I wonder if I am the only one, or if other Presbyterians are fully aware of the gradual shift that is being made in the resource people and support services that are being made available to us by the Life and Mission Agency, a shift that threatens to be so dramatic that it will refocus the entire ministry and mission of the Presbyterian Church in Canada?
Ever since the boards of Congregational Life, World Mission and Ministry were replaced by the Life and Mission Agency in a wholesale restructuring of national support services in the early 1990s, there has been a gradual collapse of people and services available to the local church to support local congregational development, Christian formation and education, and worship and evangelism.
A couple of years ago, the two positions of associate secretaries in the areas of Christian education and worship/evangelism were merged into one position of associate secretary for the Vine; this was a new office, augmented with some gifted volunteers, which promised to take care of most requests for help in finding resources for most of the above concerns. After the first secretary moved on, a new and very capable secretary was appointed just this year. But there were fewer trained, skilled and experienced personnel available in the field.
Now we are told the associate secretary position for Canada Ministries will also be merged (upon the retirement of the incumbent next year) with the Vine into a new, yet unnamed position that will include the concerns for which the Vine previously offered leadership.
Meanwhile, the associate secretary positions for Ministry and Church Vocations, Communications, Justice Ministries, with its added emphasis on healing and reconciliation with our aboriginal neighbours, International Ministries, Stewardship, Planned Giving, and Presbyterian World Service and Development will remain.
True, we are promised “top-notch” staff for the new and improved “church resources” position, but the fact remains: there will be fewer and fewer boots on the ground to offer local presbyteries and congregations the leadership and resources needed to deal with the challenges of being the church in the 21st century.
This is happening even as regional synod support staff, who used to pick up some of the slack in these areas, are also being cut back or eliminated entirely because of reduced financial resources.
Who will assist the Life and Mission Agency in thinking about and planning for any meaningful national church advancement or development? Who will meet with our presbyteries and congregations to jointly assess where our dwindling resources might best be placed in assisting declining ministries or starting new ones? Who will help local congregations consider any and all of the essential services that may affect their church health (or lack of it), and suggest the best resources available for them to move to better or new levels of faithful work and witness?
While one can sympathize with the need to prune our resources according to actual financial realities, and one can give national leaders credit for doing the best they can in making difficult choices, it remains to be seen how effectively this latest reorganization (and cutback) of staff will actually help the delivery of critically needed, effective service to local presbyteries and congregations.
Further, I wonder whether this shift in focus – with more and more of our resources remaining now dedicated to supporting national social justice initiatives and/or to building up Presbyterians Sharing and PWS&D – will point the church in the direction it needs to go in these challenging years before us.
Some of us, at least, would say that to pay less and less attention to the hand that feeds you, and to building up its resources, is really counter-productive. For after all, the only church is the local church, established and built up in Jesus Christ; the so-called “national church” only exists because enough local congregations wish to continue banding together and supporting each other in ministry and mission. When essential support for these local congregations dwindles and dies, support for Presbyterians Sharing and PWS&D may also die.
I know the Life and Mission Agency has consulted among its membership and with the Assembly Council in making these decisions, and these include my friends, but are they aware of the direction in which these moves are taking us? Perhaps they are, but are we content with these decisions?
We in BC do not get our Presbyterian Records until later in the month. Boohoo, Canada Post!
I am interested in any feedback, please.
Hans
[Reply]
To the Rev. Hans Kouwenberg
I appreciate the concerns and comments you made in the December 2010 issue of the Presbyerian Record. You are clearly concerned about the future direction of the PCC.
You make some very interesting comments and pose many interesting questions. Your final comment and question is of special interest to me.
Quote; “I know the Life and Mission Agency has consulted among its membership and with the Assembly Council in making these decisions, and these include my friends, but are they aware of the direction in which these moves are taking us? Perhaps they are, but are we content with these decisions? Unquote.
I feel there is agreement that the PCC is in serious membership decline and that adjustments are needed in an effort to compensate for reduced financial resources. At the same time we need to provide extra financial and human resources in an effort to help rejuvenate our church.
What recommendations do you have for how the PCC should best deal with the dichotomy of having substantially reduced finances available,(because of declining numbers) while needing increased financial and human resources to help our congregations and Presbyteries be revitalize, grow, and better serve God and congregations and communities they serve?
