If you read the teachings of Jesus and observe what the Gospels claim that he actually did, you must conclude that he lived a radical life. This conclusion appears especially evident when you stop to compare his lifestyle and expressed values with the ordinary, run of the mill U. S. Christian.
Luke 4:16ff reports on an early speech that Jesus delivered in the synagogue in his hometown. Many consider these words the basis of his first sermon. During that address, Jesus outlined his understanding of his personal mission in life. It is quite the litany, especially when compared to the apparent mission understandings of most churches and most church members these days.
Here's the mission statement Jesus shared with the crowd who gathered in the Nazareth house of prayer:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
I've been pondering during the past few days how the church has rewritten that mission statement in America. Here's what I believe is an accurate mission statement for many congregations in the mainstream church today and for typical members of such congregations:
"The requirements of common sense are forced upon me to bring a word of direction to the disaffected middle-class materialists among whom I live and with whom I identify so strongly. God has sent me to proclaim release to those imprisoned in unsatisfying relationships and held captive by basic negative self-images; to unlock the chains of self-imposed limits and open every eye to the possibilities bound up in a life lived to the full, to set free slaves to unrestrained debt by means of creative 'work outs' and to proclaim the year of infinite possibilities, especially for our children."
I'm certain that there are other ways to rewrite the mission. But this one will have to do for today.
There is a reason why most churches don't act as if they share Jesus' concern for the poor, the impoverished, the economically distressed, as in "po folks."
There is a reason why most churches don't reach out to the prisoners, those locked up in need of compassion, love, mercy and liberation.
There is a reason why the church is not positioned near the blind, and by implication the unhealthy, the uninsured and the cast offs of our culture.
There is a reason why most church members don't know what the "year of the Lord's favor" is all about; why they don't really know what the Year of Jubilee involved or why Jesus embraced it as his defining mandate for his entire life.
It's all about mission and self-understanding; purpose and reason to exist.
Of course, there are exceptions to my critique. You easily can prove up the fact that your church falls into the exceptional category. Just check this year's budget.
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Showing posts with label missional churches. Show all posts
Showing posts with label missional churches. Show all posts
Friday, November 13, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Managing change for progress
In spite of the impressions given by a handful of mega-churches, congregations all over America are in decline. That is the verdict of all of the reliable research.
While I typically don't give this sort of data much thought, I've had an experience that stretches over three years now that has been very instructive.
About this time three years ago, I received a call from the Garnett Church of Christ in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The leaders there told me that they were trying to design a plan to manage the changes occurring in their congregation. They invited me to come up for a day of conversation. I suggested that I bring John Greenan, the Executive Director of the Central Dallas Community Development Corporation along for the day. They readily agreed.
Forty years ago, the church had been on the "cutting edge" of church growth. Under the leadership of a dynamic minister, and thanks to a very successful strategic plan for outreach, Garnett grew to have thousands of members.
But, things and times changed, so that by the 1990s the church experienced sharp decline in numbers, funding and morale. By 2006, the church was down to about 500 members with others continuing to leave its membership. And, the church did not seem to be successful in attracting new members, a problem most churches experience today.
The day John and I spent with a group of the church's leaders turned out to be fairly remarkable. To be frank, I don't think I've ever seen a group of people more frustrated, concerned or depressed. We sat in a very large mall area outside a very large sanctuary (and there was much talk about how to use or change the huge space which proved a real "downer" on Sundays due to the relatively small crowd in attendance). We formed a discussion circle. Twenty minutes into the conversation I noticed that everyone seemed to speak in hushed tones, much like in a funeral parlor. Defeat tried hard to define the discussion.
Of course, we were outsiders without the history, the recent conflict or the responsibility for planning, debt or programming, so we didn't' feel the same as our hosts. Our advantage was that we didn't know what they knew. We didn't have their experience, a real advantage, especially for our thought processes.
We talked.
We toured.
We watched.
We listened a lot.
At the end of the day, we offered two suggestions.
First, we advised that the church should form a separate non-profit organization. The church would then deed to the new organization all of its assets and liabilities. Next, the church could lease back from the non-profit only the space it needed for its smaller present operations. The non-profit could then create a community service oriented, meeting center business to further reduce debt while bringing life back to the property.
