Preaching

Ever wonder what you’re doing when you preach a sermon?  Ever pause, in awe, of the sheer magnitude such responsibility carries, yet then rest in the assurance of God’s sovereignty and grace?  Ever consider what role the sermon has in the life of Christ’s body, the Church?

The sermon is revelation not education, good news not knowledge, formation not just information, saving truth not just wisdom.
–Samuel Wells, God’s Companions: Reimagining Christian Ethics, 166

Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.

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Low-Hanging Fruit (John 15, anyone?)

Yesterday Seth Godin put forth an interesting question I couldn’t ignore.  Here’s an excerpt from his post:

Imagine that half the cars in the US get 10 miles per gallon. And half get 40 miles per gallon. Further stipulate that all cars are driven the same number of miles per year.

Now, you get one wish. You can give every low-mileage car a new set of spark plugs that will increase fuel efficiency by 5 mpg, up to 15. Or you can replace every 40 mpg car with a car that gets 75 mpg, an increase of 35 miles for every gallon driven.

Which is better?

So, what would you choose?  One might be inclined to increase the efficiency of the vehicles with the best fuel economy, but you’d be wrong.  Godin answers:

It turns out that the 5 mpg increase is far better for overall mileage than the 35 mpg increase, even though it’s smaller both as a percentage and absolutely. That’s because the 10 mpg hogs use up so much gas. They’re the low-hanging fruit, not just easy to fix, but worth fixing.

This seems counter intuitive, but it adds up.  All things being equal (fleet and miles driven), the overall percentage of fuel which would be conserved on the lower end would easily outweigh the decrease in fuel consumption by the most efficient vehicles.

You can read the rest of Godin’s post here.  This got me thinking: Jesus spoke of fruit in John 15, among other places.  Thinking specifically of his discussion of the vine and the branches in John 15, Jesus states:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.” -John 15:1-2

As far as churches go, many leaders think of productive, growing, and dynamic ministries as prime targets for investigation, excitement, and hope.  People ask, “What is __________ ministry doing to increase in effectiveness, reach their community, and grow their church, and can it be replicated?”  People want to be like the big boys (or considering that the Church is portrayed as the bride of Christ, the big girls (hottest babes?)).

Within the context of some of these booming churches, the focus is on evangelization and church growth, continuing much of the excellent work that has already begun so that the ceiling can continue to be raised.  In order to continue this type of growth, these church ministries (and their congregants) demand excellence in staff hiring practices, desiring that the church only bring on the best quality staff people to lead that ministry, which results from time to time in large churches hiring the most capable people away from other churches.  Ministries must be highly effective, with effectiveness usually measured by number of participants.  When a ministry does take off, resources are placed behind that particular effort in order to push the envelope and continue to raise the ceiling.  Overall, I’m not saying that this growth at the top is bad.  It may just cause us to forget about the low-hanging fruit.

Godin’s post left me wondering–what is the low-hanging fruit in a denominational context, or in a local church context?  I’m not thinking about ministries and churches in the process of dying–I’m thinking of church ministries that are producing some fruit and with a little help, encouragement, and additional resources, might come to produce a little bit more.  I’m thinking of leaders who are tired and exhausted, yet continue to work hard, and could benefit greatly if someone would praise them and celebrate the work they are doing.  Perhaps a little encouragement, a little investment in the life of someone leading a smaller ministry might go a long way and have great overall benefits for the Kingdom of God.

Of course, my thesis here supposes that we can identify churches and ministries that would fit the category of producing “low-hanging fruit,” which I concede would be difficult, if not impossible.  Measuring these things would have to go beyond numbers, looking at other markers of spiritual health.  At the very least, this idea serves as a reminder to encourage my colleagues and my friends in ministry, to listen to their stories from their church contexts (both large and small), and to celebrate the good work that God might be doing through their life.

 

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Leadership Lessons :: How Critical is the Environment for Leadership Development?

Later today I take my last final exam of my KU career.  The only thing left to accomplish is the writing of a Master’s Thesis–I’m planning on starting that project this summer and hope to bring it to completion this coming fall.  In other personal news, I saw Elvis Costello and The Police at the Sprint Center last night.  “Pump it up!”

