A Church to Believe In

Part of our current church culture is dealing with membership decline in the majority of congregations.  While some congregations are growing, most people arrive for worship on Sunday morning (or another time) and wonder where all of the people are.  And most eventually wonder if we should do something different to attract more people.

As a pastor, I am aware of this.  My colleagues talk about it; religious magazines offer huge numbers of articles about it.  What can we do -- what should we do -- to attract more people and spread the Gospel.

Frankly, I've gotten tired of it.  I know I can't avoid the issue, but I think we are focusing on the wrong thing.  I am less interested in how to raise numbers than in how to impact the lives of the people already in the pews AND how a congregation can impact the lives of people not in the pews.  To me, this is the most important ministry of the church always, and it is how I measure our success as a congregation, rather than obsessively worrying about weekly attendance numbers.

So, I was delighted to read an article this week about a rural congregation that is having a large impact on the lives of people in their community and on the lives of the people in the pews.  While small in number (in fact, some people would suggest that this congregation consider closing or merging with another), they have a vibrant ministry.  We need more congregations like this, rather than more that are worried about attendance (in my humble opinion).

Responding Quickly to an Unanticipated Need

In Sunday's sermon, I encouraged us to prepare for the unexpected by asking "what if?" more often, in various situations.  Here is a real-life situation where such preparations allowed people to respond well to an almost unimaginable need in West Virginia.

Over the weekend, a chemical spill into the water supply made water unusable for 300,000 people in nine counties, including the capital city of Charleston.  This week, Week of Compassion sent out a report from the West Virginia Regional Minister, Thad Allen, about the coordinated response to this unforeseen problem.

I encourage you to read the report here.

I hope, as you read, that you notice a few things.  First, it is unlikely that anyone ever imagined that this specific event could occur, so there is no single plan of how to respond.  

Second, notice the coordinated response.  Congregations were told of the need by a Disciples congregation at the epicenter (communication, including knowing who to call), they collected supplies (like a mission or "hands on" offering) and got volunteers to transport the supplies (like a sign up sheet on the bulletin board), and they worked with a larger organization, the West Virginia Council of Churches, to better coordinate the effort (because this religious organization has experience responding to emergencies around the state).

Through their activities as church, these congregations had prepared (more than they knew) for a situation like this.  Like them, so are we.  Still, I encourage you to imagine -- if this happened nearby, how would you respond?  What should Eastgate do?

The Reminder of Lent

I recently read an online reflection about what the season of Lent offers us each year.  (In the middle of it, I actually chuckled about how Lent creates space in our lives -- in the church, Lent tends to be a season of extra activity.)  While the piece starts slowly, it grabbed me with one fantastic paragraph:

It's a sobering thought: the way I live my life can diminish not only my humanity but the humanity of people around me.  Being honest about the fact is not just important or "a good thing to do."  It is critical if I want to make a break with the past -- to renegotiate the story I am living about what makes up a good life.

The article by Tim Keel, who is Senior Pastor of Jacob's Well Church in Kansas City, probably focuses too much on the act of giving things up for Lent (as you have probably noticed, I tend to focus more on spiritual formation and teaching than fasting during Lent, though both have ancient roots).  But I greatly appreciate, especially as we are talking about seeing our faith journey from the bondage of sin to the Kingdom of God in a way that parallels the Exodus of the Hebrews, this clear statement about the truths we have to see in our own lives in order to be open to the change that God has in store for us.

What in our lives is getting in our way?  What is distracting us?  How are we creating roadblocks on our pilgrims' journeys?  What can we learn, in this time and place, to improve this?

The Growth of Christianity in China

Over the past 60 years, most Christians have feared for those who try to practice the Christian faith in Communist China.  Conventional wisdom, often justified, is that such Christians have been repressed, if not persecuted, by the Chinese government.

Recent evidence shows a more vibrant Christianity taking root in China.  A well regarded recent book, Redeemed by Fire: The Rise of Popular Christianity in China by Prof. Xi Lian (recently announced to join the faculty of Duke Divinity School this summer), shows how Christianity has grown in the past century.  The greatest increase seems to have come after Western missionaries were expelled from the country and local Chinese people began adopting and adapting Christianity.

