Dear Friends:
This month represents a small milestone in my ministry. It has been one year since my certification as a lay minister and assignment to serve at First United Methodist in Seguin. I started my certified lay ministry website early on so that others would have access to the CLM forms and materials, along with some commentary about the process. I hope that some of you have found the materials useful. I sure hope that my work has made the process work more smoothly for you. Has serving as a CLM been all that I thought it would be? How do the facts compare with the theory? One year later, I have some thoughts about that.
The simple fact is that certified lay ministry has been more than I thought it would be. It has been a joy most all of the time. Juggling my work as an attorney with my service to the church has been a challenge at times. One critical thing I have learned is to compartmentalize the two as best as I can. When I am at the church, I try not to think about the law office. As I work with the pastors, staff, other laity and the folks in the congregation, I have to “be there”, and not distracted. On the other hand, when I am working as an attorney, I have to do the best I can for my clients and that requires that I focus and use my time well. Still, even at the law office, I find so many opportunities for ministry. Besides, and paraphrasing my friend Wes, no matter where I am or what I am doing, my true job is to be the best reflection of Christ that I can. I try to do just that.
There is a tab on the website “How Can A Lay Minister Serve?” The materials under this tab come from the GBOD Lay Ministry web page, and offer many different ways a CLM can be in ministry. My experience includes several of those ways, and one that I really did not expect. For instance, I expected to work in the care ministry. I enjoy the nursing home ministry and helping to better organize the care ministry for our members who are in nursing and assisted living facilities, or simply can’t easily leave their homes was a natural step for me. It was fairly easy because our “care ministers” have a real heart for the work. I am delighted and humbled by their dedication and service. They visit all of our members (and some folks who are not members) and take Holy Communion to those who will receive it.
Working on the new church start at Clear Springs is a blast. I realize that few (too few) people get that opportunity. I went to the New Church Leadership Institute (“NCLI”) and the Church Planters Boot Camp to help prepare me for that work. I would urge any of you involved in a church plant to attend NCLI and boot camp if you can, as those educational opportunities greatly enhance the CLM training. We are early in the church planting out at Clear Springs, but I can testify that the work we do in the CLM program is really good preparation for helping with a new church start.
Because of my background, I fully expected the senior pastor to use my administrative skills, and he has. I help write grant applications, do the contract work and generally assist the staff with various projects. I don’t know what other CLMs have experienced in their assignments, but I have been so blessed by the acceptance of the pastors, staff and congregation at my church. I had hoped that I would be allowed to actually help with worship and worship planning to some small degree. Instead, the pastors and staff have allowed me to serve in worship and planning most every week. That includes regularly assisting in worship on Sundays, as well as other worship events, such as our Taiźe service. I believe that the GBOD envisioned that a CLM would serve like that in smaller churches, but perhaps not in the larger churches. Of course, I am sure that the church would function just fine without me, but I would like to think that I have brought a distinctive voice to worship that is helpful. Besides serving in worship, each pastor has made sure that I get to help with other ministries in the church in an effort to round out my experience. I thank God every day for these folks and their willingness to include me in their work.
Then, there is that one thing I really did not expect. Serving as a lay minister has deeply affected my walk with Christ. Seeing ministry up close and experiencing the transforming work of God in the lives of people has changed me. When I originally started down the path of CLM, I assured myself that I was answering God’s call in a most satisfactory way. That serving as a CLM would be enough. I was wrong about that and earlier this year I began the discernment process as a step towards becoming a licensed, local pastor. I am now a declared candidate and hope to be in licensing school next year and then on to the Course of Study. In some ways, CLM has allowed me to better understand what serving as clergy would be like. Whether it is something I enjoy enough to pursue it. I don’t know if the GBOD thought that certified lay ministry would prove to be useful in that way. In my case, it was. You might find the same thing, or you might be perfectly happy in your work as a CLM.
I am going to continue my efforts to expand certified lay ministry and will remain the coordinator in my district for that purpose. As such, I will maintain this website and be an advocate for you and all others who want to pursue CLM. There are places in the process that could be easier for CLM candidates, and I am encouraging those who make those decisions to reconsider/streamline some of the steps. I really want to enhance the educational opportunities for CLM both in regard to the Four Modules, as well as for our continuing educational requirements. In short, I want to share the joy of serving as a CLM with everyone that feels called and help make the process as efficient as possible. If you have any questions at all, or just want to talk about CLM, just give me a call.
Joy!
Bill Knobles
Friday, November 12, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Boot Camp
We survived Church Planting Boot Camp. There were no push up exercises; however, considering the amount of food we had, we probably should have done something along those lines. Instead, we met early until late for most of a week and learned about how to, and how not to, start a new church. The primary presenters were Jim Griffith and Don Smith. Jim got his church planting start with Bill Hybels. He went on to plant six churches, and then he started generally consulting with various denominations on new church starts. Don planted Stonebridge United Methodist Church, a very successful church in the Houston area, and later began working with Jim. Both serve as coaches for new church start pastors and both have “autopsied” failed church plants. In short, these guys know their business.
There must have been 75 people at the conference. New church start pastors and their teams, including the senior pastors of the parenting churches. There was time for us to discuss what we were learning and both Jim and Don encouraged questions. Our team was really busy. Not only were we at camp, we were also finishing the planning of our first neighborhood event in our new church start area. That Sunday, we were going to host a “Blessing of the Back Packs” out in the mission field; the only problem was that we did not have a place to hold it. Not quite, anyway. We were waiting for the “go ahead” from the management group of the homeowner’s association to use the local pavilion area and that was a process. The nice folks at the subdivision sales office had put us in touch with the right people, but getting the final permission took more time than we had planned for. Praise God, by Tuesday we had the needed permission and our team back in Seguin got the door hangers out, the food prepared and all of the detail work that goes into planning an event. It was a wonderful success.
Boot camp is actually divided up into two major parts. The first was advice for the planting church. Jim and Don stressed how critical it is to take care first of the needs of the parent church, keeping it healthy and informed. Just like any good parenting relationship, the goal is to nurture the daughter church and bring it along with support, prayer, resources, encouragement and love. We talked about transparency in finances, proper reporting procedures, spiritual development and the mission mindedness that is required to plant a church. The second part of boot camp was the nuts and bolts on how to get it done. How to establish a reasonable time schedule, put the funds together, meet and learn from the folks in the mission field, find what is needed and present the most excellent worship opportunity that we can. Not surprisingly, the music and child care has to be absolutely top notch. The preaching has to be relevant. The worship experience has to help people build a sound relationship with God. Worship has to be exciting and motivating.
The last afternoon we were given big sheets of paper and pads of those little sticky notes. Based on what we learned, we were to each write down critical things that had to be done as we moved towards the church plant. Things like signage, parking attendants, hospitality, equipment, personnel, facility rentals, small groups, making contacts, dress rehearsals, preview services, stewardship, greeting, hiring child care, launch team meetings, etc. We made at least 100 little notes and then we all went around to the other churches and saw what they had written. That accounted for at least 50 more things that we had forgotten. If you go by Pastor Diana’s office, she is organizing those little notes into an action plan.
We surely learned that we have a great deal of work to do. Joyful and exciting work that allows us to be in mission as we tell people the Good News and build a new worshiping congregation. Church planting is an awesome work done in a blessed partnership between clergy, laity and the Holy Spirit. There are certainly opportunities for our lay speakers and certified lay ministers to serve. Our education and training in planning worship, leading worship, leading prayer, teaching classes, helping with the care ministry and coordinating program ministries not only takes a load off of the new church start pastor, but also helps set a standard of “excellence” for the new church.
Please add your prayers for Clear Springs United Methodist Church. The baby has not yet been born, but God has plans. Wonderful plans to prosper a new ministry.
Joy!
Bill
There must have been 75 people at the conference. New church start pastors and their teams, including the senior pastors of the parenting churches. There was time for us to discuss what we were learning and both Jim and Don encouraged questions. Our team was really busy. Not only were we at camp, we were also finishing the planning of our first neighborhood event in our new church start area. That Sunday, we were going to host a “Blessing of the Back Packs” out in the mission field; the only problem was that we did not have a place to hold it. Not quite, anyway. We were waiting for the “go ahead” from the management group of the homeowner’s association to use the local pavilion area and that was a process. The nice folks at the subdivision sales office had put us in touch with the right people, but getting the final permission took more time than we had planned for. Praise God, by Tuesday we had the needed permission and our team back in Seguin got the door hangers out, the food prepared and all of the detail work that goes into planning an event. It was a wonderful success.
Boot camp is actually divided up into two major parts. The first was advice for the planting church. Jim and Don stressed how critical it is to take care first of the needs of the parent church, keeping it healthy and informed. Just like any good parenting relationship, the goal is to nurture the daughter church and bring it along with support, prayer, resources, encouragement and love. We talked about transparency in finances, proper reporting procedures, spiritual development and the mission mindedness that is required to plant a church. The second part of boot camp was the nuts and bolts on how to get it done. How to establish a reasonable time schedule, put the funds together, meet and learn from the folks in the mission field, find what is needed and present the most excellent worship opportunity that we can. Not surprisingly, the music and child care has to be absolutely top notch. The preaching has to be relevant. The worship experience has to help people build a sound relationship with God. Worship has to be exciting and motivating.
The last afternoon we were given big sheets of paper and pads of those little sticky notes. Based on what we learned, we were to each write down critical things that had to be done as we moved towards the church plant. Things like signage, parking attendants, hospitality, equipment, personnel, facility rentals, small groups, making contacts, dress rehearsals, preview services, stewardship, greeting, hiring child care, launch team meetings, etc. We made at least 100 little notes and then we all went around to the other churches and saw what they had written. That accounted for at least 50 more things that we had forgotten. If you go by Pastor Diana’s office, she is organizing those little notes into an action plan.
We surely learned that we have a great deal of work to do. Joyful and exciting work that allows us to be in mission as we tell people the Good News and build a new worshiping congregation. Church planting is an awesome work done in a blessed partnership between clergy, laity and the Holy Spirit. There are certainly opportunities for our lay speakers and certified lay ministers to serve. Our education and training in planning worship, leading worship, leading prayer, teaching classes, helping with the care ministry and coordinating program ministries not only takes a load off of the new church start pastor, but also helps set a standard of “excellence” for the new church.
Please add your prayers for Clear Springs United Methodist Church. The baby has not yet been born, but God has plans. Wonderful plans to prosper a new ministry.
Joy!
Bill
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Push Ups
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart". Hebrews 12:1-3
We are headed to “boot camp” tomorrow. The proper name is “Church Planting Boot Camp” and some folks from our church will be in Plano, Texas to learn more about the best ways to go about planting a new worship community in Clear Springs, Texas. Of course, the vision I get about “boot camp” comes from watching too many movies. Young recruits in a row doing pushups until they collapse, or marching in rows with full packs or standing at attention as a drill instructor yells at them. I never served in our military, so I have no real idea about what happens there. I sense it is not very pleasant, though, and is a tough physical and mental test. But, I wonder if the recruits ever think about the men and women who have served before them? The heroes and heroines whose names are legends, like General George S. Patton, Lt. Annie Fox, General Douglas MacArthur, Jimmy Doolittle, Jacqueline Cochran and Lt. Audie Murphy. Perhaps more likely, the recruits think about fathers, mothers, grandfathers, brothers and sisters who honorably answered our nation’s call. Those thoughts, examples and witnesses very well may help them survive boot camp, and then inspire them as they serve.
