A Call to Action -- Doing Church Today

In the above 11-minute video I talk about the realities of "doing church" today and what needs to be done if the so-called "mainstream" church (in which I am a leader) is to continue with what I believe is an important stream and practice of following Jesus.

Below is a copy of the talk:

A Call to Action Doing Church Today

 I have been a priest for nearly 20 years. I went to seminary late in life after leading a number of other organizations. Since my ordination, I have served as a priest-in-charge to two parishes and had interim ministries with five others. I have some ideas about what we need to do that may or may not be yours. That's okay. But please hear what I have to say and think about and ponder it.  

But let me say this and say it clear, if we do not do something radically different than what we are presently doing we will witness the last days of our denomination. 

1. GOOD NEWS. We Anglicans hold a holy, sacred, historic, and unique tradition. We are a thinking, accepting, loving, liturgical and sacramental practice that has within it the truth and beauty of Jesus' Gospel. It is worth preserving. 
2. BAD NEWS. Few among us seem able to explain to others who we are, why we walk the Anglican way with Jesus and why, perhaps, they should, too. We don't focus on being a disciple and making other disciples. It's too easy to just attend one of our lovely churches, sit down, receive the sacraments, and be on our way. I think Bonhoeffer called that "cheap grace" -- or in contemporary language, having little "skin" in our game. 
3. WHAT IS IT WE SHOULD BE DOING? How do we put more skin in the game?
1. CATECHISM. Our stated mission is restoration; to restore relationships among each other and with God through Jesus. We are to do this work by praying, worshipping, proclaiming the Gospel and promoting justice, peace and love.
2. MISSION. How are we praying? How are we worshipping? How are we proclaiming the Good News of God through Jesus? How are we promoting justice? Peace? Love? And (probably most important in a consumer society) how are we doing this better than, or at least as good as, anyone else in town?
3. THEOLOGY. Many of us don’t really know who we are and what is central to being an Episcopalian. How are we the same as Catholics, Orthodox, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, or Evangelicals? How are we different? What are the unique essential characteristics of Christian who identifies him or herself as an Episcopalian? As a denomination we tend to confuse non-essentials and essentials. The essentials being how to be "Jesus to the world" in this day and age. Non-essentials we all know. They cause us to bicker and fight among ourselves and even go so far as to break communion with an another and walk away.
4. EVANGELISM. How many people have we brought to church and we came alongside them, mentored them, and they stayed? Can we give a one minute, personal, passionate, and convincing answer to someone who asks us why we go to church, why we believe in Jesus? Why we follow him? Would we be willing to tell someone this even if they didn't ask? 
4. A NEW MODEL. The old model is not working: the full-time priest who is called to a parish that meets expenses. It's time we got this old model out of our heads and engage in some new and creative models for ministry. This model is not working because of a number of stark realities.
1. ECONOMICS. Generally speaking, in order to support a full-time priest today a congregation must have 300 or more active members to pay the bills.
2. CONTEMPORARY CULTURE. Church membership/attendance is no longer considered a social, business, or moral necessity by the majority of people today. About 30 percent of us indicate "none" when asked about our religion. And this number grows each year. In this culture, church attendance for both young and old competes with hundreds of other busy, time-consuming activities and often falls short.
5. CHANGING. If the church was a commercial venture (and to some extents it is), we would have to realize that if we don't gain new customers, and hold on to our present ones, we will eventually go out of business. (The bankruptcy of the Kodak corporation is a good example. There will no longer be “Kodak moments” as the new and hungry  giants of the digital age roared right past them while they rested on their past successes.) As a community, we are slow, wary, and often reluctant, to change, even when we know we should. 
6. FUNDING THE OLD MODEL. Even when a diocese tries to support new church plants or renewals (subsidizing clergy and/or buildings}, it does not assure parish growth or stability. The dollars our church has spent in the past trying to shore up the old model are difficult to defend. Yet, over the years, we have essentially continued to do the same thing over and over again hoping and praying the results will be different. That didn't happen and it won't happen in the near future either. 
7. OPTIONS. Let’s consider some different ways. One of more of the following may be in our future:
1. MERGERS. Closing failing parishes and consolidating them together in a larger, more revenue-producing or cost-effective locations.
2. BI-VOCATIONAL CLERGY. If we cannot afford full-time clergy, then we should think about what some bishops are doing. They are ordaining "Canon 9" priests who are bi-vocational (hold a paying job outside the church). Some parishes are already doing this as retired clergy serve as "permanent supply priests." Under this model, younger men and women called to ordained ministry will have to work at another paying job in addition to serving as clergy. 
3. CHURCH BUILDINGS. Use our buildings for specific ministries – some for worship, others to house a food pantry, another for a community hot meal program, another for a homeless shelter. Rather than spending diocesan dollars on clergy salaries and building expenses doing a “Matthew 25” ministry that stresses service above church attendance -- feeding, sheltering, clothing, healing, and visiting those in bondage. 
4. RETHINK. Engage in a complete and total re-thinking of the Christian mission, what a Christian is to do in today's secular, modernist culture; to finally realize that church is a community of believers and not a building. 
5. RE-BOOT. Going back to home churches (the beginning model of the Church in the New Testament) and then coming together, say, once a month at a central location to worship and share our oneness in Jesus. 
6. CHARISMATIC. Strengthen and focus our faith and worship practice to be more of a healing, spiritual-gifting, and evangelical ministry. 
7. MISSIONARY. Minister primarily to those who have need of restoration: those with broken marriages, those who are sick with terminal diseases, those addicted, those depressed, and others who are in need of spiritual help in order lives worth living. For our parishes to serve essentially as field hospitals on the edge of a great battlefield. 
8. A COLD, HARD FACT. Unless we change we will die. And maybe that's what we need to do. Our denomination is bleeding members. It is time for the Emergency Room. Look around the pews next Sunday, we are old, white, well-to-do and set in our ways. Our children and grandchildren have not followed us to church. One of us could be the last standing Episcopalian.

