Your Church Can Grow

I am only going to suggest two books. The first is UnChristian written by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons, published by Baker Books, 2007. When two people, independently of each other, bring you the same book and say it is a must read–I pay attention. I can attest that indeed it is! Kinnaman has served as President of the Barna Institute and explains in this book what younger generations really think of the church. It is so important that we reach younger generations of people for the sake of God’s Kingdom. Understanding them is an important step.

The other book I recommend is From Followers to Leaders by Robert E. Logan and Tara Miller, published by ChurchSmart Resources, 2007. This book provides a clear, understandable approach to develop leaders. Subtitled “The Path of Leadership Development in the Local Church,” Logan and Miller give a framework for taking a follower through the first steps of discipleship and onward toward maturity and leadership.

The 2008 Greater New Jersey Annual Conference approved the goal of starting at least one new church per year. This coincides with one of the four foci of our United Methodist Bishops of “creating new places for people” to worship God and live out their discipleship. There are many ways this can happen. A church could start a satellite campus or create a totally new worship service targeting a new group of people. A church could help start a new daughter church. The healthiest of churches are ones that reproduce!

I have received many positive comments since sending out a special edition of my e-letter on “Making a Good Move.” Thanks to those who have taken the time to give feedback! There will be many pastoral changes come July 1. I welcome your comments and ideas for how to make a good move. Please post them here.

The Discipline of prayer can be elusive. At times in my ministry I have been able to follow the discipline of a ‘daily office’ during which I read scripture, journal and pray. These times have always been fruitful filling my soul with satisfaction, peace and providing an anchor for my life and ministry. At other times I find myself undisciplined—times in which I neither follow a daily office nor engage in satisfying prayer. I know now that it is not coincidental that the fallow times do not produce fruit and in fact, have been times characterized by making poor choices, even finding myself adrift in my life and ministry.

The Good News is that each new day brings a new opportunity to set things right—to follow my better inclinations to engage somehow in a meaningful prayer practice. The tension for me comes at the realization that for my prayer life to be genuine, it must come from the heart. How can the practice of prayer be embraced with joy rather than burdened with obligation?

Already the second quarter of 2008 begins. Easter has come and gone. Spring is in the air and summertime beckons. Summer is often a good time to reflect on ministry by attending a special training event. The School of Congregational Development has proven over the years to be inspiring. There are inspiring plenaries by noted Pastors and Bishops and over 13 ministry tracks offering approaches to congregational development in focused areas. I invite you to go to the website by clicking on the link here and seeing what the SCD has to offer. Choose to go to Grand Rapids, Michigan or Orlando, Florida. I will be attending the SCD in Orlando. Let me know if you choose to go. We like to gather people from the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference while there to share about our experiences.

On Sunday I had the privilege of preaching and leading a planning workshop for the Biloxi United Methodist Church in Biloxi, Mississippi. Located just blocks from the Gulf of Mexico, one can still see the devastation wrought by Hurricane Rita 2 1/2 years ago. I saw empty lots along the coast where once stood houses and churches. During worship, the congregation welcomed back Mrs. McIntyre who had returned for the first time since the hurricane. She was able to move back into her house last week. “I lost everything I owned,” she said. “But I am grateful that the Lord spared my life and that I have returned to my beloved church family.” I also met several members from a volunteer-in-mission team from Connecticut. This was the 65th such UMVIM team from the New York Conference to stay at this church while working to help people repair their homes. I had a glimpse of hands-on connectionalism where United Methodists have reached across distances to help in time of need. We all need to give thanks to UMCOR who has helped so many affected by the hurricanes.

At a Northern Shore District Resource Day recently, Rev. Dr. Jack Stephenson, Senior Minister at the Anoona United Methodist Church in Florida, helped frame approaches to church development. He spoke of two categories: model and organic.

The organic approach starts with whom we are as a church. We ask questions related to the very nature of the church. We take a look at ourselves and ask, “Who are we and what is God calling us to be?” Organic approaches to church development include Natural Church Development and The Discovery Church Journey. These are processes that help a church be honest with itself and to make changes in the way they are which then leads them to change what they do.

The church needs both organic and model approaches. We need to look honestly at ourselves and we need to focus on what we do to bring about a greater measure of health and vitality to our congregations. Both approaches underscore that we cannot continue to do business as usual if we are to be faithful stewards of the gospel in the twenty-first century.

Reuben Job’s A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God (2006) designates Matthew 5:13-16 as the reading for today. This familiar passage encourages followers of Jesus to be salt and light to the world. Reading from Eugene Peterson’s The Message, the passage includes this exhortation as part of verse 16: “Keep open house; be generous with your lives.” Shining our light as Christians means keeping our doors open to others. It means being generous with our lives. In today’s culture, might that mean that we are to make time for others? In the midst of busy schedules, commutes and many demands, how can we keep our doors open (when so often we are not even home) and how can we be generous with our lives and time?

This is a particularly important message for me. While I might prefer to ‘cocoon’ in the warmth of my home, here I am invited to keep my door open. While I might guard precious free time, here I am invited to be generous with my life as part of the charge to be salt and light for the world. Is it possible to slow down enough to allow such generosity to bloom? I take the message to heart. As scripture so often does, it challenges me to ask: What must I change in my life to follow Jesus today?

Lovett Weems, Executive Director of The Lewis Center for Church Leadership at Wesley Theological Seminary, repeats a phrase to United Methodists that has become a mantra for our day: United Methodists need to reach more people, younger people and more diverse people. Yesterday, at the Bishop’s Convocation, dialogue with Bishop Devadhar gravitated to the topic of reaching younger people. Why do we make it so difficult for young people to enter the ranks of ordained ministry? Why do we treat them as “cute” (i.e. not really knowing what they are doing)? It was a good conversation starter. The conversations need to continue with younger people.

Many of us older people can begin our conversations with our own children or grandchildren. We can seek to better understand each other’s generation. We can ask what attracts them and what does not attract them to church. For those of us who are older, we had better be ready to change our ways and our attitudes if we are serious about opening our churches to younger people. If we truly engage in conversations, will we be willing to worship differently? Communicate differently?

Let’s keep the conversation going.

This year’s theme for the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference is “In the Spirit . . . of Fellowship.” The fellowship of the saints marks the distinctiveness of Christian faith. We gather together as disciples of the risen Christ. The core belief in the resurrection of Jesus drives all that we do as Christians, including how we understand fellowship. It gives us hope and it marks our understanding of life and death. This is particularly evident when the community of faith celebrates the life of one who has died. Services of death and resurrection uplift the joy of living and dying in Christ. We can say with Paul, “If we die with him, we’ll live with him; If we stick it out with him, we’ll rule with him” (2Tim 2:11, 12 THE MESSAGE). And so a Christian funeral is often marked not only by tears, but also with joy, laughter as the departed is remembered. There is a sense of peace knowing our brother or sister “has run the race.”