On the weekend of September 11 and 12, our congregation hosted Rev. Ed White, a consultant with the Alban Institute. We charged him with helping us to better understand our identity and mission so that we will be able to move more confidently into the years ahead. Rev. White met with the Council and FAITH Committee from 3 to 8 pm on Saturday and with the congregation on Sunday afternoon. In general, although we expected a more interactive presentation on Saturday, and a longer time together on Sunday, we were pleased with the insights we gleaned from Rev. White’s lessons and exercises. Rev. White was optimistic about the future of our congregation.
On Monday night, following our busy weekend, the Council and FAITH Committee gain gathered to debrief and set a path for the weeks ahead. We made the following conclusions or observations about our church. In no particular order, they are:
* We need to be intentional about giving, be it weekly financial giving, planned giving, or the sharing of our time and talents.
* We were pleased with the results of the Sunday afternoon exercise with the congregation that suggested most members want us to lead a more ambitious spiritual life. One thought regarding this was that we now need to teach each other how to reach those goals.
* We heard Rev. White suggest that we worry about the wrong things. IF we focus on the spiritual matters, all of the other concerns will fall into place. i.e. If we reinforce and more regularly practice the basic spiritual disciplines (bible study, mission, stewardship, prayer, worship, etc) the church will grow in many ways. (We/I have heard this message at the church renewal seminar we attended last October in New Windsor, at the Atlanta New Church Leader Conference and again here at St. Matthew’s this weekend.)
* We should focus on one two of our strongest gifts and not try to address everything at once.
* We need to know who we are (beyond being kid and family friendly).
* Creating a host of new programs is not the answer. Adding one or two, and spiritually deepening existing programs, could very well be enough.
The practical and concrete responses could include:
* building small groups such as a day time tea and bible study, a men’s group, or bible study for dummies, to name just a few possibilities
* Try to be more visitor and seeker friendly. To do this we may have to interview visitors or new members. This is more than just being warm and welcoming, it is about using language non-church folks can understand, and not assuming that everyone has a basic understanding of the Bible and faith practices.
* As a congregation review our history, discuss norms and draw conclusions.
* Stewardship should be more deliberate but should also be a lower priority.
* Understanding that most churches, including ours, are over managed and under led, we should spend time leading. Those at the meeting feel that Council meetings could be streamlined to allow more discussion/decisions making regarding “leading.” For those unsure of the difference between managing and leading, the difference could be summed up as, “Leading” is about choosing where to go and “Managing” is about how to get there.
* Each group within the church, including the Council, should have a missional/spiritual component. We might also consider the value of the church governing model recommended in the book, “Missional Congregation” and reconsider the value of governing systems like Roberts Rules for Order.
* Review the books we were asked to read with each other.
* Use the “Unbinding the Gospel Series.;” This is a weekly adult education series that builds up the spiritual discipline of prayer.
* In time consider creating a Mission and Vision Statement.
* Make a list of people who attended the Sunday afternoon workshop.
* Involve a larger number of our members and friends.
* Review the DVD (The Five Dysfunctions of a Team) recommended by Rev. White.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Thursday AM -- Secret 5: Transformational Mission
Morning Plenary
Bishop Yvette Flunder was the opening speaker for the first half of this plenary. Her focus was “Radical Inclusivity” and she presented a 12 step model for recovery from oppressive and exclusive theologies. — It is interesting to note several of the guests speak of oppressive or exclusive theologies but then comment that the theologies and positions of the UCC, especially this particular segment of the church, are good and moving in the right direction. — I am not going to present the twelve steps here, but suffice it to say that “radical inclusivity” is more than just welcoming different colors and orientations in your worship service.
RI is about loving people who are different. The type of love we are talking about is the kind of love that is genuine, complete, and fully accepting. It allows those who are different to be honest, true, and real. They would not have to lie about or hide who they are. I respect this goal, however, my concern as I listened to the presenter was that while I felt we are all on a journey to be more loving, and that some of our “less than inclusive” practices are less about purposeful exclusion as it is about ignorance of the needs and feelings of others. I also feel that all segments of the Christian spectrum, because of human limitations, are not fully inclusive.