          All this reminds me of Jesus' story of the wineskins. We are to pour new wine into new wineskins, not old ones. When new wine is poured into old wineskins they burst and break because the skins are brittle and inflexible. They don’t work. What kind of containers are we? Perhaps we should think about another of his teachings: that unless we die to ourselves, we will never rise to new life and growth. Do we really believe this? Believe it enough to act on it? 

Brothers and sisters, when we do the new and not the old, when we die in order to live, we do what Jesus asks of us; that is, to work to restore our brokenness and that of those around us. When we do this, we bring the reign of God closer. We can do this.

Let us pray:  Holy God, Holy and Mighty, you have called us to be your people and to follow your Son. You have promised us your Spirit to give us knowledge, strength and power to heal and restore your people and your creation. Pour out your creative Spirit upon us to do just that. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Nightmare

Who among us has not had a nightmare (or at least a terrifying thought) about hitting a pedestrian with our automobile? 

That nightmare recently happened to a clergyman who was a bishop in my town. The stunning fact is that I not only knew the man but also the woman who was killed -- a mother of three, who was out jogging on Sunday afternoon last week. I hired her a number of years ago as a police officer. 

The bishop was the way to a church activity that afternoon. After striking her, he fled the scene of the accident. He was, nevertheless, apprehended by police a short time later. An accident? I am sure. But the problem with accidents is that if you leave the scene, or are intoxicated, you compound the severity. In this case, the bishop had a blood alcohol reading of .128 -- the legal limit in our state is .08. He is now charged with three felonies and, if convicted, could spend years in prison. In the meantime, a woman is dead and there is grief all around.

The bishop is well-respected and presides over 145 congregations as leader of the South-Central Synod of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). A statement was issued from the bishop's office: "We're holding the family of the woman who was killed in our prayers and we are really asking that God would be with them and provide them comfort in their grief and all those who have been impacted"  Click Here for the News Article

How do we make sense of this horrible tragedy? I have to say it has shaken me. Could it have been prevented? In my experience, it is easy for those who have powerful and prestigious positions to find themselves secretly in trouble with personal addictions, abusing power, sexual misconduct, or financial misdeeds. Prevention is difficult but not impossible. Often friends and loved ones around powerful and prestigious people often know of their often self-destructive behavior but are unable to act for a variety of reasons.

This is often occurs because as a person’s personal power and prestige increase, accountability for their behavior seems to decrease. Can anyone of us hold powerful people we may love and admire without coming under their wrath?

I think this is where moral character (and a working spirituality) come into play. In business, government, and the church, few people can speak truth to power. And that is an unfortunate situation in our society -- especially in the church.

I have a different take on all this. I believe it is not only the responsibility of  a leader to strive for health and wellness, but also those who work with that leader. I know, this is shaky ground, but bear with me!

It is a danger for any one of us who hold power over others not to have a soul friend with whom we can (and will) be accountable to for our behavior -- both at home and at work. By this I mean another person who can ask critical spiritual and wellness questions and be given a truthful answer. Let me suggest a few:

1. Tell me about your current health and wellness -- your exercise program, and especially how you handle stress in your job and with your family?

2. Tell me about your primary relationships -- the quality of the time you spend with your spouse, children, and closest friends? Tell me honestly, what is it like to be in a loving relationship with you?

3. What are your personal improvement goals? Name three of them. How are you doing in pursuing and achieving them?

4. What role does alcohol (including prescription drugs) play in your life. How much and how often do you use them? Have any of your friends or your spouse voiced concern about your use of alcohol or other drugs? If they have, what are you doing about it?