Second, we looked outside the building to the church's 35 acres of undeveloped property. We urged the group to consider using the property for the development of senior housing and/or mixed-income housing along with a possible mixed-use component. In addition to being able to gain some profit, a new community could be built up all around the church property and all sorts of ministry efforts could be brought to the new development.
The ideas seemed a bit, well, "out there." but we left feeling we had given it our best shot. Still, I noticed that by the end of the day the volume had cranked up. Clearly, the group was out of the funeral mood!
Last Saturday and Sunday, I returned to the church to receive an update from the leaders and to see what had happened.
I was blown away!
The church formed a legal limited partnership resulting in the creation of the Green Country Event Center. The place was a beehive of activity! On Saturday evening, I witnessed the wedding ceremony of an Hispanic couple attended by over 200 guests. That same evening, a large group of Pakistani women, all Muslim, gathered in traditional dress for a bridal reception with all of their traditions in play. In the auditorium a church conference had been going on since the previous Thursday. The facility's large commercial kitchen houses a new catering business operated by one of the church's members and provides meals for the groups who need them.
Earlier that day I toured the entire facility and noted that various organizations now leased offices and ran community education, child care, counseling and faith services from the once quiet buildings. And, the center is profitable, allowing the church to retire its debt as it plans for even better days.
Possibly, most important of all, the new event center signals to the entire Tulsa community that the Garnett Church is there for everyone. The center is quickly becoming a major, community crossroads for the entire city. The church finds itself ministering and serving on a daily basis and new folks are showing up to join in the new found significance.
During my weekend, we talked about housing development as the next step. I'll be happy to return in another year or two to see what else has happened for the good.
Here's a church responding to changing circumstances with creativity, effectiveness and an incredibly welcoming heart for everyone in Tulsa.
Church as hospitality center and gathering place. . .now there is a novel idea!
.
While I typically don't give this sort of data much thought, I've had an experience that stretches over three years now that has been very instructive.
About this time three years ago, I received a call from the Garnett Church of Christ in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The leaders there told me that they were trying to design a plan to manage the changes occurring in their congregation. They invited me to come up for a day of conversation. I suggested that I bring John Greenan, the Executive Director of the Central Dallas Community Development Corporation along for the day. They readily agreed.
Forty years ago, the church had been on the "cutting edge" of church growth. Under the leadership of a dynamic minister, and thanks to a very successful strategic plan for outreach, Garnett grew to have thousands of members.
But, things and times changed, so that by the 1990s the church experienced sharp decline in numbers, funding and morale. By 2006, the church was down to about 500 members with others continuing to leave its membership. And, the church did not seem to be successful in attracting new members, a problem most churches experience today.
The day John and I spent with a group of the church's leaders turned out to be fairly remarkable. To be frank, I don't think I've ever seen a group of people more frustrated, concerned or depressed. We sat in a very large mall area outside a very large sanctuary (and there was much talk about how to use or change the huge space which proved a real "downer" on Sundays due to the relatively small crowd in attendance). We formed a discussion circle. Twenty minutes into the conversation I noticed that everyone seemed to speak in hushed tones, much like in a funeral parlor. Defeat tried hard to define the discussion.
Of course, we were outsiders without the history, the recent conflict or the responsibility for planning, debt or programming, so we didn't' feel the same as our hosts. Our advantage was that we didn't know what they knew. We didn't have their experience, a real advantage, especially for our thought processes.
We talked.
We toured.
We watched.
We listened a lot.
At the end of the day, we offered two suggestions.
First, we advised that the church should form a separate non-profit organization. The church would then deed to the new organization all of its assets and liabilities. Next, the church could lease back from the non-profit only the space it needed for its smaller present operations. The non-profit could then create a community service oriented, meeting center business to further reduce debt while bringing life back to the property.
Second, we looked outside the building to the church's 35 acres of undeveloped property. We urged the group to consider using the property for the development of senior housing and/or mixed-income housing along with a possible mixed-use component. In addition to being able to gain some profit, a new community could be built up all around the church property and all sorts of ministry efforts could be brought to the new development.
