Toolbox For Faith

Seven Words of Grace

God blesses us with grace. - Psalm 23:6
Strong, healthy congregation live in the grace of God. - 1 Cor 1:1-4
Grace is grassroots. - Luke 2:7
Grace is generous. - Mark 16:6-8
Grace is gentle. - Eph 4:2
Grace is mutual. - 1 Cor 13:3
Grace finds us, and we find grace. - John 1:14

- Kennon Callahan

Dr. Callahan suggests that we advance our congregation with these steps.

1. We claim our strengths.
- not in analytical ways, but in rejoicing ways . . .
- Oh - we do this well.

2. We expand one or two current strengths.
- pick one or two, don’t worry about all of them
- save three and four for the coming years

3. Add one or two new strengths

4. Sustain your current strengths
- the foolishness would be . . .
- we have a current strength in worship and plan to add a program strength
- we divert resources from worship to program and have zero sum gain

5. Act swiftly on our present and future
- time horizons for swiftly depending on the congregation and the ministry

This morning, Dr. Callahan is talking about the different languages that individuals speak in a congregation and noting the importance of learning and speaking the language of the grassroots of a congregation. He proposes five possible languages.

1. Athletic, Physical
2. Intellectual, Cognitive
3. Extracurricular, work project
4. Social, relational
5. Music, arts

The problems that some pastors, congregations, synods and institutions face is a gap between the language and learning style of the leaders and the grassroots. The art is to learn and use the language of the people gifted to you by God.

Bob, I now have a great answer to the question that you asked me on Sunday night following the council meeting at your church.

Son Bob, who is also Pastor John’s younger brother, is a member of the governing body at his church. We often talk after he returns home from a meeting. His dad is one of his best sounding boards.

The question on Sunday night was about long range planning at his church. How should they do it? Should they have a small group do the planning or should they have a representative group including the governing body do the planning?

Just in time, Dr. Ken Callahan answered the question today at our conference. The problem with a small group doing the planning, indicated Dr. Callahan, is ownership. This method does not create ownership in the congregation.

But the representative method also has problems said Dr. Callahan because it is top down and many people do not resonate with committees or groups in the church so they do not feel represented in the process. But don’t despair, Dr. Callahan made another suggestion but first made an observation that was an ah-ha moment for me. He said, “This is not a planning issue but is an understanding of grace.”

Wait, I said to myself, I thought this was long range planning we are talking about. Dr. Callahan then quoted Martin Luther who said “God’s grace is directly present with each person.” If God’s grace is present in each person, why not invite all in the congregation who would like to participate to be a part of the process.

Over the years, I have done a tremendous amount of parish planning. Being a good Lutheran, I am very aware of grace but I had not put them together.

The perspective, Bob, is to move past planning to grace and rely on the grace of God in all of us to plan our mission in the coming years. The answer is to invite all who would like to be involved.

Sometimes we build momentum in ministry by focusing on three out of five of the following:

1. Motivations
- match motivations and people
2. Leaders and Key Objectives
- excellent match with leaders, compelling key objectives
3. An Effective Long-range Plan
- matches our gifts, strengths and competencies
- Clear and achievable
4. Excellent Mistakes, Objectives Worth Not Doing
- higher level of excellent mistakes, higher level of creativity
5. Memory, Change, Conflict and Hope
- sometimes we need to help people deal with memory, overcome conflict and discover hope

- Kennon Callahan

Strong Healthy Congregations deliver three out of the five qualities on the list and God will bless you as a strong, healthy congregation

Strong, Healthy Congregations

1. Live in the grace of God
2. Build on their strengths; then tackle any weakness
3. Compassion, Community and Hope; then, Challenge, Reasonability, Commitment
4. Excellent Sprinter Possibilities; some Solid Marathon Runner Possibilities
5. Act Swiftly

- Dr. Kennon Callahan

I am at a week long continuing education event with Kennon Callahan as he discusses the second edition of his book “Twelve Keys to an Effective Church: Strong, Healthy Congregation Living in the Grace of God.” Starting tomorrow, I am going to try and post a few of the most interesting ideas that come up during our sessions.

The traffic was unusually heavy on my first Ash Wednesday in Miami as I moved slowly down 112th Avenue toward Dixie Highway. Since we had a noon service, I looked very formal and pastor-like in my suit and clerics. In my rear view mirror, I could see that the woman driving the car behind me was multitasking. While she drove, she was talking on her cell phone held between her ear and her left shoulder as she applied make up with her right hand. I assumed that her left hand was on the steering wheel but I wasn’t sure.