Although the schedule looks demanding, our “boot camp” will not physically challenge us in that way. That is just as well since it has been a few years since my last push up exercise. We will probably just drink way too much coffee and wear ourselves out trying to absorb all of the material being offered. But just as our soldiers may be inspired by those who served before them, we will be inspired by that “great cloud of witnesses” who have faithfully served Christ before us. In the early history of the United Methodist Church, there were very few ordained ministers to go around, so they rode a circuit of churches and camp meetings on horseback. Thomas Coke, Francis Asbury, Isaac Smith, Thomas Vasey and Richard Whatcoat are historic names . In Texas, we had Littleton Fowler, Martin Ruter and Robert Alexander riding circuit in the early 1800s. Stephen F. Austin, an early Texas colonist of note, did not particularly want Methodist preachers in his colony as he thought their excited way of preaching would bring trouble. These early preachers endured physical hardship that we cannot imagine. The pay was negligible or non existent, the conditions deplorable, disease and Indian attacks were common and the congregations less than appreciative at times. William B. Dewees, an early settler, wrote in his journal in 1819 about a “camp meeting” where certain elements in the congregation got more than a little intoxicated and when the preachers objected, were run out of the camp with an axe.
It was against these odds that the United Methodist church was established and spread like wildfire in the United States and Texas. These men (and certainly, a number of lay women), ran the race with perseverance and laid the foundations for our church. I imagine that every denomination has similar stories. We remember these faithful witnesses as we head off to our “boot camp” and set in for the long run of planting the church in Clear Springs. We will no doubt run into difficulties in the weeks and months ahead. The path will not always be easy and there will be tangles and snares to throw off. But I don’t think that the Indians are going to attack, or that the horses will buck us off. As with all United Methodists, there will be plenty to eat. With God’s help, we will fix our eyes on Jesus as we work; trusting that what we learn this week will help us persevere. The words “Refresh, Redeem, Renew and Restore” have worked their way into the mission statement for this new church plant. Our vision is that it will be a highly relevant, mission minded church. It will be a family friendly, multi generational church with a welcoming, casual atmosphere. It will be a church where the Sacraments are celebrated and a place where we praise God with music, prayer, visual imagery, teaching, worship, art, drama and nature. It is going to be a great church to raise children in, to meet new people, to fellowship with friends, explore faith and learn how God works in each of our lives. It is going to be a church that the “great cloud of witnesses” would have been proud of.
Joy!
Bill
We are headed to “boot camp” tomorrow. The proper name is “Church Planting Boot Camp” and some folks from our church will be in Plano, Texas to learn more about the best ways to go about planting a new worship community in Clear Springs, Texas. Of course, the vision I get about “boot camp” comes from watching too many movies. Young recruits in a row doing pushups until they collapse, or marching in rows with full packs or standing at attention as a drill instructor yells at them. I never served in our military, so I have no real idea about what happens there. I sense it is not very pleasant, though, and is a tough physical and mental test. But, I wonder if the recruits ever think about the men and women who have served before them? The heroes and heroines whose names are legends, like General George S. Patton, Lt. Annie Fox, General Douglas MacArthur, Jimmy Doolittle, Jacqueline Cochran and Lt. Audie Murphy. Perhaps more likely, the recruits think about fathers, mothers, grandfathers, brothers and sisters who honorably answered our nation’s call. Those thoughts, examples and witnesses very well may help them survive boot camp, and then inspire them as they serve.
Although the schedule looks demanding, our “boot camp” will not physically challenge us in that way. That is just as well since it has been a few years since my last push up exercise. We will probably just drink way too much coffee and wear ourselves out trying to absorb all of the material being offered. But just as our soldiers may be inspired by those who served before them, we will be inspired by that “great cloud of witnesses” who have faithfully served Christ before us. In the early history of the United Methodist Church, there were very few ordained ministers to go around, so they rode a circuit of churches and camp meetings on horseback. Thomas Coke, Francis Asbury, Isaac Smith, Thomas Vasey and Richard Whatcoat are historic names . In Texas, we had Littleton Fowler, Martin Ruter and Robert Alexander riding circuit in the early 1800s. Stephen F. Austin, an early Texas colonist of note, did not particularly want Methodist preachers in his colony as he thought their excited way of preaching would bring trouble. These early preachers endured physical hardship that we cannot imagine. The pay was negligible or non existent, the conditions deplorable, disease and Indian attacks were common and the congregations less than appreciative at times. William B. Dewees, an early settler, wrote in his journal in 1819 about a “camp meeting” where certain elements in the congregation got more than a little intoxicated and when the preachers objected, were run out of the camp with an axe.
It was against these odds that the United Methodist church was established and spread like wildfire in the United States and Texas. These men (and certainly, a number of lay women), ran the race with perseverance and laid the foundations for our church. I imagine that every denomination has similar stories. We remember these faithful witnesses as we head off to our “boot camp” and set in for the long run of planting the church in Clear Springs. We will no doubt run into difficulties in the weeks and months ahead. The path will not always be easy and there will be tangles and snares to throw off. But I don’t think that the Indians are going to attack, or that the horses will buck us off. As with all United Methodists, there will be plenty to eat. With God’s help, we will fix our eyes on Jesus as we work; trusting that what we learn this week will help us persevere. The words “Refresh, Redeem, Renew and Restore” have worked their way into the mission statement for this new church plant. Our vision is that it will be a highly relevant, mission minded church. It will be a family friendly, multi generational church with a welcoming, casual atmosphere. It will be a church where the Sacraments are celebrated and a place where we praise God with music, prayer, visual imagery, teaching, worship, art, drama and nature. It is going to be a great church to raise children in, to meet new people, to fellowship with friends, explore faith and learn how God works in each of our lives. It is going to be a church that the “great cloud of witnesses” would have been proud of.
Joy!
Bill
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Gardening
Wow! It has been a while since I last posted a message. It has been a busy summer so far. My secular office has been blessed with plenty of work and my service at the church really has kept me jumping. I have been invited to attend Tuesday staff meetings and have extended my office hours at the church to most of the day on Thursday. I have been blessed to serve on Sunday mornings and assist in worship. Generally, the pastors are seeing to my development and growth in ministry. We now have our new church plant minister on board and she has been meeting and planning with us. We are headed to “boot camp” next month to learn the details of planting a new church. You can imagine how excited we are. Certified Lay Ministry has been all that I thought it might be, and so much more.
This summer seems different than others. Perhaps it is because the heat is not as bad. The fields are still green and the earth is not thirsting as it did last year. Our little garden at home was successful and we are still eating some of the vegetables we grew. When my wife reads this, she will ask “We?” Yes, she did most of the work. But as we prepared and planted this spring, I was listening to my Ipod as I did my part, and I still had Christmas music in the mix. I asked my Facebook friends if the liturgical police were going to come and get me. It just seemed so right to listen to the music of the birth story as we tilled and planted. I was assured that Christmas music is pretty good much of the year, and we planted our watermelons to the Mannheim Steamroller Christmas album.
The garden had the usual share of insects and things that needed some spraying or dusting, but not too much. Henrietta took up residence nearby and had her nest of baby cottontail rabbits. Any creature that hangs out long enough around here will get a name. They did not eat much. As the weeks went by, tomatoes, beans, peppers, squash, watermelons and her little herb garden produced and kept our table nicely filled. Already, Janice is thinking about the fall garden. I have found that when you garden, there is always something to plan and do and for the most part, it is very pleasant work.
Lay ministry is much the same. It is such a pleasant way to serve God. There is always some work that needs to be done, and most of the work is very agreeable. Sometimes, the unexpected will show up, like our little brood of rabbits did around the garden, and we just enjoy the fun. Vacation Bible School was like that. The theme was “Galactic Blast” and our choirmaster wore a NASA spacesuit. Janice and I took up an outpost in the orbital observatory and led 90+ kids in experiments and Scripture for a while each evening. Of course, we had many, many folks in the church helping out with VBS. We were all really tired each evening, but we praised God as the kids (big and little) grew in understanding and faith. Just like Janice is planning our little fall garden, the church staff is busy planning our fall “back to school” and “back to church” activities, our stewardship campaign, some new classes and all sorts of way to be in mission locally and beyond.
I hope that your ministries are also bearing fruit this summer. And I surely hope that all of you are having some fun. Some time with family, friends and the kids; some time at church, in mission and in the Scriptures. We help grow the Kingdom one smile at a time.
Joy!
Bill
This summer seems different than others. Perhaps it is because the heat is not as bad. The fields are still green and the earth is not thirsting as it did last year. Our little garden at home was successful and we are still eating some of the vegetables we grew. When my wife reads this, she will ask “We?” Yes, she did most of the work. But as we prepared and planted this spring, I was listening to my Ipod as I did my part, and I still had Christmas music in the mix. I asked my Facebook friends if the liturgical police were going to come and get me. It just seemed so right to listen to the music of the birth story as we tilled and planted. I was assured that Christmas music is pretty good much of the year, and we planted our watermelons to the Mannheim Steamroller Christmas album.
The garden had the usual share of insects and things that needed some spraying or dusting, but not too much. Henrietta took up residence nearby and had her nest of baby cottontail rabbits. Any creature that hangs out long enough around here will get a name. They did not eat much. As the weeks went by, tomatoes, beans, peppers, squash, watermelons and her little herb garden produced and kept our table nicely filled. Already, Janice is thinking about the fall garden. I have found that when you garden, there is always something to plan and do and for the most part, it is very pleasant work.
Lay ministry is much the same. It is such a pleasant way to serve God. There is always some work that needs to be done, and most of the work is very agreeable. Sometimes, the unexpected will show up, like our little brood of rabbits did around the garden, and we just enjoy the fun. Vacation Bible School was like that. The theme was “Galactic Blast” and our choirmaster wore a NASA spacesuit. Janice and I took up an outpost in the orbital observatory and led 90+ kids in experiments and Scripture for a while each evening. Of course, we had many, many folks in the church helping out with VBS. We were all really tired each evening, but we praised God as the kids (big and little) grew in understanding and faith. Just like Janice is planning our little fall garden, the church staff is busy planning our fall “back to school” and “back to church” activities, our stewardship campaign, some new classes and all sorts of way to be in mission locally and beyond.
I hope that your ministries are also bearing fruit this summer. And I surely hope that all of you are having some fun. Some time with family, friends and the kids; some time at church, in mission and in the Scriptures. We help grow the Kingdom one smile at a time.
Joy!
Bill
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Money
Last fall, your finance committee met and painstakingly put a budget together. Every department was asked to either cut costs somehow, or at least not add any costs. Times are tight, you know. Stewardship kicked off their fall campaign, and urged everyone to step up their pledges so the budget could be met. However, the pledges were less than the year before. Times are tight, you know. Churches generally figure that the pledges represent about 70% of what actually is donated, and when the total of the pledges plus the anticipated 30% don’t add up to the budget requirements, folks start talking about stepping out in faith. The budget gets adopted, no one loses their job and ministries continue as planned. However, as the new year progresses, the reality sinks in as the expenses exceed the income and red ink covers the financial report. The budget is in shambles. Times are tight, you know.
Does this sound like your church? I don’t know of any churches where the situation has been much different. It is especially true this time of year as attendance falls off and folks don’t pay as much attention to their giving. For some churches that have few reserves, the situation can be critical as there is not enough money to pay the bills and keep the ministries going forward.
Stewardship is uniquely in the hands of the laity. It is not up to the pastor. It is our church and our responsibility to give sufficiently to keep the ministries going. How can we approach money issues in a healthy way? Like everything good that we do, we turn to Scripture. From a Biblical perspective, we are to offer our first fruits to God. Not the surplus, not the leftovers and not the stuff that we would otherwise just toss out. We give the first and the best. The reason is clear. If we are to love God with all of our heart, soul and mind, our offering has to reflect that kind of love. We can start with the Old Testament, but quickly remember what Jesus had to say on the subject. Jesus reminded us many times that we are not to hoard money and possessions, but rather store up treasures for heaven. We are not talking about St. Peter’s ATM either. We are talking about the joy and blessing we have from supporting God’s work. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” That is pretty clear.
