Jan at A Church for Starving Artists asked a really interesting question (she tends to do that!):
I’m trying to teach missional discipleship [the idea that the church does not exist for its own benefit, but as a place where people are equipped to be sent into the world as Christ’s disciples]. And yet . . . we have specific needs within our congregation that will basically . . . serve our congregation, at least in the beginning.
For example: leaders for the children, liturgists, head usher, small group leaders. The kind of stuff that a church that doesn’t understand itself as missional would still need.
This really got me thinking and pinballing all over the place, and I started to comment but my comment got too long and diffuse. Rather than clutter up her place with it, I’ll clutter mine. I’ll be taking a presbytery training over the next year on leading congregations through transformation and change, so these things have been on my mind…
First, I hear the struggle. If they’ve heard you preach missional discipleship, and now you need to make this effort to call people to leadership in the “traditional” roles, people might be lulled into thinking, “Whew, thank God she got that kooky missional stuff out of her system! Now let’s just get back to doing what we always have done.”
Many of us at Suburban Pres. have been talking about the program church, and how programs are not ends in themselves, but means to an end (deeper discipleship, service to others). And people are starting to get it. But I also worry that people are nodding politely, and then getting back to the administration of their programs, driven by bigger-better-faster. We are a program-sized church, after all.
So we try to call them ministries instead of programs. Which on the one hand is window dressing. On the other hand, language is important. I guess that’s a part of the ongoing training and equipping that we do, to help our practice reflect our language—walking the talk. We don’t use the R-word anymore (recruitment), since we are not the Armed Forces. We call people to ministry.
I remember a story Mike Murray told about a training he did with city workers in Austin who fixed the city streets. He asked them at the beginning of the day, “What do you all do?”
They answered, “We fix potholes.”
They continued on with their training and team building and soon they began to answer the question differently. “We make the street level and smooth.”
And by the end of the day: “We help drivers have a safe commute so they can get home safely to their loved ones.”
So for example, ushers need to get from “We hand out the bulletins” to “We reflect the welcome and hospitality of Christ toward friend and stranger alike.” It is a training issue.
I am reading a book on church transformation right now (yes, I broke the summer-long fast on churchy books) called Direct Hit by Paul Borden. He makes the argument that good communication is the single most important component in leading a church through transformation and growth. You can never miss an opportunity to stay “on message.” Which is good news for me, since communication is a strength, but also bad news, because I get paranoid about boring people with redundant information. (On the other hand, someone said to me last week: “Wow, there’s a writing group at the church?” Aaaaaaagh. We’ve only been publicizing it for 6 months…)
Finally (finally!), it seems to me, that part of doing this work is trusting that God will use the efforts even if there are people in your church who never ever ever (ever!) get the missional thing. Doing the right thing for the wrong reasons. Remember that story from My Grandfather’s Blessings? Little Rachel Remen learns the eight levels of giving according to Maimonides and says to her grandfather, “I will only do it the right way.” Her grandfather responds, “Yes, but what if everyone gave at the lowest level of giving (e.g. only when asked, only when the need was made obvious, only when the giver would be recognized and thanked)? If we all gave in this manner, would there be more or less suffering in the world than there is now?” Rachel is forced to concede that there would be less suffering, and writes, “It is better to bless life badly than not to bless it at all.”
This goes back to intentions, which is a topic that’s come up here before. But I think this idea is true for the church. Some people will never “get it,” whatever “it” is, and sometimes those “people” are us! But maybe in blessing life badly, someone will receive the healing or grace that they need.
Anyway Jan, thanks for giving me a chance to think about all this!
(Photo and “caption” are hers)
9 Responses to “a comment that got too long”
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I agree language is powerful. Before I came on staff, the church changed all “committees” to “work areas,” thinking committees meet, while work areas get things accomplished. I can’t say it had a positive impact. I would have preferred “ministry,” or perhaps “mission area.”
Thanks for the pothole story, btw.
I think that one of the problems is that at the heart of it all, worship is probably the most important thing we do. It is the unique thing that the Christian church has to offer. But most people think of worship as “for us” (you know, meeting our needs) rather than either for God, or, for the sake of the world (not simply “worship evangelism”, but worship that is a sign to the world of the Kingdom….and that flows out to service & discipleship to the world
Now THIS comment is getting too long…
But you are getting me started thinking…
-So for example, ushers need to get from “We hand out the bulletins”
to “We reflect the welcome and hospitality of Christ toward friend and
stranger alike.” It is a training issue-
RM, it is a training issue indeed, but I really, really think it is mostly an experience issue. We move from our traditional understanding of church and ministry to a missional understanding of ministry when we ourselves are transformed through real-life, relational experiences (love, forgiveness, anger, apathy, suffering, hope). And that transformation is an ongoing process which happens through the “traditional roles” of ministry (leaders, liturgists, ushers, etc.) and more importanly in relationship with each other and God together.
We cannot be transformed without being in a community. Ministry and all its programs, among other things, provides a community for people to flesh out their humanity and dare to move from “handing out bulletins” to being Christ incarnate through the hospitality of welcoming someone in worship”.
And then when we are able to see God’s face in each other in the church, then we are able to see God’s face in stranger and friend alike beyond the church. And that is transformation.
Yet even as I write this I find I cannot find the right words to say what I am thinking and I wonder if I have ever even understood what it means to be a missional church.
No Kelley, that is a very good point. And really, all we can do as church leaders is try to create a space where people can have that relational experience. But we cannot force it, and all the training in the world won’t get someone to a place where they just aren’t.
Exactly. We cannot force change but only provide a safe place to be loved and experience relationship. One reason I am so excited about the upcoming all church retreat is because you and your ministry team have created an all inclusive, please-come-be-part-of-a-family feel for the retreat. I sincerely anticipate that members of our church will grow closer to each other and to God because we will spend REAL time together laughing, resting, hiking, etc. And I sincerely hope that this experience will change each of us just enough (or more) to be kinder to a stranger, be more patient in big city traffic, forgive another who angers us, love more unconditionally, etc.
The question that kept running through my mind last night after reading your post was “Is the church, our beloved church, (ie the whole church not just suburban church) RELEVANT to the “outside” watching world? Are we living transformative love in our church?
This post has really got me thinking. My comments are definitely getting too long! Thanks for the thoughts.
Thanks for this great response to Jan’s thought-provoking question. I especially like the “pothole” example. I will be sharing this here where I serve.
on the ushering thing, i think it’s a “calling” issue and those who have the gift of hospitality are those who should always have the opportunity to usher, greet, etc. if there are others who might like to usher and greet or be needed to usher and greet, pair them w/ a person who is called to this ministry. hospitality is best caught, not taught.
Great food for thought. Thanks, RM - and all.
I have read and heard Paul Borden. He is very interesting, and very directive, but these times call for hard things to be said. I like our answers. I think we are all struggling with these issues.