The row of cars moved forward as the light changed until the car in front of me suddenly stopped to avoid a car from the day care center that had pulled out in front of her. I hit the brakes and stopped in time. The woman behind me braked too late, hitting the back of my Toyota.

I got out of the car to check the damage as she exited her vehicle. A sense of panic immediately appeared on her face.

“Oh my gosh, it’s Ash Wednesday and I hit a priest.” She repeated it three times, each a little louder before continuing. “I haven’t been to mass and I hit a priest. Father, can you possibly forgive me. I will go as soon as possible.” By this time, she was almost kneeling in front of me in the opposite lane as cars whizzed by. Drivers in Miami stop for very little. Now was not the time to explain that I was actually a Lutheran minister.

I could see that I had only an insignificant scratch on my bumper so I said to her, “It’s OK. My car is not damaged. I forgive you.”

She grabbed my hand and squeezed. “Oh, thank you, Father, thank you. I promise, I am going to mass! Thank you for forgiving me.”

As she stood up to leave, I spoke the only priestly phrase that I knew, “Bless you, my child.”

“Dancing with the Tensions” is the title of an article that John Halfacre, one of my members, wrote for Principle Leadership, an educational journal, in November 2004 and which has been recently incorporated into a new book. As I read the article last week, I kept thinking that he had, also, perfectly described the life of a pastor. The article is based on the concept of “tensions of opposites” from an exchange in the book, Tuesdays with Morrie.

I immediately applied it to the tensions in my life. I have two Ash Wednesday Services today and then extra services each week until Easter. At the same time, I have people whom I need to contact. I know that worship is one of the most important tasks that I do but a pastor is in the people business. The tension is “how do I divide up my limited time?”

Adding to those tensions is getting everything done at the office so that I can attend a continuing education event in six days where I will be gone for a week and the many tasks that require doing at our house along with needed family time. I can’t leave out the pastor’s administrative duties including reports that I try to ignore but people keep reminding me are past due. And to think, I am retired and only supposed to be working part time so I should only have part time tensions.

John notes in his article that the work of principles (and I would add pastors) “is filled with paradoxical dilemmas and days in which the questions are complex and void of definitive answers.” Experience helps but no matter how many years one has been in the ministry, each day offers unique tensions that challenge even the best. Some days, I make excellent mistakes.

What I have learned over the years is that it is not the tensions that are the dilemma but how you deal with the tensions. That is why each morning on the way to my office, I take time to thank the Lord for the opportunities that are before me and ask for wisdom to deal with them. Solomon has the right idea. I still “dance with the tensions” but find peace when I take time to reflect on God granting me his wisdom. The quandary is that as I “dance with the tensions, “ I have to remember to reflect on God’s wisdom rather than the anxieties present in God’s world.

This weekend, I had the opportunity to meet with members of six different congregations to discuss “Invitation and Hospitality.” We had a wonderful discussion focused on ways that we can strength our ability to invite and welcome people into God’s family of faith.

Here are a few of the helpful ideas we shared in both areas.

Invitation
1. People want to be a part of God’s mission and ministry in the world. When a congregation identifies its mission and celebrates its ministry, people are more willing to extend an invitation to others.
2. Congregations can encourage invitation by creating “opportunities for invitation.” These opportunities, such as Vacation Bible School, choir concerts, or a Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, create a specific reason for someone to issue an invitation to a friend.
3. Creative Communications has a helpful resource entitled “Big Ways, Little Ways: 30 Ways - Big and Small - to Tell Others about Jesus” which offers some specific ideas for how you can extend an invitation.

Hospitality
1. Congregations need to make facilities and worship services accessible by clearly labeling entrances and restrooms, by avoiding coded language and by designing worship services and accompanying bulletins that are easy to follow.
2. Practice the “Three Minute Rule.” For the first three minutes after a service ends, talk to someone you don’t know or someone you don’t know well. When a fellow worshiper offers a sincere word of welcome that makes an extremely positive impression.
3. Extend the welcome after the service by following up with new worshipers through a hand written note or some other form of personal contact.

If you have some helpful ideas that have worked in your congregation to encourage invitation or share hospitality, please let me know.