You might be saying, “Yes, Bill, I know that. But how do I find money in an already lean bank account?” Betsy Schwarzentraub has written a little article that is posted on the GBOD website under “Stewardship” called “First Fruits Living”. Betsy writes about attitude and spirit, and how we might prioritize by offering first fruits to God, and let all else follow, especially the blessings that come from such an attitude. This style of living is not so much about money as it is about how we spend our time and what relationships we build. Here is an example. I used to play golf just as often as I could. By the time I slipped out of the office, (or played on the weekend), hit some practice balls, had a quick sandwich from the grill, played the round and then hashed it over and settled the bets in the 19th hole, 6 hours were typically gone. If we played an out of town course, it was more like 8 hours. With the cost of the round, golf balls, constantly updating the equipment, a desperately needed lesson now and again (not counting the lost wagers—I was not very good), I spent some money. I also developed relationships with my golfing buddies and even structured vacations so that I could play some nice courses here and there. You can see that golf was a priority that had nothing to do with first fruits living. It did not make me a terrible person, and the guys I played golf with are real good people. But if I was playing golf and spending my time, money and relationship building doing that, the church and my family were getting second best from me. I finally realized that if I was going to get serious about serving God, I had to take a hard look at my priorities. I have some old golf clubs in the garage if you need some. I cannot honestly say that I have fully developed a first fruits attitude, but I sure am more intentional about how I spend my time and money.
Changing attitudes takes some time. One of the quickest ways to help the church and yourself get through the financial doldrums of the summer is to emphasize electronic funds transfer (“EFT”). It is really simple. Your church should have a little card whereby you direct your bank to automatically withdraw a set amount each month and pay it over to the church. No searching for checkbooks on Sunday morning and no worries about making an offering while you are on vacation. The money, your first fruits, comes right off of the top each month. The church knows that it can depend on you just as surely you know that you can depend on God. Studies show that churches that offer EFT have a steadier and better rate of giving, especially during the summer. The lay leaders can have an EFT campaign any time of the year.
There is quite a temptation for the lay leadership to go before the congregation and point out how far behind we are in the budget. We get focused on the church’s need for money and lose focus on our need for the church’s ministries. People tend to give generously to causes they believe in. It is up to the laity to make the church a cause that folks can get behind. We do that by reminding the congregation of how our church does ministry that changes lives. We use the offertory call as an opportunity to celebrate ministries. Stewardship is a year round discussion and is not reserved for the fall campaign. Moreover, it is a festival of God’s work through and in our church.
If the budget has been a wreck so far this year, then it is time to celebrate how much we love God and our church. Give everyone an EFT card and help them understand how that little piece of cardboard can be an expression of a first fruits attitude. Talk about the ways your church has changed lives in the community and in the congregation. Develop an attitude of abundance, not of scarcity when it comes to the work of the church. Don’t treat the finances of the church like a wake, but rather have a fiesta as we give generously, even extravagantly, to do God’s work.
Joy!
Bill
Does this sound like your church? I don’t know of any churches where the situation has been much different. It is especially true this time of year as attendance falls off and folks don’t pay as much attention to their giving. For some churches that have few reserves, the situation can be critical as there is not enough money to pay the bills and keep the ministries going forward.
Stewardship is uniquely in the hands of the laity. It is not up to the pastor. It is our church and our responsibility to give sufficiently to keep the ministries going. How can we approach money issues in a healthy way? Like everything good that we do, we turn to Scripture. From a Biblical perspective, we are to offer our first fruits to God. Not the surplus, not the leftovers and not the stuff that we would otherwise just toss out. We give the first and the best. The reason is clear. If we are to love God with all of our heart, soul and mind, our offering has to reflect that kind of love. We can start with the Old Testament, but quickly remember what Jesus had to say on the subject. Jesus reminded us many times that we are not to hoard money and possessions, but rather store up treasures for heaven. We are not talking about St. Peter’s ATM either. We are talking about the joy and blessing we have from supporting God’s work. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” That is pretty clear.
You might be saying, “Yes, Bill, I know that. But how do I find money in an already lean bank account?” Betsy Schwarzentraub has written a little article that is posted on the GBOD website under “Stewardship” called “First Fruits Living”. Betsy writes about attitude and spirit, and how we might prioritize by offering first fruits to God, and let all else follow, especially the blessings that come from such an attitude. This style of living is not so much about money as it is about how we spend our time and what relationships we build. Here is an example. I used to play golf just as often as I could. By the time I slipped out of the office, (or played on the weekend), hit some practice balls, had a quick sandwich from the grill, played the round and then hashed it over and settled the bets in the 19th hole, 6 hours were typically gone. If we played an out of town course, it was more like 8 hours. With the cost of the round, golf balls, constantly updating the equipment, a desperately needed lesson now and again (not counting the lost wagers—I was not very good), I spent some money. I also developed relationships with my golfing buddies and even structured vacations so that I could play some nice courses here and there. You can see that golf was a priority that had nothing to do with first fruits living. It did not make me a terrible person, and the guys I played golf with are real good people. But if I was playing golf and spending my time, money and relationship building doing that, the church and my family were getting second best from me. I finally realized that if I was going to get serious about serving God, I had to take a hard look at my priorities. I have some old golf clubs in the garage if you need some. I cannot honestly say that I have fully developed a first fruits attitude, but I sure am more intentional about how I spend my time and money.
Changing attitudes takes some time. One of the quickest ways to help the church and yourself get through the financial doldrums of the summer is to emphasize electronic funds transfer (“EFT”). It is really simple. Your church should have a little card whereby you direct your bank to automatically withdraw a set amount each month and pay it over to the church. No searching for checkbooks on Sunday morning and no worries about making an offering while you are on vacation. The money, your first fruits, comes right off of the top each month. The church knows that it can depend on you just as surely you know that you can depend on God. Studies show that churches that offer EFT have a steadier and better rate of giving, especially during the summer. The lay leaders can have an EFT campaign any time of the year.
There is quite a temptation for the lay leadership to go before the congregation and point out how far behind we are in the budget. We get focused on the church’s need for money and lose focus on our need for the church’s ministries. People tend to give generously to causes they believe in. It is up to the laity to make the church a cause that folks can get behind. We do that by reminding the congregation of how our church does ministry that changes lives. We use the offertory call as an opportunity to celebrate ministries. Stewardship is a year round discussion and is not reserved for the fall campaign. Moreover, it is a festival of God’s work through and in our church.
If the budget has been a wreck so far this year, then it is time to celebrate how much we love God and our church. Give everyone an EFT card and help them understand how that little piece of cardboard can be an expression of a first fruits attitude. Talk about the ways your church has changed lives in the community and in the congregation. Develop an attitude of abundance, not of scarcity when it comes to the work of the church. Don’t treat the finances of the church like a wake, but rather have a fiesta as we give generously, even extravagantly, to do God’s work.
Joy!
Bill
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Conference!
I am just back (and recovering) from the Southwest Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, and thought I might share a little with you. Even if you are not United Methodist, I would be willing to wager a bit that most large church conferences are just about the same. The Southwest Texas Annual Conference has approximately 1,500 lay and clergy delegates, representing about 350 churches. The territory includes the Corpus Christi coastal area, down to Harlingen and picking up a large part of the Rio Grande River area, up to San Angelo, across the Hill Country to Kerrville, down a little to Austin and all around San Antonio and Victoria. It is a large and diverse area. It is a fun bunch of Christians. There are a few “mega churches”, many, many small chapels and every size in between. We have ethnic diversity among and within these churches and there is a mix of wealthy and not so wealthy congregations. The big equalizer is our “Connection” through which we all care for each other, support one another and share resources. Our pastors are appointed rather than called and usually spend around six years with a congregation before being moved to another congregation. Sometimes longer, sometimes shorter, but always in the tradition of the itinerant pastor.
We have the usual business sessions at Conference where we vote to fill our numerous conference committees, adopt a budget and hear reports. Some of the reports are very exciting, and there are a few that are not so much. I looked around the room one afternoon and I might have seen a few people dozing and I am pretty sure several of the clergy were writing Sunday’s sermon. I must admit that my eye lids drooped a few times. The sessions last from early to sometimes late, and we meet from Wednesday afternoon to about noon on Saturday. We don’t get as much sleep as we like and that is a long time for me to be away from home. So, why do I go? I go for the spiritual refreshment. I go to see friends I have not seen since last Conference. I go to learn how to do ministry better. I go to learn what the churches in the Southwest Conference have done during the past year and what they plan to do this coming year. I go so that I can worship God in a beautiful setting, with friends old and new.
The Conference usually structures itself around a theme. In our General Conference (all of the United Methodist churches), we are focusing on “Re-Think Church”. That means that we are considering how we can reach new people in new places. At our Conference, we are working on “Developing Principled Christian Leaders for the Church and the World” and our Bishop Dorff saw the theme as “Creating a Culture of Growth”. Not just in numbers, but growth in our leadership abilities. All that we do is based in Scripture and John 12:24 became a focal point for the Conference.
“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”
In our context, that means that we have to invest ourselves in order that we grow and become fruitful in our ministry. As you can imagine, the preachers, musicians, choirs, speakers, dancers and others planning worship and events were able to mine the imagery from this Scripture to create great sermons, music and presentations. I must say that we had some lively worship services. The Rev. Tyrone Gordon from St. Luke’s Community UMC in Dallas is one of the more dynamic preachers you will ever hear.
I came away from this Conference with a better understanding of the role of leadership in our church and how good leadership in every aspect of the church is critical to making disciples. As laity, not only do we lead our churches, but we must be vigilant in identifying and cultivating the leadership potential in others. The preachers and the presenters pointed out that strong principled leadership is required if we are going to be successful in planting new churches, conducting stewardship and capital campaigns, offering quality Christian education and of course, having dynamic, life changing worship. Good leadership requires personal growth in prayer, reading and understanding Scripture, better strategic planning, embracing the diversity of our congregations, building consensus and avoiding destructive and divisive courses of action. I believe that we have to take advantage of educational opportunities and invite others to join us. I think we have to challenge each other to embrace Bishop Schnase’s concepts of radical hospitality, passionate worship, intentional faith development, risk taking mission and service and extravagant generosity(1).
It is going to be an exciting church year, filled with possibilities.
Joy!
Bill
(1) Robert Schnase “Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations” Nashville: Abington Press 2007
We have the usual business sessions at Conference where we vote to fill our numerous conference committees, adopt a budget and hear reports. Some of the reports are very exciting, and there are a few that are not so much. I looked around the room one afternoon and I might have seen a few people dozing and I am pretty sure several of the clergy were writing Sunday’s sermon. I must admit that my eye lids drooped a few times. The sessions last from early to sometimes late, and we meet from Wednesday afternoon to about noon on Saturday. We don’t get as much sleep as we like and that is a long time for me to be away from home. So, why do I go? I go for the spiritual refreshment. I go to see friends I have not seen since last Conference. I go to learn how to do ministry better. I go to learn what the churches in the Southwest Conference have done during the past year and what they plan to do this coming year. I go so that I can worship God in a beautiful setting, with friends old and new.
The Conference usually structures itself around a theme. In our General Conference (all of the United Methodist churches), we are focusing on “Re-Think Church”. That means that we are considering how we can reach new people in new places. At our Conference, we are working on “Developing Principled Christian Leaders for the Church and the World” and our Bishop Dorff saw the theme as “Creating a Culture of Growth”. Not just in numbers, but growth in our leadership abilities. All that we do is based in Scripture and John 12:24 became a focal point for the Conference.
“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”
In our context, that means that we have to invest ourselves in order that we grow and become fruitful in our ministry. As you can imagine, the preachers, musicians, choirs, speakers, dancers and others planning worship and events were able to mine the imagery from this Scripture to create great sermons, music and presentations. I must say that we had some lively worship services. The Rev. Tyrone Gordon from St. Luke’s Community UMC in Dallas is one of the more dynamic preachers you will ever hear.
