Today’s Church exists amid a new and perplexing dichotomy.
Our world views bigger as better. Bigger means more money, more resources, more power. Better goes along for the ride.
This seems to go with the fundamental view of corporate church. It certainly goes with the traditional structure of church since the Middle Ages
The Church is not going to give up on this idea easily!
Within this bigness is a new power of the individual. Individuals do not have to be part of a big organization to fulfill needs which were once met ONLY through association with large organizations.
The FBI with all its state-of-the-art technology and the funding of the leading nation in the free world can be hacked by an adventurous school kid with no particular ill will, as easily as it can be hacked by an enemy.
Big brands with solid positioning in our culture can be challenged by a single new marketing concept. What is Woolworth worth today?
The same thing is happening in the Church. Those accustomed to being big and powerful are finding their secure position in society threatened by the small church and even perhaps by individuals.
Where do television preachers get their start? They rarely rise through the ranks of the organized church. They may have started out there but their ambitions outgrow church structure.
There was a time when it was difficult to exist outside denominational structure if you felt called to serve God.
No problem today. Raise some money. Get on TV. (Or write a blog!) The media of the day can make all the difference.
Soon they have created what modern business calls a “tribe.”
Nothing new here. Israel had its tribes. Moses had a tribe. Jesus had a tribe. Paul had a tribe.
The members of a modern evangelist’s tribe probably had roots in the traditional church, too. The difference today is that individuals within the tribe have more power. They can and will come and go from the traditional church. Meanwhile, they can pick and choose between involvement with multiple tribes. One tribe might interest them socially. Another culturally. Still another might be addressing a cause dear to their heart.
The Church must recognize this as it nurtures its own tribe. Your most loyal members are probably sharing their loyalties, time, talent and money.
They may attend worship (or not). They may serve on a charitable board or two. They pick and choose between the charities that do the best job of soliciting their help — usually on Sunday mornings.
There is no longer brand loyalty among Christians. People want to make a difference. If the Church cannot provide the diversity of opportunities to serve, there are plenty of organizations that will.
There is also individual power. A person can abandon the whole tribe mentality and go it alone and still be effective stewards of God’s gifts.
Mainline denominational churches can cry about this, fight and scheme for positioning, and grasp at what’s left of the old order.
Or they can fashion a ministry that attracts multiple “tribes.”
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.
Yesterday’s post talked about the characteristics of a viral post — a post that readers share in large numbers. One of the characteristics is that a viral post is actionable.
An actionable post results in a reader doing something. When marketers use the term, they mean the reader either bought something or took a step towards buying something. Marketers have embraced blogging because they see it as a customer relations, customer retention and sales tool—all in one.
Churches have the same needs but use evangelical/ecclesiastic terminology.
Yet churches seem to be puzzled by the blogging genre. They tend to see a blog as an online musing . . . an extension of the sermon. It is so much more!
The easiest way to move away from this thinking and to begin to harness the power of the web is for churches to think in terms of writing blogs which prompt action.
In church terms, this could mean a number of things.
Here are some actions that could result from congregational blog posts:
A reader might subscribe to your blog or the congregational newsletter. Your congregation could then reach subscribers with a short message every day. (They probably won’t sign up to read sermons, though!) 2×2 has about 63 subscribers and another 100 or more who subscribe via Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. We reach more than 500 new readers every week! (Imagine what we could do with a building!)
A reader might share your post with someone else. I occasionally send links to Pastor Swanson’s daily emails, 7 Minutes A Day. I find them to be inspirational and motivating and hope others will, too.
A reader might take some action they might not otherwise take. Pastor Swanson’s posts have prompted me to read more of the Bible and look at familiar Bible passages in a new light.
A reader might become interested in a new ministry. A congregation could blog about homelessness and inspire someone to do something about it.
A post might inspire someone to make a donation (sweat or dollars).
A post might inspire a new understanding or make a new connection. I can’t remember how our posts led us to ministry friendships with Christians in Kenya, Pakistan, and Sweden, but they did!
A blog post can lead to new alliances. Our early posts on the value of Vacation Bible Schools created alliances with like-minded Christians in other areas of the United States.
