can just change and be like the one or two percent of churches that manage to reach “mega” status, all would be wonderful.
Pastors are still trained to serve congregations as if they are neighborhood congregations. When expectations don’t match reality, the laity are blamed.
Most lay people just want to join a church to worship. They never set out to reinvent it.
An Antiquated Worldview Stifles the Voice of the Denomination
The turmoil in mainline churches is symptomatic. The concept of hierarchy is becoming outdated. In a decade or so we look back at how we did things before the computer revolution with the same incredulity we experience today when we review the history of the Crusades or slavery.
Until then there will be struggle as hierarchies try to hang on. It doesn’t have to be ugly.
A hierarchy that remembers that in the church we exist to serve is actually well positioned to meet the new age.
A hierarchy that is focused on its own power, importance and preservation will topple.
People who have embraced the new world can view what’s happening with amusement—if they are not part of tumultuous transition, that is.
Church leaders are slow to understand the gift that has been handed to them with social media.
We see it with the pope. He will tweet but he will not follow. The power of Twitter is in following. But popes and bishops are tempted to see that as beneath them. Communication has been one way for thousands of years. This is to be expected.
We will soon see it in religious social services. it will not be long before religious social service agencies admit that their association with a denomination may deter mission efforts. They can now reach volunteers and supporters more easily themselves than through national or regional church efforts.
Similarly, mission efforts that rely on denominational funding will soon realize that they are not as in touch with the people who support them as they could be without the filter of hierarchy.
How Church Hierarchies Are Unprepared for Modern Publishing
There are also big changes in church publishing—or there should be.
Church hierarchies were once needed to support church publishing. Their pooled resources were the only way a denomination could afford the cost. Because they were needed to fund publishing, they got used to thinking that they were needed to control what was written.
That day is over. Anyone can publish.
But our denomination is stuck trying to adapt old publishing models to the new media. They are missing the fact that the whole game has changed.
Unlike some of the other things mentioned, national church publishing can still play a major —but very different—role.
First, the regional and national church should make it a mission priority for every congregation to become familiar with social media. There is no excuse for any congregation to not have a web site or blog. They cannot be effective today without one. Everyone checks online for everything these days. No web site. Few visitors.
More important, churches and pastors must learn to use social media. Having a web site is one thing. Using it as a mission tool is another. This can no longer be overlooked and the regional and national church can lead the way.
If the denomination cares about member churches, they should help them make this transition. Both large and small churches find this to be daunting. The denominational and national church could and should help. Make it a mission priority and make sure pastors are trained to use social media.
Before they do this, they need to understand the power of the web themselves. In this they are missing the boat.
Standing on the dock and watching the ship of church sail
The ELCA publishes a “house” magazine. It is called The Lutheran. It contains a little bit of denominational news and feature stories of how the denomination and its congregations work in mission.
The Lutheran mails to 200,000 subscribers (only a small percentage of its 4 million membership).
It is also online. Sort of.
If the magazine prints 200,000 magazines, those magazines — assuming some are shared — might result in 300,000 readers—still a small fraction of total members.
An open and free online readership could easily magnify this reach. A good article might get 100,000 reads and then be passed onto 500,000 who might then pass it on to 2 million others. Wow! Imagine reaching the world with your message every month. Exciting!
But what does The Lutheran do? They feed you about ten lines of a story online and ask you to pay to read the rest. They limit dialog on the articles to subscribers. No pay. No say.
Engagement is the goal of almost every organization these days. Corporations understand that engagement is pivotal to relationships, sales, their mission and survival. Meanwhile, the church barricades themselves from engagement!
They are missing out on the social nature and evangelical power of the web. When they place that “pay to play” obstacle between them and their readers, they keep them from further sharing the good news. (Explain that to advertisers!)
Of course, they are interested in subscriptions. That’s the old publishing model. But The Lutheran is a “house” magazine. It should be looking for ways to get the message out to everyone—especially to people who just happen along who might be learning about the denomination from a friend who sent them a link.
They are hampering their own mission.
In the new world, religious magazines should explore a new funding model. Perhaps their work should be totally subsidized. Forget subscriptions.
There are other ways of adding to the income while enhancing the dialog within the church. Partner with denominational authors. Be a Kindle storefront for them. Empower the news potential of every congregation and every potential writer in the denomination. It’s new territory with great potential.
The denominational magazine will then be so much more powerful and able to attract a new level of advertising.
If preserving the publishing model of the past is the goal, keep it subscription-based with limited reach. A private club. All the members breathing the same stale air.
If influence and reach are the goals of church publishing, content must be free.