I came away from this Conference with a better understanding of the role of leadership in our church and how good leadership in every aspect of the church is critical to making disciples. As laity, not only do we lead our churches, but we must be vigilant in identifying and cultivating the leadership potential in others. The preachers and the presenters pointed out that strong principled leadership is required if we are going to be successful in planting new churches, conducting stewardship and capital campaigns, offering quality Christian education and of course, having dynamic, life changing worship. Good leadership requires personal growth in prayer, reading and understanding Scripture, better strategic planning, embracing the diversity of our congregations, building consensus and avoiding destructive and divisive courses of action. I believe that we have to take advantage of educational opportunities and invite others to join us. I think we have to challenge each other to embrace Bishop Schnase’s concepts of radical hospitality, passionate worship, intentional faith development, risk taking mission and service and extravagant generosity(1).
It is going to be an exciting church year, filled with possibilities.
Joy!
Bill
(1) Robert Schnase “Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations” Nashville: Abington Press 2007
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Comings and Goings
It is that time of year in the United Methodist calendar. Some of us will shortly be releasing our pastor and others will be getting a new pastor. It is an unsettling time for a church that is doing either, and as lay leaders, it can be a challenging time for us. The itinerancy system of appointing pastors may not be unique to the United Methodist Church, but it is certainly deeply entrenched in our tradition.
(2008 Book of Discipline ¶ 338.) How we release our former ministers and receive our new ministers are some of the most important tasks of the Church, yet there is really very little in the Book of Discipline as to how it ought to be done. There is plenty about the procedure of appointment (¶430, et seq.), but almost nothing about the loving and caring way we bid farewell and welcome. How well we do so is truly a mark of maturity of our congregation and bears some thoughtful and prayerful planning.
I recently attended our district’s pastors and professionals meeting and I was struck at just how much our pastors want the process to work for both the receiving as well as the parting congregations. They want the process to be as seamless as possible so that the work of the Church is not interrupted. Make no mistake; the pastors who are leaving are going through a difficult, emotional process. Most don’t want to uproot themselves and their families. Most have things they feel they are leaving undone. All have formed lasting relationships that must be put aside. But as professionals, they know that the very best thing that they can do for us and the incoming pastor is to begin the distancing process. We have to help them do that, as painful though it may be. That means that we no longer look to them for pastoral care, but trust that God has sent someone else to do so. That is hard when a pastor has been with you during difficult times, life’s milestones and celebrations and times when we really connect during worship.
How can we properly release our pastors and receive a new pastor? I commend to you Dr. Robert Crossman’s “50 Ways to Welcome your New Senior or Associate Pastor” which can be downloaded from http://www.ngumc.org/blogs/detail/122. This is the North Georgia Conference website. Dr. Crossman has as many thoughts about releasing a pastor as he does receiving a pastor. That is because it is really important to the new pastor to know that the congregation cared about their former pastor. Prayer undergirds the entire process. Nothing would make a new pastor feel more welcome than to know the congregation held a prayer vigil for them and their family. Planning is critical. Dr. Crossman suggests that the congregation not just assume that the Staff Parish Relations Committee is doing all of the work. He suggests that the church gather and plan so that important welcoming gestures are not overlooked. Some of the details include having members there on moving day, ready to pitch in. Having the fridge and pantry stocked is a nice gesture. It is especially important to help make the new pastor’s spouse and children feel welcome. Make the moving process a time to carefully evaluate the parsonage, make the repairs and do the cleaning that is required. At our church, we have found that gathering gift certificates from the local businesses for food, services and entertainment are very welcome. When the Church spends some time in brainstorming prayer, we find all sorts of fun ways to do offer extraordinary hospitality.
Rev. Carl Westbrook made several good points at the pastors and professionals meeting regarding record keeping. Good, solid records will help a new pastor do his or her job better. Larger churches have staff that helps the pastor keep these records, but in smaller churches, that task might fall squarely on the pastor. I would think that helping with the record keeping is a perfect job for the laity. After all, many of us make our living keeping records of all sorts. In a year of transition, the pastor has to prepare the end of the year report for the church, yet was not in place for the first six months of the year. I would think that having the records in good order would be quite helpful. More importantly, I suspect that the pastors will very much appreciate some help with this mundane, but important chore.
Celebrating the former pastor with a healthy “goodbye” service is important. The United Methodist Book of Worship has both an order of worship to celebrate an appointment (P. 595) as well as an Order of Farewell (P. 998). In the farewell celebrations I have been involved in, we have taken time to recognize the accomplishments of the pastor. We have always had a dinner of some sort and run a film loop of various pictures and video of the pastor as they have served over the years. We have given folks time to recount something meaningful and to say their goodbyes. I really like the Order for Farewell as found in the Book of Worship because it allows the pastor to ask forgiveness from the congregation, and vice versa. I doubt that any pastoral tenure is ever perfect, and there are always a few hurts along the way. Forgiveness is a core tenet of the Church and it seems that the farewell celebration is the perfect time for that. The Order suggests that the pastor who is leaving lay his or her stole on the pulpit and for the new pastor to take it up. I love the image of connection and continuity that brings.
The transition between pastors is truly a time for the laity to shine and to show their love and appreciation for their pastors. It is a milestone for the Church that should be remembered as something done well. It is an opportunity for laity to find new ways to serve in the Church. Most importantly, it is a time to praise God for his providence in providing pastoral leadership for our Church.
Joy!
Bill
(2008 Book of Discipline ¶ 338.) How we release our former ministers and receive our new ministers are some of the most important tasks of the Church, yet there is really very little in the Book of Discipline as to how it ought to be done. There is plenty about the procedure of appointment (¶430, et seq.), but almost nothing about the loving and caring way we bid farewell and welcome. How well we do so is truly a mark of maturity of our congregation and bears some thoughtful and prayerful planning.
I recently attended our district’s pastors and professionals meeting and I was struck at just how much our pastors want the process to work for both the receiving as well as the parting congregations. They want the process to be as seamless as possible so that the work of the Church is not interrupted. Make no mistake; the pastors who are leaving are going through a difficult, emotional process. Most don’t want to uproot themselves and their families. Most have things they feel they are leaving undone. All have formed lasting relationships that must be put aside. But as professionals, they know that the very best thing that they can do for us and the incoming pastor is to begin the distancing process. We have to help them do that, as painful though it may be. That means that we no longer look to them for pastoral care, but trust that God has sent someone else to do so. That is hard when a pastor has been with you during difficult times, life’s milestones and celebrations and times when we really connect during worship.
How can we properly release our pastors and receive a new pastor? I commend to you Dr. Robert Crossman’s “50 Ways to Welcome your New Senior or Associate Pastor” which can be downloaded from http://www.ngumc.org/blogs/detail/122. This is the North Georgia Conference website. Dr. Crossman has as many thoughts about releasing a pastor as he does receiving a pastor. That is because it is really important to the new pastor to know that the congregation cared about their former pastor. Prayer undergirds the entire process. Nothing would make a new pastor feel more welcome than to know the congregation held a prayer vigil for them and their family. Planning is critical. Dr. Crossman suggests that the congregation not just assume that the Staff Parish Relations Committee is doing all of the work. He suggests that the church gather and plan so that important welcoming gestures are not overlooked. Some of the details include having members there on moving day, ready to pitch in. Having the fridge and pantry stocked is a nice gesture. It is especially important to help make the new pastor’s spouse and children feel welcome. Make the moving process a time to carefully evaluate the parsonage, make the repairs and do the cleaning that is required. At our church, we have found that gathering gift certificates from the local businesses for food, services and entertainment are very welcome. When the Church spends some time in brainstorming prayer, we find all sorts of fun ways to do offer extraordinary hospitality.
Rev. Carl Westbrook made several good points at the pastors and professionals meeting regarding record keeping. Good, solid records will help a new pastor do his or her job better. Larger churches have staff that helps the pastor keep these records, but in smaller churches, that task might fall squarely on the pastor. I would think that helping with the record keeping is a perfect job for the laity. After all, many of us make our living keeping records of all sorts. In a year of transition, the pastor has to prepare the end of the year report for the church, yet was not in place for the first six months of the year. I would think that having the records in good order would be quite helpful. More importantly, I suspect that the pastors will very much appreciate some help with this mundane, but important chore.
Celebrating the former pastor with a healthy “goodbye” service is important. The United Methodist Book of Worship has both an order of worship to celebrate an appointment (P. 595) as well as an Order of Farewell (P. 998). In the farewell celebrations I have been involved in, we have taken time to recognize the accomplishments of the pastor. We have always had a dinner of some sort and run a film loop of various pictures and video of the pastor as they have served over the years. We have given folks time to recount something meaningful and to say their goodbyes. I really like the Order for Farewell as found in the Book of Worship because it allows the pastor to ask forgiveness from the congregation, and vice versa. I doubt that any pastoral tenure is ever perfect, and there are always a few hurts along the way. Forgiveness is a core tenet of the Church and it seems that the farewell celebration is the perfect time for that. The Order suggests that the pastor who is leaving lay his or her stole on the pulpit and for the new pastor to take it up. I love the image of connection and continuity that brings.
The transition between pastors is truly a time for the laity to shine and to show their love and appreciation for their pastors. It is a milestone for the Church that should be remembered as something done well. It is an opportunity for laity to find new ways to serve in the Church. Most importantly, it is a time to praise God for his providence in providing pastoral leadership for our Church.
Joy!
Bill
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Children's Sermon
It was time for the Children’s Sermon on Mother’s Day Sunday. I always get a kick watching the children come from all parts of the church to the front. Most run forward with anticipation and a smile. Some hold the hands of a brother or sister, and approach cautiously. Some are making their way under obvious parental threat and a few turn around and run back to their parents before they get there. However they came, they gathered on the steps by the prayer rail with John Holt. The little red piggy banks were a nice touch. John has a great way with kids and soon they were attentive and responding to the lesson. The topic was saving money to buy mosquito nets. The little ones were probably thinking what a great adventure it would be to sleep under one of the nets. We had several hung around the church for folks to see. They each got a little bank with instructions to save their coins and help buy a net for some little boy or girl in a far away country. When children’s time ended, they all scattered, some going on to “children’s church” and the rest back to mom and dad. They were all smiling and seeing how their little bank opened up.
If they had looked at the adults closely, they would not have seen many smiles; they might have even seen a tear or two. If these little ones of ours were children from the Congo, one out of five would not reach age five. The child would have died from malaria. We are told that a child in Africa dies every 30 seconds from malaria. We had talked about that a little during the opening of the service and how The United Methodist Church, hand in hand with a number of other organizations, has a vision of raising $75,000,000.00 to buy and distribute mosquito nets in Africa. Besides the high death rate, 23.6 million people get the disease each year. Malaria is a debilitating disease that preys on people in poverty and keeps them in poverty. An adult with malaria cannot work and provide for his or her family. Even if they survive the disease, many victims develop lifelong health problems associated with malaria and they never can reach their potential.
$75,000,000 is a bunch of money. It is a dream; a vision of visionary men and women who want to help change the world. How can we raise that much? We have the goal, in our church, of buying one insecticide treated net for every man, woman and child that calls First United Methodist Church “home”. The nets cost $10.00 each. We are making it a family project, with the smallest of children getting their little red piggy banks, the youth having car washes and bake sales and the adults leading by example. In Joshua 24:15, Joshua told the people to choose whatever god that they wanted to serve, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord”. Being a witness for Christ is best when it is a family decision and putting together the money for the nets is a good family project. Clearly, this is a laity driven project organized by the lay leaders and ministry teams, and responsive to our conference leaders. Most certainly, our clergy are very much behind the effort, but it is taking its energy from the laity, especially the children and youth. The work is deeply Scriptural.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8
These are the words of Jesus as he left the Disciples, telling them what they must do until he returns. For the disciples, the “ends of the earth” would probably be about what was included in the Roman Empire. They would not have known about most of the world. For us, the ends of the earth are the places that we know exist, but we will likely never travel to. At least I don’t have the missionary spirit. Even so, our family will witness in Africa by helping provide these nets. Our church will witness there by making sure the nets are distributed where they are needed.