A reader may comment on a post and that may spark an online conversation.
A reader just might be inspired to faith and salvation.
How A Blog Might Impact A Common Scenario
In yesterday’s post, I posed a scenario where a congregation became aware that their neighborhood was changing. A new and very different ethnic group was moving in and changing the demographic. This isn’t a stretch. It’s happening all over our city (Philadelphia). A common result within our denomination is to declare churches closed in changing neighborhoods. We can only guess that they feel their message will not fly with the changing demographic. (Actually, we are not guessing, that’s what our church was told by our regional body.) This is foreign to the biblical mission of the church—and unnecessary—especially if congregations use social media as a mission tool!
What if a congregation started blogging about the changes in the neighborhood in a way which fostered interaction between the settled population and the newcomers. If they did so regularly, it would be noticed within a few weeks. Doors would open. Introductions would be made. When the new population began to show an interest as neighbors, they would feel like they already know the people who sponsored such a welcoming blog.
Civic organizations would likely notice, too. The church would gain respect in the neighborhood. The voice of the Church might carry more weight. Mainline news might notice. The possibilities are endless.
Actionable blogs should be a goal of every congregation.
Many of these benefits can be achieved without a blog. But there is no denying that blogging amplifies the likelihood and the reach of ministry efforts. It is work. It is a new discipline. But it is exciting. Time must be carved out to learn new skills. But the potential for ministry is so much greater with a blog than without. Frankly, the time invested in blogging will steal time from ministry efforts which may be traditional but which are not resulting in church growth. No real loss.
One last thing!
An actionable post should end with what in business is termed a Call To Action. This can be as simple as posing a question. Or it could be a simple form.
Here’s our Call to Action!
If you’d like help getting started in social media or blogging, submit the brief form below. We’ll see if we can be of service or point you in a helpful direction.
The church has always relied on offerings from followers for survival. That reliance has meant different things in different ages. In Jesus’ time we know that there were followers, many of them women, bank-rolling the disciples and later the apostles.
As the Early Christian Church grew, the contributions became expected. Failure to contribute whole-heartedly was even a death sentence in one Bible passage.
As the church grew across different cultures, contributions took on different forms. Some contributed by going off to war to fight the infidels. (If successful, they might be rewarded with land and title!) Farmers and tradesmen contributed to feeding the large number of clergy and maintaining property. (If successful, their standing in the community would grow.) Artisans donated their talents. (If successful, they might find a patron and their art would preserve their names forever.)
Monetary tithes were never enough to keep church leaders comfortable and hence by the fifteenth and sixteenth century, church leaders had instituted a turnkey financial model. Pay to play or pay to pray. Indulgences. That incensed one young monk and the Reformation was on!
This was happening at about the same time as a bountiful mass of new land was discovered across the ocean. For the first time, there was someplace to go to escape the oppression of the church. Protestants began leaving in droves. Fresh start.
For years, many American churches copied the same model and congregations contributed their skills and work product to the maintenance of a parsonage and clergy. Monetary offerings were only part of the typical church budget.
Today’s clergy often laugh at these days, although there are few alive who actually remember them! They seem to forget that the contributions were made with love and sacrifice. A chicken given to the pastor was a chicken not available to feed the family.
In the most recent decades, clergy have been less likely to accept parsonage-based or non-monetary pay. Small congregations which thrived on non-monetary model through economically lean times were fairly suddenly priced out of existence. We are still experiencing the fallout from this shift in economic model of the modern church.
This doesn’t mean that things cannot change again.
2×2 believes that any church that relies solely on monetary offerings is scheduling failure. It may not happen for ten or twenty years but the path is fairly certain.
We have studied the statistics of congregations in our own denomination and regional body. Failure is the norm. It is almost universal. Large churches are in decline. Medium-sized churches are in decline. Small churches are the first to feel the pain. The others will follow. Survival is so tenuous that it outranks mission in budget priorities.
A newsletter from the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod (SEPA) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) today begins with a quote from futuristic thinker, Seth Godin.