A couple of weeks ago I finished reading Primal Leadership: Learning to Lead with Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee.  Good book–not my favorite on leadership, but helpful nonetheless.  The six leadership styles identified and explored in this book are:

• Visionary
• Coaching
• Affiliative
• Democratic
• Pacesetting
• Commanding

The authors explore how each style of leadership affects the emotional climate in the organization, stating when each style might be appropriate, the type of impact, and how the implementation of each style may create resonance (or when used inappropriately, yield dissonance).  The authors claim that by developing one’s emotional intelligence–or ability to tune in to the environmental/emotional sensitivity of the organization–leaders will learn to recognize when to emphasis one style of leadership over the others, resulting in increased resonance, positive growth, and long-term success.

Here is one particular quote that has relevance to my life experience:

The lessons people get in leadership start very early in life, observing from teachers, coaches, clergy–anyone who has been in the role of leader in their lives.  These models offer the first scaffold for people’s own leadership habits, their original ideas for what a leaders does.  Then, as they being to step into their first leadership roles in clubs, teams, student government, or as leaders in their peer groups, they put those models into practice. (Goleman, 154-55)

Over my lifetime I have been extremely fortunate to be in the presence of high level leaders.  Here are a few lessons I learned as a result of exposure to family, friends, pastors, teachers, coaches, community leaders, professors, employers, coworkers, authors, and young people:

• Serve.  There are countless people with countless needs who will be encountered each day.  Do what you can to be of humble assistance.  Service, done well, sets an example others can follow.
• Listen.  Sometimes the greatest service you can provide someone is to give a listening ear.  Learning someone’s story, asking about their dreams, and being a sounding board all build leadership capital.  Listening also enables the leader to best discern direction, taking into account the desire of the people when charting a course.
• Learn.  Leaders are learners.  If you’re not learning, you’re not leading.  I saw this most in two men–Robert L. Reid and Howard Hendricks, both teachers.  These men were constantly learning, and ignited a passion in my heart for study.
• Be bold in casting vision.  Listen, I’m a scholar and a churchman.  Many of my lessons for leadership have come within the context of the church–either through ancient discourse or through participation in vibrant Christian communities.  Whether you’re casting vision for evangelism, discipleship, healthy community, justice, or passionate and engaging worship, paint a picture of the future that is compelling and palatable.  God has given us all the resources we need–in fact, we have been given an abundance (Wells, God’s Companions).
• Embody your values.  What do you value?  Make a list.  Now, if you asked someone in your organization, would they say those things accurately describe you?  I’ve been around leaders who have done this well, others who have not.
• Pray.  It was Mother Teresa who remarked, “Everything starts from prayer.”  This is sage wisdom in a culture of self dependency.
• Surround yourself with driven and creative people.  Who are people in your life who push you, challenge you, share similar values, and lift you up when you are down?  Identify people in your church, community, or organization whom you can see as partners in a joint effort, and spur one another on to greater things.
• Encourage.  The world is a difficult place to live.  When you see someone do something good, tell them!  Lift them up!  When you see someone who is down, let them know you’ll walk alongside them.  Encouragement can go a long way.
• Say thanks.  You would almost hope that this would go without saying, but the best leaders I have been around have all known how to express gratitude.  They write notes, recognize people publicly, give gifts, and make people feel appreciated.
• Put important things in writing.  Weird leadership principle?  May seem so, but writing things down helps us to crystallize our ideas.  It helps us determine next steps and put together a plan to move toward our goals.

These are just a few things I’ve learned about leadership through the people I’ve been exposed to.  I didn’t learn these lessons all at once, and I didn’t learn them all consciously.  Some have had to be developed through the years.

What important leadership lessons have you learned, and how have you learned them?

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Calling and Vision ::: The Need for Pastoral Leadership

God is calling people in to pastoral leadership, but it seems as though the call is going unheeded, at times, from those in our youngest generations. The UMC (as well as other denominations) has seen a drop in the number of clergy ages 35 and younger. I’ve written about the lack of young people in both our congregations and in leadership here and here.

