The Listening Ear

Reflections On The Issues That Face Us—Part 8

As we approach the time when our congregation will probably make a decision, I have a sense of peace about the matter. I believe that the facility needs team and the church council have done the best job they can to explain why they have come to the conclusion that this is the best way for us to move forward. As pastor of this congregation, I have tried to share my thoughts on the issues before us.

Now I am ready to commit the matter into God’s hands, believing that God will lead and guide us. I hope that each person in our congregation will make every effort to be open to God’s guidance in this matter and will support whatever decision the congregation makes. I am trying my best to follow that course. Its what you should be able to expect of me as your pastor.

Reflections On The Issues That Face Us—Part 7

In this discussion about what is the best way to provide better facilities for our ministry I think some have missed the fact that they resolution that the congregation is asked to consider calls for us to “move forward with our ministries” as well as to pursue the recommendation of a establishing a dual site. My hope is that whatever happens with the dual site proposal, that we can be united in a commitment to move forward in our ministries beginning now.

What might that entail? I’ve given some thought to that and have presented some ideas for the church council to discuss. My hope is that such discussion can make these ideas even better. The bottom line for me is to keep moving forward with ministry even as we hammer out a good solution to our space problems.

Here’s the plan I’d like us to consider:

1. Establish third worship service to increase our worship attendance. The church council is authorized to hire whatever musicians and other staff that are needed to support this new service.

2. Establish the position of volunteer coordinator that would work at least 10 hours a week to facilitate the recruitment of volunteers to help with ministries in and beyond the congregation.

3. Establish the position of Children’s Minister that would work at least 20 hours a week to further expand our ministry to children and their families through establishment of a childrens’ church, a week day program of children’s ministry and by working with the Sunday school and Vacation Bible School ministries.

4. Authorize the church council to select one room in the church that will serve as a shared office for these staff members and to equip it for their use.

5. Authorize the church council and the stewardship team to seek special gifts to the St. Paul Lutheran Renewal Fund to provide funds needed move forward with these new and expanded ministries. During the next three years, the council will monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of these additions to staff and if they proved effective, the council will gradually include the funds needed to support these staff positions in annual budget of the congregation.

This is a place for us to start. I am open to any ways to make this better. What I hope that we can do is to choose ways to move forward in ministry.

Reflections On The Issues That Face Us—Part 6

In his book Leadership Without Easy Answers Ronald Heifetz make a distinction between two types of problems that face individuals and organizations. He maintains that it is important for us to understand the difference between technical and adaptive challenges.

A technical challenge is one where we understand the problem and we know what to do or where to go to get what we need to meet that challenge. For instance, if we have a leaky pipe, we know what to do. Some know how to fix it themselves and others simply call the plumber. But we know what the problem is and what the solution is. We don’t have to do any new learning.

In contrast to a technical problem, an adaptive challenge is one where the problem is definable, but the solution needs to be discovered. It’s not readily apparent. Heifetz goes on to say there are those adaptive challenges where even the definition of the problem isn’t clear cut and technical fixes aren’t available.

When individuals and organizations face an adaptive challenge, they often try to employ a technical solution. They try to use something they already know rather than looking for new understandings and exploring new options. Such a short-term fix has long-term consequences.

The challenges that churches face today, are often adaptive challenges. The world is changing and we need to adapt to those changes. The Gospel, itself, doesn’t change, but the ways that we communicate the Gospel message and carry out our ministry need to change to fit the current and future situation. Those consequences are usually costly in the end.

The question that currently faces our congregation is an adaptive challenge. The issue is what do we need to do to keep growing in our ministry. Even those who favor the dual site recommendation don’t yet have all the answers. They simply believe that this recommendation is the way for us to proceed. Many of the details still need to be worked out, but they believe that the way to move forward is clear.

We must also recognize that the proposal isn’t simply about refitting an older building or constructing something new. It is about moving forward with our ministries even before any building and remodeling take place. Tomorrow I suggest some ways that we could advance our ministry even before we hammer any nails or dig any dirt.

Reflections On The Issues That Face Us—Part 5

Yesterday, I described the grief that some in our congregation will feel if our congregation decides to house new ministries in our present building and to build a new worship center on a new site. Even though this recommendation is made as a way to enhance our congregation’s overall ministry, some in our congregation will still experience its adoption as a sacrifice.