There is the mistake of overdoing the defense of the status quo, the error of investing too much time and energy in keeping things as they are.
And then there is the mistake made while inventing the future, the error of small experiments gone bad.
We are almost never hurt by the second kind of mistake and yet we persist in making the first kind, again and again.”
Words of wisdom. Except that SEPA has shown no inclination to follow them. Their decisions tend to be status quo-oriented at best—and remarkably retro overall.
Redeemer’s Ambassadors have visited 54 churches and we see the same ministry plan with few variations in most of them.
SEPA’s vision:
You will have a congregation led by a pastor which we will choose for you—but we will pretend it is your call —because that’s the church way.
You can worship any way you like, but if you aren’t celebrating communion weekly, you are just not with it.
Accepted worship innovations include drums and an audio-visual screen.
Your budget will maintain your building and pay for a pastor, organist, choir director, sexton and church secretary. If money allows, your next hires will be a youth or visitation pastor. That’s the church way. Employing clergy is your major missional purpose.
Your mission efforts will coordinate with our mission office (keeping us employed as well). Otherwise, any success will not count and your ministry will be judged as uncooperative
Your ministry will be supported by offerings from a dwindling number of supporters in a volatile economy. That’s the church way. Go ahead. Keep trying. We’ll wait a reasonable amount of time before we celebrate your failure. Pastoral help? Sorry, no one is available.
When at last our prediction of your poor ministry potential comes true, we will make sure any remaining assets benefit synod.
Redeemer’s members, most of whom are entrepreneurial in their private lives, determined that we had to have a different kind of ministry. We had worked with Synod’s plans for a decade. Some showed promise, but SEPA’s support for their own proposed ministry plans was self-serving and ephemeral. The interim pastor we agreed to call for 18 months was recalled by Bishop Almquist after three months. He was needed in Bucks County. The covenant we signed with Epiphany was broken with the support (and to the benefit) of SEPA.
Redeemer’s vision:
Relying on offerings will guarantee failure. Providing pastoral needs as a priority will deplete resources with no measurable benefit.
Serve the community with profit center ministries.
Use the educational building to operate a community day school (with religious instruction) which might also reach the neighboring public school. Projected revenue $6000 per month.
Invest the skills of members in ministry that would serve the immigrant community while generating income. Projected revenue $10,000 per month (anticipated to grow with experience).
Experiment with social media, sharing ideas and potentially creating an income stream. Projected revenue within two years ($1000 per month with much more potential).
So Redeemer set about reinventing its ministry. Redeemer presented a detailed plan to Bishop Burkat who never reviewed it with us before (or after) announcing her plans to close our church. No questions, no answers, no complaints, no discussion, no congregational vote — just a declaration of closure. SEPA had a six-figure deficit clouding its vision. Redeemer, on the other hand, was living within its means.
Redeemer was willing to take calculated risks with its own resources for the benefit of its own ministry. Redeemer asked nothing of SEPA except their approval of the pastor we hoped to work with and who was entirely qualified and agreeable to the plan. He disappeared after a private meeting with Bishop Burkat. He resurfaced with an interim call to good old Bucks County.
While reinventing our future, we were willing to make mistakes along the way and planned for careful monitoring to maximize success. We set about our new ministry by rallying the support of members, involving them in the planning and shaping of their own ministry.
Outsiders, with no interest in our assets, have commented that we were doing a pretty good job. (Some of them were Lutheran!)
But status quo SEPA, facing its own murky future, decided that they had better plans for Redeemer’s assets. And so there has been no SEPA-sponsored ministry in East Falls in four years—Redeemer’s assets serving no ministry purpose. A legacy of distrust growing daily.
Meanwhile, Redeemer continues as much of its ministry as we can, under hateful conditions, while SEPA uses our resources to sue us.
If only SEPA had come across Seth’s words of wisdom before they fouled the baptismal waters in East Falls.
Looking for Success in the Wrong Places
As it struggles, the Church tends to misidentify success. They look at the largest dozen or so churches that attract larger numbers. They can still afford a few pastors and a staff. Careful analysis will show that the larger churches are also struggling. It just isn’t as noticeable. So their “success” is emulated.