While I imagine that few people will want to read a 350 page academic history book, many might be interested in a short online interview with Xi Lian about the current state of Christianity in China, where he believes at least 50 million people are Christians.  You can read the interview here.

Letting Jesus' Boyhood Teach Us About the Incarnation

Having now completed the 12 Days of Christmas, we move to the brief moment in the church calendar when we remember Jesus' life between infancy and adulthood.  In some ways, it's hard not to make the jump, given that there is only one brief story in the Bible about Jesus during his boyhood -- the story of Jesus discussing things with religious teachers in the Temple.

But remembering these several years in Jesus' life, with a bit of our own childlike curiosity, can remind us of the Jesus humanity and the completeness of the incarnation.  Ed Moore, an ordained Methodist minister, asks an illuminating question in a recent article, "Did Jesus Wear His Halo to School?"

How might you ask this 6-year-old's question?  Maybe even more important, how might you ask the 6-year-old's question?  What was Jesus -- flesh and blood Jesus -- really like when he was a child, and how can we better understand God through Jesus' humanity?

Vitality in Multiple Interests and Passions

Recently, I've noticed an increasing amount of concern about burnout among pastors, at least in the magazine articles, blog posts, and other random items that come across my desk or through my email inbox.  Recent evidence suggests that roughly half of those who enter the ministry leave within the first seven years, which has alarmed many.  More than this, though, among those who remain in the ministry well past seven years there is a general feeling that being a minister is tougher today than it was a generation ago because of increasingly unrealistic expectations for clergy and ever increasing financial challenges.

While I'm not convinced that all of the conventional wisdom is correct, I do appreciate the increased attention to the issue of clergy burnout because it relates directly to clergy vitality.  I am interested in considering what types of activities, education, and approaches that are evident in the lives of pastors with vibrant ministries -- which is the opposite of burnout.

I came across an article written by Rev. Cynthia Lindner, an ordained Disciples minister who now serves as the Director of Ministry Studies at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago -- a position she began while I was still completing my degree there.  She has done some research into this issue,  probably because it directly impacts how divinity schools and seminaries should be training and preparing ministers.  In her interviews with several successful and well-regarded pastors, she found a single common thread in their experiences, which she terms "multiple-mindedness."

If this seems like an overly academic term, it probably is.  (This, I must confess, is an all-too-frequent habit among University of Chicago types -- the pursuit of precise wording can cloud the issue for many people.)  In general, Cynthia found that the successful ministers she interviewed were interested and engaged by a variety of things in their lives, and this seemed to allow them to be more flexible and adaptive through the ebbs and flows of ministry.

As I was reading it, I agreed, and also believed that this is true of most successful and satisfied people, whatever career they choose.  People with singular focus are frequently frustrated in their lives, particularly when challenges arise, regardless of their education, career choice, or income level.    Cynthia hints that the church may have a role in encouraging and valuing such "multiplicity" in our communities, by encouraging non-ministers to find roles in the church that tap into different parts of their personalities than their jobs or family responsibilities.

What do you think?  What makes for a vibrant, meaningful, fulfilling life -- not simply for ministers, but for anyone?  Is there great value in multiple passions and interests, or is this a way of shortchanging the importance of focus and persistence?  And if there is something here, how should it influence the life of a congregation?

The Meaning of Holy Days

Rosh Hashanah, which marks the Jewish new year, begins at sundown this Sunday.  This is the beginning of two high holy days in Judaism that occur in a ten day period near the beginning of the autumn season -- the second is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

I was reminded of the Jewish calendar a couple of weeks ago in a "Faith Walk" column in The Kansas City Star.  The essay, "Yearning for High Holidays' Renewal," is a wonderful personal statement of how important holidays can be for us.  The writer, Mike Goodman, explains some of the expectations -- and the hopes -- that he has for these observances this year, partially due to some challenges and griefs this summer.