I would think the LMA would be very happy to consider any constructive ideas you might have to offer in this regard.
Bill Ashby
Ruling Elder Coldwater Ontario
The Presbyterian Church in Canada
[Reply]
Dr. Hans Kouwenberg Reply:
January 6th, 2011 at 5:58 pm
Thanks for your comments, Bill, which I realize were posted a while ago and have just been drawn to my attention by Andrew Faiz. I’m not “on-line” checking things out as often as I should be! Here are some additional thoughts.
While I’m a big supporter of all of the work of The Presbyterian Church in Canada — after all, it has provided me and my family with a wonderful church home and with many opportunities for local, regional and national service — you will see that I have a special passion for the development of the local church.
Thus I believe, if finances at the national level are declining, why not balance the appointment of staff for church development issues with the provision and deployment of staff for social and justice issues?
Even more, if we have no real strategy (as I think is the case) for building up the church and increasing its membership, then perhaps we need to rethink where we marshall our resources and “bulk up” where the need is greatest. Maybe we need more, not less people dedicated at 50 Wynford Drive to praying and planning how we might “reach the next generation for Christ.” (Do we even know enough about who and what this generation wants and needs? I speak as one of the last survivors of the “veteran generation” — i.e., I was born in 1945! — and I am well aware that my perceptions are limited and my days are numbered.)
I really believe that the LMA needs to take the decline of church attendance (without speaking of membership) more seriously. An extensive report prepared and presented to the Assembly by Jim Czegledi, then an Associate Secretary of the LMA, some years ago on this very topic received scant attention and virtually no discussion. Why? Could the LMA not have highlighted it and arranged for a more prolonged consideration? Why didn’t that didn’t happen? I believe that the LMA needs to do far more thinking and planning about ways and means to make a difference to this trend. Any business worth its salt takes a hard look at the direction the graphs are trending and it will attempt to think about how the slide may be reversed, or they’re toast. I know at least one Christian denomination in BC that has done that — all new church plants must “seeker sensitive.” Also in Abbotsford, where I minister, there are any number of new, innovative ways of doing church — ranging all the way from liturgical, traditional and contemporary expressions of the faith. Surely, there are any number of ways in which we can do that while still retaining our preferred “ancient-contemporary” (Robert Webber) balance of worship and witness.
My experience at General Assemblies — many of which I have personally attended and of whose reports you and I can read in the “Acts and Proceedings” — is that the stories of national and international social and justice issues are frequently, and well told. What about the stories of new faith, new church, and new church development? Let the LMA make sure that more of these stories are shared with one another. And for those who may be struggling, let’s share more gifted, skilled and experienced people who can embody some of the changes we need, as well as resources that may help. (I know that the “Vine” seeks to do this — but they are truly limited in the number of people who can answer questions knowledgeably and are free to actually go out to any given congregation and or presbytery and provide tangible help.)
I know (and value) that we are a church that cares about who we are as a Reformed and Presbyterian people. Well and good. Nevertheless, let’s pay more attention to providing more resources to consider more thoroughly in what ways we can and must attract people who are spiritually hungry, even as we seek to form each other as Christians who will continue to express their faith in a Reformed and Presbyterian manner. I know it isn’t simple, and I know it cannot be simplistic. We don’t need to be “market-driven.” Just paying lip service to the word “evangelism” or coming up with a few “tricks of the trade” will not get us there. It will take constant and thorough, ground-breaking work. But, somebody needs to be tasked to do this.
Fraternally, Hans
[Reply]
To: Rev. Kouwenburg
I have read you reply to my comments about your article in the Presbyterian Record titled “A Shift In The Wind’. You clearly have given this subject considerable thought and offer some very interesting thoughts on this subject.
I agree with you on some of your thoughts and ideas and disagree with you on others. I feel this is not the type of forum for us to get into the details of our differences.
I pray that our dialogue will open a window of productive, honest and respectful dialogue by others in these matters.
There are ways in which the PCC can go forward for the greater Glory of God, while providing better service to our members and communities we serve. I feel we can achieve this through prayer, patience and respect for each other and our respective opinions, with honest open dialogue and by taking action when we come to a middle ground in our differences.
Bill Ashby
Rep. Elder Presbytery of Barrie,
St. Andrews Presbyterian Church Coldwater
[Reply]