Tom Bracket, an Episcopal priest, offered the second half of the morning’s plenary message on Transformational Mission. His personal spiritual journey began in the Lutheran church. He was an ordained pastor, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. Following a severe beating, by four black men in NE Philly, he woke up from a coma with 20+ broken bones and found he was being cared for by a wonderfully caring black man. The event spawned a spiritual transformation that encouraged him to be a far more caring and loving Christian, whose mission was going to be far more “hands on” and focused on the blessings God bestows.
He asked questions like, “How do you smell God at work? How do you share public worship around real time encounters? And what are your theological starting places? He wants to start, not with original sin, but with original blessing? The focus of our life as Christians should be love and grace, and it should be lived out in passionate mission.
His personal faith statement is, “I live to serve Spirit in all of creation by being a powerful, loving, compassionate, courageous, playful, outrageous and provocative midwife to the Spirit’s life and joy that are longing to be birthed in this moment.”
I think the message for our church is that our high calling is to midwife God’s Spirit. It is kind of like seize the moment, free up ourselves, open our hearts, so that the Spirit can do its work and empower us to do miraculous and inspiring acts of mission within and without of our church community. Could we also say, “It is not to let opportunities to serve slip through our hands?
Morning Workshop – Radical Hospitality
The workshop was led by Geneva Butz, Associate Conference Minister in Pennsylvania Southeast Conference. Geneva works with churches very much like ours in size and make up. We began with a Bible Study about hospitality, which is a major part of mid eastern culture. We used Genesis 18:1-15, Deuteronomy 10:12-22, Luke 10:38-42, Luke 24:13-34, and Romans 12:9-21. After reading these scriptures in small groups, our observations was that the type of hospitality God expects is a gracious and grand hospitality. Hospitality is spiritual practice. Hospitality is about caring and it not only changes the guest/visit, but it also transforms those offering the hospitality. This was a big, big point. Purposeful and deliberate hospitality transforms a church.
Welcoming visitors to your church, even just your worship service, is a sacred task. It requires thought, training, and careful planning. On a practical note, and here is where having many members us helpful, greeters should be extroverts, new people to the church, people mwho like meeting new people, genuinely warm and welcoming, people who smile and people who want visitors.
She closed by suggesting that while many feel that Christianity should be comfortable, she feels this is a myth. The gospel is challenging and to live the gospel takes work and sacrifice.
Bishop Yvette Flunder was the opening speaker for the first half of this plenary. Her focus was “Radical Inclusivity” and she presented a 12 step model for recovery from oppressive and exclusive theologies. — It is interesting to note several of the guests speak of oppressive or exclusive theologies but then comment that the theologies and positions of the UCC, especially this particular segment of the church, are good and moving in the right direction. — I am not going to present the twelve steps here, but suffice it to say that “radical inclusivity” is more than just welcoming different colors and orientations in your worship service.
RI is about loving people who are different. The type of love we are talking about is the kind of love that is genuine, complete, and fully accepting. It allows those who are different to be honest, true, and real. They would not have to lie about or hide who they are. I respect this goal, however, my concern as I listened to the presenter was that while I felt we are all on a journey to be more loving, and that some of our “less than inclusive” practices are less about purposeful exclusion as it is about ignorance of the needs and feelings of others. I also feel that all segments of the Christian spectrum, because of human limitations, are not fully inclusive.
Tom Bracket, an Episcopal priest, offered the second half of the morning’s plenary message on Transformational Mission. His personal spiritual journey began in the Lutheran church. He was an ordained pastor, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. Following a severe beating, by four black men in NE Philly, he woke up from a coma with 20+ broken bones and found he was being cared for by a wonderfully caring black man. The event spawned a spiritual transformation that encouraged him to be a far more caring and loving Christian, whose mission was going to be far more “hands on” and focused on the blessings God bestows.
He asked questions like, “How do you smell God at work? How do you share public worship around real time encounters? And what are your theological starting places? He wants to start, not with original sin, but with original blessing? The focus of our life as Christians should be love and grace, and it should be lived out in passionate mission.
