What comes next?
Here I am at my first call as a solo Pastor.
Just over two weeks ago I started at a GREAT church in Buffalo.
We’re not emergent in any way that most people recognize as emergent. Actually, our demographics would suggest that we are de-mergent, which is to say, dying away (as you will see later, I would argue with that idea).
There are about 90 of us. Most, but not all, of the congregation is older. We have plenty of money, thanks to an endowment, but are spending the principal of it, and maintaining a large facility, so the budget still feels tight. We are theologically diverse, and located in a great urban neighborhood. Some of us commute here (to our little parking lot), but a bunch of us–pastor included–are close by the church building. There is a small staff (secretary, D.C.E., music person, custodians: all wonderful, all part-time) with me.
This is a church where the people love each other, love their neighborhood, and want to follow Jesus. We are even willing to take risks to follow Jesus. So it really is a sweet place to serve.
I’ve made it my first priority to get to know people, and let them know me. Therefore, I’ve spent most of my time here calling on people. (I’m in my 3rd week!)
I haven’t really messed with worship, other than the ways it would change by me acting like me (like an informal tone, and conversational sermons).
I’m going to continue to get to know the people here, and I am going to maintain my commitments to worship and pastoral care. I also want to do some other things, like (in no particular order):
- Reach out to the families of the kids that come for youth group, but don’t worship here.
- Get to know the people in the neighborhood and invite them to church.
- Continue to re-shape the worship service so that non-churched people will be able to worship here.
- Begin a new worship service that can take a new shape right from the start.
- Find other users for our oversized (at the moment) facility.
- Look in to new ways to use our facility, freeing up more money for ministry.
- Reach out to the local college campus.
- Connect with the homeless people that eat in our basement but are not yet part of our church family.
- Start a Bible study for the people on my block.
- Join the block club.
- Hang out at the local coffee place and get to know people there.
- Create a webpage.
- Start blogging.
- Find a core group of people to meet and pray for the area (I think this idea maybe should come first).
Anyway, my instinct is to do all of these things, right away, but I know better. So I am going to throw it to you, trusted colleagues. What would you do first? Second? Third? Not at all? Why?
I look forward to hearing from you.
Comment by Matt Singley on 22 May 2007:
I am always a little biased toward a digital plan. I think you should start a blog and create a webpage FIRST, so that when you do start a Bible study, when you do meet the people in the coffee shop and when you do join the block club they have somewhere to go after you have gone home for the night. You will rest, but the internet won’t…leave your mark! Be open and honest about your mission and your focus on Christ. The Truth is hard to resist.
Comment by Jan Edmiston on 22 May 2007:
Congratulations Drew.
I agree with Matt that the digital connections are important to set up first.
The next piece of this is the missional part — both getting out there in your neighborhood and teaching/preaching about this to your people.
If the congregation is “dying” they might be desperate enough to allow transformation — giving up the things they are addicted to (old paradigms that no longer work) The process of transforming your congregation to be the church (as opposed to “going to church”) will take a long time, but it’s worth it. A Bible study on Acts for the leadership might not hurt. Notice how they were the church in the 1st c.
Be real and love them. Take your Sabbath.
Comment by Tom Robinson on 22 May 2007:
Your current church sounds like my old one, Drew - an older church in the inner city (in my case, Lansing, Michigan), with a lot of people who are reluctant to change. I think Jan has it right - first get to know the people of your church, but also take the time to get to know the people of the community. Your ideas about getting to know the homeless who come to your church are great, but a word of caution - those who join your fellowship will be very, very few and far between. Don’t get discouraged if they don’t come to worship often. Meet them where they are, and let them teach you a few things about ministry.
I guess I’m old shcool - I think the digital stuff can wait (though not too long!). Relationships are what builds a church, espeically a pastor-sized church like yours. If you are authentic and genuine - and it sounds like you are - that will take you a long way. People want to see the love of Jesus in you.
And - again like Jan said - take your Sabbath.
Comment by Rev. David Williams on 22 May 2007:
Transformation occurs most easily in a church that recognizes…and is open to…it’s own death. Not a shutting the doors, turning out the lights, and building condos on the former site of the church kind of death, but the death that comes when the old church culture can’t be sustained. Churches can resurrect, but when they do, folks who knew them before have some difficulty recognizing them after. Jan’s last sentence gets to the heart of your task.