Adam Hamilton featured an interesting post entitled “The Future of the Church” on his blog, reflecting on his recent experience with Church of the Resurrection‘s confirmation program. One of the goals COR has set is to see 200 young people enter clergy ranks in the next 20 years. As a result, the confirmation program has featured a space in which young people identify those who seem to have the gifts for pastoral leadership in their midst, whether that be through observation of their character, their insight, or their leadership ability. Commentary on this blog post can be found here and here from Jim Morrow. Morrow both applauds Hamilton’s leadership and offers some critical questions that should be considered.

All in all, I’m extremely pleased with Church of the Resurrection’s vision for church leadership. Hamilton, and the church leadership as a whole, have recognized the need in this area and have responded well. COR has provided vision for how the church should be actively engaged in the Missio Dei, and have created an environment where life change and transformation are taking place. Hearing Pastor Adam’s story of engaging young people concerning a call to ministry is encouraging.

I would remind Rev. Hamilton that the young people whom he has engaged are not only the future of the church, but they are also the now–a vital and important part of the body that can encourage us in our commitment to Christ. They are also currently providing leadership–they need not wait until they undertake the vows of ordination. With Morrow I would question the process by which COR will mentor and discern with these young people as they pursue their call–a good question. I am glad to know that Jason Gant and the RezLife team have thought about this and have created a space within their ministry to help students who are discerning a call to ministry, whether it be in the pastoral role or in an associate pastor role (children, youth, etc.).

I hope that Rev. Hamilton continues to consider their vision of 200 young people in clergy within 20 years too small! I also hope that other churches would grasp this vision and create similar cultures in their local congregations. The question needs to be asked, and a theology of vocation needs to be explored. The language and discourse surrounding the call needs to be developed.

God is calling servants into pastoral ministry. Are we helping people to listen and pay attention?

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Dream Teams and Collective Wisdom

For the past several years I have been part of a handful of different church ministries.  What I’m about to discuss here, however, reaches beyond ministerial leadership and into any type of endeavor.

I’ve been reflecting on James Surowiecki’s The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies, and Nations.  The subtitle says it all.  Surowiecki has provided a helpful book along the lines of Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference or Levitt and Dubner’s Freakanomics.  Wisdom of Crowds is a smart book that makes us think about group dynamics, leadership, and the sheer complexity of the world in which we live.  It is a book about an idea–the idea that all of us are smarter than one of us.  You might say, “duh.” 

If you accept the maxim that all of us are smarter than one of us, the question immediately becomes this, “how is one able to tap the collective wisdom present within diverse groups of people?”  Such a task is difficult, as anyone in leadership can attest that collaborative efforts commonly produce only the sum of their parts–and seemingly nothing more.  Some of us may be able to recount a time or two when a group we were part of did seem to generate more than perhaps was thought possible.  The wisdom of the crowd was tapped, and the collective decision which resulted was better than what one person–or even a small group of persons–at the top of the hierarchy could have discerned.

One aspect of Surowiecki’s discussion that I found interesting was the importance of diversity in groups for making sound decisions.  When a group becomes homogeneous, “they are great at doing what they do well, but they become less able to investigate alternatives.”  It is possible to assemble a “dream team” that excels in one way of operating, leading, or generating certain types of concepts or ideas.  Once that group reaches the peak of excellence in leadership, they move on to perfecting their particular way of doing things.  The world may be changing around them, but the group becomes insulated and too homogeneous, thus leaving them unaware of adaptations that should be made.

Perhaps I’m being too vague.  As far as this relates to church leadership, I think of large, booming churches that have committed themselves to excellence.  Once such churches reach the pinnacle of perfecting their method, they constantly face the challenge of innovation.  Someone within the organization must constantly be pushing the creative envelope, encouraging those on the leadership team to expand their thinking, remain sensitive to the people who are part of their communities, and adapt and change in order to best communicate the gospel.  This isn’t easy.  Once you perfect a form of church or a style of leadership, both the elders/pastors/leadership team and the congregation can become comfortable with that style.  The decision to remain static will ultimately lead to decline, as the world outside of the homogeneous group continues to change.  As was the case with the American car industry in the 1970s and 80s, who “manag[ed] its way into economic decline,” it is possible for church communities to maintain and manage their organizations into decline and even death.