Bishop Claire Burkat of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod (SEPA) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has frequently criticized Redeemer for “resisting” her leadership. With scant detail, she seeks to create the illusion of a renegade congregation that must be reined in for benefit of the whole Church. Her mission is easily accomplished in a synod where the rank and file is passive.
In her words, she sensed “resistance”—a definite taboo in her leadership style—but definitely allowed within the church’s democratic processes and under the beliefs of our faith.
In another tirade Redeemer was “adversarial.”
Adversarial. Resistant. Not bad words. By definition, nothing for Redeemer to be ashamed of — except by innuendo and the surety within the ELCA that no one will investigate.
Redeemer was placed in an adversarial position by unreasonable and unconscionable behavior of a bishop who uses name-calling to disguise self-interest.
Congregational leaders should stand up for the people they lead (be adversaries) and resist selfish outside agendas.
If congregational leaders are not permitted to represent their congregation’s interests, they serve no purpose. This may be the problem in SEPA and the ELCA. Its governing structure is ineffective.
If you read the three illustrations we recently posted about SEPA’s concept of mutual discernment, you will notice that Redeemer was very cooperative whenever SEPA leadership asked them to do anything that made sense and would further their mission efforts. Redeemer often sacrificed self-interest in its cooperation.
Redeemer resisted when the congregation was asked to do things which would endanger their ministry.
Redeemer cooperated with Bishop Almquist’s proposal to call Pastor Matthias for 18 months. Bishop Almquist broke the call agreement three months later.
Redeemer cooperated with Bishop Almquist when he declared synodical administration. Redeemer resisted within Lutheran rules but worked with Bishop Almquist and the trustees, bringing the matter to peaceful resolution within a year. Redeemer resisted when he failed to return our money upon the release of synodical administration for an additional year.
Redeemer agreed to accept the only pastor Bishop Almquist offered. Redeemer resisted locking in to a term call when the pastor announced his intentions to provide only the barest amount of service. Redeemer supported a term call, which Bishop Almquist refused to consider.
Redeemer cooperated when we were approached to help Epiphany when its building was condemned. We worked in good faith for 18 months. Redeemer was not given the opportunity to resist when SEPA began working with Epiphany in secret to close down their ministry, without considering the covenant made with Redeemer.
Most of the attention of the covenant for the first year was on settling Epiphany’s pressing problems. As soon as the covenant began to show some promise of benefitting Redeemer—the covenant was broken with all benefits to SEPA. Redeemer did not protest the inequity, but we felt used.
Redeemer cooperated for an additional six months, allowing both Epiphany and synod ready and rent-free access to our property. Less than a year later synod tried to lock us out!
Redeemer brought our successful outreach ministry to local East African immigrants to the attention of Bishop Burkat. She told us we were not allowed to do outreach ministry and refused to recognize our East African members—some of whom had been members for a decade.
Redeemer met with the trustees in good faith and shared our ministry plan with both them and Bishop Burkat, unaware in the beginning that the trustees had lied to us for five months. We learned from a synod staff member that Bishop Burkat never intended to give Redeemer’s ministry consideration.
Redeemer followed ELCA and SEPA constitutions, asking to withdraw from the ELCA, which clearly was not serving the congregation.SEPA resisted, refusing to allow Redeemer the 90 days of negotiation called for in the constitution.
Many of the continuing travesties of this sad and horrific chapter in SEPA’s history—that everyone just wishes away—would not have happened had SEPA worked with Redeemer. That’s the subject of another post.
The religiously unaffiliated are now a force to be reckoned with—by the Church and by the politicians.
Politicians accustomed to measuring the religious right or the Roman Catholic vote, etc., before they draft their platforms have found that the most influential segment of voters is the growing group that affiliates with no religion. You know the type. “I’m spiritual but not religious” is their creed.
Add to the religious melting pot the Jewish vote, the growing segment of Islamic voters and religious “others” and you have a new political challenge.
It is far less easy to address topics that approach social consciousness like abortion, immigration and laws based on sexuality when you don’t know the creeds your voters adhere to.
It is probably a myth that voters adhere to church doctrine in the privacy of the voting booth. But now we have statistics to add to the confusion.
Should this worry the American religious?
A lot of mainline churches stopped taking stands on popular issues a long time ago, drafting social statements that are exercises in political correctness. Perhaps this has been the cue to the American religious to not weigh their vote against the teachings of any church.
There is now statistical evidence that Americans are thumbing their noses at any religious affiliation.
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!
God is doing something new and the church is Out to Lunch. We are tempted to say Gone Fishing, but that might have theological implications that do not apply.