We are emulating failure.
The Small Churches and Laity Are Pivotal to Change
Small churches are keenly aware that complacency endangers ministry. Most small churches have strong lay leadership. Synod shows no interest in serving them. It’s a waiting game. A death watch.
If SEPA Synod is sincere in wanting to foster innovation, they must turn to their smallest congregations and work WITH them.
Here’s why the laity are key to innovation.
Lay people do not rely on the approval of hierarchy for their career trajectory. They are more likely to take innovative risks.
Lay people tend to circulate among other churches, religions and denominations — fodder for creative ideas.
Lay people are dedicated to the church and the neighborhoods where they live. They have no plans to move on to a bigger church in seven years.
Lay people provide the funds that support ministry. They care about how THEIR offerings are spent.
Lay people collectively bring the wisdom of many disciplines to the Church. Clergy get similar training in whatever seminary they choose.
Lay people serve with no expectations of reward or credit.
Mystery writers follow an old adage. If there is a gun hanging on the wall in Act 1, shots had better be fired by the end of Act 3.
Today’s objects are a small glass of water and wine.
We are now in Act 1 of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus has already left home, been baptized, and collected his disciples. They travel to Cana for a wedding—major entertainment in those days, typically lasting a week.
The stage in John’s Gospel is set with two things. Water and Wine.
Water has already played a role in this mystery. Jesus was baptized. Dramatic anticipation.
Wine is the gun hanging on the wall, or in this case crowding the edges of the stage in the form of six huge wine bottles.
But we are not yet finished with water!
John writes about two people whose lives were very much interwoven with his own. He was an invited guest at this wedding. Yet he tells this story from a distance.
There by Jesus’ side is his mother, unnamed by John, who was charged at the foot of the cross with her care and well-being.
Jesus’ mother prods her son. Now is the time, she encourages. Your special talents are needed now.
Jesus, like many sons coming of age, resists. What do you know, woman? My hour has not yet come? Suspense!
The common humanity of this situation is in contrast to the sign that is about to happen. Mary ignores her son and takes control. She puts Jesus in a position where he must perform. This mother will have her way.
The Spirit is reentering the story. We heard about the Spirit last week. It’s what made Jesus’ baptism different from all the baptisms gone before.
And so the water, which has come to mean so much in the story of Jesus, once again takes center stage. It is to become wine—extraordinary wine.
It’s still Act 1. Wine will continue to play a role as the plot unfolds. Wait ’til Act 3 for the gun to go off!
Our pastor is admittedly old school. (He isn’t official but we love him anyway.) He carries his Bible with him always. I’ve always admired that about him. It is well-worn (falling apart to be honest). He lovingly covers it in paper as we used to have to cover our school texts in grade school. Would that our Bibles were as in danger of wear and tear as our school primers!
The only Bible I carry with me is on my smart phone. The internet has made Bible-toting so unnecessary that I’ll never feel guilty. I read a lot more of Scripture since it is accessible with the size of type adjustable and with any number of translations available at the click of the mouse. Just Google a key word and the passage you are trying to remember pops up. How spoiled can we Christians get?
To think of the time I wasted memorizing the books of the Bible! At least I got a prize for my effort. While it still provides an understanding of the structure of the Bible, it is no longer necessary for easy reference. It’s almost like the Dewey Decimal System. Remember that?
How I remember the arguments among my elders when I was a child! Which was the real Bible, the true Word of God? King James or Revised Standard? My old Sunday School teachers would suffer apoplexy at the number of versions available today!
And so, I was reading some suggested passages this morning, when I noticed the requisite banner ads. Bibles were for sale.
How would monetizing Scripture fly with the people who shaped my faith? But then that’s nothing new. Each of those translations is copyrighted and you can be sure that new translations will pop up when the copyrights expire. Yes, someone on earth will always claim ownership of those wonderful words of love!
One ad caught my eye.
The Message Remix Solo New Testament Brown Imitation Leather Slightly Imperfect
Six dollars were knocked off the list price.