I concur with Jan and Matt that a web presence is essential, both for the church and for you. I’d focus more on outreach within your community and less on campus outreach. If you’re looking for folks who can redevelop the core of a community-oriented congregation, a population that is inherently transient may not be the best bet.
No matter what you do, that last point is vital. Get a group together to pray about the future of the community and the role of the church within the community. Remain open to the workings of the Spirit.
Comment by Mike on 22 May 2007:
“a population that is inherently transient may not be the best bet”
And yet these may well be some of the very people to whom God has called you to minister. When I was a college student, the local Presbyterian church across the street had an incredibly strong campus ministry. If it were not for that ministry, I might not have remained connected to the church (it’s true, I wasn’t unchurched), and I for certain wouldn’t have become a Minister of Word and Sacrament. So don’t dismiss the college population simply because they are transient.
My first call was a solo pastorate in a similarly “de-mergent” church (although we didn’t have a large endowment). If I had it to do over, and presented with your list of goals, I would focus first on reaching out to the community in as many ways as possible, and *not* just by yourself. I tried going door-to-door to introduce myself because that was what the congregation wanted/expected, and I hated every minute of it, and — though we did get one new member out of it — it was not an effective stewardship of my time. What I should have done was tell my session, “You want to meet our neighbors? Let’s go do it together!” — and form ministry teams, etc.
Even better, I would have started major community outreach efforts sooner than I did. A new and different worship service (with massive start-up publicity — see Outreach Resources, etc. for mailing cards, door hangers, etc.) would be good, but even better is finding some way the church can serve the community from the get-go and get busy! In my context, demographic surveys (PERCEPT, etc.) showed that most unchurched people would choose a church based, not on the preaching or the worship, but on recreational opportunities. (!!!) Well, we were a largely senior citizen congregation, but we started a free family movie night with snacks, door prizes, etc., and a brief evangelistic presentation from me each time that used the film as a parable of the Gospel. We ran this program for many years with great success. It didn’t net a whole lot of members, but it (a) appealed to the community and (b) totally turned around our church’s image from an unfriendly place to a friendly place. It generated a lot of good will for us.
Blessings as you begin your ministry!
Comment by Drew Ludwig on 22 May 2007:
Thank you all so much.
One little correction. I don’t know if I implied this, but these people ARE NOT resistant to change (at least not by Presbyterian standards).
Just sticking up for my peeps!
Comment by Neal Locke on 22 May 2007:
I agree with the others on the digital plan. But don’t do a website AND a blog. Do a website that IS a blog. Check out ours at http://www.faithbridgechurch.org for an example (it has a wiki, too). If you need help setting one up, I’ll help. You can email me at neal (at) faithbridgechurch.org.
On reaching out to the homeless, I agree with Tom — but also, they don’t have to be “members” or even attend your regular worship service to be a viable, participating part of your faith community. I think one contribution we as presbymergents can make here is to help our denomination expand its rigid understanding of what constitutes “membership” — or even whether that’s a necessary construct at all.
Blessings as you do God’s work. Your situation (and your peeps) sounds ripe with promise…
Comment by Neal Locke on 22 May 2007:
I agree with the others on the digital plan — it’s a priority. But don’t do a website AND a blog. Do a website that IS a blog. You can check out ours as an example (it has a wiki, too!). If you need help setting one up, I’ll help. Email me at neal (at) faithbridgechurch.org.
I also agree with Tom on the homeless thing, but would add that they don’t have to be members or even attend your regular worship service to be viable, active participants in your faith community. I think this area is where we as presbymergents can contribute — by helping our denomination expand its rather rigid and narrow understanding on what constitutes “membership.” If we even need that construct at all, that is.
Comment by Ed on 22 May 2007:
I would encourage you to spend time getting to know the passions of your congregation. How have they been faithful in mission? What has motivated and inspired them in the past? While all churches have their foibles and failures, I’m convinced that, no matter how deep in may seem to be buried, God’s presence is thers, working through the life of the congregation. Help the church connect to that pulse and see how the congregations experience of God and God’s leading in the past provides direction for the future.
Also keep in mind that you can’t be all things to all people - I think it would be difficult to have an intentional ministry and connection with the homeless while trying to develop a campus ministry. But you can be something to someone. Help the congregation name the people God has placed on their heart.
