Throughout the churches of North Alabama United Methodism, we are preparing to celebrate the mystery of the Incarnation. The proclamation that God became flesh and moved in with us (John 1) is one of the most distinctive affirmations of the Christian faith, perhaps the most distinctive. Comparison with other accounts of who God is and what God does is instructive.
In Islam, at least from my amateurish reading of the Koran, there is this constant distancing of God apparently as a means of honoring God. The view of God that emerges in the Koran is noble and exalted, but God is clearly at some remove from the world. God is as absolute, as majestic as God can get. You would have to know the Christmas story to know why that’s a problem.
Christians don’t know that God is sovereign, noble, exalted, absolute, high and lifted up. We know that God is in the world, with us, for us, Immanuel. Jesus is a prophet, but prophets, even the most truthful and courageous of them, cannot save. When we see God next to us, stooped toward us, in the muck and mire with us in order to have us, that’s what we call sovereign, noble, and exalted.
A story: A man died. He had not lived the most worthy of lives, to tell the truth. In fact, he was somewhat of a scoundrel. He therefore found himself in Hell, after his departure from this life.
His friends, concerned about his sad, though well-deserved fate, went down to Hell, and moved by the man’s misery, rattled those iron gates, calling out to whomever might be listening, “Let him out! Let him out!"
Alas, their entreaties accomplished nothing. The great iron doors remained locked shut.
Distinguished dignitaries were summoned, powerful people, academics, intellectuals, prominent personalities. All of them stood at the gates and put forth various reasons why the man should be let out of his place of lonely torment. Some said that due process had not been followed in the man’s eternal sentence. Others appealed to Satan’s sense of fairplay and compassion.
The great iron gates refused to move.
In desperation, the man’s pastor was summoned. The pastor came down to the gates of hell, fully vested as if he were to lead a Sunday service.“Let him out! He was not such a bad chap after all. Once he contributed to the church building fund and twice he served meals at a soup kitchen for the homeless. Let him out!”
Still, the gates of Hell stood fast.
Then, after all the friends and well wishers finally departed in dejection, the man’s aged mother appeared at the gates of Hell. She stood there, stooped and weak, only able to whisper softly, in maternal love, “Let me in.
And immediately the great gates of Hell swung open and the condemned man was free.
Something akin to that great miracle happened for us on a starry night at Bethlehem
William H. Willimon
Monday, December 18, 2006
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Resisting the Clutches of Consumerism
Our government no longer refers to us as “citizens,” but as “consumers.” If we can get you to consume cigarettes, cars, mouthwash, and sedatives, then we can get you to consume people. That is why Calvin Klein uses soft kiddie porn to sell blue jeans. Consumption.
Therefore the question: “How could we, who confess Jesus Christ as Lord, rather than say Michael Eisner as Lord, how can we as a church resist the corrosive acids of Capitalism?”
The immediate problem that confronts is that our church is accommodationist. Even though we know that there is a strong, critical strain in Wesleyanism against the evils of “riches,” we quickly learned in this society that there is no way to be a successful, responsible, public church, without submitting to the political vision that says that there is no greater purpose of human community than accumulation and aggrandizement.
For this reason, the “user friendly” approach to church won’t work. There is no way to entice people off the streets with hymns that are based on advertising jingles and end up with the cross-bearing, self-sacrificial, burden-bearing Jesus. Evangelism cannot be based upon our basic selfishness (“Come to Jesus and get everything you want fixed.”) and end up with anything resembling historic Christianity.
One of the reasons why Church is difficult is that the modern media culture (a culture which has no other purpose than giving us what we want, since “getting what we want” is the main purpose of life) has been so successful in forming us into such consumers.
In the middle of a sermon I said, “If you bring a child into this church, say a child of four or five, that child will have a difficult time during the service. Church does not come naturally. The child will have to be trained to sing this music, to bend his life toward these stories, to pay attention to that which he quite naturally avoids. If you take that same child into Toys R Us, no training is necessary. Greed comes to us quite naturally. After all, this is America.”
But then I caught myself in mid-sentence, and said, “No, that’s not quite fair to Toys R Us. Billions have been spent, and our very best talent expended, in forming that child into the habits of consumption. Barney is not innocent.”
For me, one of the most moving moments, is when people come forward to receive the Lord’s Supper. They shuffle forward and hold out their hands to receive the elements of communion. I look into their outstretched empty hands. I say, “I notice that your hands are empty, as if you were empty, needing some gift, grace.”
They reply to me, “Oh no, not at all. I have my Masters degree, a well-fixed pension.”
I persist, “That all may be true, but in this moment, you look touchingly dependent, as if your life would be nothing if you did not receive a gift.”
The good news of the gospel is that such bad news about us is the great good news about God. God is determined to get back what God owns. And we, timid church though we are, are part of God’s plan to win back the world.
One night in a Duke dormitory Bible study I had some bad news to deliver. Luke 18:18-26. Jesus meets a young, upwardly mobile, smart young man. The students perk up upon meeting one of their own in the Bible. Having kept all the rules so well, the young man is looking for a real spiritual challenge. Jesus says, “Just one little thing is left. Go, sell all you have, give it to the poor, strip down, follow me.”
With that the young man got real depressed. Jesus remarks to his students, “It is hard to save these upwardly mobile types. Easier to shove a fully loaded dromedary though the eye of a needle. Impossible! Of course, with God, anything is…possible.”
I then asked the students what they thought of Jesus’ prejudice against wealth.
“Isn’t that great?” one said, “Just laid things out so directly. Lots of times with Jesus, you can’t figure out what he wants you to do. Here, it’s different. I like his candor. He’s so clear, almost anybody can figure it out. This guy hears what Jesus is up to and knows he doesn’t want any part of it. That’s great.”
Then another student. “I like the way Jesus believes in him. He invites him to join up. I’m looking for a challenge just now; maybe that’s why I like this. Jesus believes in him. Like me, this guy probably can’t imagine that it’s possible for him to break free, to let go of all that stuff, not to go to law school, not to please his parents. But Jesus thinks he can do it, even him.”
That night I learned that sometimes the difference between bad news and good news is where you happen to be when you get the news. The breakdown and dissolution of American culture, otherwise known as Disneyworld, is a gift, a marvelous time for us to attempt to save people before it’s too late, to learn to worship a God whose victories come through righteousness not riches. To call everyone to confess that Jesus Christ is the one Word of God whom we must listen in life and in death.
William H. Willimon
Don't forget to join Tony Campolo, Dr. C.T. Vivian, and me at ClearBranch United Methodist Church on January 6!
Therefore the question: “How could we, who confess Jesus Christ as Lord, rather than say Michael Eisner as Lord, how can we as a church resist the corrosive acids of Capitalism?”
The immediate problem that confronts is that our church is accommodationist. Even though we know that there is a strong, critical strain in Wesleyanism against the evils of “riches,” we quickly learned in this society that there is no way to be a successful, responsible, public church, without submitting to the political vision that says that there is no greater purpose of human community than accumulation and aggrandizement.