5. What are the temptations in your life and how do you handle them?

6. How do you handle disappointment and conflict at work and at home? How have you handled losses in your life?

7. What is your religious and/or spiritual life like? Do you truly practice what you say you believe?

Remember, these are suggestions -- a good place to start. While it is difficult for an employee, or even a board or commission, to have this kind of relationship with a leader, it is vitally important that leaders take the initiative to have this kind of relationship with someone. It is what I call a "mutual accountability;" that is, two people who can give each other a pledge of confidentiality, total honesty, and deep openness and then do this important protective interpersonal work.

It isn't easy. And I don't know if the bishop involved in this tragedy last week had such a relationship. But being in government and the church for over half a century now, I will venture to say that he did not.

My prayers go out everyone who has been so horribly impacted by this event. I also pray that those who hold powerful and prestigious positions of authority in our society are able to work through the above questions with a trusted person.

Not to do so is risky business for all of us.

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Just after posting this, the following article appeared the following day on the front page of the New York Times and is one of my major points. The first sentence reads as follows:

"After a series of scandals involving high-ranking officers, the American military for the first time will require generals and admirals to be evaluated by their peers and the people they command on qualities including personal character."

This is something I required from the leaders in my organization (police) over 30 years ago. Since that time, it has also a practice that many organizational consultants have recommended be adopted by both government and business -- not only peer evaluation but also that of subordinates.

CLICK HERE for the Article

Postscript: It was in November of 2011 that the bishop's wife died after a battle with cancer.

Spirituality of Denominations

Being an Episcopalian (Anglican) is not an easy task today. Anglicans from the Global South (most of Asia and Africa) are at odds with most of us in the North and West of this long-standing global communion which headquarters rest in Canterbury in the United Kingdom. I am often asked why I am Anglican and not some other kind of Christian. Being an Anglican (“Episcopalian” in America) was not only my family’s denominational choice, but also the conscious decision I made as an adult.


The first of many factors for me were the matters of tradition and authority. As I understood the early church, tradition was important was an important part of the Christian faith along with the writings of the leaders of the Church during the first four centuries. That narrows me down somewhat to being either Anglican, Roman Catholic or Orthodox. I have to admit that I have always been a lover of formal liturgy and I would be uncomfortable worshipping every Sunday in a non-liturgical church. For example, while I admire the simplicity of the Quakers and Unitarians, along with the praise music found in many non-denominational churches today, it would be difficult for me to worship in that way on a regular basis.

I love to worship God through song and even dance. This could easily put me into a Vineyard or one of the Pentecostal churches.

But then I would have another problem, how could I live without the Eucharist on a regular basis? I know my love for the Lord’s Supper reflects the historical and traditional side of my faith. I have always tended to center my worship life in the Eucharist. Without regular reception of this sacrament, my faith life would seem empty.

I love the history of the early church and its doctrines, most which come well before the time of the Reformation. This attraction makes me, of course, Trinitarian, biblically-centered, and theologically orthodox. I do not struggle with the literal truth of the virgin birth of Jesus, his miracles, or resurrection. I believe essentially what the Church as a whole has believed at all times and places down through the ages. I am not perplexed by mystery, nor confused by miracles.

But I also have found that I have to worship in a church that respects my reason and a church that is willing to be informed by God’s continuing work in creation -- through science, medicine, philosophy, sociology and other modes learning in the world. I cannot leave my brain outside the church while I worship inside. My faith must be reasonable and compatible with the intelligence God gave me.

Now what kind of Christian would a person be who rejects central authority, love church history and liturgy (including incense!); who loves joyful worship, and values human reason? I would have to say that that person would be an Anglican; a church that has a tradition of staying together even when disagreements are present:

A church with deep catholic (universal) and historical roots.

A church deeply influenced and formed by the Reformation as well as the Age of Reason.

A church in which there is depth and breadth and does not force belief. (It is more important for newcomers first to belong, then, later, to come to believe as we do).

An historic church, yet not unable to change.

We once believed in one, unbroken Church, yet we changed and embraced the theology of the Reformers in the 16th century. We once believed only men could be members of the clergy; we now have women in all three historic orders of the church where they serve as deacons, priests and bishops (but not everywhere throughout our Communion. We once believed that a sinner had to go through a priest in order to be forgiven; we now believe this is between a believer and God.

So things we once thought important to faith, have now changed. We simply believe that if we are true and faithful to God, we, as a community of faith, will eventually find the truth.

Therefore, we are a church on a journey. During my years, I have often found out that some things are not quite so "black and white" as they first seemed to me – and if I seek to be the love that Jesus taught (patient and understanding), I have a good chance of finding the truth he taught. In the meantime, I try to live with questions that, for the present time, I may not have answers.

This is why I am an Anglican and I encourage you to go through the same spiritual process – why are you who you say you are with regard to your faith? Even as we do this we must remember one universal truth – we are all one in Christ!

And that means for those of us who call ourselves Christian -- that we are first followers of Jesus and, secondly, members of a particular Christian denomination!