One way to avoid this, I would argue, would be in agreement with Surowiecki’s claim that “Bringing new members into the organization, even if they’re less experienced and less capable, actually makes the group smarter simply because what little the new members do know is not redundant with what everyone else knows”(31).  You must be careful in who you include on your team, however, as “cognitive diversity does not mean that if you assemble a group of diverse but thoroughly uniformed people, their collective wisdom will be smarter than the expert’s.”  He goes on to say that “if you can assemble a diverse group of people who possess varying degrees of knowledge and insight, you’re better off entrusting it with major decisions rather than leaving them in the hands of one or two people, no matter how smart those people are.”

I admit, most of this is fairly common sense.  In my experience, however, I have seen churches commonly rely on the expert–most of the time this is the Sr. Pastor or a small group of paid pastoral leaders.  These people may be able to make good decisions on a fairly consistent basis.  As church organizations become increasingly hierarchical, however, much of the congregation becomes passive and distant from the way in which decisions are discerned.  Direction is entrusted into the hands of the few, rather than through created spaces within the life of the church where the Holy Spirit can be actively guiding the totality of the body.  In large church communities, how many stories have you heard of “bottom up” movements of the Spirit, where a movement among a layperson or a group of lay persons eventually permeates the life of the church?  I would love to hear those stories.  Most examples I see of spiritual leadership are done in a top down fashion–the pastor or a small group of leaders spell out a vision, and hope that the people as a whole come on board.

The bottom line in my argument is this: how do we tap the wisdom of the crowd within a church community?  How do church leadership bodies maintain diversity within their structure, allowing for people who represent differing viewpoints and perspectives to have a meaningful voice in discerning direction?  One answer to this question, surely, is to continue to emphasize evangelism.  If new Christ-followers come into the fellowship of believers, the church should pause long enough to hear their perspectives and be attentive to how this person sees the world.  How might the perspective of new Christ-followers help us to more effectively minister and communicate the gospel to the world?

There are no easy answers.  I would hope that church leaders would reflect carefully on the cognitive diversity which has been gathered in their decision making bodies.  Would you say that diverse viewpoints are represented?  Is the congregation able to discern, as a whole, the direction of the church, or is it in the hands of the experts?  Are we tapping the resources of the entire body, among whom each member has been gifted with the Spirit of God?

Perhaps I see the church as far more organic than our Western, specifically American, lenses regarding the way that organizations should be structured will allow.  When I read the New Testament, however, I see a group of people who are sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit and have a simplistic enough structure to allow for collective wisdom to be shared and acted upon.  There are clearly leaders within the Jesus movement, but all involved seem to be actively engaged in mission, not maintenance.  The group seems to become increasingly diversified, and because of this fact it is radically engaging new understandings of reality.  The life of discipleship I read about in the New Testament seems to be vibrant, alive, and on the move.  It is my hope that the church communities of today would exhibit this same type of life.

What do you think?

Grace and peace. 

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Hear, Hear!

The apostolic role within established churches and denominations requires the reinterpreting of the denomination’s foundational values in the light of the demands of its mission today.  The ultimate goal of these apostolic leaders is to call the denomination away from maintenance, back to mission.  The apostolic denominational leader needs to be a visionary, who can outlast significant opposition from within the denominational structures and can build alliances with those who desire change.  Furthermore, the strategy of the apostolic leader could involve casting vision and winning approval for a shift from maintenance to mission.  In addition the leader has to encourage signs of life within the existing structures and raise up a new generation of leaders and churches from the old.  The apostolic denominational leader needs to ensure the new generation is not “frozen out” by those who resist change.  Finally, such a leader must restructure the denomination’s institutions so that they serve mission purposes. (Stephen Addison, “A Basis for the Continuing Ministry of the Apostle in the Church’s Mission,” D.Min. diss., Fuller Theological Seminary, 1995, 190)

Mainline leaders of Christianity, take heed, and God speed.