For this reason, the “user friendly” approach to church won’t work. There is no way to entice people off the streets with hymns that are based on advertising jingles and end up with the cross-bearing, self-sacrificial, burden-bearing Jesus. Evangelism cannot be based upon our basic selfishness (“Come to Jesus and get everything you want fixed.”) and end up with anything resembling historic Christianity.
One of the reasons why Church is difficult is that the modern media culture (a culture which has no other purpose than giving us what we want, since “getting what we want” is the main purpose of life) has been so successful in forming us into such consumers.
In the middle of a sermon I said, “If you bring a child into this church, say a child of four or five, that child will have a difficult time during the service. Church does not come naturally. The child will have to be trained to sing this music, to bend his life toward these stories, to pay attention to that which he quite naturally avoids. If you take that same child into Toys R Us, no training is necessary. Greed comes to us quite naturally. After all, this is America.”
But then I caught myself in mid-sentence, and said, “No, that’s not quite fair to Toys R Us. Billions have been spent, and our very best talent expended, in forming that child into the habits of consumption. Barney is not innocent.”
For me, one of the most moving moments, is when people come forward to receive the Lord’s Supper. They shuffle forward and hold out their hands to receive the elements of communion. I look into their outstretched empty hands. I say, “I notice that your hands are empty, as if you were empty, needing some gift, grace.”
They reply to me, “Oh no, not at all. I have my Masters degree, a well-fixed pension.”
I persist, “That all may be true, but in this moment, you look touchingly dependent, as if your life would be nothing if you did not receive a gift.”
The good news of the gospel is that such bad news about us is the great good news about God. God is determined to get back what God owns. And we, timid church though we are, are part of God’s plan to win back the world.
One night in a Duke dormitory Bible study I had some bad news to deliver. Luke 18:18-26. Jesus meets a young, upwardly mobile, smart young man. The students perk up upon meeting one of their own in the Bible. Having kept all the rules so well, the young man is looking for a real spiritual challenge. Jesus says, “Just one little thing is left. Go, sell all you have, give it to the poor, strip down, follow me.”
With that the young man got real depressed. Jesus remarks to his students, “It is hard to save these upwardly mobile types. Easier to shove a fully loaded dromedary though the eye of a needle. Impossible! Of course, with God, anything is…possible.”
I then asked the students what they thought of Jesus’ prejudice against wealth.
“Isn’t that great?” one said, “Just laid things out so directly. Lots of times with Jesus, you can’t figure out what he wants you to do. Here, it’s different. I like his candor. He’s so clear, almost anybody can figure it out. This guy hears what Jesus is up to and knows he doesn’t want any part of it. That’s great.”
Then another student. “I like the way Jesus believes in him. He invites him to join up. I’m looking for a challenge just now; maybe that’s why I like this. Jesus believes in him. Like me, this guy probably can’t imagine that it’s possible for him to break free, to let go of all that stuff, not to go to law school, not to please his parents. But Jesus thinks he can do it, even him.”
That night I learned that sometimes the difference between bad news and good news is where you happen to be when you get the news. The breakdown and dissolution of American culture, otherwise known as Disneyworld, is a gift, a marvelous time for us to attempt to save people before it’s too late, to learn to worship a God whose victories come through righteousness not riches. To call everyone to confess that Jesus Christ is the one Word of God whom we must listen in life and in death.
William H. Willimon
Don't forget to join Tony Campolo, Dr. C.T. Vivian, and me at ClearBranch United Methodist Church on January 6!
Imagination and Ministry
“The Bible is a book of the imagination.” So writes Harvard’s Peter Gomes. One reason why Peter is such a great preacher, and biblical interpreter, is that he has a fertile imagination. It is as if Scripture has as its purpose to stoke, to fund, and to fuel the imagination, thereby to make available to us a new heaven and a new earth.
Therefore, I think the best preaching from the Bible is that preaching that is evocative, suggestive, and thick, rather than that preaching which, in wooden fashion, merely lays out principles and precepts, abstractions and rules. We pastors are those who are called, in great part, to open up the imagination of our congregations to what is possible and probable now that a creative God is determined to get back what belongs to God. Too often we preachers think that our job is to take a biblical text and narrow the possibilities of that text, force it to speak univocally, and reduce it to the one authoritative, right interpretation. More creative, and perhaps more faithful, biblical interpretation and exhortation seeks to multiply the possibilities, to open up new perspectives, and to help us see something that we would not have seen without the imaginative stimulation of Scripture.
Professor Carol Zaleski of Smith College, herself a wonderfully imaginative interpreter of the Christian faith, writes that what is possible for us as Jesus’ disciples is directly proportional to what we will imagine:
Every institution with which we deal – our schools, hospitals, courts, theaters, newspapers, stores, playgrounds, and even our churches – tells us by signs overt or subliminal that the dramatic parts of the Christian story are over; except for some commotion at the end on which it’s best not to dwell. We know this can’t be right, and yet these blandishments, claiming to be the voice of reason, whisper in our ears so continuously that we begin to suffer imagination fatigue. Imagination fatigue doesn’t directly attack the Christian faith; instead it diminishes the power of the Christian story to quicken culture. “The heart is commonly reached,” as John Henry Newman wrote, “not through the reason, but through the imagination, by means of direct impressions, by the testimony of facts and events, by history, by description.” But if imagination is fatigued, faith is surely in jeopardy, and even testimony begins to falter.
-- Carol Zaleski, “Faith Matters, Habits of Hobbits,” Christian Century, June 14, 2003, pg. 37.
Be sure to join Tony Campolo, Dr. C.T. Vivian, and me at ClearBranch United Methodist Church on January 6 if you are in Birmingham, Alabama. Remember, the event is free but please register so the planning team will know you are coming. I hope to see you there!
William H. Willimon
Therefore, I think the best preaching from the Bible is that preaching that is evocative, suggestive, and thick, rather than that preaching which, in wooden fashion, merely lays out principles and precepts, abstractions and rules. We pastors are those who are called, in great part, to open up the imagination of our congregations to what is possible and probable now that a creative God is determined to get back what belongs to God. Too often we preachers think that our job is to take a biblical text and narrow the possibilities of that text, force it to speak univocally, and reduce it to the one authoritative, right interpretation. More creative, and perhaps more faithful, biblical interpretation and exhortation seeks to multiply the possibilities, to open up new perspectives, and to help us see something that we would not have seen without the imaginative stimulation of Scripture.
Professor Carol Zaleski of Smith College, herself a wonderfully imaginative interpreter of the Christian faith, writes that what is possible for us as Jesus’ disciples is directly proportional to what we will imagine:
Every institution with which we deal – our schools, hospitals, courts, theaters, newspapers, stores, playgrounds, and even our churches – tells us by signs overt or subliminal that the dramatic parts of the Christian story are over; except for some commotion at the end on which it’s best not to dwell. We know this can’t be right, and yet these blandishments, claiming to be the voice of reason, whisper in our ears so continuously that we begin to suffer imagination fatigue. Imagination fatigue doesn’t directly attack the Christian faith; instead it diminishes the power of the Christian story to quicken culture. “The heart is commonly reached,” as John Henry Newman wrote, “not through the reason, but through the imagination, by means of direct impressions, by the testimony of facts and events, by history, by description.” But if imagination is fatigued, faith is surely in jeopardy, and even testimony begins to falter.
