Toolbox For Faith

I always look forward to attending other churches and learning from the experience. For over three years in the congregation I served in Illinois, four council members and I would attend another congregation once a quarter and take the pastor out for lunch and learn from his or her expertise. That was a fantastic experience where I learned many excellent lessons.

That was not the case in my latest episode of sitting in the pew. We were on vacation and went to a nearby Lutheran congregation. The experience painfully taught me some great lessons about what not to do. So that your congregation does not make the same mistakes, I have made a list of “make sures.”

1. Make sure that you have friendly, smiling ushers who speak to the people arriving. The usher gave my wife a bulletin but did not speak. He only spoke to me after I said, “Good morning” but never smiled.

2. Make sure that the announcements are done in an excellent manner with planning, enthusiasm and complete information. The pastor started the announcements by looking around and finally said, “I guess you are wondering what I am doing. I am looking for…” but never said why that was important. He never welcomed guests so my assumption was that he did not expect guests. He rambled on and on. A member made an announcement about a Crop Walk and she had it written out, definitely had practiced it and did an excellent job of explaining the program. The pastor could have learned much from her.

3. Make sure that your choir director selects music that is appropriate for the choir. This church had 22 people in the choir but the director had selected a very difficult piece. The anthem had a section where they were unaccompanied during which the harmony resembled, in my wife’s words, “fingernails on a blackboard.” I really felt my wife was being generous. Ironically, I do not feel that the choir was that bad but the selection was much too difficult for their abilities as it would have been for the vast majority of church choirs.

4. Make sure that choir members realize that they are on view for everyone in the congregation to see. I tried to concentrate on the sermon but my thoughts wandered as the pastor rambled so I noticed the choir. Two choir members took a short nap during the sermon, one gazed at the congregation and never the pastor, another looked like she was checking phone messages and no one smiled.

5. Make sure that your ushers do not skip people when taking up an offering. O.K, I admit that should be a given but not in this congregation. I had my contribution ready when the usher came to our pew. I was the third person down but he did not want to let go of the offering plate and motioned to the other end of the pew. Sure enough, an usher came to that side of the pew but never slowed down for my offering even though my arm was extended. The woman who had spoken about the Crop Walk said that she would be in the narthex following the service so I thought I would give it to her but she was not there when I exited the church.

6. Make sure that everyone speaks to guests so they feel welcome. After the service, the woman in front of us turned around and stared—probably because I have great fun in singing hymns—but never said a word even after I smiled and said, “Good morning.” On the way out, the pastor shook our hands and welcomed us. One member who was one of my wife’s former teachers spoke to us but that was it. We definitely did not feel welcomed.

We Christians have the greatest cause in the world and I feel that demands excellence. Make it happen in your congregation. This experience has made me more determined than ever to do a better job in my interim congregation. I am going to “make sure” excellence happens.

I have discovered that most great ministry ideas are surprises that grow out of our attempt to be faithful servants of God. Almost by accident, we stumble upon an opportunity for ministry.

As part of the S. C. Lutheran Synod’s “Operation Inasmuch,” based on the scripture that says “In as much as you have done it unto…,” our congregation provided soup, sandwiches and ice cream to two groups about three months ago. One of the groups is composed of around 20 recovering addicts who live in a residential facility about seven miles from our church.

In appreciation, they showed up for worship the next Sunday. I was really confused when I saw two complete pews of men that I had never seen before. As one member said, “I first thought that’s the largest Pulpit Committee I had ever seen but I thought to myself, why would they be coming to see a retired pastor?”

I started that Sunday with what I call “100 seconds of fellowship” where people moved around to greet people they did not know. Afterwards, some of the men shared with me that they really felt welcome. Evidently, this was not the case at several other churches they have attended.

From that beginning, we have tried to work together to help their ministry. On the first Sunday in August, they were our special guests at our homecoming celebration. We are now providing them with bag lunches the second Sunday of each month so that they can get ready quicker for the family visits that only happen on Sunday afternoons.

I am convinced that God has given us a vision for ministry with this group. We fed them and they dropped in and surprised us at worship. From this beginning, ministry is happening. God is still surprising his people with wonderful opportunities for ministry.