His personal faith statement is, “I live to serve Spirit in all of creation by being a powerful, loving, compassionate, courageous, playful, outrageous and provocative midwife to the Spirit’s life and joy that are longing to be birthed in this moment.”
I think the message for our church is that our high calling is to midwife God’s Spirit. It is kind of like seize the moment, free up ourselves, open our hearts, so that the Spirit can do its work and empower us to do miraculous and inspiring acts of mission within and without of our church community. Could we also say, “It is not to let opportunities to serve slip through our hands?
Morning Workshop – Radical Hospitality
The workshop was led by Geneva Butz, Associate Conference Minister in Pennsylvania Southeast Conference. Geneva works with churches very much like ours in size and make up. We began with a Bible Study about hospitality, which is a major part of mid eastern culture. We used Genesis 18:1-15, Deuteronomy 10:12-22, Luke 10:38-42, Luke 24:13-34, and Romans 12:9-21. After reading these scriptures in small groups, our observations was that the type of hospitality God expects is a gracious and grand hospitality. Hospitality is spiritual practice. Hospitality is about caring and it not only changes the guest/visit, but it also transforms those offering the hospitality. This was a big, big point. Purposeful and deliberate hospitality transforms a church.
Welcoming visitors to your church, even just your worship service, is a sacred task. It requires thought, training, and careful planning. On a practical note, and here is where having many members us helpful, greeters should be extroverts, new people to the church, people mwho like meeting new people, genuinely warm and welcoming, people who smile and people who want visitors.
She closed by suggesting that while many feel that Christianity should be comfortable, she feels this is a myth. The gospel is challenging and to live the gospel takes work and sacrifice.
Thursday
To Lynn: At one of the workshops, the leader polled the audience and all but one of us were from churches that had less than 150 in church on Sunday. Many of the attendees are from very small churches so, many of the follow-up questions are geared to churches more like ours.
To Sharon: Transformation is the most frequently used word/concept here. I also think the greatest message that I have heard is that the ministry of St. Matthew’s is not my ministry, but our ministry and my job should be about empowering and equipping the saints. The other comment is that although it is easier for me to “do it” whatever “it” is. It is better to invest my time in training other folks, which takes more time, rather than spending my time doing “it.” Fortunately, St. Matthew’s, more than any other church I have served, is ready and willing to accept this challenge!
Thanks for reading the blog. Dinner is recently over and the football game is about to come on, but I will try and get more summaries of the “secrets” published. BTW – the secrets for today If I don’t complete them on time were “Transformational Mission,” and “Transformational Community.”
Our opening worship today was from an emergent community. Don’t ask me what that means!
To Sharon: Transformation is the most frequently used word/concept here. I also think the greatest message that I have heard is that the ministry of St. Matthew’s is not my ministry, but our ministry and my job should be about empowering and equipping the saints. The other comment is that although it is easier for me to “do it” whatever “it” is. It is better to invest my time in training other folks, which takes more time, rather than spending my time doing “it.” Fortunately, St. Matthew’s, more than any other church I have served, is ready and willing to accept this challenge!
Thanks for reading the blog. Dinner is recently over and the football game is about to come on, but I will try and get more summaries of the “secrets” published. BTW – the secrets for today If I don’t complete them on time were “Transformational Mission,” and “Transformational Community.”
Our opening worship today was from an emergent community. Don’t ask me what that means!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Wednesday AM -- Secret #3
Secret #3 – Compelling Communication
The opening speaker of this plenary was Rev. Ben Guess of our National office in Cleveland, and he spoke of new opportunities available in communication offered by the United Church of Christ. Before getting to the list of communication opportunities he suggested that new media is creating online communities that care for each other. He also said that new media is the impetus for new reformations.
Rev. Guess then moved on to list the things that Cleveland is working on to promote communication. The list includes:
– UCC News, once in print on a monthly basis but now discontinued, is now on the UCC website.
– The UCC News is also available in a “printable design copy” for those who do not have internet access.