-- Carol Zaleski, “Faith Matters, Habits of Hobbits,” Christian Century, June 14, 2003, pg. 37.
Be sure to join Tony Campolo, Dr. C.T. Vivian, and me at ClearBranch United Methodist Church on January 6 if you are in Birmingham, Alabama. Remember, the event is free but please register so the planning team will know you are coming. I hope to see you there!
William H. Willimon
Reaching People for Christ or for the Culture?
Jesus commands us to go and to reach out to all the world in his name. Yet sometimes, in evangelistically reaching out, we fall face down into the culture. In offering people the Christian faith, we offer them nothing much more than they could get anywhere else in the world. Pastor Rick Barger thinks about the difference between Christian evangelism and any other marketing venture.
On the front door of our house hung a little white plastic bag with a videotape in it. On its cover was a picture of an immensely obese sumo wrestler. He hung suspended in the air. His legs were split, almost parallel to the ground as if he were a gymnast. His right arm was stretched straight up over his head. The hand in this outstretched arm palmed a basketball. He was a four-hundred pound Michael Jordan!
Under this picture were these bold words:
JUST IMAGINE
In smaller print were these words:
7 minutes.
So what the heck? Not knowing who hung this curious tape on my door or what it was about, I turned on our television, cued up the VCR, and inserted the tape. Almost immediately the room was filled with upbeat music. On the screen appeared a video shot zooming in on the new church facilities of a non-denominational mega-church located on the perimeter of our neighborhood. The audio portion began with the words, Just imagine. What unfolded over the seven minutes was very clever and inviting. Filled with scenes of smiling and happy people, the tape asked me, the viewer, to just imagine a gorgeous place with all kinds of wonderful programs. There were programs for small kids, junior high kids, and high school kids. There were programs for married couples and programs for singles. There were programs for small groups. And there were worship programs. Each of these programs promised excitement, meaning, and fun. I, the viewer, was then invited to come to the grand opening of this place.
What unfolded on this seven-minute tape was not unlike another videotape that I had received some time ago. This other tape was from Sandals, a small chain of couples-only resorts located in various places in the Caribbean. My wife and I had celebrated thirty years of marriage by spending a week at a Sandals resort in Jamaica, and they were now offering a special deal to generate more repeat customers. This tape also had all kinds of smiling and happy people. It too promised a gorgeous setting with all kinds of exciting and fun-filled programs.
The similarities between these two videotapes and the experiences they are selling ought to cause us to pause and reflect upon how our market-driven culture perceives the nature and purpose of the church of Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified and is now raised.
-- A New and Right Spirit: Creating an Authentic Church in a Consumer Culture, by Rick Barger, The Alban Institute, Herndon, Virginia, 2005, pp. 2-3.
Please join Tony Campolo and me at ClearBranch United Methodist Church on January 6 if you are in Birmingham as we explore ways to respond to the challenge of our Conference Vision Statement: Every Church Challenged and Equipped to grow more disciples of Jesus Christ by taking risks and changing lives.
William H. Willimon
On the front door of our house hung a little white plastic bag with a videotape in it. On its cover was a picture of an immensely obese sumo wrestler. He hung suspended in the air. His legs were split, almost parallel to the ground as if he were a gymnast. His right arm was stretched straight up over his head. The hand in this outstretched arm palmed a basketball. He was a four-hundred pound Michael Jordan!
Under this picture were these bold words:
JUST IMAGINE
In smaller print were these words:
7 minutes.
So what the heck? Not knowing who hung this curious tape on my door or what it was about, I turned on our television, cued up the VCR, and inserted the tape. Almost immediately the room was filled with upbeat music. On the screen appeared a video shot zooming in on the new church facilities of a non-denominational mega-church located on the perimeter of our neighborhood. The audio portion began with the words, Just imagine. What unfolded over the seven minutes was very clever and inviting. Filled with scenes of smiling and happy people, the tape asked me, the viewer, to just imagine a gorgeous place with all kinds of wonderful programs. There were programs for small kids, junior high kids, and high school kids. There were programs for married couples and programs for singles. There were programs for small groups. And there were worship programs. Each of these programs promised excitement, meaning, and fun. I, the viewer, was then invited to come to the grand opening of this place.
What unfolded on this seven-minute tape was not unlike another videotape that I had received some time ago. This other tape was from Sandals, a small chain of couples-only resorts located in various places in the Caribbean. My wife and I had celebrated thirty years of marriage by spending a week at a Sandals resort in Jamaica, and they were now offering a special deal to generate more repeat customers. This tape also had all kinds of smiling and happy people. It too promised a gorgeous setting with all kinds of exciting and fun-filled programs.
The similarities between these two videotapes and the experiences they are selling ought to cause us to pause and reflect upon how our market-driven culture perceives the nature and purpose of the church of Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified and is now raised.
-- A New and Right Spirit: Creating an Authentic Church in a Consumer Culture, by Rick Barger, The Alban Institute, Herndon, Virginia, 2005, pp. 2-3.
Please join Tony Campolo and me at ClearBranch United Methodist Church on January 6 if you are in Birmingham as we explore ways to respond to the challenge of our Conference Vision Statement: Every Church Challenged and Equipped to grow more disciples of Jesus Christ by taking risks and changing lives.
William H. Willimon
Monday, November 20, 2006
Thanksgiving
On Nov. 15, Highlands United Methodist Church’s ministry with homeless people on Birmingham’s Southside made the front page of The Birmingham News. The article noted that this ministry has drawn some fierce criticism from some quarters. I love it when the United Methodist Church makes front-page news not for losing members or fighting over some social issue, but for being the Church and doing what Jesus commanded us to do when he said “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” (Matthew 25: 35-36).
Way to go, Highlands!
This week, most of us our preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving with our families. All over Alabama, feasts are being prepared. Highlands, in the name of Jesus, has a considerably expanded notion of “family” this Thanksgiving. Highlands feeds the hungry and the homeless not just on Thanksgiving, but almost every day of the week. That’s what Jesus does to a church.
Whether it is feeding hungry people, building homes for those who have lost their homes in natural disasters, visiting those who are in prison, or providing a safe place for families struggling with the pressures of life to find hope, Jesus calls us to serve and not to be popular. The Gospels are full of stories where Jesus was criticized and hated for the ministry he did. Something’s wrong with our discipleship if we’re never criticized on the front page of The Birmingham News.
I thank God for Highlands United Methodist on their faithful ministry to homeless people. Their ministry is more than a quick hand out. Staff and members are building relationships and learning the names and stories of those people on the Southside that others hurriedly pass by. This church is not just giving out food and services but is also inviting those people who are served to join Highlands in worship.
