So many ideas - So few to take them up

Last night past conversations crowded in. One upon another they crashed together causing sparks and yet, despite the highly flammable material of life, there was not even a hint of smouldering!

I woke with a start as the memories of so many opportunities for engagement were identified, acknowledged and . . . Passed by!

People issued the cry, 'Why doesn't someone do something about [insert any need you might have identified]?' That done, they look at me to provide an endorsement of their perspicacity and well-honed Christian missional skills and agree that, 'There must be someone!' And of course there is. But who?

So far this year I've worked with people in various settings and circumstances and, between us, we have tried:

+ sign up' sheets - but no one signed them!

+ vision meetings - but myopia appeared to rule!

+ training courses - but Downturn Abbey provided a greater attraction!

Many years ago I read a book by Richard Bach (illusions) which contained the words, 'Argue for your limitations and, surely, they are yours!'

I have found this year to contain more people who have told me why they can't do anything (it wasn't even 'more'); more people who have bemoaned the lack of engagement from 'the church' and complained about those who, 'Need to do more!'

I have engaged with people who are full of promise and ability who have promised much and delivered so much less than nothing as their inactivity (always accompanied by a reason and often an accusation) also debilitated others and rendered them, and us, impotent and defeated too!

There are eight months left to us in this current year:

+ eight months to make the case for all-member engagement (collaborative church)

+ eight months to motivate and mobilise members (courses, sermons, vision meetings) with no quarter given

+ eight months to get the message across that being Christian is not a hobby

Those who come to church, those on PCC or DCC, Volunteers, Pew Warmers, Lay Ministers, Clergy (for no one is exempt) - the gauntlet has to be laid down (and taken up).

It's so hard to smile and nod when people tell you that they can see the needs but don't care (they don't use those words, they merely absent themselves or tell you about their hobby, family, whatever; that takes them away to other things).

It's galling when people tell you that they've been challenged by something they heard so went somewhere else to avoid the feeling again!

So here is a plea to all who read this:

Get involved, get praying, get engaging or get the estate agent in and get ready to close our doors. We can no longer exist as museums showing where 'God used to live'; architecturally magnificent holy shrines to a former age; holy huddles who exist to meet for themselves, not their communities and certainly not God.

So here’s another line drawn - another challenge issued.

Please hear it, pass it on and respond to the call.


Pax

Just what is being a Cleric about?

There are so many interesting conversations to be had regarding what a 'Vicar' really is and does at the moment.

We have some who consider themselves in places merely to 'keep the lights on' and this raises some good stuff regarding 'mission vs maintenance' and whether 'lights on' is enough (or valid).

There is the issue of Self Supporting Ministers (the ministers previously known as 'Non Stipendiary'*) and what they offer and how they are regarded by others and, perhaps more importantly, by self!

We have those who are 'locally ordained' and how they, their churches and the establishment see them.

As the numbers of stipendiary clergy diminish as the old adage of 'cutting one's coat according to our cloth' is applies; and looking increasingly towards living out the 'can't pay - can't have' mantra, the reality is that the locally-ordained are viewed (by many) as those who will replace the departing stipendiaries at ground level. Something that leads us to also consider the return of some form of Minister model

In broaching these discussions, people have pointed to the demise of the old 'one parson - one parish' and the fact that unless some (especially 'rural' church?) 'grow their own' then they are doomed to closure. But then again if we put clergy into a building without a strategy for growth are we being effective for the Kingdom or merely putting off the dreadful day of reckoning  and leaving it to be 'someone else's' problem?

Another part of the problem is the fact that many of the locally-ordained are perhaps a little older than the twenty-four yr old priest who made the press today and they move with retirement and get ill and, as one person put it, simply 'die' (don't we all?) and where full-time posts are replaced with others the church's find themselves bereft and without a shepherd.

And as for 'no cost' options - there is the supervision of the locally ordained (three years) and then the Training Incumbent roles and then being a 'line manager' after that (for ministry and management are indeed two different elements!). Sounds like quite a bit of emotional, spiritual, physical, practical and temporal cost to me!

The Local Ordination process is much akin to eating spaghetti, for once embarked upon, the churches need to keep sucking to ensure that there is more in the chain and to prevent the day when the can (spaghetti only comes in cans doesn't it?) yields its last!

All of the above appear to regard the minister as the person who 'staffs' the church building rather than shepherds the sheep and facilitates, trains, releases and supports. As a friend put it (accurate as ever) the clergyperson is the 'religious service provider'.

So here we are - much to discuss and reflect upon (I hope) for everyone, for Church is about all-member, collegial, Kingdom ministry - not the few.

Pax

Church and Discipleship - A Guest writes. . .

Our guest contributor writes:

I’ve been thinking a lot about the nature of church and discipleship – partly due to a course called 'Closing the Back Door', currently running at our church.

In last week’s session, George Fisher (the course leader) used a quote from a retired Anglican priest:

“The big issue when we volunteer is that we set the agenda – when, how much, where and what it is we will volunteer. We are not tied down to anything or anyone. The person in charge often treats volunteers like royalty, tip-toes around mistakes and finds it hard to hold volunteers accountable.

When you are a disciple you don’t give up your time. You realise that you possess (or own) no time of your own. God created you, gave you life and time in this life, so it is his time! Disciples are more committed than loyal; they act without regard for admiration or recognition!’

It got me thinking about the difference in attitude between disciples and volunteers.

A volunteer is identified as one who gives their time voluntarily (i.e. is unpaid); and can also then withdraw that gift at any time. This is why many church leaders find themselves ‘tip-toeing around volunteers’, because any perceived offense or disagreement can send volunteers storming out of the door leaving the leader to pick up the slack. Volunteers fit in their voluntary commitment around their life, so that a change in their circumstances can also lead to a sudden withdrawal of labour. When the church event clashes with another life event, then church is put aside. This can also be true of a Sunday service; many church members make an active decision not to attend church because they ‘have something else on’.