Does “imitation leather” cheapen the Word?
Slightly Imperfect. Are they referring to the cover—or the translation—or the Bible itself? Is that sacrilege?
Back to the adage(s). You can’t tell a book by its cover. The proof of the pudding is in the reading—and the living.
2×2 is nearing its second anniversary from the date of launch (February 2, 2011).
Can a small church blog make an impact?
Church blogs are a bit different from other forms of social media where the aim is often engagement. People don’t tend to engage in public forums in matters of faith. If we measured our impact by comments and likes, we’d be tempted to say no. Very little impact. Just over 100 comments in two years.
2×2 has learned that people don’t tend to respond ONLINE. We get many emails from readers that are not part of the public discussion. And that’s OK. We have not followed the engagement star.
Our first year was spent learning. 2012 was the year that the launch actually took hold. We started posting daily in mid-summer of 2011. It wasn’t until the end of 2011 that we saw any encouraging statistics. 2012, however, was a year of steady growth that is beginning to display exponential potential.
Redeemer, through 2×2, now reaches more people each week with the message of Christ than do the largest congregations in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod (who claims we are too small to fulfill our missional purpose).
What Draws Readers to a Church Blog?
It is not pictures of your sanctuary and activities or messages from your pastor—all the standard stuff on most church websites.
Readers (seekers) are drawn by helpful content.
Our goal for 2012 is to develop more helpful content.
Last Easter we posted a play that Redeemer had created and performed in 2008, when we still had a sanctuary in which to practice our faith. Beginning on Christmas Day 2012, this play, offered for free to our readers, has drawn about 50 readers and downloads per day.
Our series on object lessons, designed for adult listeners but applicable to children as well, also draws regular weekly readers. One reader wrote a note of thanks last week. They mentioned that they work with Bhutanese refugees.
Our third and fourth biggest draws are commentary on any number of church-related issues and our series on using social media in the church (this was our biggest draw early last year but that is shifting).
We now have more than 2000 new readers each month and about 150 who subscribe through Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Our followers tend to be young people (20s and 30s—the very demographic the organized church has trouble reaching). They represent many ethnic backgrounds. In any given hour, an average of 20 people read our site. Most visit more than the home page.
We’ve written before about the network of small mission churches that correspond with us regularly. This continues to grow.
There are many people of faith working in isolation and under hostile conditions in the world. Finding support for their efforts within the organized church is expensive and time-consuming. It can take years to be recognized as legitimate mission within denominational standards. Meanwhile, orphans, widows and needy cope, meeting in houses and open-air pavilions and along the banks of rivers, caring little about denominational structure—relying on faith and the bonds they forge on their own.
Their needs are simple. They want Bibles and friendship. They don’t want to walk their faith journeys alone. They really don’t care about denominational labels.
Our little church blog is making a difference in these places. Yours could, too.
The Ambassadors were out in unusual force yesterday visiting Trinity, Lansdale, one of the largest congregations in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod (SEPA) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). It was our 54th visit to a SEPA congregation.
It’s been a rough few days for Redeemer. Yesterday, Saturday, January 5, was particularly difficult.
At least a quarter of the people gathered in the large sanctuary on this cold Saturday afternoon claim Lutheran roots firmly planted in Redeemer, East Falls.
Tragically, the infant we gathered to remember and lay to rest was one of our family. Families at Redeemer have always been intricately interconnected. Remarkably, this has remained true even as we grow to become more diverse. One Redeemer member cannot itch without another scratching.
Indeed, we have a goodly heritage.
Part of the beautiful service was thanksgiving for baptism.
Our Jude was baptized as he was coming into the world. His chances for survival were known to be slim. When his parents learned early on that he was not likely to survive birth, they named him. His name breathed life into him. Jude Michael Boeh belonged.
I am privileged to know the family of both sides of one set of Jude’s grandparents. Many of the names bandied about in the narthex as the family gathered came alive again. Remember Clarence and George, Vicki, Tom, Emma and Jacob?