Redeemer Ambassadors always turn to the internet to plan our visits. We check service times, read newsletters and find out as much as we can before we visit.
We follow the process any newcomer to a neighborhood in 2012 would take when searching for a church home. They would Google their neighborhood and the word “church” to see what comes up.
Our search process reveals that neighborhood church seekers will have problems finding Lutheran churches.
Since we are looking for Lutheran churches, we start with the ELCA Trend Reports web site and use their Church Finder. We plug in 15, 20 or 25 miles for the radius and press the LOCATE button. Up comes a list. Then we click the link provided to each congregation’s web site.
We are now preparing for our 50th visit. We’d like to visit a nearby church tomorrow morning. Some of our ambassadors have afternoon plans. There are several possibilities. We’ll look for a church with an early service.
THIRTY of them have NO WEB SITE!
Several of those with no web site are mission churches under the direction of synodically appointed leaders. Note: These are just the churches in a 15-mile radius of East Falls.
A MISSION CHURCH with NO WEB SITE!
We Google the name of one nearby congregation. Maybe they have a web site that isn’t listed in the national database. Great! They have a Facebook page. We check it. It has NO information beyond the church’s address.
Really, SEPA churches, what are you thinking? Are you serious about outreach? Are you part of your communities? Do you open your doors on Sunday morning and expect the neighborhood to flock there by magic?
A church can have a nice looking web site for an annual investment of $25 and no more than an hour’s set-up time. Facebook is FREE, for St. Pete’s sake! 13-year-olds know how to use it.
If you don’t have a web site, you are not serious about serving your community.
Most of these congregation’s have pastors who could set up a basic site and at least have a community presence.
Even Redeemer, the church that doesn’t exist according to SEPA and the ELCA, has a web site.
In the world of the ELCA, these churches, that are not serious about ministry, feel they have the right to take votes about the ministries of other congregations and gain from their actions. (They don’t have this right under governing laws, but that hasn’t stopped the churches and clergy of SEPA!)
God is doing something new in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod and many churches are not equipped to perceive it—much less take advantage of it!
We’d like to think they have Gone Fishing for Men, but the evidence is they are Out to Lunch.
In a previous post, we noted how the Church, when struggling, turns to adjusting a rite or ritual to create an illusion of accomplishment.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has a ritual that exists outside of worship. It is called the Social Statement.
Social Statements, Messages and Resolutions
Social Statements are treatises explaining the official position of the Church on topics of concern to both the Church and secular society. They are designed to facilitate discussion in hopes that congregations address issues on their own but in keeping with the teachings of the Church.
Lutherans value individual belief and diversity, so the Statements, for the considerable work put into them, carry no real weight.
The ELCA has been in existence since 1988. It has issued 11 Social Statements. Topics include: abortion, Church in Society, the death penalty, economic life, education, the environment, genetics, health and healthcare, peace, culture and sexuality.
For situations requiring more expediency, the ELCA Church Council adopts Social Messages. In the past 23 years, they have addressed 12 issues.
The process of drafting Social Statements began before the full power of the internet was realized. Individuals are named to a commission that creates a draft document. Discussions are held at the regional level with the commission drafting the final document to be voted on by the Churchwide Assembly.
It is now possible to have ongoing debates without scheduling geographic meetings with their limitations.
Discussion could take place regionally or on the denomination’s magazine site. This site is open to all by subscription only, which limits its effect as a forum and evangelical tool. The internet eliminates logistical restraints but the Church creates new ones!
The documents, even in draft form are available on the web. It would be interesting to know the statistics of how many times these documents are downloaded, shared, tweeted, etc. This could only increase readership and effectiveness and should be easy to do. Comments should not only be allowed, they should be encouraged. Without interaction, they sit on the national church website gathering cyberdust.
The Current Effort
The ELCA is currently developing a statement on Criminal Justice for consideration in 2013. The Church’s view on this topic should be interesting as it has exempted itself from the laws its members are expected to follow. When challenged, it cries “Separation of Church and State” but does not hesitate to use the courts to force its will on congregations as evidenced in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod and its treatment of the members of Redeemer congregation. On this issue, where the church is a lead player, there has been no room for diversity. Members have been denied voice and vote by decree. Open discussion is discouraged.
The Church addresses issues with minimal impact. There is the illusion of caring and involvement.
There are in the Lutheran denomination three levels of church membership.
Baptized Members
Baptized members include all who have been baptized—adults and children.
Confirmed Members
Traditionally, child baptized members become full, confirmed members upon completion of study, usually around age 15. Once confirmed, youth have full membership privileges.