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Dan Kimball :: They Like Jesus But Not the Church

Last week I picked up Dan Kimball’s They Like Jesus But Not the Church: Insights from Emerging Generations.  You can find Dan Kimball’s blog here.  Dan Kimball is a pastor in Santa Cruz, California at Vintage Faith Church, and has published The Emerging Church and Emerging Worship.  He is also one of the contributors to Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches.  Another contributor to Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches is Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill in Seattle.   Driscoll mentioned this book in a talk I was listening to on-line, and among the many things he said when talking about Kimball was that he is “a Christian.”  In context it was funny.  Anyway, I felt compelled to provide you with these links to Kimball’s corpus partly because I did not buy the book–I picked it up at the public library and read it in a couple days.  Sorry Dan.  Perhaps one of my readers will help you out and purchase a copy.  In my opinion, any church leader would be wise to pick up this book and listen to what Dan Kimball has to say.

There are three important emphases threaded throughout this book.  First, Kimball encourages his reader to be present in spaces where they can meet non-church people–to be in a position outside the church office where they can befriend non-Christians, develop relationships with them, and know what is going on in their lives so that they can be prayed for.  For example, Kimball has found ways to escape the “Christian bubble” by spending a couple of days during the week preparing his sermons at a local coffee shop.  Over time he has befriended other regulars and the employees there.  He doesn’t see these new friends as evangelistic targets, but human beings who need the ministry of the church.  Through developing relationships with people outside the church, he has found that emerging generations are extremely open to talking about Jesus and what Christians believe.  Most people Kimball spoke to dislike the church based on  their perceptions gained from news media presentations, street preachers, and televangelists.  Their impressions are from afar.  Kimball is challenging church leaders to present a compelling alternative within local contexts–many of the people Kimball spoke with couldn’t name Christian people they knew personally.

Second, Kimball identifies the following perceptions which emerging generations have of the church:

• The church is an organized religion with a political agenda.
• The church is judgmental and negative.
• The church is dominated by males and oppresses females.
• The church is homophobic.
• The church arrogantly claims all other religions are wrong.
• The church is full of fundamentalists who take the whole Bible literally.

Kimball is talking about perceptions that non-Christian people have of the church.  He is listening.  Kimball carefully explains the reasons why people outside the church have these perceptions.  In regard to homosexuality and women in pastoral leadership, Kimball challenges his readers (both liberal and conservative) to know the reasons behind their theological positions.  This portion of his work is incredibly helpful for Christian people who are trying to better understand the cultural landscape and engage as an effective witness for Jesus and his Kingdom.  This is an invaluable dialogue that could be recreated in any city.  Which brings me to Kimball’s final important contribution in this book.

In what could be a revolutionary idea, Kimball challenges us to listen to people in our city and respond in how we be the church.  Sounds like common sense.  He doesn’t recommend that we compromise our integrity as the people of God in responding to what we hear.  For example, one critique of the church that Kimball had heard is that it can become personality-driven–centered more on the pastor than on Jesus.  As a response, Kimball’s church has made the cross the centerpiece of their worship space, with the worship leaders and the pastor addressing the audience from a lower stage slightly off to the side of the cross.  Kimball challenges leaders to give a carefully thought out, biblical response to what is heard from those outside the church.

Kimball has reasons for hope in the future of the church.  I tend to agree with him.  He sees the emerging generation’s interest in Jesus as a great opportunity for Christian people to engage, share the gospel about Jesus, and invite people into a life of discipleship.  I think this is on point.

Pick up this book.  Read it.  Write in the margins (unless you pick it up from a library).  Agree.  Disagree.  This book will sharpen your thinking, broaden your understanding of the world we live in today, and challenge you to invite other people to follow Jesus.  It is a valuable contribution to the church that I pray more people will come to not only like, but love.