Comment by Mark on 22 May 2007:
Dear Drew,
As I understand it, one of the hallmarks of the emergent movement is to focus less on “stuff” (buildings, programs) and more on mission (relational living and spreading of the Gospel). Frankly, “stuff” includes technology. Your first year might be better spent getting to know the congregation that called you before trying to create a presence on the internet. Let them teach you who they are. It’s not just about what you can teach them.
You’re right: your presence is change enough for the meantime. Once you’ve lived with your congregation (and Buffalo) through all the seasons (liturgical and weather), you’ll get to know each other well enough to discuss changes. Abraham and Sarah lived for 25 years after the promise was given, before Isaac was born. Allow God at least one year before you become impatient for transformation and growth.
Amen to what Mike and Ed say. If you initiate all the ministry, how does that help the congregation become missional? And you’ve got to know them before you can lead them with integrity.
Amen and amen to what Jan and Tom said: take your Sabbath! Also, form relationships and have a life outside your ministry as well as in it. Let there be more to you than just “the pastor”.
Yours in Christ,
Mark
Comment by Fred on 23 May 2007:
I lean furthest toward getting out of your church and into community places. Coffee shops, bars, bookstores, lunch cafes, the whole deal. I am currently pushing churchgoing folk to lose the association of churches as buildings. The church is the body, not the shell. So get out and meet some people. Meet the people already established in your church body, but go out to meet them. And have some fun!
Comment by Mark on 23 May 2007:
Your instincts are right. Spend your first year getting to know your congregation, the people who (along with God) called you. Once you’ve experienced a full year of seasons (weather and liturgical) with them, you’ll have a much better idea of who they are, their folkways and traditions, and what unique gifts God has given them.
Abraham and Sarah waited 25 years for God’s promise of Isaac to come true. You can trust God for one year and hold off any changes until you know your new congregation and community better.
Comment by DennisS on 29 May 2007:
Set up a basic website - one that doesn’t require much updating, but gives the congregation a web presence for anyone who does a search. Include contact information, service times, special events, etc. Better yet, find someone else in the area who has some experience with websites and ask them if they would create the site.
Realize that blogging is very time consuming.
Put together a survey for the college students to find out what they are looking for (even though you may already know). Let it be their idea to start an evening service, and let them provide the music and most of the leadership.
Be authentic. Be in the community. Find things for people to do, and suggest that you need some help with these things. It’s amazing how people like to have something tangible to help with.
Don’t just start a Bible study - find people who aren’t connected and invite them to a meal or special gathering. Make sure that Fellowship is an important part of the Bible Study - connectionalism as the body of Christ is very important.
Realize that the Church does change - but too much change, too fast, without significant support, will lead to all kinds of problems popping up.
Read “When Steeples Cry: leading congregations through loss and change” by Jaco Hamman. The congregation has experienced significant loss, including the loss of what was before you arrived.
Relationships and communication within the congregation are essential. Also essential is a clear, widely held, and clearly articulated mission of the congregation.
Clearly understood purpose, trusting relationships, and faithful communication will go a long way in forming a missional congregation.
Comment by Mark on 29 May 2007:
Dear Drew,
I tried several times to submit comments on May 22, but it didn’t take–or so I thought–so I submitted a reduced comment on May 23. Now, here it is on May 29 and I see that my comment from May 22 finally popped up. Please believe me when I say, I don’t think I’m all that. To paraphrase (butcher?) Gloria Estefan, “I tried to say a few words, but technology got in the way.”
In Christ,
Mark
Comment by Charles Kennedy on 16 June 2007:
Thank you for your thoughts and dedication. As a 49 year old Presbyterian elder I am convinced the renewing of the “Church” is in and will be the discipleship of the members-and pastors.
So long as we let members act as if and think that “joining” a congregation and attending Worship now and again is enough we will end up with what we have now: Dying people and congregations. If we truly want to experience God in our life and to serve God then transformation is essential; not optional.
None of this is new, only how we experience it is new. While I am not a pastor, I have belonged in more than a few congregations. Your plans seem wonderful, but be wary of spreading yourself thin.
Jesus lead by example and taught his disciples; we are to do the same. We teach his disciples by how we live. Dallas Willard, Stan Ott, Foster and others have nourished my soul and mind as well as the more standard authors and scripture in regard to my comments.
Based on the comments and blogs I followed here my understanding of the emergent church is that is Christians doing what Paul did. He was Greek to the Greeks and Jew to the Jews. We have too long been comfortable in our Church shells.
Blessings to you all,
Charles Kennedy