– Still Speaking Magazine
– Our Church is Changing Lives (also available on You Tube)
– KYeP (Keeping You Posted) is distributed every Tuesday.
– Bulletin Inserts are available for KyeP
– There is a Daily Devotional available from the UCC
– Feed Your Spirit
– Mobile Version and UCC Apps will soon be available
– Faith Practices.org is about thousands of ways for different generations to practice their faith.
– “Still Speaking Voices” are vignettes of UCC folks talking about their faith.
– UCC Facebook Page. Only the United Methodists have a larger Facebook page than the UCC!
The second speaker was Rev. Michael Piazza again, and he talked about church marketing, but suggested that if you don’t feel comfortable talking about church marketing call it evangelism! He also proposed that marketing is a way for us to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ in compelling ways to the world and people around us. He offered seven main points.
1. Marketing begins at home. This is not a helpful message for older established congregations since they most likely have already invited their friends to church. Your best bet for new visitors is most likely from your newest members. The second point of this thought is that you building/campus is your biggest billboard. It will say a lot about your congregation.
2. Consistent Persistence is vital. The repetition principle applies regardless of medium. By the time your target audience is hearing your message, your church may very well be tired of proclaiming/hearing it.
3. Tell Stories. Facts go straight to the head. Stories go straight to the heart. Tell stories in sermons, in worship, everywhere there is a message to be shared.
4. One size fits some. Consider using different methods of communications, such as visual, auditory, experiential, kinesthetic. Jesus did this too.
5. Use all your tools. Really use your website. Recognize that youth and young adults seldom read the paper. Use communication tools of the present, not past. Use the people in your congregation who know about these things!
6. Think Multi-leveled. As a pastor, don’t do it yourself. Invest your time in training someone. Spending time may be more efficient in the short term, but in the long term it is better to invest your time empowering, equipping others. This is a big point of the institute!
7. It’s about the experience. Good book – Richard Reising, Church marketing 101. Sell the experience. I.e. tell others what it would be like to visit your church. A helpful website might be www.churchmarketingsucks.com (I haven’t seen this yet)
Additional thoughts from Piazza include:
Have a web committee, don’t ask one person to do it.
Give ministries away.
Use Facebook.
One of my questions is, “Understanding that successful pastors delegate, what is the ration of actual hands on caring/ministry work vs delegating?
Secret 3 Workshop – Web presence and Social Networking
Led by David McCollough and Cameron Trimble
The primary focus of this workshop was creating good websites and the speaker’s outline can be found in the members section of www.progressiverenewal.com. It seems like a pretty comprehensive outline for a website. Remember though when building a website, seek to communicate, not only with members, but with visitors and people who are new to the neighborhood.
I find a grand paradox here. Technology, which often isolates people, is being used to connect people.
Cameron Trimble followed Mr. McCollough and took us into areas of web site management and social networking that made my head swim and made we wonder how, if ever, we could use the things she offered us, at St. Matt’s. She did suggest we use Facebook but also said that Facebook is on the way out. Stay tuned in with the kids to see what replaces it. She also mentioned social networking sites like Tweet Deck, Four Square, and Ning.
It should also be noted that as we are listening to the speakers here at the Institute, a separate computer and projector are displaying the Twitter page set up to comment on this meeting. We can actually offer comments about additional resources, words of encouragement, etc, to the online discussion and see it displayed as we listen. We are incredibly high tech here. I wonder how helpful that would be in Pleasant Valley! If oyu are interested in Tweeting with us, the meeting can found on http://twitter.com/newchurchleader. Click the Follow button.
The opening speaker of this plenary was Rev. Ben Guess of our National office in Cleveland, and he spoke of new opportunities available in communication offered by the United Church of Christ. Before getting to the list of communication opportunities he suggested that new media is creating online communities that care for each other. He also said that new media is the impetus for new reformations.
Rev. Guess then moved on to list the things that Cleveland is working on to promote communication. The list includes:
– UCC News, once in print on a monthly basis but now discontinued, is now on the UCC website.
– The UCC News is also available in a “printable design copy” for those who do not have internet access.