Earlier this month I was part of a Conference called “The Heart of the Gospel: A Call to Follow Jesus,” a joint effort between Highlands United Methodist Church Committee on Church and Society and Urban Ministry, Inc. During the Conference, we did a very Methodist Christian thing - we focused on what Jesus makes us do in response to what our society does to the poor. I commend David Carboni, Reggie Holder, Emily Penfield and other staff and members of Highlands UMC for being in discussion with their merchant neighbors who take issue with their homeless ministry. I am encouraged by this discussion and hope the merchants and neighbors will join the church to begin to work on issues that can be solved in this situation.
The problem is not that Highlands United Methodist Church offers food to homeless people. The problem is that we live in a state where over 15% of our neighbors are living below the poverty line. The problem is that 23% of Alabama’s children live in poverty. When you sit down to dinner this Thanksgiving, please join Patsy and me in specifically praying for the poor children of Alabama.
Christian ministry is messy. Jesus never promised that the newspapers would approve of us. I thank God that Highlands United Methodist Church is more interested in pleasing Jesus than the newspaper. Thanks to Highlands, the rest of us are reminded that Jesus gives all of us a considerably expanded notion of “family,” a wide area of responsibility, and a means to do unto others as God has done unto us. That’s something for which to give thanks!
Will Willimon
Way to go, Highlands!
This week, most of us our preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving with our families. All over Alabama, feasts are being prepared. Highlands, in the name of Jesus, has a considerably expanded notion of “family” this Thanksgiving. Highlands feeds the hungry and the homeless not just on Thanksgiving, but almost every day of the week. That’s what Jesus does to a church.
Whether it is feeding hungry people, building homes for those who have lost their homes in natural disasters, visiting those who are in prison, or providing a safe place for families struggling with the pressures of life to find hope, Jesus calls us to serve and not to be popular. The Gospels are full of stories where Jesus was criticized and hated for the ministry he did. Something’s wrong with our discipleship if we’re never criticized on the front page of The Birmingham News.
I thank God for Highlands United Methodist on their faithful ministry to homeless people. Their ministry is more than a quick hand out. Staff and members are building relationships and learning the names and stories of those people on the Southside that others hurriedly pass by. This church is not just giving out food and services but is also inviting those people who are served to join Highlands in worship.
Earlier this month I was part of a Conference called “The Heart of the Gospel: A Call to Follow Jesus,” a joint effort between Highlands United Methodist Church Committee on Church and Society and Urban Ministry, Inc. During the Conference, we did a very Methodist Christian thing - we focused on what Jesus makes us do in response to what our society does to the poor. I commend David Carboni, Reggie Holder, Emily Penfield and other staff and members of Highlands UMC for being in discussion with their merchant neighbors who take issue with their homeless ministry. I am encouraged by this discussion and hope the merchants and neighbors will join the church to begin to work on issues that can be solved in this situation.
The problem is not that Highlands United Methodist Church offers food to homeless people. The problem is that we live in a state where over 15% of our neighbors are living below the poverty line. The problem is that 23% of Alabama’s children live in poverty. When you sit down to dinner this Thanksgiving, please join Patsy and me in specifically praying for the poor children of Alabama.
Christian ministry is messy. Jesus never promised that the newspapers would approve of us. I thank God that Highlands United Methodist Church is more interested in pleasing Jesus than the newspaper. Thanks to Highlands, the rest of us are reminded that Jesus gives all of us a considerably expanded notion of “family,” a wide area of responsibility, and a means to do unto others as God has done unto us. That’s something for which to give thanks!
Will Willimon
Monday, November 13, 2006
Pastors as Visionary Leaders
Lovett Weems lists the phases of thriving and declining organizations: original vision, growth and building the organization, maintenance, decline, recognized decline, crises or death. I feel that in the United Methodist Church we are in the period of at last recognizing our decline. I hope this leads to a crisis that provokes change and growth.
Vision is not created, but it is discovered, or more truthfully discerned.
“The genius of visionary leadership is in recognizing those clues, putting them together with other clues, and then testing those clues with others to make sure that one is seeing and hearing correctly or that one is putting the different clues together in a manner that makes sense” (p. 84).
The leader listens to everything in order to get clues and information, fact, opinion, and gossip are all helpful. The leader is willing to listen to negative clues, as well as positive clues. One must build a future on more than negative clues. One must foster enough stability within the congregation, stability that is beyond stagnation and rigid status quo, so that one can have a base from which to move creatively and experimentally (p. 90).
Every church must have a mission--that is what God calls the church to do, the overall purpose of the church, its reason for being.
And derived from that must be a vision, that to which God has called the congregation to do in the near future to advance that mission. Vision is “What is God calling this church to do next?” We take identity, assessments of our internal context, as well as our external context, to move mission towards vision.
We must identify three to five key values that are essential part of the visionary work of the congregation. These must be defined in writing, with some definition of what these values mean to the life of the congregation. And then they are to be prioritized, because they have degrees of importance.
In order to take the next step, we must understand change.
“If the goal is to write a new chapter in the congregation’s story, that it is essential that the story be thoroughly understood and respected, and that the new chapter pick up and advance the plot” (David Clewell p. 112).
Weems gives “seven unchangeable rules of change.” People do what they perceive to be in their best interest. The change must have positive meaning for them. People thrive with creative challenge, but wilt under negative stress. People are different, there is not one single key to all change. People believe what they see and previous deceptions can lead to present suspicions. The way to make effective long-term change is first to visualize where you want to go, and then go ahead and inhabit that vision till it comes true. Change is always an act of imagination (p. 114).
All change is easier when people think it is their idea. Too much change within a short period of time can lead to explosion. Change is disturbing when it is done to us, but it is exhilarating when it is something done by us.
Great leaders are good storytellers. Most of what leaders do is to communicate--to preach, to tell stories, to keep reminding people of the best of their history, and not to worry about repeating themselves or being redundant. Good leaders must talk a vision, before their vision can be lived. Finally, good leaders must persevere. It takes time for a vision to become reality, and one of the most difficult times is the mid-point, right before the vision blossoms. Good leaders are those who persevere.
-- Lovett H. Weems, Jr., Take the Next Step: Leading Lasting Change in the Church (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003).
Vision is not created, but it is discovered, or more truthfully discerned.
“The genius of visionary leadership is in recognizing those clues, putting them together with other clues, and then testing those clues with others to make sure that one is seeing and hearing correctly or that one is putting the different clues together in a manner that makes sense” (p. 84).
The leader listens to everything in order to get clues and information, fact, opinion, and gossip are all helpful. The leader is willing to listen to negative clues, as well as positive clues. One must build a future on more than negative clues. One must foster enough stability within the congregation, stability that is beyond stagnation and rigid status quo, so that one can have a base from which to move creatively and experimentally (p. 90).
Every church must have a mission--that is what God calls the church to do, the overall purpose of the church, its reason for being.
And derived from that must be a vision, that to which God has called the congregation to do in the near future to advance that mission. Vision is “What is God calling this church to do next?” We take identity, assessments of our internal context, as well as our external context, to move mission towards vision.