We each bring expectations to the holidays -- looking forward to spending time with family and friends, having a chance to be off work or out of school, enjoying large meals, giving and receiving presents.  Sometimes these expectations are met; sometimes not.  But I think we get the most out of holidays when we set our expectations aside and just try to be open to the special celebration itself.

Goodman explains his appreciation of this with regard to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, describing how the worship becomes meaningful for him: "The standing and sitting and standing and sitting and mumbling through songs and prayers is one thing, but actually declaring the prayers and exposing yourself raw to them is the true gift of Yom Kippur."

I found great hope and comfort in Goodman's honest reflections.  If you didn't see the column in the paper a couple of weeks ago, I hope you take this opportunity to read it.

Unconventional Worship?

Over the summer, I've thought a lot about a congregation as a community.  What does that mean for us?  What should it mean for us?  In particular, I've been thinking these past several months about a general hunger in our culture for community, which I've noticed as a prominent theme in popular television shows and movies over the past couple of years.

Imagine my surprise when I read about "Worship at the Water," a Sunday morning church service held at an ocean-front bar on the Alabama/Florida state line.  While it sounds like a typical honky tonk bar, in a very untypical and beautiful setting, on Sunday mornings an average of 450 people gather to worship God.

Perhaps it was the informal dress that caught my eye -- I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Rick Warren, who preaches in comfortable (and usually loud) Hawaiian shirts.  At Worship at the Water there is a pastor who wears shorts, a t-shirt, sandals, and Mardi Gras beads to lead the service, which sounds like an even better Sunday morning dress code.

But beyond that -- though we should not discount the real appeal of being able to go to a worship service wearing laidback clothes -- I wonder what we can learn about this approach to worship.  Perhaps it is a flash in the pan, but any new congregation that attracts 1100 people for Easter is probably doing some things right.  More than a few people probably attend the service on a lark -- church in a bar? -- but most of these people come back because they want to -- not because their parents or their spouse drags them, not to look good, not because they always have.

The first Christians to gather in churches came together on Sundays, which was a challenge.  They had to get up even earlier for morning prayers and then they gathered after a long work day for a communal meal.  They made the effort because they wanted to.  They wanted to be with each other, and they wanted to worship God together.  Sometimes I feel like congregations live up to this, but more often it seems that we gather because we think we're supposed to meet on Sunday mornings, not because we really want to.  And, even if we really do want to go to church, we usually apologize to others about our participation, so that they don't think we're one of those wacko religious zealots.

What if we were proud of our religious communities?  What if we didn't apologize?  What if we really wanted to be there on Sunday mornings?  Maybe the unconventional setting has allowed Worship on the Water at the Flora-Bama bar to answer those questions so strongly, but I think that we can too, in our own place and in our own way.

Rev. Josef Walker to be Honored for Interfaith Work

This morning I came across this story from The Kansas City Star about one of my ministerial colleagues, who is close to the heart of several in the Eastgate community.  Rev. Josef Walker, who currently is serving as interim minister at Westwood Christian Church, was previously the pastor of Ridgeview.  On Saturday, he will be honored by the Crescent Peace Society, a local Muslim organization, for his ecumenical and interfaith work.

You can read the article here, but you can also read Joe's full responses to four important questions about interfaith work here.

This is important work for our community and our church.  We live in a culture with many religions and we can either choose to withdraw and keep to "our own" or we can interact with our neighbors.  It is harder to go outside of our comfort zones, but in the end, the relationships that are built across the many things that can divide us -- including religious differences -- strengthen our neighborhoods, our schools, our workplaces, and our churches. 

And, lest someone start insisting that Christians have an obligation to stand up for the one true faith, I would simply point out that Jesus not only said, "I am the way, the truth, and the light...", he also taught and served in an interfaith environment -- sometimes in ways that scandalized "proper" Jews. 