– Still Speaking Magazine
– Our Church is Changing Lives (also available on You Tube)
– KYeP (Keeping You Posted) is distributed every Tuesday.
– Bulletin Inserts are available for KyeP
– There is a Daily Devotional available from the UCC
– Feed Your Spirit
– Mobile Version and UCC Apps will soon be available
– Faith Practices.org is about thousands of ways for different generations to practice their faith.
– “Still Speaking Voices” are vignettes of UCC folks talking about their faith.
– UCC Facebook Page. Only the United Methodists have a larger Facebook page than the UCC!
The second speaker was Rev. Michael Piazza again, and he talked about church marketing, but suggested that if you don’t feel comfortable talking about church marketing call it evangelism! He also proposed that marketing is a way for us to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ in compelling ways to the world and people around us. He offered seven main points.
1. Marketing begins at home. This is not a helpful message for older established congregations since they most likely have already invited their friends to church. Your best bet for new visitors is most likely from your newest members. The second point of this thought is that you building/campus is your biggest billboard. It will say a lot about your congregation.
2. Consistent Persistence is vital. The repetition principle applies regardless of medium. By the time your target audience is hearing your message, your church may very well be tired of proclaiming/hearing it.
3. Tell Stories. Facts go straight to the head. Stories go straight to the heart. Tell stories in sermons, in worship, everywhere there is a message to be shared.
4. One size fits some. Consider using different methods of communications, such as visual, auditory, experiential, kinesthetic. Jesus did this too.
5. Use all your tools. Really use your website. Recognize that youth and young adults seldom read the paper. Use communication tools of the present, not past. Use the people in your congregation who know about these things!
6. Think Multi-leveled. As a pastor, don’t do it yourself. Invest your time in training someone. Spending time may be more efficient in the short term, but in the long term it is better to invest your time empowering, equipping others. This is a big point of the institute!
7. It’s about the experience. Good book – Richard Reising, Church marketing 101. Sell the experience. I.e. tell others what it would be like to visit your church. A helpful website might be www.churchmarketingsucks.com (I haven’t seen this yet)
Additional thoughts from Piazza include:
Have a web committee, don’t ask one person to do it.
Give ministries away.
Use Facebook.
One of my questions is, “Understanding that successful pastors delegate, what is the ration of actual hands on caring/ministry work vs delegating?
Secret 3 Workshop – Web presence and Social Networking
Led by David McCollough and Cameron Trimble
The primary focus of this workshop was creating good websites and the speaker’s outline can be found in the members section of www.progressiverenewal.com. It seems like a pretty comprehensive outline for a website. Remember though when building a website, seek to communicate, not only with members, but with visitors and people who are new to the neighborhood.
I find a grand paradox here. Technology, which often isolates people, is being used to connect people.
Cameron Trimble followed Mr. McCollough and took us into areas of web site management and social networking that made my head swim and made we wonder how, if ever, we could use the things she offered us, at St. Matt’s. She did suggest we use Facebook but also said that Facebook is on the way out. Stay tuned in with the kids to see what replaces it. She also mentioned social networking sites like Tweet Deck, Four Square, and Ning.
It should also be noted that as we are listening to the speakers here at the Institute, a separate computer and projector are displaying the Twitter page set up to comment on this meeting. We can actually offer comments about additional resources, words of encouragement, etc, to the online discussion and see it displayed as we listen. We are incredibly high tech here. I wonder how helpful that would be in Pleasant Valley! If oyu are interested in Tweeting with us, the meeting can found on http://twitter.com/newchurchleader. Click the Follow button.
Wednesday -- Post #1
I probably should have said the Institute is also called the Seven Secrets. As of Wednesday night we have been through four of the seven secrets. They are:
1 Asset Mapping
2 Strategic Vision
3 Compelling Communication
4 Administration or Ad-ministry-tion
Last night I shared with you what I learned about Asset Mapping but did not have time to report about Secret Two. Since it is fresh in my head, I will try to share with you my thoughts on the Third and Fourth “Secrets.”
