Reflections On a Church Summit

Last week I attended a summit meeting of churches in the area of the church that I serve. My parish is small (20-25 is our Sunday average). But we keep a balanced budget. Help others. Do repairs. Share administrative tasks. And provide me with a weekly stipend to come and lead their worship, write a newsletter column, and do some teaching and pastoral work.

Members from seven of the nine churches showed up and shared what they were doing. It was interesting but I began to get a funny feeling. Have I not heard all this before? In spite of the candor, what we all heard were familiar themes: we need to grow, our numbers are diminishing, our children don’t attend our church, we have no youth, our buildings are old and need constant repair, and we can’t afford full-time clergy. Yes, I have been hearing this for each of the 20 years I have been serving the church. 

So what’s new? Very few of us today can afford full-time clergy and never will. So we need to get over it. We need to start thinking outside the church box and think creatively! This may mean clergy who agree to serve less than full-time, perhaps one-quarter time, even receiving a small weekly stipend and travel expenses. And, lo and behold, maybe even becoming a “tentmaker;” clergy who work outside the church for their primary support.

This will mean there will be tasks that parish members will have to assume; duties such as administration, visitation, evangelism, communications, and teaching. This will require new and bold and transformative thinking and acting on our part because I am suggesting that we consider a major re-structuring of the role of a clergy and congregation.

At the same time, this must be done with a clear understanding of the mission of the church in mind.

What is that mission? In my denomination, the mission of the Church is “to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.” The Church does this “as it prays and worships, proclaims the Gospel, and promotes justice, peace, and love.”

There is nothing here about numbers. Instead, it is about restoration and it does this restoration through prayer, worship, proclaiming the Gospel and promoting justice, peace and love. If this was a “check list” for the activity of the church how would we rate?

Because if we seriously get on with the task of mission, we would most likely look and act in a much different way. If we did this, what kind of a church would we be?

We need to do some creative (and, if necessary, brutal) self-examination. We need to ask who and what are we today? Where are we going? And most of all, who’s going with us?

This will not be easy. The resurrection life Jesus shows us never is. Because in order for those of us who call ourselves disciples, we and our churches will have to die in order to be born again.

I am convinced that the Christian life is a life of continuous birthing and dying until the final day. As much as you and I would like to avoid this it is simply the way it is. It’s what we signed on for when we renew our baptismal vows each year. We know deep down this will lead us to , to new better lives for ourselves and for our churches.