Stewardship Beyond Our Lifetimes

Churches, and church folk, are notoriously tight-lipped about money matters.  This makes the annual attempt to solicit pledges for the upcoming year, in order to plan a congregational budget, an exercise that most people try to avoid.  Most pastors grudgingly give one sermon a year about money, usually apologetically, and then avoid all mentions of money the rest of the year.

Personally, I am trying to learn how to talk about money in a more helpful way in the church, though I know that I have a long way to go because I usually would like to avoid the subject too.  However, our collective reluctance to talk about money means that we do not always think about money in a religious way.

This is most obvious in how many of us choose to prepare for the distribution of our assets and property after our deaths.  Many people avoid thinking about this at all, and never prepare any sort of will, leaving their close family members to deal with it (or even the government).  But a small bit of preparation can see to it that we can give gifts to those people and organizations we value after our death.

Our very own area representative to the Christian Church Foundation, Kirby Gould, has recorded a couple of short videos that can help church members think about how they might give an estate gift to their congregation or other ministry.  If you have never thought about planning, or if you've never thought about your faith when you've made such estate plans, I encourage you to watch these videos.

Given retirement accounts and the value of real estate, most people have a larger estate than they realize, even when they are young.  It is never too early to take a little bit of time and expense to have an attorney draw up a basic will.  And, when you do, don't forget to include those organizations that you have supported with your time and gifts during your life, including the church.

Church as Safe Space

Sometime in the coming months, I am planning a sermon series around community building in churches.  Right now, certain ideas and images are rattling around my mind; eventually I will try to put them together in some sort of coherent and (hopefully) helpful way.  But I imagine that will be sometime next spring.

In the meantime, I've come across an article that touches on one important piece of building a loving and supportive Christian community -- creating a safe place for people to ask hard questions and share real doubts, including doubts about God.  While this article focuses on trying to reach out to young adults (and what congregation doesn't want to do that!), I think that it is generally applicable to all ages.

In particular, I love the professor's answer to the real question of whether the church does more harm than good in the world.  What if we looked beyond Sunday morning congregations to the outreach organizations -- hospitals, schools, service groups -- that Christians have organized and continue to support?  Where would our world be without those?

But if we're to share such answers to tough questions with people who have serious doubts or anxieties about the church, we must create a space where such questions can safely be asked and where such answers can truly be heard.

Into Your Hands...

Each Sunday -- in fact, each time we worship -- we celebrate the Lord's Supper.  Sometimes, as on Ash Wednesday, we come forward to take communion; more often, we stay in our seats as the deacons pass trays with pieces of bread and small cups.

If you're like me, you focus on the eating and drinking during Communion.  After all, Jesus directed his disciples in the Upper Room to "Take, eat" and "Drink of this, all of you."

But before the bread and the cup reach our lips, it first passes through our hands.  An Episcopal priest recently spent a sabbatical focused on the use of our hands in the holy sacrament of communion.  She traveled to various Episcopal parishes and took photographs of people receiving the bread into their hands -- in Episcopal practice, congregants come forward, kneel, and the communion wafer is placed into their hands.  After worship, she asked the people she photographed, "What is the most important thing you do with your hands?"

We Christians, who have been taught that we are 'the hands and feet of Christ,' each week take bread and cup representing Christ's body and blood into those same hands.  This makes me wonder: How do I use my hands the rest of the time?

If the sacrament usually reminds us, by eating, to remember whence comes the food that sustains us, it can also remind us, by taking it into our hands, to remember that we are entrusted by God to handle holy things and, by extension, to do holy things in Christ's name.

Taking Ash Wednesday to the Street

A week ago, we began the season of Lent with Ash Wednesday.  During my meditation, I told a story about how a newscaster in Britain forgot about the holiday a few years ago when reporting on Vice President Joe Biden, a practicing Catholic, and wondered what caused the dark spot on his forehead.

A Methodist church in Washington DC attempted to address the challenge of helping people remember Ash Wednesday.  They met morning commuters outside a Metro station and offered ashes to them on their way into the city.  The weekly PBS show Religion and Ethics Newsweekly did a short piece on this unique way to observe the holiday over the weekend, which you can watch here.