The ideas seemed a bit, well, "out there." but we left feeling we had given it our best shot. Still, I noticed that by the end of the day the volume had cranked up. Clearly, the group was out of the funeral mood!
Last Saturday and Sunday, I returned to the church to receive an update from the leaders and to see what had happened.
I was blown away!
The church formed a legal limited partnership resulting in the creation of the Green Country Event Center. The place was a beehive of activity! On Saturday evening, I witnessed the wedding ceremony of an Hispanic couple attended by over 200 guests. That same evening, a large group of Pakistani women, all Muslim, gathered in traditional dress for a bridal reception with all of their traditions in play. In the auditorium a church conference had been going on since the previous Thursday. The facility's large commercial kitchen houses a new catering business operated by one of the church's members and provides meals for the groups who need them.
Earlier that day I toured the entire facility and noted that various organizations now leased offices and ran community education, child care, counseling and faith services from the once quiet buildings. And, the center is profitable, allowing the church to retire its debt as it plans for even better days.
Possibly, most important of all, the new event center signals to the entire Tulsa community that the Garnett Church is there for everyone. The center is quickly becoming a major, community crossroads for the entire city. The church finds itself ministering and serving on a daily basis and new folks are showing up to join in the new found significance.
During my weekend, we talked about housing development as the next step. I'll be happy to return in another year or two to see what else has happened for the good.
Here's a church responding to changing circumstances with creativity, effectiveness and an incredibly welcoming heart for everyone in Tulsa.
Church as hospitality center and gathering place. . .now there is a novel idea!
.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Can they come?
Several weeks ago, back in the summer, I received the following message from a young pastor who leads a new, young church in an undisclosed urban area.
He wants to lead his congregation in reaching out to the poor. He really wants his group to be committed to engaging the realities of urban poverty, including homelessness and extreme poverty.
He's finding that his vision and good intentions may not be enough to pull it off.
Here's the email exchange we shared. His comments are in italics, my embedded replies to his original message are in bold red font.
I need some counsel. As we’ve started to cultivate relationships with our poor friends, several of them have expressed the desire to participate in our house church gatherings. On one occasion, a couple of them have. Way cool!
We’re delighted that we’re rubbing shoulders with the poor in this way. But it’s messy. Ain't it the truth! If you keep it up, it'll get messier than it is now. . .kingdom does that. . .wears you out too!
I feel tension about it: 1) on one hand, our primary demographic is young adults in the . . . area; I’m concerned about our ability to connect to them in a house church gathering setting if more and more of our poor friends continue to come. Maybe the Lord has a different demographic that is being imposed or has come to challenge you. . .I am serious about that and understand your fear and trembling. . .the fact that you have the "problem" makes you and your current enterprise exceptional in a Shane Claiborne, et. al. sort of way. . . 2) at the same time, I’m thrilled that we have poor friends! It would not feel just or righteous telling Cindy, one of our homeless friends, “You can’t come to house church anymore.” It just doesn’t seem right. Never abandon your heart on this one.
How would you approach this? I 'd let whoever wanted to come, come. I think you'll find that the "non-Christians" among you (what exactly is that anyway????) would be impressed. I'd (you asked for my opinion!) want those looking for a church to know and understand up front our commitment to the poor.
Options we’ve considered: 1) start a house church for our poor neighbors; I wouldn't do this--class segregation is no different from racial segregation, plus reading James helps. . . . And Paul had a thing or two to say about the nature of the church and the poor. . .not that Paul answers all the questions! 2) continue to have our poor friends mingle with our young adult friends in a house church setting; I've found this works, especially if you address it together. 3) propose to our poor friends a weekly meal/hang out time where we can continue to cultivate relationships instead of in the house church setting, relationship. To what end? Friends who aren't good enough to be on the inside, but good enough to hang out with so as to make us feel as if we are doing Kingdom work. . .??? Middle class folks and educated folks too often operate under the notion that control is what we need. Usually, God doesn't work much in such situations.
