Toolbox For Faith

I was talking to a friend recently who said, “When I have had problems with my congregation, it has always been when I stopped visiting.” As soon as he said it, I knew he was right. When I have been involved in a time consuming ministry, like expanding a building, and I have reduced the number of shepherding contacts I was making, I always experience more anxiety in the congregation. Whenever I return to a more normal shepherding pattern, things typically start to calm down. These days, whether it is personal visits, emails, phone calls, or text messages, shepherding is always at the top of my list of ministry activities for it lays the groundwork for all the other ministry God is calling us to do in the congregation.

I just finished reading, “Switch” by Chip and Dan Heath and I recommend it highly to anyone who is interested in change. They offer excellent insights into why change can be hard and helpful guidance for how you can help bring about change in your own life or in an organization you are leading. Here’s a small glimpse of their ideas.

They offer a “three-part framework . . . that can guide you in any situation where you need to change behavior: Direct the Rider[rational self]. What looks like resistance is often a lack of clarity. So provide crystal clear direction. Motivate the Elephant[emotional self]. What looks like laziness is often exhaustion. . . . It’s critical that you engage people’s emotional side - get their Elephants on the path and cooperative. Shape the Path. What looks like a people problem is often a situation problem. We call the situation (including the surrounding environment) the ‘Path.’ When you shape the Path, you make change more likely, no matter what’s happening with the Rider and Elephant.”(Switch, pg. 17-18) You can find more information about the book and free downloadable resources on the Switch page of heathbrothers.com.

At the end of second Corinthians, Paul writes

“And that’s about it, friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure.”
2 Corinthians 13:11 from The Message

Paul’s words echoed in my mind as I read a copy of an email sent to dozens of members in another congregation complaining that their church is growing smaller and less friendly due to the pastor. The email bothered me greatly because the writer blasted everything and then pushed a button on a computer spreading their discontent to everyone in their address book, making sure that those people knew the writer was unhappy. What made it even more unfair was that the writer had not bothered to talk this over with the pastor and did not know what was happening in the congregation.

The writer did entirely the opposite of what Paul says, “Keep things in good repair… Think in harmony. Be agreeable.” Instead of creating harmony, many Christians act as un-Christians creating dysfunction, hurt, anger, and stress within the church. They want their own way and refuse to look at other options. To be faithful, we must align our lives with Christ’s teachings and Paul’s advice. We need to work together to solve problems within congregations, not fire off angry, destructive emails.

We in the church are called to be examples of Christ in words and actions. We are to act in love and even email in love. More of us need to read and reread Paul’s words.

I get an email newsletter from George Bullard and this morning he sent out a very interesting article about what happens following a major “leave/lose” conflict in a congregation. He discusses healthy steps for moving forward if a pastor is leaving or if a pastor is staying. Obviously, every situation is different, but Bullard offers some good advice for dealing with a very difficult situation. The article is entitled, “Leaving, Staying and Becoming Well Following a Lose/Leave Conflict in a Congregation.”

Like many congregations, we use email and electronic communication regularly as a part of our ministry.  At times, email is extremely helpful, but at times it can also cause problems.  The Alban Institute posted an interesting article this morning called “Is Email the New Parking Lot“.  If you use email regularly in your ministry, you might be interested in what they have to say.