While I'm always excited when Christians think outside the box, I worry that there's something missing here.  Part of Ash Wednesday is receiving ashes on one's forehead, but the more important part is the act of confession -- the ashes are an outward sign of an inward act.  Of course, you could argue that receiving ashes on the street will encourage some to confess that otherwise might not have.

Speaking of reminders -- don't forget Eastgate's Wednesday night Lenten prayer service tonight at 6:30.

Social Media for Non-Profits -- Maybe Even Churches

Last week, an article in Faith and Leadership, an online publication from Duke Divinity School, detailed how established non-profit organizations are beginning to use social media like Facebook.  The title of the article is a challenge to any congregation: "No more excuses: Nonprofits give social media a try."

No church is mentioned in the article, which focuses on the recent experiences of organizations like the American Humane Society.  However, the opportunities presented to congregations by Facebook and YouTube, in addition to blogs like this one, are at least as great as those to national non-profit organizations.

For starters, they offer an opportunity to build our community outside of a weekly worship service.  Social media, though it cannot replace face-to-face interaction, can allow us to connect at any time, wherever we are.  If the church cannot overturn the "on-demand" culture we now face, we can adapt so that we are not overwhelmed by the demands it places on our schedules.  Social media allows promising opportunities in this regard.

In the short term, Eastgate's new media will be focused on this pastor's blog.  In time, we will explore other resources that may strengthen our community of faith, including other social media.

Atoning for the Sins of the Fathers

In a recent blog post, my friend and colleague Maggie Sebastian describes conversation she had with a man who, upon learning that she was a Christian chaplain, defensively and strongly said, "I am not a Christian."  She then recounts an all-too-common occurrence, someone who has been hurt by the church.

As we look to the future of our congregation and of Christ's church, we must admit that many people have felt hurt by a church they found to be judgmental, exclusive, petty, unloving, and inhospitable.  Some have been harmed so greatly that they refuse to have anything to do with churches and Christianity.

Listening to this man's story, Maggie raised important questions for any congregation seeking to bring healing to the nations:

I felt sadness at his obvious pain. I felt angry that people proclaiming Christ could be so . . . so . . . so what? So unaware? So spiteful? So hurt themselves that they have to hurt others to feel good? What is it?

As we look toward our annual journey to the cross this Lenten season, it is important to admit our part in causing such pain.  Sometimes we have been too judgmental, too petty, too unloving.  Sometimes we have tried to keep the love of Christ all to ourselves, thinking others unworthy of it.

Also, though, we must atone for the sins of others.  This is a part of the meaning of 'the sins of the fathers being visited even unto the third and fourth generation': the hurt that sin causes does not quickly go away, but can last for decades and even be passed on to others -- as bigotry, prejudice, and intolerance.  If we do not admit these mistakes, as a church, we will miss the opportunity to reach through Christ's love many who desperately need it.

As we look to share Christ with others, we must recognize that many become defensive when the subject of faith arises.  Perhaps they are anxious because they just don't know what they should think about God.  Often, however, they think they know "how Christians are," and they are just waiting for us to condemn them, to make fun of them, to belittle them, to dishonor them.  Such defensiveness can only be overcome through the sharing of Christ's love many times, through prayer and graciousness.

The Church and New Media

In the past decade, communication has changed drastically.  Email and cell phone usage has skyrocketed, while new means of connecting have emerged.  The Internet has given us blogs (like this one), social media (Facebook, Twitter), video chat (Skype), and countless other avenues.  Combine this with texting and smartphones, and there are more applications to be explored.

How should the church view this communications revolution?  Union Theological Seminary has created the New Media Project, headed by Verity Jones (former editor of DisciplesWorld magazine), to explore these issues theologically.  After a few months, Jones offers this article about what they've learned so far and what they are continuing to study.

Personally, I think that many of these forms of communication offer congregations and the broader church important opportunities to connect across time and distance in relatively inexpensive ways.  With practice, these communications can help to make communities stronger.  (Unlike some others, though, I have reservations about the prospect of religious communities that are exclusively online.  I think there is an important part of our faith that is lived out when we are physically together.)