By contrast a disciple is described as a follower, student or devotee. A disciple is committed to a journey of knowledge and growth, and so is less likely to turn away. They are more likely to deal with difficult situations and even use them as growth experiences. A disciple fits their life around their commitment – as the above quote states: when you are a disciple you don’t give up your time. Church is not just something that the disciple does when it suits, but is an immoveable commitment on their diary. Non-attendance is limited to reasons of illness or holiday.

It strikes me that the difference between a volunteer or discipleship mind-set is influenced heavily by the way we perceive church. For many – certainly for ‘volunteers’ – church is an organisation (much like a club) that they have joined and they choose which activities to attend, whether that is a service or other church event. However, just as Jesus did not tell us to go and find volunteers, he also did not tell us to start an organisation. He calls us to make disciples and he calls the church his Bride. Jesus sees the church in a much different way to the reality that it often is: he emphasises the place of relationship; the relationship between a bride and her groom.

Our daughters have developed a habit of watching “Don’t Tell the Bride’ – one of those awfully addictive low-quality TV programmes. A couple are given £12,000 to pay for their wedding, on the provision that the groom does the planning and arranging. The couple have no contact for three weeks, during which the groom books the venue, buys the dress, plans the hen-do and makes all other arrangements for the big day. What I find most interesting is the difference between the vision of the bride and groom. Usually, the bride dreams of a fairy-tale affair, straight out of a bridal magazine. What the groom arranges tends to be much more personal, reflecting aspects of their relationship and personalities. Although the bride is sometimes reticent at first, she is almost always won over by the end and acknowledges that her groom has given her ‘the best wedding ever’. He is able to do this because he knows his bride, sometimes better than she knows herself, and loves her. This is the relationship of the groom and bride: of Christ and his church! Our vision of church is often quite different to his; he sees a living bond that reflects our personality and his, not a structured set of committees and meetings.

St Paul describes the Church as the Body of Christ: once again a reference to a living organism rather than an organisation. All parts are dependent upon each other in a mutual relationship. However, quite often our churches seem to suffer from a debilitating illness where some parts only work at certain times (perhaps for a couple of hours on Sunday morning), but at other times are disconnected from the rest of the body – or more particularly, from the head. Can you imagine what it must be like to have a body that doesn’t respond to what your head tells it to do? I saw an interview with a paralympic athlete who suffered from cerebral palsy. She described how she had recently learned to skip; a simple action that most children learn by about five or six-years-old, but a huge accomplishment for her. When the body isn’t properly connected to the head, even the simplest actions become difficult.

The quote from G Allan Kerr I used earlier continues:

‘In baptism we are freed from the power of sin, death and the devil and we are freed from idolatry of self; to be freed from self is to be open for call; to be open for call is truly to be open to God.’ 

When we are freed from self, we are able to be better connected to something outside of ourselves.

So which are you:

a volunteer giving time freely to a favourite organisation,

or

a disciple of Christ and integral member of his body, organically and inextricably attached to him and others? 

Is church something you fit in to your busy schedule, or something that orders your world? 

If you don’t know, then ask yourself what difference would it make if you stopped going to church; how would your life change and how would you notice?

Mission Action Plan Season (2)

One of the most common complaints I hear about the MAP is that churches are 'forced' to do them and this, it seems, makes the MAP a chore rather than a blessing. As a result some of those I come across a solo efforts intended merely to tick the box (which is actually worse than useless)!

Others are seen as an invitation to 'dream dreams'. One of these saw what was a declining and critically failing church reversing the trends and growing to a thriving community of hundreds. When I looked at the ageing congregation and experienced the desperate 'we're declining and doomed' atmosphere my first question was to ask how they (the church) thought they were going to reach their goals. The answer was a bit of a surprise: "We're expecting God to send them in!" The same answer was given as to the workers they would need, the skill sets and any other resource.*

Now, I am often troubled by those with whom I engage in that one of the critical factors in creating a MAP, having a vision and engaging with it, is the often perceived lack of prayer. Obviously this wasn't the case for this church, they had prayed and had faith a plenty - but the goal and expectations weren't realistic. This caused me great problems because I had found myself in the role of doubting what they believed God could do, and of course He could, couldn't He?

As conversations with both of the two examples here progressed it was obvious that timescales and performance indicators (i.e. did it happen?) were the missing, and much needed, elements here.

One of the common problems with the MAP is that like the one-armed fisherman, there is no way of understanding just how big the result of their efforts was! ("It was this big," they cry, "Holding out one arm!").

A PLEA

When you set about writing your MAP (we'll revisit the process some time soon) PLEASE:

1. Set timescales for the things (goals or objectives) you are planning/hoping/praying to see.

2. Review them at regular (predetermined) periods (6/12/18/24 months?)

3. Be realistic. If you have expected to see 50% growth and the result is different, review the goal and the means by which you were hoping to achieve it and modify (or even 'bin') the goal and/or process.

4. Keep the congregation informed and 'on side'. A congregation that owns and works towards the goals is one that is engaged and 'doing' rather than 'done to'.

5. Pray. In small groups, in services, in special events and anywhere and everywhere (ouch! Do I do enough of this? Probably not, but I can resolve that now!).

I hope this provides some stimulation for those who are struggling with MAPs. If you have problems, contact you local missioner (or mail me and I'll help if and where I can).

Happy Friday

* The goals for the 'church of hundreds had been in place for two years during which there had been rather rapid decline and the MAP hadn't been visited since it was written. If we don't understand where we are how can we hope to move towards our intended/hoped for destination?