If you’re able to respond through email, that would be great. Coffee would be even better. I know you’re a busy man. We see this as a significant strategic decision in our community and want to listen to as many wise voices as we can. Francis Shaeffer, not my favorite thinker, wrote a book 30 years ago or so--The Church at the End of the 20th Century--in which he said something like: the church needs the poor more than the poor need the church; the church needs the poor to sleep between its pressed, washed, starched sheets. It is about the kingdom, not about "decisions for Christ."
Let me know. Thanks. Feel free to take that "Thanks" back. ..but you asked! I wish I had time for coffee on the run, but if you want to meet me email. . . Love you guys!
Larry
He wants to lead his congregation in reaching out to the poor. He really wants his group to be committed to engaging the realities of urban poverty, including homelessness and extreme poverty.
He's finding that his vision and good intentions may not be enough to pull it off.
Here's the email exchange we shared. His comments are in italics, my embedded replies to his original message are in bold red font.
__________________________________
I need some counsel. As we’ve started to cultivate relationships with our poor friends, several of them have expressed the desire to participate in our house church gatherings. On one occasion, a couple of them have. Way cool!
We’re delighted that we’re rubbing shoulders with the poor in this way. But it’s messy. Ain't it the truth! If you keep it up, it'll get messier than it is now. . .kingdom does that. . .wears you out too!
I feel tension about it: 1) on one hand, our primary demographic is young adults in the . . . area; I’m concerned about our ability to connect to them in a house church gathering setting if more and more of our poor friends continue to come. Maybe the Lord has a different demographic that is being imposed or has come to challenge you. . .I am serious about that and understand your fear and trembling. . .the fact that you have the "problem" makes you and your current enterprise exceptional in a Shane Claiborne, et. al. sort of way. . . 2) at the same time, I’m thrilled that we have poor friends! It would not feel just or righteous telling Cindy, one of our homeless friends, “You can’t come to house church anymore.” It just doesn’t seem right. Never abandon your heart on this one.
How would you approach this? I 'd let whoever wanted to come, come. I think you'll find that the "non-Christians" among you (what exactly is that anyway????) would be impressed. I'd (you asked for my opinion!) want those looking for a church to know and understand up front our commitment to the poor.
Options we’ve considered: 1) start a house church for our poor neighbors; I wouldn't do this--class segregation is no different from racial segregation, plus reading James helps. . . . And Paul had a thing or two to say about the nature of the church and the poor. . .not that Paul answers all the questions! 2) continue to have our poor friends mingle with our young adult friends in a house church setting; I've found this works, especially if you address it together. 3) propose to our poor friends a weekly meal/hang out time where we can continue to cultivate relationships instead of in the house church setting, relationship. To what end? Friends who aren't good enough to be on the inside, but good enough to hang out with so as to make us feel as if we are doing Kingdom work. . .??? Middle class folks and educated folks too often operate under the notion that control is what we need. Usually, God doesn't work much in such situations.
If you’re able to respond through email, that would be great. Coffee would be even better. I know you’re a busy man. We see this as a significant strategic decision in our community and want to listen to as many wise voices as we can. Francis Shaeffer, not my favorite thinker, wrote a book 30 years ago or so--The Church at the End of the 20th Century--in which he said something like: the church needs the poor more than the poor need the church; the church needs the poor to sleep between its pressed, washed, starched sheets. It is about the kingdom, not about "decisions for Christ."
Let me know. Thanks. Feel free to take that "Thanks" back. ..but you asked! I wish I had time for coffee on the run, but if you want to meet me email. . . Love you guys!
Larry
_________________________________
I really don't think there is an acceptable, effective "middle ground" here.
What do you think?
.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Wild idea follow-up. . .Monkey Survey
Help me out.
Follow this link to a Monkey Survey about new ways of "doing church" and connection to the inner city.
Spend two minutes on the survey. It will really help me out!
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=ucHpqg1dtL6K9GqmJ1ICWw_3d_3d
Thanks!
.
Follow this link to a Monkey Survey about new ways of "doing church" and connection to the inner city.
Spend two minutes on the survey. It will really help me out!
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=ucHpqg1dtL6K9GqmJ1ICWw_3d_3d
Thanks!
.
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