There is a website called “Imagine No Malaria” that has all of the information about this ministry. I hope you visit the site, and then call a family meeting. That meeting can be a powerful time for your family; a time to read some Scripture and a time to witness in a single voice. A time to decide that we can make a difference when people of faith unite. Imagine; no more malaria.
Joy!
Bill
If they had looked at the adults closely, they would not have seen many smiles; they might have even seen a tear or two. If these little ones of ours were children from the Congo, one out of five would not reach age five. The child would have died from malaria. We are told that a child in Africa dies every 30 seconds from malaria. We had talked about that a little during the opening of the service and how The United Methodist Church, hand in hand with a number of other organizations, has a vision of raising $75,000,000.00 to buy and distribute mosquito nets in Africa. Besides the high death rate, 23.6 million people get the disease each year. Malaria is a debilitating disease that preys on people in poverty and keeps them in poverty. An adult with malaria cannot work and provide for his or her family. Even if they survive the disease, many victims develop lifelong health problems associated with malaria and they never can reach their potential.
$75,000,000 is a bunch of money. It is a dream; a vision of visionary men and women who want to help change the world. How can we raise that much? We have the goal, in our church, of buying one insecticide treated net for every man, woman and child that calls First United Methodist Church “home”. The nets cost $10.00 each. We are making it a family project, with the smallest of children getting their little red piggy banks, the youth having car washes and bake sales and the adults leading by example. In Joshua 24:15, Joshua told the people to choose whatever god that they wanted to serve, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord”. Being a witness for Christ is best when it is a family decision and putting together the money for the nets is a good family project. Clearly, this is a laity driven project organized by the lay leaders and ministry teams, and responsive to our conference leaders. Most certainly, our clergy are very much behind the effort, but it is taking its energy from the laity, especially the children and youth. The work is deeply Scriptural.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8
These are the words of Jesus as he left the Disciples, telling them what they must do until he returns. For the disciples, the “ends of the earth” would probably be about what was included in the Roman Empire. They would not have known about most of the world. For us, the ends of the earth are the places that we know exist, but we will likely never travel to. At least I don’t have the missionary spirit. Even so, our family will witness in Africa by helping provide these nets. Our church will witness there by making sure the nets are distributed where they are needed.
There is a website called “Imagine No Malaria” that has all of the information about this ministry. I hope you visit the site, and then call a family meeting. That meeting can be a powerful time for your family; a time to read some Scripture and a time to witness in a single voice. A time to decide that we can make a difference when people of faith unite. Imagine; no more malaria.
Joy!
Bill
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Sabbath Rest
It has been too long since my last post. It has been a busy time at work and in the church. We launched the new Taizé inspired service and I was privileged to bring the message. I served on an Emmaus team last weekend and have generally filled most days with some sort of work. I had timely started this “Reflection” only to get sidetracked more than just a few times. Unfortunately, little of that involved Sabbath rest.
The April 9, 2010 issue of the United Methodist Witness had a really good article about Sabbath rest written by the managing editor, Rachel L. Toalson. She cites some words of wisdom by Abraham Heschel in his "The Sabbath: Its Meaning for the Modern Man", telling us that we are allowed six days to wrestle with the world; six days to dominate the earth, but on the Sabbath day “we especially care for the seed of eternity planted in our soul” while we try to dominate our self. Toalson interviewed several pastors for her article and asked them how they “do Sabbath”. Bottom line for them was not to work, to be in prayer, be with family and listen carefully for God’s word. As we all know, we can keep Sabbath on days different than Sunday, and because pastors typically work on Sunday, their Sabbath necessarily is another day of the week. As I read this article, I began wondering how we laity are doing when it comes to Sabbath rest. More particularly, I wondered how I was doing. The answer was not all that encouraging.
There is ample Scripture regarding the Sabbath. We all know the commandment to keep the Sabbath. "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God...." (Exodus 20:8-10). Sometimes, we might forget what a really huge blessing the Sabbath rest was for the Israelites. They were a newly freed slave people. Slaves don’t get regular days off. They don’t get vacations, personal leave or anything else we take for granted. They just work every day unless whoever is in charge says otherwise. At first, the Jews took this law deadly serious. A violation meant death by stoning.(Numbers 15:32). But eventually, the Jews took a fairly simple rule and turned it into a legalistic mess that Jesus absolutely hated. It seems like Jesus intentionally healed people on the Sabbath just to get the Pharisees riled up and point out how they had twisted the law. Witness the man who was healed, and took up his mat that he had been laying on. Rather than celebrating the miracle, the Pharisees fussed at the fellow for carrying his mat on the Sabbath. (John 5:9-18). And certainly we remember Jesus telling us that it was all right to do good works on the Sabbath.(Matthew 12:9-21). In fact, Jesus said that he was Lord of the Sabbath, and we take that to mean that Jesus defines the Sabbath, not us. So, it would seem that after reading Scripture and knowing what Jesus did and said, we could figure out how to keep Sabbath. Unfortunately, it just is not that easy for most folks, laity or clergy.
Many clergy I know struggle to keep Sabbath. They know they are supposed to set the example, yet they fail to set boundaries. They are available most all of the time. At the New Church Leadership Institute, many of the church planting pastors gave witness to how the job has a tendency to consume marriages and families. The divorce rate is alarmingly high for those folks. One spouse declared that she had refused to “sacrifice her children on the altar” of the church, leaving me to believe that she and her spouse had really been challenged as they tried to find some balance in their lives. In the Toalson article, several clergy and youth ministers spoke of how they were intentional about Sabbath, and I hope that more of our clergy take that to heart. The laity can do their part by understanding what day their pastor has set aside, and doing all that can be done to shield that time for them.
Laity fall into several categories. Many are able to simply keep the Sabbath as it was intended. Others struggle to various degrees. There are many people who just flat have to work Sundays because their jobs require them to do so. As a result, they fight to find rest of any sort on any day of the week. A full day of rest may just not be possible for them. Others have enslaved themselves to their work just as surely as the Jews were enslaved. It is not that they can’t take a day of rest; they just won’t. Still others, in lay ministry, work a full time job and then make the time to serve. That service can consume much of their free time. We are comforted by Jesus’ telling us that is just fine to do good on the Sabbath, but we can cross the line easily from doing good works to just working. As I examined how I keep Sabbath, I mentioned that I was not encouraged. There was a time in my life when I probably was a workaholic, and I fight that now. I am not very happy at rest, and things that I believe need to be done prey on me. In short, I just have not been very good about Sabbath rest. I plan to do better, and this is the plan:
1. Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. Every Sabbath moment and all Sabbath rest have to begin there. I want to recognize and understand that better. I want to be more prayerful as I enter into Sabbath time.
2. I will take some liberty, and the clergy can fuss at me. When it comes to matters of faith, we really do nothing perfectly. That probably includes Sabbath rest. Rather than just give up or give in, perhaps we need to learn to start with an imperfect Sabbath rest and build from that. To me, an imperfect Sabbath rest means that I do set aside at least part of a day, or part of several days, to really rest and get away from work and from ministry. That time must include family time. Being consumed by ministry while working at a full time vocation can be damaging to a marriage.
3. I cannot see how, for me, Sabbath rest will not include some time of study. I just feel empty unless I do so at some point in the week. The problem is that I get so deep into study and writing that I can use every evening that way. The result can extend into a series of ten hour days that look too much like a 60+ hour work week. I need to set some limits on how long I work, read and study each day.
If I do these three things: 1.) be intentionally prayerful about Sabbath rest, 2.) Perhaps not have a full day, but at least have part of a day devoted to Sabbath rest, and 3.) limit my work and study, I probably am celebrating Sabbath imperfectly, but that is better than what I have been doing. I hope that my friends in lay ministry take the time for a self examine. Are you getting rest? Do you honor your family with your presence and attention? Do you honor God by keeping his commandment, even imperfectly? Let’s all of us try to do better.
Joy!
Bill
The April 9, 2010 issue of the United Methodist Witness had a really good article about Sabbath rest written by the managing editor, Rachel L. Toalson. She cites some words of wisdom by Abraham Heschel in his "The Sabbath: Its Meaning for the Modern Man", telling us that we are allowed six days to wrestle with the world; six days to dominate the earth, but on the Sabbath day “we especially care for the seed of eternity planted in our soul” while we try to dominate our self. Toalson interviewed several pastors for her article and asked them how they “do Sabbath”. Bottom line for them was not to work, to be in prayer, be with family and listen carefully for God’s word. As we all know, we can keep Sabbath on days different than Sunday, and because pastors typically work on Sunday, their Sabbath necessarily is another day of the week. As I read this article, I began wondering how we laity are doing when it comes to Sabbath rest. More particularly, I wondered how I was doing. The answer was not all that encouraging.
There is ample Scripture regarding the Sabbath. We all know the commandment to keep the Sabbath. "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God...." (Exodus 20:8-10). Sometimes, we might forget what a really huge blessing the Sabbath rest was for the Israelites. They were a newly freed slave people. Slaves don’t get regular days off. They don’t get vacations, personal leave or anything else we take for granted. They just work every day unless whoever is in charge says otherwise. At first, the Jews took this law deadly serious. A violation meant death by stoning.(Numbers 15:32). But eventually, the Jews took a fairly simple rule and turned it into a legalistic mess that Jesus absolutely hated. It seems like Jesus intentionally healed people on the Sabbath just to get the Pharisees riled up and point out how they had twisted the law. Witness the man who was healed, and took up his mat that he had been laying on. Rather than celebrating the miracle, the Pharisees fussed at the fellow for carrying his mat on the Sabbath. (John 5:9-18). And certainly we remember Jesus telling us that it was all right to do good works on the Sabbath.(Matthew 12:9-21). In fact, Jesus said that he was Lord of the Sabbath, and we take that to mean that Jesus defines the Sabbath, not us. So, it would seem that after reading Scripture and knowing what Jesus did and said, we could figure out how to keep Sabbath. Unfortunately, it just is not that easy for most folks, laity or clergy.
Many clergy I know struggle to keep Sabbath. They know they are supposed to set the example, yet they fail to set boundaries. They are available most all of the time. At the New Church Leadership Institute, many of the church planting pastors gave witness to how the job has a tendency to consume marriages and families. The divorce rate is alarmingly high for those folks. One spouse declared that she had refused to “sacrifice her children on the altar” of the church, leaving me to believe that she and her spouse had really been challenged as they tried to find some balance in their lives. In the Toalson article, several clergy and youth ministers spoke of how they were intentional about Sabbath, and I hope that more of our clergy take that to heart. The laity can do their part by understanding what day their pastor has set aside, and doing all that can be done to shield that time for them.
Laity fall into several categories. Many are able to simply keep the Sabbath as it was intended. Others struggle to various degrees. There are many people who just flat have to work Sundays because their jobs require them to do so. As a result, they fight to find rest of any sort on any day of the week. A full day of rest may just not be possible for them. Others have enslaved themselves to their work just as surely as the Jews were enslaved. It is not that they can’t take a day of rest; they just won’t. Still others, in lay ministry, work a full time job and then make the time to serve. That service can consume much of their free time. We are comforted by Jesus’ telling us that is just fine to do good on the Sabbath, but we can cross the line easily from doing good works to just working. As I examined how I keep Sabbath, I mentioned that I was not encouraged. There was a time in my life when I probably was a workaholic, and I fight that now. I am not very happy at rest, and things that I believe need to be done prey on me. In short, I just have not been very good about Sabbath rest. I plan to do better, and this is the plan:
1. Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. Every Sabbath moment and all Sabbath rest have to begin there. I want to recognize and understand that better. I want to be more prayerful as I enter into Sabbath time.