But before I do that, I would share with you a couple of comments about the Institute in general. First of all, most of the speakers are very successful pastors who have succeeded in numerically growing several churches. That they are successful is good, but for our purposes it may be a drawback, because they are used to working with a large church. While they began with very limited numbers in the pews, their growth allowed them to use techniques that have limited use in pastoral size churches, like ours. The churches we have learned about are almost exclusively very liberal churches that serve a very liberal population — that is people who have not been traditionally welcomed in other churches. These churches have grown because they served a very specific “niche” market. (I think I spelled it correctly.). This may limit, but not eliminate, the value of the Institute for me and St. Matthew’s.
Another limitation of the Institute is that many, but not all, of the lessons taught have been born out of new church starts or almost dead churches, that were essentially “rebuilt” with a new congregation. Few examples or speakers have dealt with medium size churches recovering from a trauma or inaction.
The Wednesday morning worship was led by Rev. Piazza and he called it, “Worship in a Box.” Rev. Piazza, formerly of Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, now plants churches across the country, among other things, which means he travels throughout the week and flies in Sunday am or pm to lead worship. Frequently there is no bulletin and he simply plugs his flash drive into a computer and projector and leads the worship that is presented, music and all, on the flash drive. This morning’s worship theme was putting trust in God. Rev. Susan Mitchell, the preacher, compared her experiences on a high ropes confidence course where she had to lean back and catch a rope, to “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.” She is an engaging preacher with a well crafted sermon.
1 Asset Mapping
2 Strategic Vision
3 Compelling Communication
4 Administration or Ad-ministry-tion
Last night I shared with you what I learned about Asset Mapping but did not have time to report about Secret Two. Since it is fresh in my head, I will try to share with you my thoughts on the Third and Fourth “Secrets.”
But before I do that, I would share with you a couple of comments about the Institute in general. First of all, most of the speakers are very successful pastors who have succeeded in numerically growing several churches. That they are successful is good, but for our purposes it may be a drawback, because they are used to working with a large church. While they began with very limited numbers in the pews, their growth allowed them to use techniques that have limited use in pastoral size churches, like ours. The churches we have learned about are almost exclusively very liberal churches that serve a very liberal population — that is people who have not been traditionally welcomed in other churches. These churches have grown because they served a very specific “niche” market. (I think I spelled it correctly.). This may limit, but not eliminate, the value of the Institute for me and St. Matthew’s.
Another limitation of the Institute is that many, but not all, of the lessons taught have been born out of new church starts or almost dead churches, that were essentially “rebuilt” with a new congregation. Few examples or speakers have dealt with medium size churches recovering from a trauma or inaction.
The Wednesday morning worship was led by Rev. Piazza and he called it, “Worship in a Box.” Rev. Piazza, formerly of Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, now plants churches across the country, among other things, which means he travels throughout the week and flies in Sunday am or pm to lead worship. Frequently there is no bulletin and he simply plugs his flash drive into a computer and projector and leads the worship that is presented, music and all, on the flash drive. This morning’s worship theme was putting trust in God. Rev. Susan Mitchell, the preacher, compared her experiences on a high ropes confidence course where she had to lean back and catch a rope, to “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.” She is an engaging preacher with a well crafted sermon.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Tuesday AM -- Plenary and Workshop #1
Today began with worship. The scripture was Roman 12:1-2 and Acts 1:3-5. The preacher opened her sermon with the opening scene from the movie “Chocolate.” She said it began with people worshiping in a rural French church when the wind blows open the main door and the most pious man in the church gets up and closes the door quieting the forceful wind. The sermon and worship service challenged us to consider how we, or whether we, allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives and in our churches.
Plenary #1 – Asset Mapping
The first speaker was Rev. Dwight Andrews, the pastor of First Congregational UCC here in Atlanta. Rev. Andrews is a gifted musician who opened his message with a saxophone solo and proceeded to distinguish between spirituals and blues. He grew up as black congregationalist who was taught that while spirituals were okay, blues and jazz were not for faithful people. More recently he has reconciled the two and realizes that his musical gifts are not inconsistent with faith and we should bring our whole self to God.