We must identify three to five key values that are essential part of the visionary work of the congregation. These must be defined in writing, with some definition of what these values mean to the life of the congregation. And then they are to be prioritized, because they have degrees of importance.
In order to take the next step, we must understand change.
“If the goal is to write a new chapter in the congregation’s story, that it is essential that the story be thoroughly understood and respected, and that the new chapter pick up and advance the plot” (David Clewell p. 112).
Weems gives “seven unchangeable rules of change.” People do what they perceive to be in their best interest. The change must have positive meaning for them. People thrive with creative challenge, but wilt under negative stress. People are different, there is not one single key to all change. People believe what they see and previous deceptions can lead to present suspicions. The way to make effective long-term change is first to visualize where you want to go, and then go ahead and inhabit that vision till it comes true. Change is always an act of imagination (p. 114).
All change is easier when people think it is their idea. Too much change within a short period of time can lead to explosion. Change is disturbing when it is done to us, but it is exhilarating when it is something done by us.
Great leaders are good storytellers. Most of what leaders do is to communicate--to preach, to tell stories, to keep reminding people of the best of their history, and not to worry about repeating themselves or being redundant. Good leaders must talk a vision, before their vision can be lived. Finally, good leaders must persevere. It takes time for a vision to become reality, and one of the most difficult times is the mid-point, right before the vision blossoms. Good leaders are those who persevere.
-- Lovett H. Weems, Jr., Take the Next Step: Leading Lasting Change in the Church (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003).
Monday, November 06, 2006
New Churches, New Future
Penny Marler and Kirk Hadaway, veteran church observers, have documented that denominations grow, not primarily for ideological reasons (there was a time when we thought that “conservative,” “evangelical,” churches were growing churches, whereas “liberal,” churches declined), nor for primarily sociological reasons (some church growth observers contended that sociological similarities led to growing churches) but rather because growing denominations tend to start new congregations.
Old denominations are renewed as the percentage of new churches in their total number of churches increases. Hadaway and Marler conclude in their study of new church development that new churches are a cause of growth in mainline denominations. This research concludes that mainline denominations, like the United Methodist, have shown that little growth has come from new churches in recent years, because these denominations simply started so few. However, growth has been enhanced in those eras in which they have started many - even when controlling for period effects. So for the mainline, new churches are more a cause of growth than they are a symptom of growth. When these denominations make the effort to start new churches, they tend to grow (or at least moderate their declines.) When they do not make the effort, they tend to decline. Period.
Kirk Hadaway suggests that as young churches mature, they tend to “bottom out” and stop growing after about two decades of growth. In other words, even new congregations have a “window of opportunity” for significant growth that may last for 10 or 15 years. Why do new churches tend to grow more rapidly than older churches? It could be, Hadaway notes, that new churches are more flexible and open to change; growth-producing ideas can be put more quickly into practice; innovative leaders are allowed to lead; rapid adjustments can still be made to changing circumstances; and friendship networks have not yet solidified, allowing for easy acceptance of new members. Research conducted by Hadaway on Southern Baptist churches shows clearly how the age of a church affects its growth pattern. Only one in four Southern Baptist churches in his study organized prior to 1927 had growth in excess of 10 percent from 1981 to 1986, whereas nearly 68 percent of churches founded between 1972 and 1981 experienced this kind of growth.
The good news in these insights is that we can stop blaming one another for our decline saying things like, “We need to work harder,” or “We need to be more conservative in our theology,” and instead to say simply, “We need to start more new congregations.”
(Reported in Rekindling the Mainline by Stephen C. Compton, The Alban Institute, 2003, pp. 73-74)
William H. Willimon
The wealth of evidence that reveals American Protestant churchgoers born after 1960 can be found in disproportionately large numbers in congregations founded after 1960.
-- The Ice Cube is Melting: What is Really at Risk in United Methodism?, Lyle E. Schaller, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2004, pg. 38.
Old denominations are renewed as the percentage of new churches in their total number of churches increases. Hadaway and Marler conclude in their study of new church development that new churches are a cause of growth in mainline denominations. This research concludes that mainline denominations, like the United Methodist, have shown that little growth has come from new churches in recent years, because these denominations simply started so few. However, growth has been enhanced in those eras in which they have started many - even when controlling for period effects. So for the mainline, new churches are more a cause of growth than they are a symptom of growth. When these denominations make the effort to start new churches, they tend to grow (or at least moderate their declines.) When they do not make the effort, they tend to decline. Period.
Kirk Hadaway suggests that as young churches mature, they tend to “bottom out” and stop growing after about two decades of growth. In other words, even new congregations have a “window of opportunity” for significant growth that may last for 10 or 15 years. Why do new churches tend to grow more rapidly than older churches? It could be, Hadaway notes, that new churches are more flexible and open to change; growth-producing ideas can be put more quickly into practice; innovative leaders are allowed to lead; rapid adjustments can still be made to changing circumstances; and friendship networks have not yet solidified, allowing for easy acceptance of new members. Research conducted by Hadaway on Southern Baptist churches shows clearly how the age of a church affects its growth pattern. Only one in four Southern Baptist churches in his study organized prior to 1927 had growth in excess of 10 percent from 1981 to 1986, whereas nearly 68 percent of churches founded between 1972 and 1981 experienced this kind of growth.
The good news in these insights is that we can stop blaming one another for our decline saying things like, “We need to work harder,” or “We need to be more conservative in our theology,” and instead to say simply, “We need to start more new congregations.”
(Reported in Rekindling the Mainline by Stephen C. Compton, The Alban Institute, 2003, pp. 73-74)
William H. Willimon
The wealth of evidence that reveals American Protestant churchgoers born after 1960 can be found in disproportionately large numbers in congregations founded after 1960.
-- The Ice Cube is Melting: What is Really at Risk in United Methodism?, Lyle E. Schaller, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2004, pg. 38.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
On Preaching
"...I now believe that the church is not here to speak to the world. We preachers do not have as our task to provide the world with some reason for living or some meaning for its worldliness -- we do not believe that the world, on its own, can have a reason or a menaing for its life. The church is about a more imperialistic enterprise than a deferential speaking to the world. We are to let God destroy and create a world through our preaching."
Conversations With Barth On Preaching (Abingdon, 2006)
Too often, Preachers think that they have to make the Gospel more interesting to the world instead of allowing an already interesting and powerful Gospel go about remaking the world. Can preaching once again be revived to its proper end?
Conversations With Barth On Preaching (Abingdon, 2006)
Too often, Preachers think that they have to make the Gospel more interesting to the world instead of allowing an already interesting and powerful Gospel go about remaking the world. Can preaching once again be revived to its proper end?
Monday, October 30, 2006
Celebrating North Alabama's New Churches
My wife, Patsy, and I had a great day two Sundays ago at the Cove United Methodist Church in Huntsville. Less than eight years old, Cove UMC has nearly 700 members and is leading us in some amazing innovations in ministry. The North Alabama United Methodist Church should take pride in your creation of The Cove. This congregation was your idea, your risk, and your gift to the future. Congratulations.