2. I will take some liberty, and the clergy can fuss at me. When it comes to matters of faith, we really do nothing perfectly. That probably includes Sabbath rest. Rather than just give up or give in, perhaps we need to learn to start with an imperfect Sabbath rest and build from that. To me, an imperfect Sabbath rest means that I do set aside at least part of a day, or part of several days, to really rest and get away from work and from ministry. That time must include family time. Being consumed by ministry while working at a full time vocation can be damaging to a marriage.
3. I cannot see how, for me, Sabbath rest will not include some time of study. I just feel empty unless I do so at some point in the week. The problem is that I get so deep into study and writing that I can use every evening that way. The result can extend into a series of ten hour days that look too much like a 60+ hour work week. I need to set some limits on how long I work, read and study each day.
If I do these three things: 1.) be intentionally prayerful about Sabbath rest, 2.) Perhaps not have a full day, but at least have part of a day devoted to Sabbath rest, and 3.) limit my work and study, I probably am celebrating Sabbath imperfectly, but that is better than what I have been doing. I hope that my friends in lay ministry take the time for a self examine. Are you getting rest? Do you honor your family with your presence and attention? Do you honor God by keeping his commandment, even imperfectly? Let’s all of us try to do better.
Joy!
Bill
Friday, April 16, 2010
Taize Worship
In 1940, Brother Roger left his home in Switzerland and settled in the small village of Taizé, France. Not long after, his little home became a refuge for people fleeing the war, including Jews. Eventually, Brother Roger had to return to Switzerland for a short while because the Nazis had a dim view of those who harbored Jews. He was in Geneva for two years, during which time he began to form a small community of like minded men devoted to Christian faith, meditation, celibacy and living simply. In 1944, he and several brothers returned to Taizé and formed an ecumenical monastic order based on simple and faithful living, reconciliation and communal work. Now, there are about 100 brothers of the order living in Taizé, however, the Taizé form of worship has captured the imagination of people worldwide. In fact, many people now go to Taizé for spiritual retreats and many churches have now added a Taizé worship opportunity. There is a very good website at www.taize.fr/en with much more information.
Taizé worship is meditative and contemplative. The music is simple and very much participatory (not performance based). At the service I attended at Alamo Heights UMC in San Antonio, the music was a flute and clarinet, and Pastor Donna Strieb handled the vocals. Most songs are simply one or two lines, repeated for effect. The Taizé community deliberately chose Latin as its primary musical language because of its ancient roots and because it offered a common language among very diverse worshipers. However, there are many songs in English that work just fine. "Jesus, Remember Me", on page 488 of the Methodist Hymnal is an example and I suspect that some churches use more of the English songs than the traditional Latin Taizé songs. There are deliberate periods of silence in the service and time to reflect. I noted that candles and Eastern Orthodox icons were used as focal points in the service. I understand that some Taizé services include a short message and the one I attended included a healing/blessing time at the end.
The Taizé service I attended allowed for more introspection than a traditional worship service, and I found myself listening a bit more for God’s voice. I had recently been reading John 20:19, and I actually gained some insight regarding that Scripture during the service. I surely found myself at peace when I left and for some reason, was quite touched by the blessing at the end of the service.
That, my friends, is just about all I know about Taizé worship, but since our church is seriously considering adding a Taizé service, I would like to know more. In particular, for those of you familiar with this style of worship:
1. How was it received at your church?
2. What age groups were attracted?
3. Did you use the traditional Taizé music resources, or work from a more traditional hymnal?
4. What musical instruments were used in the service?
5. How often do you worship?
6. What words of wisdom would you have for a church starting such a service?
I hope that enough of the folks who read “Reflections” have some experience with Taizé worship and can give us some advice. Please email me: bill@layministryfumc.com. By the way, I trust that you have noted that on my Lay Ministry website, I have a calendar for lay speaking and lay ministry events in the Southwest Texas and the Texas Conferences of the United Methodist Church. If you would like for me to add your event to the calendar (wherever it might be), just email me with the particulars and I will be happy to do so. The folks that administer the site seem pleased with the traffic and it is my purpose to provide that sort of information to as many people as I can.
Joy!
Bill
Taizé worship is meditative and contemplative. The music is simple and very much participatory (not performance based). At the service I attended at Alamo Heights UMC in San Antonio, the music was a flute and clarinet, and Pastor Donna Strieb handled the vocals. Most songs are simply one or two lines, repeated for effect. The Taizé community deliberately chose Latin as its primary musical language because of its ancient roots and because it offered a common language among very diverse worshipers. However, there are many songs in English that work just fine. "Jesus, Remember Me", on page 488 of the Methodist Hymnal is an example and I suspect that some churches use more of the English songs than the traditional Latin Taizé songs. There are deliberate periods of silence in the service and time to reflect. I noted that candles and Eastern Orthodox icons were used as focal points in the service. I understand that some Taizé services include a short message and the one I attended included a healing/blessing time at the end.
The Taizé service I attended allowed for more introspection than a traditional worship service, and I found myself listening a bit more for God’s voice. I had recently been reading John 20:19, and I actually gained some insight regarding that Scripture during the service. I surely found myself at peace when I left and for some reason, was quite touched by the blessing at the end of the service.
That, my friends, is just about all I know about Taizé worship, but since our church is seriously considering adding a Taizé service, I would like to know more. In particular, for those of you familiar with this style of worship:
1. How was it received at your church?
2. What age groups were attracted?
3. Did you use the traditional Taizé music resources, or work from a more traditional hymnal?
4. What musical instruments were used in the service?
5. How often do you worship?
6. What words of wisdom would you have for a church starting such a service?
I hope that enough of the folks who read “Reflections” have some experience with Taizé worship and can give us some advice. Please email me: bill@layministryfumc.com. By the way, I trust that you have noted that on my Lay Ministry website, I have a calendar for lay speaking and lay ministry events in the Southwest Texas and the Texas Conferences of the United Methodist Church. If you would like for me to add your event to the calendar (wherever it might be), just email me with the particulars and I will be happy to do so. The folks that administer the site seem pleased with the traffic and it is my purpose to provide that sort of information to as many people as I can.
Joy!
Bill
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Easter Reflections
As all of you know, Easter is much more than the joyous celebration of Sunday morning. Beginning with prayers of repentance on Ash Wednesday, through the introspection of Lent and the passion of Holy Week, we are drawn closer and closer to the Cross, the empty tomb and a resurrected Jesus. Here at FUMC, Seguin, we certainly had a celebration. An intimate remembrance of that last meal with the Disciples marked Maundy Thursday. Good Friday was observed with a properly austere and somber service. Sunday was a series of grand, passionate celebratory worship services. I believe that the pastors, staff, congregation and visitors fully experienced Holy Week. So, now, just like the faithful did after the first Easter, we can all rest and catch our breath a little.
What? You don’t remember Scripture saying anything about them kicking back and taking it easy? That is probably because it didn’t happen that way. Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, James, John and two other disciples tried to go fishing, but Jesus pursued them(John 21:1-14). The Disciples hid behind locked doors, but Jesus pursued them(John 20:19). Some took off for Emmaus, but Jesus pursued them (Luke 24:11-35). The early church was gathering momentum, even as the Pharisees and the Romans hunted and persecuted them. The Disciples responded by meeting in prayer and planning the future of the church(Acts 1:14,25). Then, Pentecost came and they really got busy. This group of ordinary men and women, mostly rural fishermen, were transformed by the Holy Spirit into evangelists, church planters, theologians and witnesses of the Gospel. Were they effective?
"With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, 'Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.' Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day." (Acts 2:40-41)
"Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." (Acts 2:46-47)
If Holy Week has created spiritual momentum and passion in our churches, it seems wrong to simply let it dissipate. We work so hard to attract visitors to our worship, ought we not to invest similar effort in following up and making sure that all their questions have been answered, telling them that their attendance was appreciated and that we would love to have them back? Perhaps we were able to discern some ministry needs or opportunities that need attention. Have we profusely thanked our clergy, ushers, cancel choirs, praise bands, special musicians, nursery workers, acolytes, liturgists and all of the rest of the staff and volunteers for making worship so marvelous? Can the joy we have experienced be infused into each following Sunday?
As you can see, catching this spiritual wave is not clergy driven; rather it is the work of the laity. We are the ones who visit with our friends, acquaintances, co-workers and others about our church. If they are not members, then they know about our church from what we witness. If our witness reflects well on our church, then our church will grow. As importantly, when we remember to thank those who work so diligently to make worship at our church special, we encourage them and they grow stronger. Working together, and driven by the Holy Spirit, we can vitalize ministry in our church and community. We can parlay the joy of our Easter celebration into so much more, as Jesus pursues us and puts us to his work.
Joy!
Bill
What? You don’t remember Scripture saying anything about them kicking back and taking it easy? That is probably because it didn’t happen that way. Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, James, John and two other disciples tried to go fishing, but Jesus pursued them(John 21:1-14). The Disciples hid behind locked doors, but Jesus pursued them(John 20:19). Some took off for Emmaus, but Jesus pursued them (Luke 24:11-35). The early church was gathering momentum, even as the Pharisees and the Romans hunted and persecuted them. The Disciples responded by meeting in prayer and planning the future of the church(Acts 1:14,25). Then, Pentecost came and they really got busy. This group of ordinary men and women, mostly rural fishermen, were transformed by the Holy Spirit into evangelists, church planters, theologians and witnesses of the Gospel. Were they effective?
"With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, 'Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.' Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day." (Acts 2:40-41)
"Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." (Acts 2:46-47)
If Holy Week has created spiritual momentum and passion in our churches, it seems wrong to simply let it dissipate. We work so hard to attract visitors to our worship, ought we not to invest similar effort in following up and making sure that all their questions have been answered, telling them that their attendance was appreciated and that we would love to have them back? Perhaps we were able to discern some ministry needs or opportunities that need attention. Have we profusely thanked our clergy, ushers, cancel choirs, praise bands, special musicians, nursery workers, acolytes, liturgists and all of the rest of the staff and volunteers for making worship so marvelous? Can the joy we have experienced be infused into each following Sunday?
As you can see, catching this spiritual wave is not clergy driven; rather it is the work of the laity. We are the ones who visit with our friends, acquaintances, co-workers and others about our church. If they are not members, then they know about our church from what we witness. If our witness reflects well on our church, then our church will grow. As importantly, when we remember to thank those who work so diligently to make worship at our church special, we encourage them and they grow stronger. Working together, and driven by the Holy Spirit, we can vitalize ministry in our church and community. We can parlay the joy of our Easter celebration into so much more, as Jesus pursues us and puts us to his work.
Joy!
Bill
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Clear Springs
I was blessed to attend the New Church Leadership Institute (“NCLI”) a few months ago. The setting was Mt. Sequoyah in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is a beautiful retreat center and conducive to study, discernment and learning. It was also cold and snowing like crazy, so we were not tempted to goof off very much outside. The purpose of the institute is to help pastors discern if they are really well suited to plant a church, and if so, how to go about it. To that end, the folks in attendance went through a Personal Discernment Inventory (“DISC Profile”) to assess if we have the personality and leadership traits which are proven successful for church planting pastors. After years of research, the data has revealed some fairly obvious conclusions:
• Not every pastor has the talents and gifts for church planting. It is critical to identify and encourage those that do.
• Properly and intensively educating, training, coaching and equipping the church planting pastors greatly increases their likelihood of success. NCLI is a big part the process, followed by a “boot camp” for pastors who have demonstrated the talents that will be required.
• The best church planting model is that of a mother-daughter church, not the old fashioned “parachute drop”. Having a parent church and its resources and support is critical for the daughter church. Simply dropping a pastor into an area with instructions to start a church does not work very well. The success rate for a parachute drop, on a national average, is about 20%, whereas the success rate climbs dramatically to 80% using the mother-daughter model.