"From Chaos to Blessing to Mission"

What do we face in 2012?  Some people, looking at the Mayan calendar, are awaiting the end of the world.  Others, looking at the political calendar, see a huge argument about the future brewing in the upcoming presidential election.  Still others look at their personal calendars, with upcoming weddings and graduations, and stacks of bills to pay by certain dates each month.

If we are honest, we know that many people are worried about this upcoming year.  There's talk of gas prices about to skyrocket, continued uncertainty about financial markets and real estate values, and anxiety about finding new jobs or even just holding on to the ones we already have.

Jesus never struggled to pay a mortgage, lived through a presidential campaign, or much cared about the Mayan calendar.  So it may be easy to think that our faith has little to say about the times in which we live and the fears that keep us up at night.

Rev. Sharon Watkins, the General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), has recently published a letter to the church about facing the upcoming year with hope and purpose.  Against the backdrop of disaster and anxiety, she finds meaning in the story of Christ's baptism.  Drawing on a long heritage of Scripture in which water represents chaos, she argues that through our baptisms we follow Christ into the chaos of the world, but like him we emerge with a divine blessing and a call to reach out to others.

As Sharon writes,

Jesus goes through the watery chaos, comes out again to receive a blessing from God and heads into his ministry.

The good news still involves that same progression – from chaos to blessing to mission.

In troubled times, it is easy to become discouraged.  It is also easy to only focus on our own well-being, leaving other people to fend for themselves.  Let us be reminded that this is not God's way -- it is not the teaching of the Gospel.  Instead, we are to face the troubles and allow God to use us as a gracious blessing to others in times like these.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Yesterday the wider church began the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.  This annual observance, strongly supported by the World Council of Churches and many Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox communions, encourages Christians to pray that our divisions may be overcome and we may be all in one in Christ.  This prayer for unity is similar to a prayer Jesus himself prayed for his followers, which is recorded in John 17.

This year's theme for the eight days of prayer is "We will all be changed by the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ" (explored by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:51-58).  The World Council of Churches has produced a lengthy brochure with materials for celebrating the Week of Christian Unity, including daily readings, reflections, and prayers.  [These may be found on pages 17-26 of the brochure.]  These daily offerings remind us of the ways that we are changed through our faith in Christ.

I recommend that you take this as a reminder to pray for healing within the church.  Too often we are defined by our differences and our disagreements, rather than being united through Christ's love.  More than we should, we let petty arguments prevent us from joining hands in prayer and service, and we refuse to accept and cherish Christ's gift, through grace, that sinners may join together in his name and, contrary to the injustice and inequality of the world, become fully brothers and sisters.

What Should a Church Look Like?

Yesterday, I came across a blog entry that speaks to some of the same issues I am raising in the first two parts of our current sermon series "Quo Vadimus: Where Are We Going?"  Another pastor writes about how many congregations misconstrue who they are by comparing themselves to unrealistic expectations -- this too, is a huge challenge for the present church.  As we imagine who we can be, we need to make sure that our what we are striving for is actually healthy.

You can read about "Barbie Doll Churches" here.  It raises a serious question in a funny way: What does a beautiful church look like?

Learning the Motions

I came across this essay from a Methodist pastor and author, Jason Byassee, who for several years was an associate editor for The Christian Century.  In "The Right Gesture," he looks back on a mistake he made in not publicly thanking a specific individual for their role in organizing and leading the cook team in preparing a communal Thanksgiving meal.  In some ways, this is understandable -- he didn't know that the minister was expected to offer this specific thanks before the meal, so he was actually in another meeting and planned to come to the meal late.

Ministers, like other public leaders, are frequently called upon to publicly thank volunteers, church officers, or others.  So, in some ways, this is a reflection that speaks strongly to pastors.  But I think that the basic point, about how we should learn to better approach each other with gestures of humility, love, and thanksgiving is applicable to all disciples of Jesus Christ.