Nevertheless, there are many who will experience grief and sadness if we don’t embrace this opportunity to move forward in a significant way. If we don’t adopt the two-site proposal, many in the congregation believe that we will have missed an opportunity to expand our ministry in the way that makes the most sense to them.

Those who favor the dual site option have a vision for the future of our ministry. They see some great new uses for our present building. It will be a place filled with children who will benefit from extended daycare and before and after school care. It will be a place where seniors can gather and where service ministries like the quilters can be carried out. It will be a place where youth will have more room for fifth quarters and other larger youth activities. And it will continue to provide space for confirmation ministry.

And there is great vision for ministries that will take place at the new site at the edge of town. Those who favor the dual site recommendation see a worship center that will be a visible symbol of our congregation’s ministry in the community, seen by all folks who pass by it every day. They envision a worship center that is completely handicapped accessible, that has room for choirs and musicians, and has a large gathering area to welcome all who come to worship. They see more office space to accommodate our church staff. They see a site that has plenty of parking and abundant room for further expansion when the need arises. It will provide space for adult small groups to meet.

If this vision for the future is not embraced by our congregation, there are many among us who will be sad because they believe that whatever is substituted in its place will be a 2nd best alternative. They are afraid our congregation won’t address all the needs that have been identified and we will limit our options and our ability for future growth.

If the vision that the recommendation of the facility needs team and the church council represents is not adopted, there are many who will mourn the loss of that vision. They wonder what will take its place. What is the vision for the future that those who have opposed the recommendation have in mind? That’s a good question for all of us to think about.

Reflections On The Issues That Face Us—Part 4

I believe that the reason change has been brewing among us for 20 years or more is that God is calling us to make these changes for the sake of ministry. For us to reach out to the surrounding community and for us to continue to grow the ministries that God has given us to do, we need more space, space that is configured differently, space that will allow us to carry out ministry differently than we did in the past.

God is opening so many doors for us. We see this in our expanding ministry to children, especially at the preschool. We see it in a vibrant and growing youth ministry. And I think we see it in the many ways that our ministry can continue to expand through the recommended dual site plan.

The church building is a tool for ministry. There comes a time when we must reshape the tools that have served us well in the past and also to take up a new tool that will serve our ministry in the future. Our congregation has had the courage to do that in the past and was blessed by embracing that change. I believe that as we move forward with change now, our ministry will once again be blessed.

As we move on, we need to acknowledge the sadness some will feel when we make this change. There is a sacrifice they are being asked to make for the sake of our congregation’s ministry. We need to communicate God’s message of hope that in spite of the loss they feel, God is still working to move the ministry of our congregation forward in a way that pleases God

Tomorrow I want to talk about the grief that some will feel if the congregation does not approve the dual site proposal. That needs to be acknowledged as well.

Reflections On The Issues That Face Us—Part 3

One story that comes to mind as I reflect on the decision we face regarding our facilities is the conversation Jesus has with the Samaritan woman in the fourth chapter of the Gospel of John. At one point the conversation turns to worship. The woman notes that her people, the Samaritans claim that Mt. Gerizim is the proper place of worship, whereas Jews regard Jerusalem with its Temple as the only place to worship.

Jesus gives the woman a new perspective on things. He says that the time is coming and now has arrived when people will worship in neither place. True worshippers will worship in spirit and in truth.

I take that to mean that even though a site, a specific sanctuary can enhance and enrich worship, the most important aspect of worship is that it be ‘in spirit and in truth.’

It is very evident that the Temple in Jerusalem was the center for Jewish worship. If there were ever a structure that functioned as an icon, the Temple was it. When the high priest entered the Holy of Holies, there was a sense that he entered the throne room of God. Heaven and earth intersected there.

It’s no wonder then, that there are many Jews who mourn the loss of the Temple even to this day. We should not discount their grief.

Yet the time came when God decided to do a new thing. Instead of focusing worship on a place, God shifted the focus to a person, to Jesus. Jesus is the truth (he says this!) because in Jesus God is truly revealed to humans. And it is through the power of the Spirit that we come to see and believe in Christ as God’s revelation. Worship in Spirit and truth means that our worship centers on what the God revealed in Christ has done for us. It focuses on Jesus.

So the question is whether the time has come that God wants to do a new thing among us. If the only reason we wanted to change the look or even the site of our worship center was to have something new and shiny, that’s not a good enough reason. The changes we make have to be in response to the call of God.

Tomorrow I’ll talk about why I believe God is ready to do a new thing among us.