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Re Doing Church, November
The insights and learnings afforded our denomination from this article are too significant to be left unaddressed. This year in my own presbytery we will see the closure of the seventh congregation during my time of ministry here. More significantly, five of those will have taken place in the last six years. The time has come for us to take a hard and realistic look at the future faced by a multitude of congregations within our denomination. Many of the factors to be addressed have been evident to those of us who have been working with the Leadership Roundtable (profiled in the April 2009 issue) over the past year. These include:
• Motivation for change coming from financial necessity rather than a passion for ministry. Rev. Geoffrey Howard is perceptive in his assessment that efforts arising from this base are doomed for failure.
• A contentment with the way things currently are even though the future appears doubtful. Elder Jan Clapp is one of a growing number of lay leadership disheartened by the reticence of individuals to “rock the boat.”
• A reluctance to make spiritual issues a foremost part of the challenge. Kudos to Clapp who has identified this as a front burner issue.
• Buildings, their contents and perhaps even more the independence of congregations are held on to much too tightly.
• Overdependence on ministers. As Deb Stenabaugh notes, “We still all believe the minister is a leader.” Research repeatedly indicates that approximately 92 per cent of all ministers do not believe they have the gift of leadership. Ironically, they frequently stand in the way of releasing many gifted lay leaders who have large measures of leadership capability.
• The need to embrace a new model of ministry that goes beyond simply taking care of the sheep already in the fold.
• A willingness to go in the direction of change knowing that losses will occur. As Rev. Neal Mathers notes, the decision of three congregations to amalgamate brought with it some loss of membership. The research of William Bridges of the University of Michigan causes him to conclude that organizations these days face one of two choices – slow death or deep change. Nowhere is that more evident than in the congregations of our denomination.
• A serious examination of the significant role lay ministry could play in the revitalization of some congregations. Too often congregations, having employed part-time lay ministry find themselves much more content than during times of full-time clergy oversight. If we are to utilize lay ministry effectively we must raise the standards for both training and the support provided by congregations for this.
I am uncertain as to whether or not this article will resonate with significant numbers of our people – let alone leadership in our denomination – but I wanted to encourage you to be relentless in keeping the matter front and centre.