Since Dick Freeman began leading us in Congregational Development, we have taken the lead in our Connection in starting new churches. From 1968 until now, we have chartered 27 new churches. Half of these churches were chartered since Dick began leading us in 1993. We’ve chartered 13 churches since 1993, and begun 19 more that will be chartered soon (it takes about 3 years for a church to be chartered). Our immediate goal is to begin a dozen new churches every year.
These young congregations are the engine that drives the growth of our Conference. They are younger and more racially and culturally diverse than our longer established churches. Although these new churches are only 2 % of our churches, they account for 16% of our worship attendees and 13 % of our professions of faith. The 25 newly chartered churches have a combined membership of nearly 15,000 Christians.
Establishing new churches is costly and risky. We’ve had three failures to establish along the way (a record of success that is four times better than the national average). I applaud this year’s Annual Conference for funding a million more dollars to support this mission. The Cabinet and I are attempting to raise commitments for another two million dollars. We are going to be more creative in leading and funding these efforts. I long for the day when every congregation will see itself as a partner in planting new churches.
Your church ought to celebrate the success that God has given us in these new churches. Your giving and risking was used well by the ever new Holy Spirit. Thanks for your willingness to follow a living, seeking God into a new future.
Since Dick Freeman began leading us in Congregational Development, we have taken the lead in our Connection in starting new churches. From 1968 until now, we have chartered 27 new churches. Half of these churches were chartered since Dick began leading us in 1993. We’ve chartered 13 churches since 1993, and begun 19 more that will be chartered soon (it takes about 3 years for a church to be chartered). Our immediate goal is to begin a dozen new churches every year.
These young congregations are the engine that drives the growth of our Conference. They are younger and more racially and culturally diverse than our longer established churches. Although these new churches are only 2 % of our churches, they account for 16% of our worship attendees and 13 % of our professions of faith. The 25 newly chartered churches have a combined membership of nearly 15,000 Christians.
Establishing new churches is costly and risky. We’ve had three failures to establish along the way (a record of success that is four times better than the national average). I applaud this year’s Annual Conference for funding a million more dollars to support this mission. The Cabinet and I are attempting to raise commitments for another two million dollars. We are going to be more creative in leading and funding these efforts. I long for the day when every congregation will see itself as a partner in planting new churches.
Your church ought to celebrate the success that God has given us in these new churches. Your giving and risking was used well by the ever new Holy Spirit. Thanks for your willingness to follow a living, seeking God into a new future.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Maintenance or Mission?
I’ve received a good deal of response to my email last week about measuring effectiveness in ministry. Reagin Brown sent me this excerpt, which he found at the Crossmarks website. It’s from an article by Harold Percy, "Good News People." I very much liked its contrast between "maintenance" and "mission" as well as its stress on “effectiveness” being a mutually shared matter between pastor and congregation. The only thing I would add is that “effectiveness” is not only a matter of the faithfulness of pastor and congregation but also of God’s Holy Spirit working through us and our shared ministries!
MAINTENANCE OR MISSION?
1. In measuring the effectiveness, the maintenance congregation asks, "How many pastoral visits are being made? The mission congregation asks, "How many disciples are being made?"
2. When contemplating some form of change, the maintenance congregation says, "If this proves upsetting to any of our members, we won't do it." The mission congregation says, "If this will help us reach someone on the outside, we will take the risk and do it."
3. When thinking about change, the majority of members in a maintenance congregation ask, "How will this affect me?" The majority of members in the mission congregation ask, "Will this increase our ability to reach those outside?"
4. When thinking of its vision for ministry, the maintenance congregation says, "We have to be faithful to our past." The mission congregation says, "We have to be faithful to our future."
5. The pastor in the maintenance congregation says to the newcomer, "I'd like to introduce you to some of our members." In the mission congregation the members say, "We'd like to introduce you to our pastor."
6. When confronted with a legitimate pastoral concern, the pastor in the maintenance congregation asks, "How can I meet this need?" The pastor in the mission congregation asks, "How can this need be met?"
7. The maintenance congregation seeks to avoid conflict at any cost (but rarely succeeds). The mission congregation understands that conflict is the price of progress, and is willing to pay the price. It understands that it cannot take everyone with it. This causes some grief, but it does not keep it from doing what needs to be done.
8. The leadership style in the maintenance congregation is primarily managerial, where leaders try to keep everything in order and running smoothly. The leadership style in a mission congregation is primarily transformational, casting a vision of what can be, and marching off the map in order to bring the vision into reality.
9. The maintenance congregation is concerned with their congregation, its organizations and structure, its constitutions and committees. The mission congregation is concerned with the culture, with understanding how secular people think and what makes them tick. It tries to determine their needs and their points of accessibility to the Gospel.
10. When thinking about growth, the maintenance congregations asks, "How many Lutherans live within a twenty-minute drive of this church?" The mission congregation asks, "How many unchurched people live within a twenty-minute drive of this church?"
11. The maintenance congregation looks at the community and asks, "How can we get these people to support our congregation?" The mission congregation asks, "How can the Church support these people?"
12. The maintenance congregation thinks about how to save their congregation. The mission congregation thinks about how to reach the world.
MAINTENANCE OR MISSION?
1. In measuring the effectiveness, the maintenance congregation asks, "How many pastoral visits are being made? The mission congregation asks, "How many disciples are being made?"
2. When contemplating some form of change, the maintenance congregation says, "If this proves upsetting to any of our members, we won't do it." The mission congregation says, "If this will help us reach someone on the outside, we will take the risk and do it."
3. When thinking about change, the majority of members in a maintenance congregation ask, "How will this affect me?" The majority of members in the mission congregation ask, "Will this increase our ability to reach those outside?"
4. When thinking of its vision for ministry, the maintenance congregation says, "We have to be faithful to our past." The mission congregation says, "We have to be faithful to our future."
5. The pastor in the maintenance congregation says to the newcomer, "I'd like to introduce you to some of our members." In the mission congregation the members say, "We'd like to introduce you to our pastor."
6. When confronted with a legitimate pastoral concern, the pastor in the maintenance congregation asks, "How can I meet this need?" The pastor in the mission congregation asks, "How can this need be met?"
7. The maintenance congregation seeks to avoid conflict at any cost (but rarely succeeds). The mission congregation understands that conflict is the price of progress, and is willing to pay the price. It understands that it cannot take everyone with it. This causes some grief, but it does not keep it from doing what needs to be done.
8. The leadership style in the maintenance congregation is primarily managerial, where leaders try to keep everything in order and running smoothly. The leadership style in a mission congregation is primarily transformational, casting a vision of what can be, and marching off the map in order to bring the vision into reality.
9. The maintenance congregation is concerned with their congregation, its organizations and structure, its constitutions and committees. The mission congregation is concerned with the culture, with understanding how secular people think and what makes them tick. It tries to determine their needs and their points of accessibility to the Gospel.
10. When thinking about growth, the maintenance congregations asks, "How many Lutherans live within a twenty-minute drive of this church?" The mission congregation asks, "How many unchurched people live within a twenty-minute drive of this church?"
