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.

Since the 10th Anniversary of the September 11th attacks occurs on a Sunday, the question which naturally arises is - “What is the church going to do to mark the anniversary?” My initial reaction was simply to focus on themes of forgiveness, peace and grace, but as I talked to Don Lorfing, pastor of Good Samaritan Lutheran Church in Las Vegas, NV, he shared an idea for putting those themes into action. On September 11th at Good Samaritan, the congregation is going to sign cards of appreciation for first responders in their community - police, fire, rescue, etc. The cards (and if I remember correctly cookies) will be delivered to these agencies by folks from the church on Sunday. To me, recognizing the sacrifice, caring and commitment of those who serve in our community seemed like a helpful and positive way to acknowledge the anniversary. On a day when many folks will be reliving those tragic events, this seems like a positive way to focus on caring, compassion and hope.

Each year, St. Michael does a Blessing of the Backpacks the week before school starts. We gather all the teachers and students together before worship, offer prayer for them and for the year ahead and then give them something to place on their backpack or bag as a reminder of God’s presence. In addition, we usually offer a prayer of thanksgiving for the school supplies we have collected. The blessing is brief, but powerful. Here are the prayers I typically use Blessing of the Backpacks 2011. We usually order the backpack tags from Oriental Trading Company. If you are looking for another example, here’s a post on the Lutheran Confessions blog: Backpack Blessing.

When I mentioned the possibility of a third service to folks at St. Michael, most were cautiously supportive and genuinely curious about why I thought a third service might be helpful. When I explained that I thought there was an opportunity to reach a group of people in our community who aren’t able to attend worship on Sunday morning, most people agreed that, in theory, the idea made sense. At this point, I don’t know if the service will be on Sunday night, Tuesday night, Thursday night or some other evening. I don’t know if the service will be in the Sanctuary or at a second site. I don’t even know what the style or format of the service will be. I simply believe there is an opportunity that is worth pursuing. Now the question becomes, how do we move from a possibility to a new worshiping community.

Initially at least, I am planning to use an approach presented by Dr. Callahan at the Developing Key Leaders event held in Roanoke in September 2010. Dr. Callahan suggested that one approach is to find five people who would have fun beginning a new service. Gather those people in January and think about who, in the groups they are already a part of, might have fun begin a part of a new service. Between January and March, he suggests inviting the initial five to each find three more people who would be interested in being a part of a new service. In March, he suggests gathering those people for a one-time fun event. During the March event, work with the group to develop excellent ideas for the new service. He suggests repeating the process in May and July by encouraging each of the people from the March event to invite three more people to join the conversation. In August, reach out to the community through personal contacts, phone calls, notes, emails, text messages, etc and then launch the new service in September. I like the approach because it draws on the wisdom of the community and invites broad-based support. I’m sure we’ll modify it as we go, but initially this seems like a helpful way to get started.

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 came across a story this week about a church that ran a sermon series, service project series and advertising campaign around the theme, “Jesus is _______ .” While the scope of the project is a little beyond anything my congregation could pull off on its own, I am impressed by the interconnectedness of the campaign and the way in which it invites people from inside and outside the congregation to engage in a conversation about Jesus, to learn more about who Jesus is and to act on their beliefs. You can read an interview with the communication manager behind the project at:
http://www.churchmarketingsucks.com/2011/03/jesus-is/
and you can visit the “Jesus is ______ .” website here:
http://jesus-is.org/.

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.

Each year in the Christmas Eve bulletins, we do a bulletin insert which highlights ministries that might be of interest to new worshipers. This year we are focusing on three of our strengths: youth ministry, music ministry and helping ministries. The secondary purpose of the insert is to lift up and celebrate those strengths for the regular worshipers. If you would like to see an example of the insert, you can find it here.