At times Lutheran worship can be a little difficult to understand for people who come from a non-liturgical background. From robes to Lutheran aerobics (stand up, sit down, kneel, repeat) to the hymnals, a word of explanation can be helpful for new worshipers. My father put together an introduction to worship for the congregation he is currently serving to help a new group of worshipers. I liked the approach and adapted it for use at St. Michael. The modified version is currently posted on the “Worshiping at St. Michael” page on our website. Here is his original document and my modification to fit the practices at St. Michael. If you find the document to be helpful, please feel free to adapt it and use it in your congregation.

Understanding Worship at Mt Calvary

Understanding Worship at St. Michael

In a previous time, congregations measured success by the number of people who joined a church. Today, I think a more helpful measure is persons served in mission - the number of people touched by the ministry of a congregation during the course of a year.

Last week, a member shared an excerpt from “WELCOMING NEWCOMERS TO OUR CONGREGATION” by Keith Anderson from Seeds for the Parish.

“‘Not joining does not equal failure. The end result of welcoming is not necessarily membership. If someone only comes for one Sunday, then we have ministered to them in some way. If people are with us for a while and decide not to join, we feel we’ve contributed to their discernment process. If you make welcoming only about membership, it’s a set-up for disappointment. Not everyone will join, and there will never be enough new members. Make it about ministry instead, and decide how you will measure success.’

For me, the term “ministry” puts a different light on welcoming.” (Spring 2011, pg. 5)
http://www.elca.org/Who-We-Are/Our-Three-Expressions/Churchwide-Organization/Communication-Services/Resources/Seeds-for-the-Parish.aspx (accessed May 6, 2011)

I absolutely agree.

When we focus on membership, we are focusing on what people can do for us. When we focus on ministry, we focus on what God can do for the world. As we go about sharing God’s love faithfully, the spill-over effect is that very often people join the congregation - either formally or informally. Since our call is to be God’s heart and hands and voices in the world, not to “make members”, I think it is important that we remember that our success as a congregation is not measured by the number of people who join the church, but by the ways in which we make Christ known to the world.

I just finished a wonderful book entitled, “God’s Welcome: Hospitality for a Gospel-Hungry World” by Amy G. Oden which focuses on our call to share the good news of God’s love with others and offers practical suggestions for how we can practice that hospitality in our lives and our congregations. Here are a few excerpts from the book to give you an idea of Dr. Oden’s approach.

“Gospel hospitality is God’s welcome, a welcome that is deep and wide. Gospel hospitality is God’s welcome into a new way of seeing and living. Ultimately, gospel hospitality is God’s welcome into abundant life, into God’s own life. . . . Gospel hospitality almost always entails some kind of risk and leaves all parties changed. As we participate in gospel hospitality, God’s welcome becomes a way of life that we share with the world.” (Pg. 11)

“Greeting is only the first step in hospitality. Gospel hospitality calls us to the next step beyond greeting: feeding. . . . As Christian people, we have food to share with a world that is hungry, even famished. Spiritual wanderers - those spiritually starved and denied - show up at our doors, not because they like our buildings or even because they like us, but because they are hungry. Hungry for forgiveness, for rest and peace. Hungry for mercy and grace. Hungry to explore and grow. Hungry for the good news of new life, of abundant life. Hungry for God to do a new thing. Gospel hospitality offers welcome food. . . . Gospel hospitality calls us beyond friendliness to share the solid food that blesses our lives.”(pg. 12)

“The point of gospel hospitality is to invite others to experience the living, welcoming God and to experience the living, welcoming God in others.” (pg. 15)

“How do we live gospel hospitality in real life? Throughout the centuries, Christians have called the intentional and mindful living out our faith ’spirituality’. Spirituality can sound fluffy or insubstantial, but in truth it is made up of concrete, everyday practices that pay attention to God. A spirituality of hospitality is a particular practice of paying attention to God’s welcome in our lives and paying attention to the welcome we extend to others.”(pg. 53)

After explaining her understanding of Gospel Hospitality, Dr. Oden then offers 14 different scenarios to practice Gospel Hospitality which include a Bible passage, a reflection, questions and a suggestion for how practice an element of Gospel Hospitality in daily life.

Most people would not have paid much attention to the sign that said “Pastor Parking Only” next to the church in the midst of the crowded parking lot near the front door of the church we were visiting last Sunday but it bothered me. I had almost forgotten about it when the pastor started off his sermon with an illustration that said we are all in this together. My thoughts immediately returned to the sign.