11. The maintenance congregation looks at the community and asks, "How can we get these people to support our congregation?" The mission congregation asks, "How can the Church support these people?"
12. The maintenance congregation thinks about how to save their congregation. The mission congregation thinks about how to reach the world.
Ministry Professionals
"A pastorate too susceptible to the praise or the blame of the congregation is a betrayal of the larger claims of our vocation. Clergy were the first professionals, not because we had received some high level of specialized knowledge that was unavailable to others, but because we had a boy of doctrine to profess. We were those who had our lives yoked to some profession of faith. Without that linkage, our pastoral work too easily degenerates into unfocused, breathless busyness."
Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry (Abingdon, 2002)
How are you in your pastoral ministry clinging to your "profession"? Pastoral busyness looks like success, but is real ministry happening in your pastorate?
Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry (Abingdon, 2002)
How are you in your pastoral ministry clinging to your "profession"? Pastoral busyness looks like success, but is real ministry happening in your pastorate?
Monday, October 16, 2006
More
Earlier last week, the clergy of the North Alabama Conference met at Sumatanga in our annual Bishop’s Convocation on Ministry. Our theme was “More,” in recognition of our revised Conference Vision Statement that now includes, “growing more disciples.” Here were some of my opening comments to our gathered colleagues.
More
Jesus said the Kingdom of God is like a rich man who called all of his servants in, gave them everything he had, and left town. (Matthew 25:14 ff.) Isn’t it good to know that God is into grace and giving?
Eventually, the rich man returns and asks, “What have you done with what you have been given.” Isn’t it good to know that God is into accountability?
“Here are five talents you gave me, and five talents more” says one servant. With this gracious God, there is always an accounting. Jesus loves us enough not only to have great faith in us but also to have great expectations for us.
John Wesley invented something on the basis of this little story - Annual Conference. Here was a meeting in which all of Wesley’s traveling preachers got together and, over a number of days, each was asked simply, “What have you done with what you have been given.” Today, in our Conference we continue this tradition with an array of mechanisms of reporting, tabulating, and record keeping, and record publishing, and Charge Conferences. What is the purpose of all this number crunching and number gazing? Answer: Jesus’ “What have you done with what you have been given?”
Seen from one angle, the entire United Methodist enterprise has arisen in response to the principle of numerical, statistical accountability. We don’t think any preacher or church ought to work without being asked, on a regular basis, “What have you done with what you have been given?”
There are clergy who work with a “Lone Ranger” mentality. “Who are you to ask me about my ministry?” There are clergy who think it nosy to be asked by another Christian to go public with their results, the fruits of their ministry, to declare openly how well people have responded to their work. They are not United Methodist clergy.
We’re the sort of pastors who dare to hold ourselves accountable to our results. We, following Wesley, ask not only about faithfulness but also about fruitfulness.
I don’t know whether or not Mother Theresa actually said, “We are not called to be successful; we are called to be faithful.” If she said it, it was said by her in a weak moment. I’m sure that of all people Mother Theresa knew that Christians have a strange definition of “success” that includes service to those in need and reaching the lost. There is no “faithful” that is unconcerned about the numbers (i.e. human beings who are reached in the name of Christ). Because we are called to be faithful, we are called to be fruitful.
So Wesley asked three questions of his pastors: “Is there faith?” “Is there fire?” and “Are there fruits?” “Fruits” = numbers of people who are meeting Jesus through us. When asked, “Is your new movement faithful to Scripture?” Wesley answered with numbers. When challenged by critics for his deployment of “female exhorters” (women preachers), Wesley responded that no one could deny the obvious fruit of these women’s preaching.
Lovett Weems says that effective preachers are those who have “character,” “competence,” and “contribution.” I confess that in our clergy evaluation and deployment practices we stress “character” and we also work at “competence,” but we have been reluctant to assess “contribution.” We simply must recognize the fruits of ministry, or the lack thereof. We must recognize and affirm those pastors to whom God has given fruit. Sadly, we keep collecting the numbers, but we do not make enough decisions and appointments on the basis of the numbers. This is very “unwesleyan” of us, if not unbiblical too.
Among bishops and district superintendents, those who exercise oversight to our clergy, too much stress, says Weems, is on assessment of talents, gifts, qualities of personality or upon skills, practices and procedures, with little attentiveness toward what clergy actually accomplish. What is said of clergy in general, Weems would surely also say of bishops and D.S’s -- we must look for ways to hold ourselves accountable and answerable to the fruits of our ministry. The Cabinet and I are looking for ways to hold ourselves accountable as we hold our pastors more accountable.
To this argument, some say, “Ministry is about more than mere numbers.” Amen! To those who say that we are now being too concerned about results and numbers in measuring effectiveness, I say, “Don’t worry. When you are part of a church that has lost 20% of its membership without making any major change in the way we work, when you can have clergy appointed to churches without regard to the record of the fruit of their ministry, we have a long, long way before we are being driven by the numbers.”
A major priority for us is not simply to collect data and crunch the numbers - we’re Methodists; we already do that. Our great need is to respond to the numbers, to show that pastors’ fruit is recognized and that our appointive system is responsive to the results of a person’s ministry. Quantification must lead to a greater discipline to fruitfulness.
The Cabinet and I pledge to do a better, more disciplined, more courageous job of honoring the fruits of ministry.
A small gesture, made at this year’s Annual Conference, could well be the most important work we did all year - we modified our Vision Statement’s “to make disciples” to say “to grow more disciples.” There’s a world of difference in that little word “more.” Jesus calls us for more!
William H. Willimon
More
Jesus said the Kingdom of God is like a rich man who called all of his servants in, gave them everything he had, and left town. (Matthew 25:14 ff.) Isn’t it good to know that God is into grace and giving?
Eventually, the rich man returns and asks, “What have you done with what you have been given.” Isn’t it good to know that God is into accountability?
“Here are five talents you gave me, and five talents more” says one servant. With this gracious God, there is always an accounting. Jesus loves us enough not only to have great faith in us but also to have great expectations for us.
John Wesley invented something on the basis of this little story - Annual Conference. Here was a meeting in which all of Wesley’s traveling preachers got together and, over a number of days, each was asked simply, “What have you done with what you have been given.” Today, in our Conference we continue this tradition with an array of mechanisms of reporting, tabulating, and record keeping, and record publishing, and Charge Conferences. What is the purpose of all this number crunching and number gazing? Answer: Jesus’ “What have you done with what you have been given?”
Seen from one angle, the entire United Methodist enterprise has arisen in response to the principle of numerical, statistical accountability. We don’t think any preacher or church ought to work without being asked, on a regular basis, “What have you done with what you have been given?”
There are clergy who work with a “Lone Ranger” mentality. “Who are you to ask me about my ministry?” There are clergy who think it nosy to be asked by another Christian to go public with their results, the fruits of their ministry, to declare openly how well people have responded to their work. They are not United Methodist clergy.
We’re the sort of pastors who dare to hold ourselves accountable to our results. We, following Wesley, ask not only about faithfulness but also about fruitfulness.