By now, you might be wondering what I was doing at NCLI. A lay minister is not going to be assigned to start a church. The General Board of Discipleship website for CLM does, however, include “Deploying qualified CLMs for missional leadership in new church starts or redevelopments” as a proper assignment. Otherwise stated, a CLM might be assigned to assist a church planting pastor. First United Methodist Church of Seguin reckons that it is 169 years old this year. We have never planted a new church and we decided a few years ago that it was high time to do so. We bought some property in the Clear Springs area because it is in the center of a dynamically growing region. A team was selected and it has diligently been planning for at least two years. We submitted our grant application to the Conference. Finally, Senior Pastor Steve Purdy and I packed up our winter clothes and headed to Fayetteville. We wanted to know what a church planting pastor would go through and how the parent church could best support him or her.
The major question I had going in was how a CLM might best assist a new church planter. I learned that the leadership skills for a successful new church planter are well complimented by someone who scored high in pastoral, administrative, analytical and organizational skills. That profile probably fits most CLMs quite well. It did in my case. We recently learned that the Conference grant we applied for last fall had been favorably acted on and that we would be assigned a church planting pastor in June, 2010. What was something of an academic exercise back in February has quickly become a reality. We will have our new pastor and all of the work and planning we have done is beginning to bear fruit. I suspect that future “Reflections” will include updates as this exciting new ministry progresses.
I do ask for your prayers for the new pastor and her family, for our church, for the launch team and most of all, prayers for the new church God will plant over in Clear Springs.
Joy!
Bill
• Not every pastor has the talents and gifts for church planting. It is critical to identify and encourage those that do.
• Properly and intensively educating, training, coaching and equipping the church planting pastors greatly increases their likelihood of success. NCLI is a big part the process, followed by a “boot camp” for pastors who have demonstrated the talents that will be required.
• The best church planting model is that of a mother-daughter church, not the old fashioned “parachute drop”. Having a parent church and its resources and support is critical for the daughter church. Simply dropping a pastor into an area with instructions to start a church does not work very well. The success rate for a parachute drop, on a national average, is about 20%, whereas the success rate climbs dramatically to 80% using the mother-daughter model.
By now, you might be wondering what I was doing at NCLI. A lay minister is not going to be assigned to start a church. The General Board of Discipleship website for CLM does, however, include “Deploying qualified CLMs for missional leadership in new church starts or redevelopments” as a proper assignment. Otherwise stated, a CLM might be assigned to assist a church planting pastor. First United Methodist Church of Seguin reckons that it is 169 years old this year. We have never planted a new church and we decided a few years ago that it was high time to do so. We bought some property in the Clear Springs area because it is in the center of a dynamically growing region. A team was selected and it has diligently been planning for at least two years. We submitted our grant application to the Conference. Finally, Senior Pastor Steve Purdy and I packed up our winter clothes and headed to Fayetteville. We wanted to know what a church planting pastor would go through and how the parent church could best support him or her.
The major question I had going in was how a CLM might best assist a new church planter. I learned that the leadership skills for a successful new church planter are well complimented by someone who scored high in pastoral, administrative, analytical and organizational skills. That profile probably fits most CLMs quite well. It did in my case. We recently learned that the Conference grant we applied for last fall had been favorably acted on and that we would be assigned a church planting pastor in June, 2010. What was something of an academic exercise back in February has quickly become a reality. We will have our new pastor and all of the work and planning we have done is beginning to bear fruit. I suspect that future “Reflections” will include updates as this exciting new ministry progresses.
I do ask for your prayers for the new pastor and her family, for our church, for the launch team and most of all, prayers for the new church God will plant over in Clear Springs.
Joy!
Bill
Sunday, March 21, 2010
The Greatest Generation
The Greatest Generation
They are the greatest generation. In their youth they fought wars, rescued the economy from a deep depression, built churches, taught Sunday school classes and brought a country to greatness. They danced the jitterbug, listened to big band music, watched Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn navigate the African Queen and they loved mightily in their time. They mourned the loss of husbands, wives, uncles, aunts, children, grandchildren and even great grandchildren to war and the ravages of time. They have taught us the great lessons of life. They are the saints of our churches and we honor their witness.
I love their old photographs. The jaunty hats, practical clothes, coifed hair, old cars, kids and sometimes a farm animal or pet. All carefully posing and seldom caught off guard because photos were a special event back in their day. Many times they have stern, confident expressions. On other occasions, they have a devil-may-care smile, like they were up to something. From the tales told by my parents, they often were. I have heard their stories of sacrifice, hope, joy, sorrow and neighbor helping neighbor and stranger helping stranger. I have heard their stories of faith.
As lay ministers, the greatest generation is many times in our care. We owe them the best we can give. I began nursing home ministry a few years ago. I didn’t mean to. I was driving to Austin one day and was listening to a Christian station. They were talking about nursing home ministry and at first; I said (to myself) “no way” could I do that. After a few miles down the road, I became more and more convinced that God had that ministry in mind for me. Two days later, I was asked to preach at a local home. God can be direct when he wants to.
I would like to tell you that I studied and planned and read about this type of ministry, but instead, I just went. I had my Bible and I had some Scripture I wanted to read and some prayers I wanted to share. Fortunately, I had a great musician with me to bring music. I discovered pretty quickly that I had better bring a sermon and a good one. They have plenty of experience to tell the difference. I learned that they have trouble holding the hymnals and finding the pages, but that is alright because most have the words to the old Hymns memorized. I have learned that many of them are fearful now, a little lonely, and tired of constant aches and pains. They miss their spouses, friends and children. They are aggravated that their bodies have given out. Their memories have sometimes faded. But with all of this, they love to visit. They love the old Hymns and hold the Scripture sacred. They need to tell their stories. They need to be comforted and reassured how much Jesus loves them. Prayer is important to them. They look out for each other.
Today was my day to preach at the nursing home and we brought a good (I hope) message and sang all of the old songs of Eastertide. I now consider the residents friends. That is hard because I lose them fairly often. But I remain amazed at their hope and their faith. They take the promise and assurance of salvation very seriously. We read from the 14th chapter of John quite often because they love to hear the words of Jesus and how he has prepared a place for them. Many of my friends are packed and ready for the trip.
After I just jumped in, I have found that there are some good resources for this ministry, such as Lay Pastoral Care Giving by Timothy Farabaugh, Discipleship Resources, 2009. The elder care sections of the certified lay ministry courses certainly are excellent. It is good to talk with your mentoring pastor about the ministry and to spend a little time with the social director at the facilities you visit. They will have some helpful ideas. Be mindful of HIPAA rules and regulations. Mainly, it is important to be there in mind and spirit, pray hard about what God wants you to do there, treat each resident with dignity and listen to them. Frankly, it takes some time to win their trust. Consistency is really important and when you serve on a regular basis, they will begin looking forward to your visits. After a while, you will be hard pressed to discern who has been more blessed by this ministry; you or the folks you visit with.
Bill
They are the greatest generation. In their youth they fought wars, rescued the economy from a deep depression, built churches, taught Sunday school classes and brought a country to greatness. They danced the jitterbug, listened to big band music, watched Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn navigate the African Queen and they loved mightily in their time. They mourned the loss of husbands, wives, uncles, aunts, children, grandchildren and even great grandchildren to war and the ravages of time. They have taught us the great lessons of life. They are the saints of our churches and we honor their witness.
I love their old photographs. The jaunty hats, practical clothes, coifed hair, old cars, kids and sometimes a farm animal or pet. All carefully posing and seldom caught off guard because photos were a special event back in their day. Many times they have stern, confident expressions. On other occasions, they have a devil-may-care smile, like they were up to something. From the tales told by my parents, they often were. I have heard their stories of sacrifice, hope, joy, sorrow and neighbor helping neighbor and stranger helping stranger. I have heard their stories of faith.
As lay ministers, the greatest generation is many times in our care. We owe them the best we can give. I began nursing home ministry a few years ago. I didn’t mean to. I was driving to Austin one day and was listening to a Christian station. They were talking about nursing home ministry and at first; I said (to myself) “no way” could I do that. After a few miles down the road, I became more and more convinced that God had that ministry in mind for me. Two days later, I was asked to preach at a local home. God can be direct when he wants to.
I would like to tell you that I studied and planned and read about this type of ministry, but instead, I just went. I had my Bible and I had some Scripture I wanted to read and some prayers I wanted to share. Fortunately, I had a great musician with me to bring music. I discovered pretty quickly that I had better bring a sermon and a good one. They have plenty of experience to tell the difference. I learned that they have trouble holding the hymnals and finding the pages, but that is alright because most have the words to the old Hymns memorized. I have learned that many of them are fearful now, a little lonely, and tired of constant aches and pains. They miss their spouses, friends and children. They are aggravated that their bodies have given out. Their memories have sometimes faded. But with all of this, they love to visit. They love the old Hymns and hold the Scripture sacred. They need to tell their stories. They need to be comforted and reassured how much Jesus loves them. Prayer is important to them. They look out for each other.
Today was my day to preach at the nursing home and we brought a good (I hope) message and sang all of the old songs of Eastertide. I now consider the residents friends. That is hard because I lose them fairly often. But I remain amazed at their hope and their faith. They take the promise and assurance of salvation very seriously. We read from the 14th chapter of John quite often because they love to hear the words of Jesus and how he has prepared a place for them. Many of my friends are packed and ready for the trip.
After I just jumped in, I have found that there are some good resources for this ministry, such as Lay Pastoral Care Giving by Timothy Farabaugh, Discipleship Resources, 2009. The elder care sections of the certified lay ministry courses certainly are excellent. It is good to talk with your mentoring pastor about the ministry and to spend a little time with the social director at the facilities you visit. They will have some helpful ideas. Be mindful of HIPAA rules and regulations. Mainly, it is important to be there in mind and spirit, pray hard about what God wants you to do there, treat each resident with dignity and listen to them. Frankly, it takes some time to win their trust. Consistency is really important and when you serve on a regular basis, they will begin looking forward to your visits. After a while, you will be hard pressed to discern who has been more blessed by this ministry; you or the folks you visit with.
Bill
Saturday, March 13, 2010
1208 Crosses
In our Holy Conversations series, Gil Rendle stated, quite bluntly, that non profit entities seldom know exactly what it is that they produce. It is not like they fill a loading dock with goods that are sold and shipped. It is hard to point to an inventory, accounts receivables or other typical measures of output. The result is that the non profits tend to focus on activities and gathering resources, and equate both with success. If we have more and do more, surely we are doing God’s work. That is the theory. The trouble with that approach is obvious. If that is the way we measure success, then we have to do more and gather more resources. Obviously, that is not a wholesome or efficient model. Fortunately, there is a better way.
One of Gil’s best quotes is “If you don’t know where you are going, any path will get you there.” Obviously, any church has to clarify its mission so that it knows what resources are required to fulfill that mission. Stated another way, a church best measures its output by describing the effects of its work. The clear truth of this analysis is why we just spent two years learning how to strategically plan. The starting point was to describe what we do. It is more than just a mission statement. We have one of those: “Share the Joy of Knowing Christ- Reach, Teach and Serve!” Instead, it is a description of how reaching, teaching and serving changes lives. What do we produce with all of the time, energy and money we spend? Our answer? Changed lives! And with the Holy Spirit working through us, we produce Disciples of Jesus Christ.
Here is just one example. Our youth participated in the 30 Hour Famine, complete with a fast, lock-in and several service projects to raise money to help combat world hunger. One project was to make 1208 crosses and put them on the church lawn for Sunday morning. That is how many children starve to death each hour. As they put the crosses in the ground, they knelt and prayed for those little souls, and the ones to come. They prayed for a better time for the people who have so very little food, and questioned how they might be a part of the process to provide. Through the awesome grace and might of our God, the faith of our youth, the dedication of our adult volunteers and a generous congregation, lives were changed.