I wasn’t born into Redeemer, but I remember them well. It was good to hear their names again and to pass their stories on to the younger members of the family. Some belonged to Redeemer and some to the Presbyterian church across the street. But that was a formality. Redeemer members worshiped at Redeemer in the morning and attended services with their Presbyterian neighbors afterwards. Dual citizenship.
Jude’s mother, born Elizabeth Leach, gave a moving tribute to his short life and its powerful force.
Jude was named for the patron saint of lost causes. His life was a tribute to the value of any life-affirming cause, even one that appears to be facing hopeless odds.
We are so proud of his family, especially his mother whom we watched grow up at many Redeemer services and events.
Redeemer, East Falls, and Trinity, Lansdale, are worlds apart. Trinity’s narthex is about the size of Redeemer’s sanctuary. But it doesn’t matter how large a sanctuary is. A lot of good can come out of both large and small churches. As the history we read on the walls of Trinity attest, churches start small. Some grow in size. Some grow in spirit. All have worth.
As I participated in the memorial service for my step great-grandson, I thought of my late husband.
Jude’s great-grandfather, Andrew Leach, was the first baby baptized in Redeemer in 1909. Jude’s grandfather and many of his aunts and uncles of varying generations were also baptized at Redeemer.
He would have been proud of the courage his grandchildren displayed in their compassionate, faithful, heart-wrenching choices. Their willingness to share their heartbreak is a gift.
Jude’s great-grandfather was the heart and soul of Redeemer, devout in practical ways. He managed the church finances and was responsible for protecting and growing the endowment that tempted SEPA from the day of his death. He was universally respected in the church and community and set the tone of what could be called Redeemer’s personality.
He not only managed the church as a business but he had a superb voice, a legacy passed on to many family members. He was never so proud that he wouldn’t clean the sidewalks and scrub floors. His interest in the community made Redeemer the common meeting place for many community groups. When it came to Redeemer, there was no nonsense.
His great granddaughter, Hazel, (Jude’s older sister) was born shortly after Andy’s death. Hazel, at 14, shared with poise a heartfelt testimony of how her journey with her sister, mom, stepdad and baby Jude had awakened her faith. She reminded me of her great-grandmother.
Gertrude Trommer Leach was a member of the Sunday School class I taught at Redeemer. She worked hard with the ladies group, sang in the choir and played the piano. She was a deeply spiritual child of God, a true matriarchal cornerstone. Easy-going and loving, when she occasionally stood her ground, she was a force to be reckoned with.
Andrew’s youngest son, Nathaniel, is still a member of Redeemer. He was seated next to me in the sanctuary, singing with his father’s voice as we remembered Jude. I was reminded of his biblical namesake. Nathaniel in the Bible asks rather flippantly upon learning of Jesus of Nazareth, “Can any good come out of Nazareth?”
Is there any good to be found in trying circumstances, in facing difficult odds?
People of faith must answer yes.
Sometimes you have to dig through a lot of grime. Sometimes you have to wipe away the tears. Sometimes you have to struggle to get up in the morning. Often we have to withstand hurtful gossip and defend against questionable, self-serving advice. But there is value wherever there is life.
Jesus loves us. The Bible tells us so.
The service was beautiful, but as Sunday quickly rolled around, it would have been a comfort to many of the mourners to sit in the pews so familiar to our family, to kneel at the altar where our families knelt together for generations, to pass the font where five generations have been baptized, to shed a tear in our own sacred space—now desecrated with fighting that should have been resolved with love within the Christian family long ago, and to embrace other members of Redeemer who live in fear beyond their control. It would be a comfort to have some sense that in the community of God we have worth beyond the value of our assets.
Redeemer members continue to meet, worship and serve—and grow.
Faith gives us no choice. Affirming life is a part of our legacy.
Jude. The patron saint of lost causes.
Is there really such a thing for people of faith? Sometimes we just don’t know what the real cause is!
The name Jude, by the way, means PRAISE! That’s how I will remember Jude. With praise.
God bless our Jude. God bless Jude’s family. God bless the Christian legacy that brought us all together in the sanctuary in Trinity, Lansdale, on January 5, 2013.
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.
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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).
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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