I don’t know whether or not Mother Theresa actually said, “We are not called to be successful; we are called to be faithful.” If she said it, it was said by her in a weak moment. I’m sure that of all people Mother Theresa knew that Christians have a strange definition of “success” that includes service to those in need and reaching the lost. There is no “faithful” that is unconcerned about the numbers (i.e. human beings who are reached in the name of Christ). Because we are called to be faithful, we are called to be fruitful.
So Wesley asked three questions of his pastors: “Is there faith?” “Is there fire?” and “Are there fruits?” “Fruits” = numbers of people who are meeting Jesus through us. When asked, “Is your new movement faithful to Scripture?” Wesley answered with numbers. When challenged by critics for his deployment of “female exhorters” (women preachers), Wesley responded that no one could deny the obvious fruit of these women’s preaching.
Lovett Weems says that effective preachers are those who have “character,” “competence,” and “contribution.” I confess that in our clergy evaluation and deployment practices we stress “character” and we also work at “competence,” but we have been reluctant to assess “contribution.” We simply must recognize the fruits of ministry, or the lack thereof. We must recognize and affirm those pastors to whom God has given fruit. Sadly, we keep collecting the numbers, but we do not make enough decisions and appointments on the basis of the numbers. This is very “unwesleyan” of us, if not unbiblical too.
Among bishops and district superintendents, those who exercise oversight to our clergy, too much stress, says Weems, is on assessment of talents, gifts, qualities of personality or upon skills, practices and procedures, with little attentiveness toward what clergy actually accomplish. What is said of clergy in general, Weems would surely also say of bishops and D.S’s -- we must look for ways to hold ourselves accountable and answerable to the fruits of our ministry. The Cabinet and I are looking for ways to hold ourselves accountable as we hold our pastors more accountable.
To this argument, some say, “Ministry is about more than mere numbers.” Amen! To those who say that we are now being too concerned about results and numbers in measuring effectiveness, I say, “Don’t worry. When you are part of a church that has lost 20% of its membership without making any major change in the way we work, when you can have clergy appointed to churches without regard to the record of the fruit of their ministry, we have a long, long way before we are being driven by the numbers.”
A major priority for us is not simply to collect data and crunch the numbers - we’re Methodists; we already do that. Our great need is to respond to the numbers, to show that pastors’ fruit is recognized and that our appointive system is responsive to the results of a person’s ministry. Quantification must lead to a greater discipline to fruitfulness.
The Cabinet and I pledge to do a better, more disciplined, more courageous job of honoring the fruits of ministry.
A small gesture, made at this year’s Annual Conference, could well be the most important work we did all year - we modified our Vision Statement’s “to make disciples” to say “to grow more disciples.” There’s a world of difference in that little word “more.” Jesus calls us for more!
William H. Willimon
Wonder
"One of [Karl] Barth's great gifts was his cultivation of naivete. Whether he is being precritical or postcritical I cannot say for sure, but I love the way that Barth continues to be shocked, surprised, and filled with wonderment at biblical texts, all the way to the end of his life. In seminary courses in biblical interpretation we usually think of hermeneutics as a matter of acquiring increasing interpretive sophistication. However, Barth's naivete enables him to see and hear things that we more serious adults miss..."
Conversations with Barth on Preaching (Abingdon, 2006)
How are you cultivating a "childlike" approach to Scripture in your ministry?
Conversations with Barth on Preaching (Abingdon, 2006)
How are you cultivating a "childlike" approach to Scripture in your ministry?
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Monday: A Prayer
As a pastor, I found not only that my Sundays were different but my Mondays too. Monday is the day when pastors pause, take stock, and seek restoration after a busy Sunday. This Monday is the beginning of our Bishop’s Convocation on Ministry when our pastors gather to pause, take stock, and seek restoration. Here’s my prayer to God for this Monday:
Gracious God, by your Son, Jesus Christ, in the power of your Holy Spirit, you call ordinary people to do some extraordinary things as ministers of your Gospel. Preserve us, dear Lord, from Monday morning fatigue and Monday morning despair; keep Sundaying in us, even on a Monday.
This Monday morning I praise you for the woman who had the guts to face down three obnoxious adolescents in a basement Sunday School room yesterday, to tell them about Jesus, just because she has faith that even teenaged boys are children of God.
I thank you for the gift of the teenager who stood up and read Scripture in her little congregation yesterday morning, not because she wanted to, but because she is the best reader in the church. Praise to the church that recognizes her gifts; praise to her for her willingness to use her gifts in her church.
Thanks for the wonder of the young couple who, despite all they know of your determined propensity to commandeer a life for your own purposes, stood before a suburban congregation and dared to bring their baby for baptism, despite their inability to know how you may use their beloved baby in your Kingdom.
I sing the glory of the man, former factory worker, ex-alcoholic, who rose before a congregation full of folk nobody else wants to be near, and preached the good news of your salvation of the lost. Thanks for using his sermon to work a miracle, despite his grammar.
I laud the faith that you put in a man sixty years ago, that enabled him to arise again for the two thousandth Sunday of his career and, once again, preach the gospel even though in all that time and effort, he has seen almost no response, no measurable results. What faith he has in your faith in him!
In all times, and in all places under heaven, you have called forth people to witness to your work, to join in your work, to embody your grace, and to speak your judgment. For your blessed determination not to leave us to our own wretched devices, for the gift of your Body in motion, for your miraculous Sunday morning work among us, thanks.
Amen.
Gracious God, by your Son, Jesus Christ, in the power of your Holy Spirit, you call ordinary people to do some extraordinary things as ministers of your Gospel. Preserve us, dear Lord, from Monday morning fatigue and Monday morning despair; keep Sundaying in us, even on a Monday.
This Monday morning I praise you for the woman who had the guts to face down three obnoxious adolescents in a basement Sunday School room yesterday, to tell them about Jesus, just because she has faith that even teenaged boys are children of God.
I thank you for the gift of the teenager who stood up and read Scripture in her little congregation yesterday morning, not because she wanted to, but because she is the best reader in the church. Praise to the church that recognizes her gifts; praise to her for her willingness to use her gifts in her church.
Thanks for the wonder of the young couple who, despite all they know of your determined propensity to commandeer a life for your own purposes, stood before a suburban congregation and dared to bring their baby for baptism, despite their inability to know how you may use their beloved baby in your Kingdom.
I sing the glory of the man, former factory worker, ex-alcoholic, who rose before a congregation full of folk nobody else wants to be near, and preached the good news of your salvation of the lost. Thanks for using his sermon to work a miracle, despite his grammar.
I laud the faith that you put in a man sixty years ago, that enabled him to arise again for the two thousandth Sunday of his career and, once again, preach the gospel even though in all that time and effort, he has seen almost no response, no measurable results. What faith he has in your faith in him!
In all times, and in all places under heaven, you have called forth people to witness to your work, to join in your work, to embody your grace, and to speak your judgment. For your blessed determination not to leave us to our own wretched devices, for the gift of your Body in motion, for your miraculous Sunday morning work among us, thanks.
Amen.
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