If we began to measure what we do by the lives that are changed and the Disciples that journey in faith, then our churches can see the results of their work and plan accordingly. And if a program no longer has that effect, then it is time to shift resources. Over a longer term, we will ask this question: What will be different in this person’s life in 5 years if they participate in the life of this church?
By the way, this inquiry, this search for purpose and mission, is lay driven. It is the work of the priesthood of all believers. It is our sacred work.
Joy!
Bill
One of Gil’s best quotes is “If you don’t know where you are going, any path will get you there.” Obviously, any church has to clarify its mission so that it knows what resources are required to fulfill that mission. Stated another way, a church best measures its output by describing the effects of its work. The clear truth of this analysis is why we just spent two years learning how to strategically plan. The starting point was to describe what we do. It is more than just a mission statement. We have one of those: “Share the Joy of Knowing Christ- Reach, Teach and Serve!” Instead, it is a description of how reaching, teaching and serving changes lives. What do we produce with all of the time, energy and money we spend? Our answer? Changed lives! And with the Holy Spirit working through us, we produce Disciples of Jesus Christ.
Here is just one example. Our youth participated in the 30 Hour Famine, complete with a fast, lock-in and several service projects to raise money to help combat world hunger. One project was to make 1208 crosses and put them on the church lawn for Sunday morning. That is how many children starve to death each hour. As they put the crosses in the ground, they knelt and prayed for those little souls, and the ones to come. They prayed for a better time for the people who have so very little food, and questioned how they might be a part of the process to provide. Through the awesome grace and might of our God, the faith of our youth, the dedication of our adult volunteers and a generous congregation, lives were changed.
If we began to measure what we do by the lives that are changed and the Disciples that journey in faith, then our churches can see the results of their work and plan accordingly. And if a program no longer has that effect, then it is time to shift resources. Over a longer term, we will ask this question: What will be different in this person’s life in 5 years if they participate in the life of this church?
By the way, this inquiry, this search for purpose and mission, is lay driven. It is the work of the priesthood of all believers. It is our sacred work.
Joy!
Bill
Monday, March 8, 2010
Holy Conversations
The Community of Learning for Holy Conversations and Holy Actions. Sounds a little like a monastery. One might expect austere rooms and monks moving about in silence. I guess I could claim a little personal hardship, but the truth is that we stay at a very nice corporate retreat center in Houston. Holy Conversations is a Texas Methodist Foundation strategic planning series. There are four long weekends spread over a two year time period as five church teams study and learn about planning the future of our churches and their work in the Kingdom. Gil Rendle is the primary speaker, and he and Alice Mann wrote the book that we used. Gil was a senior consultant for the Alban Institute and his insight into leadership, planning and Scriptural relevance is just awesome. John Thornburg helps out with worship and the music, and if Gil is the head, then John is the soul of the weekend. He likes to use pirate songs, African music, poetry and other things he has picked up from his world travels to make worship delightful.
The neat thing about Holy Conversations is that it does not work without the laity. In fact, the premise is that the laity and clergy plan together and implement together. One of the first tasks was to really get to know our own church and community through demographic, historical and measured research. We found our church in the Biblical story as Antioch, sending forth Paul and Barnabas to start new churches. We learned who our neighbors really are, especially out in the area where we are planning a new church start. We were invited to step up into the balcony of the church and observe, as opposed to being down in the congregation doing our usual work. Then came the interesting part, which was relearning our role as leaders. Not to strictly be problem solvers, but to ask and consider the hard questions. Solving problems just maintains the status quo, and that may not be a broad solution for underlying issues in the church. Gil talked quite a bit about discomfort. Discomfort can lead to conversation which may bring about needed change. We learned about facilitating conversation and sustaining that type conversation and avoiding real blow ups in the congregation. We learned a few Swahili songs.
One of the best parts about Holy Conversations is the people we met from the other churches. We got a glimpse of their vision on ministry, their successes, their hurts and their passion. We learned from each other and we worshiped together. We celebrated lay ministry together. As laity in ministry, it is good to walk together a while on our faith journeys. To carry someone's backpack for a bit as they catch their breath. To sing and listen to songs of the road and to hear tales of other journeys. To have Holy Conversations.
Joy!
Bill
The neat thing about Holy Conversations is that it does not work without the laity. In fact, the premise is that the laity and clergy plan together and implement together. One of the first tasks was to really get to know our own church and community through demographic, historical and measured research. We found our church in the Biblical story as Antioch, sending forth Paul and Barnabas to start new churches. We learned who our neighbors really are, especially out in the area where we are planning a new church start. We were invited to step up into the balcony of the church and observe, as opposed to being down in the congregation doing our usual work. Then came the interesting part, which was relearning our role as leaders. Not to strictly be problem solvers, but to ask and consider the hard questions. Solving problems just maintains the status quo, and that may not be a broad solution for underlying issues in the church. Gil talked quite a bit about discomfort. Discomfort can lead to conversation which may bring about needed change. We learned about facilitating conversation and sustaining that type conversation and avoiding real blow ups in the congregation. We learned a few Swahili songs.
One of the best parts about Holy Conversations is the people we met from the other churches. We got a glimpse of their vision on ministry, their successes, their hurts and their passion. We learned from each other and we worshiped together. We celebrated lay ministry together. As laity in ministry, it is good to walk together a while on our faith journeys. To carry someone's backpack for a bit as they catch their breath. To sing and listen to songs of the road and to hear tales of other journeys. To have Holy Conversations.
Joy!
Bill
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Alpha and Omega
A questions I am often asked is "What exactly do you do as a lay minister?" Because I was already serving on several committees at church (and still do), my role as a staff lay minister and as a church team member seems a little blurred from time to time, even for me. This might sound odd, but the main difference is how I feel about ministry and how I perceive myself as a minister. That perception becomes very important as I talk with people and listen to what is going on in their lives. As a team member or a committee member, once a meeting is over, I typically lay the materials aside until I need to work on them. Ministry is more difficult to lay aside. Part of the reason is the joy of the work.
This last Sunday, I was privileged to assist in the baptism of a precious little girl. I didn't do much, but being just a little part of that family's big day was absolutely incredible. That afternoon, I preached over at a local nursing home. I have been doing that for a while, and have come to really know and love those folks. My friend Tom brings the music. He is wonderfully talented and dedicates those talents to God. We pretty much sang all of the old songs suitable to Lent and Easter. For the most part, the residents pick the songs and Tom knows how to play most all of the music on his guitar. We are short on hymnals over there, so I shared a hymnal with one of the residents. I don't have a great singing voice, but something about sharing a book and singing together really filled us with an unexpected joy. The Spirit was working mightily in us and as we prayed with the residents after the service, I could tell that each of them had been touched. I certainly was.
The baptism of that little girl and the joy of my friend as we sang together at the nursing home struck me as something beautiful and holy. Something that witnessed the completeness of God in our lives, beginning to end. Something that cannot be and should not be laid aside. Of course, not all of the work I do as a lay minister is as compelling. There are reports to prepare, meetings to attend and generally, my effort to take some of the day to day pressure off of our clergy. But, as I perceive myself as a minister, I am in that relational role with people, sensing their needs, praying with them and for them and counseling as I feel comfortable and qualified. I tell you this; lay ministry is so much more than I expected because of how my self image has changed. It is not so much what I do as a lay minister as it is who I have become. I praise God for that sanctifying work in my life.
Joy!
Bill
This last Sunday, I was privileged to assist in the baptism of a precious little girl. I didn't do much, but being just a little part of that family's big day was absolutely incredible. That afternoon, I preached over at a local nursing home. I have been doing that for a while, and have come to really know and love those folks. My friend Tom brings the music. He is wonderfully talented and dedicates those talents to God. We pretty much sang all of the old songs suitable to Lent and Easter. For the most part, the residents pick the songs and Tom knows how to play most all of the music on his guitar. We are short on hymnals over there, so I shared a hymnal with one of the residents. I don't have a great singing voice, but something about sharing a book and singing together really filled us with an unexpected joy. The Spirit was working mightily in us and as we prayed with the residents after the service, I could tell that each of them had been touched. I certainly was.
The baptism of that little girl and the joy of my friend as we sang together at the nursing home struck me as something beautiful and holy. Something that witnessed the completeness of God in our lives, beginning to end. Something that cannot be and should not be laid aside. Of course, not all of the work I do as a lay minister is as compelling. There are reports to prepare, meetings to attend and generally, my effort to take some of the day to day pressure off of our clergy. But, as I perceive myself as a minister, I am in that relational role with people, sensing their needs, praying with them and for them and counseling as I feel comfortable and qualified. I tell you this; lay ministry is so much more than I expected because of how my self image has changed. It is not so much what I do as a lay minister as it is who I have become. I praise God for that sanctifying work in my life.
Joy!
Bill
Thursday, February 18, 2010
"Why would you do that?"
"Why would you do that?" she asked. It was an honest question that deserved an honest answer. I was at a photo studio having a picture done that would be attached to the biographical part of my application for lay ministry. None of my vacation photos would do and my passport photo looked too much like the picture on my driver's license. So, I put on my suit and made an appointment for a proper photograph. When she asked what the photo was for, I told her. Then she asked what I was doing now and I told her that I was an attorney but was moving towards ministry. I could tell that she was perplexed. Why would anyone do that? It took me longer to answer than it should have. I hadn't really thought about the "why" so much as "how". I finally told her that the call to ministry was too strong for me to ignore any longer. That was the best answer I had then, and frankly, I have not since come up with anything better.
Can a person be called into lay ministry? Isn't a calling to ministry only for the ordained? The Apostle Paul did not think so. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:9-10. We are called by our baptism into service according to our gifts. You and I know so very many people who freely and joyfully give of themselves as they do God's work. They feed the hungry, visit the sick and lonely, provide clothes for those that have none and welcome the stranger, just as Jesus said we should. Are these people doing ministry? Of course they are. They are the hands and feet of Christ in this world.
Now here is a good question. If a lay person can do ministry, why go to the work, effort and expense of the training for certification as a lay speaker or a lay minister? For me, the answer was the same as when I went to the extra work to become certified as a legal specialist. If I was going to go to the next level as an attorney, I was going to have to go back to school, take the tests, undergo peer review and go through the procedural hoops. I did that and it made me a better lawyer. In the same way, going through the training, education, application and vetting process for certified lay ministry has made me a better minister. I have a better idea of where to look for resources, how to prepare a worship service, how to talk with people about faith and generally do the work which is assigned to me.
So, what about you? If you are reading this, it might be that you are thinking about your own call to lay ministry. Get in touch. We will have a virtual or real cup of coffee and talk it over.
Joy!
Bill
Can a person be called into lay ministry? Isn't a calling to ministry only for the ordained? The Apostle Paul did not think so. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:9-10. We are called by our baptism into service according to our gifts. You and I know so very many people who freely and joyfully give of themselves as they do God's work. They feed the hungry, visit the sick and lonely, provide clothes for those that have none and welcome the stranger, just as Jesus said we should. Are these people doing ministry? Of course they are. They are the hands and feet of Christ in this world.
Now here is a good question. If a lay person can do ministry, why go to the work, effort and expense of the training for certification as a lay speaker or a lay minister? For me, the answer was the same as when I went to the extra work to become certified as a legal specialist. If I was going to go to the next level as an attorney, I was going to have to go back to school, take the tests, undergo peer review and go through the procedural hoops. I did that and it made me a better lawyer. In the same way, going through the training, education, application and vetting process for certified lay ministry has made me a better minister. I have a better idea of where to look for resources, how to prepare a worship service, how to talk with people about faith and generally do the work which is assigned to me.
So, what about you? If you are reading this, it might be that you are thinking about your own call to lay ministry. Get in touch. We will have a virtual or real cup of coffee and talk it over.
Joy!
Bill
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