His point was that we should understand our selves and our gifts. As a part of knowing who we are, we are also called to understand the why’s of our life, especially why are we here? (what is the gospel) What is our purpose mission? And what is the brokeness in our lives? We should also know the gifts of the people:
He summed up his message with this:
1) Get to know the gifts of the people within your midst
2) Know yourself (your call and your gifts)
3) The church is the future of the community
Two noteworthy comments I heard were:
* Don’t get discouraged or tired. The world needs us more than ever.
* Amidst all of the foolishness of church life, you need to be clear about your call. Be guided by Jesus.
The second speaker was Rev. Amanda McCullough, pastor of Church Without Walls in Wilmington, NC. She is an expert on Appreciative Inquiry.
AI, as she called it, is a method of problem solving used in organizations that focuses on the positive experiences and desires of the community/company/organization. She suggested that we could find out much more about AI by Googling Appreciative Inquiry. After listening to her for an hour or so, I think she is right. However, my observation is that AI is to corporate problem solving, as Rev. David Young’s (last October at the Brethren Center) system of church/faith revitalization is to church renewal. It is a problem solving method that focuses on the positive side of life in order to improve the less than positive things.
Workshop #1 – Church Renewal 101
This workshop was presented by Rev. Michael Piazza. Rev. Piazza has grown several churches across the south, including the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, Texas. This church is the largest UCC church in the south and by far the largest liberal church in Texas.
Rev. Piazza made four big points. Keep in mind this event is sponsored by the Center for Progressive Renewal.
Point 1 – (As liberal Christians) We must be vocal about our beliefs and values. We must not be defined by others and we must not allow our beliefs to be devalued by others.
Point 2 – We must be enthusiastic about transformational worship. This means we must move our worship from the head to the heart. Worship is meant to be an encounter with the living God. Our last Plenary will expand on this point.
Point 3 – We must be faithful in practicing (traditional/historic) Christian practices. Under this point he suggested that religion is not bad, countering the comment by many contemporary folk that they are spiritual but not religious. Historic Christian practices connect us and have meaning.
Point 4 – We must be devoted to serving, not to being served. He expanded on this by saying that worship should be designed for those who need God and not those who already have God (ie those paying the bills). The business of a church is to change people. The purpose of a corporation is satisfy people. Churches that get it backwards die.
As for the scary nature of change and “older” members, he suggested that the older members be respected and given permission to keep their faith and beliefs (given permission not to change) but those same people be asked for permission for the church to change.
It is getting late and I am getting tired. I will try to share the second Plenary Session with you in the am.
Plenary #1 – Asset Mapping
The first speaker was Rev. Dwight Andrews, the pastor of First Congregational UCC here in Atlanta. Rev. Andrews is a gifted musician who opened his message with a saxophone solo and proceeded to distinguish between spirituals and blues. He grew up as black congregationalist who was taught that while spirituals were okay, blues and jazz were not for faithful people. More recently he has reconciled the two and realizes that his musical gifts are not inconsistent with faith and we should bring our whole self to God.
His point was that we should understand our selves and our gifts. As a part of knowing who we are, we are also called to understand the why’s of our life, especially why are we here? (what is the gospel) What is our purpose mission? And what is the brokeness in our lives? We should also know the gifts of the people:
He summed up his message with this:
1) Get to know the gifts of the people within your midst
2) Know yourself (your call and your gifts)
3) The church is the future of the community
Two noteworthy comments I heard were:
* Don’t get discouraged or tired. The world needs us more than ever.
* Amidst all of the foolishness of church life, you need to be clear about your call. Be guided by Jesus.
The second speaker was Rev. Amanda McCullough, pastor of Church Without Walls in Wilmington, NC. She is an expert on Appreciative Inquiry.
AI, as she called it, is a method of problem solving used in organizations that focuses on the positive experiences and desires of the community/company/organization. She suggested that we could find out much more about AI by Googling Appreciative Inquiry. After listening to her for an hour or so, I think she is right. However, my observation is that AI is to corporate problem solving, as Rev. David Young’s (last October at the Brethren Center) system of church/faith revitalization is to church renewal. It is a problem solving method that focuses on the positive side of life in order to improve the less than positive things.