When adults join churches with little or no childhood experience in the Church, membership requirements are less clear. They can transfer membership from another Lutheran Church or a different denomination, with guidelines for acceptance consisting of little more than the recitation of a creed. Faith communities are often so starved for members that even that is not required.
Associate Members
Some congregations have a designation of associate membership. These adult members can hold full membership in another church while participating in congregational life as fully as they like— but they do not have voting privileges.
These are the constitutional membership guidelines. There are problems with these which might become more clear if we define church membership along biblical lines.
Hearers and Doers
There are Hearers of the Word and there are Doers of the Word.
All faith begins with hearing the Word. But hearing alone is not enough.
Most church governance centers on Hearers of the Word. There are far more of them and their individual votes count the same as that of people who may be far more committed.
Favoring Hearers and ignoring Doers dummies down the Church.
Hierarchical leadership does not like Doers of the Word —unless they DO exactly as they are told. The problem for Doers who have a strong foundation in faith is that they honor leadership only when leadership is scripturally based and act within constitutional guidelines. In their minds, they answer to a higher authority.
There are differences among Doers. Doers who do not have a strong faith foundation can create a cult-like following.
Doers commit far more than a weekly monetary offering. They commit time and passion. Doers look for opportunities to improve and change church community. Doers challenge their Faith Community. They motivate.
Doers will challenge status quo leadership.
The problem in the ELCA is that the status quo is revered. That makes Doers of the Word, whether they be clergy or lay members, people to be tolerated. If Doers are insistent upon change, they become unwelcome and are labeled as oddballs or trouble-makers. At worst they are targets of insecure leaders —the more insecure, the more ruthless.
The position of Hearers of the Word becomes glorified. They are less trouble.
The fact that there are far fewer Hearers in the ELCA doesn’t seem to faze leadership.
Doers, on the other hand, are an endangered species. This doesn’t faze our leaders either!
When a denomination is governed by Hearers of the Word and Doers are shut out, there are serious problems.
America was founded on the principle of Freedom of Religion. Early settlers came to escape state oppression of the emerging sects in Europe. Over the centuries, many faiths have sought refuge on American soil.
The First Amendment in the Bill of Rights prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion.
The legal system lives in fear of stepping on the exercise of religion. In recent court decisions they have gone so far as to determine that religious groups do not have to follow their own rules. That opens a new door. The leaders of religion can themselves become lawless oppressors.
That is the result of a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision that determined the case brought by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the ELCA against a member church (Redeemer, East Falls, Philadelphia) could not be heard. Yes, they brought a case against a member church and then argued that the case they brought should not be heard.
The court gave SEPA Synod a victory by default —not based on evidence. They determined that it was up to the denomination to police its own rules. Fat chance.
A strong dissenting opinion concluded that if the law is applied, Redeemer’s arguments deserve a hearing. How are members of faith communities to assume that the laws they agreed to upon joining the community mean nothing?
That creates a very real problem for all the faithful. If constitutions agreed upon by religious groups when they go to the legal trouble of incorporating mean nothing, then faith communities are faced with potential lawlessness. The laity are sitting ducks for potential abuse. Clergy will run.
Faith communities can expect to be victimized by hierarchy. It is happening with greater frequency. The conflicts are usually about the value of real estate — not doctrine. Within the ELCA there are several cases of “hostile” takeovers—raids in the middle of the night or by stealth and deceit. One bishop, anticipating trouble, went so far as to call ahead to the sheriff and police department and warn them to expect a call from church members, but that they were allowed to change the church locks.
It is not the Church’s finest hour. As proven by Redeemer’s experience, Church leadership will not hesitate to use their protected status to tyrannize their members — those with the least power, the laity. You won’t read much about this on the pages of The Lutheran.
“I have the power,” Bishop Burkat was heard to say as she prepared to raid Redeemer. If so, it is a power allowed by courts side-stepping the issues. It is not a power given by the ELCA constitutions/articles of incorporation or by God.
It’s legal because the law exempts the church. Perhaps there is hope.
The law has finally stepped in on the Roman Catholic Church and its handling of crimes within its ranks—but not before a great deal of damage was done to both victims and the Church.
On this Independence Day, it is worth noting that the Bill of Rights does not protect the members of faith communities from the abuses of their own leaders. This can be stopped by the members of the faith community, but experience is proving that the religious don’t care unless they are directly affected. They are free to use other provisions of the Bill of Rights such as Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Assembly. Odds, in the current atmosphere, are against it.
What a waste of the First Amendment.
04 Jul 2012
Undercover Bishop: A Parable for Today’s Church
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.
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).
2×2 Sections
Where in the World is 2×2?
On Isaiah 30:15b
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