As a pastor, I have always felt that on Sunday mornings, the best place for the pastor to park was at the far edge of the parking lot. Having a reserved parking place next to the building says that the pastor is the most important person and automatically deserves the best parking spot. We might “all be in this together” but the pastor should be awarded the best parking spot. I never felt that way and had the signs quietly removed at three congregations where the closest parking spot said “Pastor Parking Only.” On Sundays, I parked on the edge of the parking lot and walked even though I was one of the first people to arrive. Besides, the exercise was good for me.

The specified parking space might be a little thing to most people but I feel strongly that this little thing communicates the wrong message for a pastor’s actions to preach.

Few things are more exciting to me as a pastor than the sight of someone walking over and introducing themselves to a new worshiper. While I know that the ability to walk up to a stranger and say “Hello” is a gift that not everyone possesses, I believe that most people are happy to engage new worshipers in conversation if they are introduced by a trusted friend.

At times, if folks happen to be walking out of church at the same time, I am able to make appropriate introductions, but at other times, two people, who might make a solid connection, wander off before I am done shaking hands. With that in mind, I think our congregation needs to recruit a beloved member of our congregational family to be the “Designated Introducer.” The Designated Introducer will look for new worshipers, engage them in a brief conversation and then introduce them to someone in the congregation with similar characteristics. Like a gracious host at a party, the Designated Introducer’s goal will be to create a climate of hospitality and help new worshipers and long-time worshipers discover each other.

When we have attended different churches and were welcomed—although we have discovered that is not a given—we have been called visitors. I’m lobbying for a change in wording from visitor to guest. I first heard the suggestion from Ken Callahan but I did not realize the impact to the individual until I started attending different churches.

I checked with Webster’s dictionary for the difference between the two words before I started my lobbying campaign to make sure I was defining the words correctly. The first two definitions of guest were “a: a person entertained in one’s house b: a person to whom hospitality is extended..” The first definition of visitor is “one that visits; especially: one that makes formal visits of inspection.”

Being a guest who has been invited and warmly welcomed is exciting. We are not people who have just dropped in off the street to make a formal inspection of the church. I do not expect to be entertained but I want to feel like I am a part of the community of believers, not someone who is outside looking critically in. Maybe, if we concentrate of thinking of people as guests, we will welcome them in a much warmer way. That could be wishful thinking but I’m hopeful.

How about joining my campaign? Let’s eliminate visitors and welcome guests.

According to Ruby K. Payne in her book “A Framework for Understanding Poverty,” there are three basic classes in America - poverty, middle class and wealthy. Each “individual brings with him/her the hidden rules of the class in which he/she was raised. Even though the income of the individual may rise significantly, many of the patters of thought, social interaction, cognitive strategies, etc., remain with the individual.” (pg. 3) Knowledge, or lack of knowledge, of these hidden rules helps identify someone as a part of a group. Payne illustrates these hidden rules using three checklists that assess your ability to survive in poverty, survive in middle class and survive in wealth. Here are samples from each list:
“I know where the free medical clinics are.” - Poverty checklist (pg. 38)
“I repair items in my house almost immediately when they break - or know a repair service and call it.” - Middle class checklist(pg. 39)
“I support or buy the work of a particular artist.” - Wealth checklist (pg. 40)

Payne sums up her discussion of the hidden rules by saying, “The key point is that hidden rules govern so much of our immediate assessment of an individual and his/her capabilities. These are often the factors that keep an individual from moving upward in a career — or even getting the position in the first place” (pg. 44).

As I read Payne’s work, I began to wonder what role these hidden class rules play in congregational hospitality. Do wealthy or middle class congregations understand how to properly welcome people in poverty? Many congregations provide assistance to people in poverty. I know our congregation, for example, interacts with several hundred people in poverty per year. Of all those people we meet, however, almost none become a part of the worshiping community. Even when I feel like we have made a solid connection with people we are helping, they still don’t seem comfortable in the community. Could it be that everything from style of worship to the attire of the congregation to the focus of the preaching is so grounded in the middle class rules, that people from poverty quickly and perhaps even subconsciously determine that they are out of place? The issue could also arise for a middle class family who visits a wealthy congregation. When it comes to hospitality, perhaps the question we should be asking is ‘Does our church exhibit the clear characteristics of a particular social class?’ and ‘Is it possible to create an environment that welcomes and includes people of all classes into a congregation?’