Workshop #1 – Church Renewal 101
This workshop was presented by Rev. Michael Piazza. Rev. Piazza has grown several churches across the south, including the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, Texas. This church is the largest UCC church in the south and by far the largest liberal church in Texas.
Rev. Piazza made four big points. Keep in mind this event is sponsored by the Center for Progressive Renewal.
Point 1 – (As liberal Christians) We must be vocal about our beliefs and values. We must not be defined by others and we must not allow our beliefs to be devalued by others.
Point 2 – We must be enthusiastic about transformational worship. This means we must move our worship from the head to the heart. Worship is meant to be an encounter with the living God. Our last Plenary will expand on this point.
Point 3 – We must be faithful in practicing (traditional/historic) Christian practices. Under this point he suggested that religion is not bad, countering the comment by many contemporary folk that they are spiritual but not religious. Historic Christian practices connect us and have meaning.
Point 4 – We must be devoted to serving, not to being served. He expanded on this by saying that worship should be designed for those who need God and not those who already have God (ie those paying the bills). The business of a church is to change people. The purpose of a corporation is satisfy people. Churches that get it backwards die.
As for the scary nature of change and “older” members, he suggested that the older members be respected and given permission to keep their faith and beliefs (given permission not to change) but those same people be asked for permission for the church to change.
It is getting late and I am getting tired. I will try to share the second Plenary Session with you in the am.
Monday, August 9, 2010
In Atlanta . . .
Greetings,
I arrived in Atlanta earlier today and this evening I have begun meeting with the other participants in the Conference. There are about 160 participants here from across the country. I have met a few folk I know including, the new interim pastor at Zion Perry Hall (my father’s church) and Elizabeth Colton, a former member of New Ark UCC and interim pastor who served the Chesapeake Association a few years ago. I believe she even visited St. Matthew’s a time or two.
This Institute was previously sponsored by the national offices of the UCC and focused only on new church starts. Within the last year the Center for Progressive Renewal, headquartered in, and drawing on the work of the Southern Conference, was created and church revitalization has been added to the curriculum here.
Our first gathering tonight was primarily just a get to know you session and the real work begins tomorrow morning.
Also FYI –
There have been two major developments at Lancaster Theological Seminary in the last few days. President Riese Potterveld is leaving to become President of Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, my alma mater, for a three year term. A press release from PSR is reprinted below. At the same time the chair of Lancaster's Board had to step down due to serious health concerns. CAC's own Dr. Anna Johnson Winegar, was named the new chair of the Board this weekend. Anna would welcome your suggestions regarding candidates to be Interim President at LTS. She can be reached at annajwinegar@aol.com. Anna is a member of Grace UCC in Frederick and the Conference Board of Directors.
I arrived in Atlanta earlier today and this evening I have begun meeting with the other participants in the Conference. There are about 160 participants here from across the country. I have met a few folk I know including, the new interim pastor at Zion Perry Hall (my father’s church) and Elizabeth Colton, a former member of New Ark UCC and interim pastor who served the Chesapeake Association a few years ago. I believe she even visited St. Matthew’s a time or two.
This Institute was previously sponsored by the national offices of the UCC and focused only on new church starts. Within the last year the Center for Progressive Renewal, headquartered in, and drawing on the work of the Southern Conference, was created and church revitalization has been added to the curriculum here.
Our first gathering tonight was primarily just a get to know you session and the real work begins tomorrow morning.
Also FYI –
There have been two major developments at Lancaster Theological Seminary in the last few days. President Riese Potterveld is leaving to become President of Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, my alma mater, for a three year term. A press release from PSR is reprinted below. At the same time the chair of Lancaster's Board had to step down due to serious health concerns. CAC's own Dr. Anna Johnson Winegar, was named the new chair of the Board this weekend. Anna would welcome your suggestions regarding candidates to be Interim President at LTS. She can be reached at annajwinegar@aol.com. Anna is a member of Grace UCC in Frederick and the Conference Board of Directors.
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