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Myers ::: Organic Community

The Spirit of organic community is grace, not law; “edit-ability,” not accountability…This is how a good author-editor relationship works: The author submits a rough draft.  The editor makes suggestions, even disagrees at times with the author.  The author considers the editor’s suggestions, and will often make adjustments.  The author and editor continue to go back and forth until the project is complete.  The entire process is one of give and take collaboration.When presented with the option, most people prefer an author-editor relationship…We want someone to confide in, pray with, and listen to us.  We do not hope for someone to keep a record and reconcile us to the rules.  We hope our friends will help us to be reconciled to life, to community, to ourselves, and to God.

-Joseph Myers, Organic Community: Creating a Place Where People Naturally Connect, 138-140.

The story Christians tell of God exposes the unwelcome fact that I am a sinner.  For without such a narrative the fact and nature of my sin cannot help but remain hidden in self-deception.  Only a narrative that helps me place myself as a creature of a gracious God can provide the skills to help me locate my sin as fundamentally infidelity and rebellion.  As a creature I have been created for loyalty–loyalty to the truth, to the love that moves the sun and the stars and yet is found on a cross–but I find myself serving any powers but the true one in the hopes of being my own lord…Christian tradition has at various times and places characterized this fundamental sin in quite different ways…I doubt, however, whether there is any one term sufficient to suggest the complex nature of our sin.  This is exactly why we see we need the set of stories we find in Scripture and displayed by the church to recognize our sin.  As narrative-determined creatures we must learn to locate our lives in God’s life if we are to have the means to face, as well as do something about, our infidelity and rebellion against our true creator.

Just to the extent I refuse to be faithful to God’s way, to live as part of God’s life, my life assumes the character of rebellion.  Our sin is not merely an error in overestimating our capacities.  Rather it is the active and willful attempt to overreach our powers.  It is the attempt to live sui generis, to live as if we are or can be the authors of our own stories.  Our sin is, thus, a challenge to God’s authorship and a denial that we are characters in the drama of the kingdom.

-Stanley Hauerwas, The Peaceable Kingdom: A Primer in Christian Ethics, 31

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Arcade Fire: Intervention

Intervention

Artist(Band):The Arcade Fire

The king’s taken back the throne
The useless seed is sown
When they say they’re cutting off the phone
I’ll tell ‘em you’re not home

No place to hide
You were fighting as a soldier on their side
You’re still a soldier in your mind
Though nothing’s on the line

You say it’s money that we need
As if we’re only mouths to feed
I know no matter what you say
There are some debts you’ll never pay

Working for the church
While your family dies
You take what they give you
And you keep it inside
Every spark of friendship and love
Will die without a home
Hear the solider groan, “We’ll cry alone”

I can taste the fear
It’s gonna lift me up and take me out of here
Don’t wanna fight, don’t wanna die
Just wanna hear you cry

Who’s gonna throw the very first stone?
Oh! Who’s gonna reset the bone?
Walking with your head in a sling
Wanna hear the soldier sing

Working for the Church
While my family dies
Your little baby sister’s
Gonna lose her mind
Every spark of friendship and love
Will die without a home
Hear the soldier groan “We’ll go at it alone”

I can taste your fear
It’s gonna lift you up and take you out of here
And the bone shall never heal
I care not if you kneel

We can’t find you now
But they’re gonna get the money back somehow
And when you finally disappear
We’ll just say you were never here

Been working for the church
While your life falls apart.
Singing hallelujah with the fear in your heart
Every spark of friendship and love
Will die without a home
Hear the soldier groan, “We’ll go at it alone”
Hear the soldier groan, “We’ll go at it alone”

Late last year I downloaded the album Neon Bible by the alternative/rock band Arcade Fire. The song above, “Intervention,” is sung over the blasts of a pipe organ. I grew up singing to the organ, so I’m very familiar with its power. When coupled with words that are sung with conviction, this is soul shaking stuff.

This song evokes images of war, religion, fear, loneliness, separation, and the need for relationships. Most chilling are the words that follow, “Been working for the church…” for I know (or know of) too many people that seem to fit the descriptions, “while your family/my family dies,” or “while your life falls apart.” Can you imagine being described as someone “singing hallelujah with the fear in your heart”?

The beauty of music is its ability to ignite our imagination. As I’ve continued to contemplate this song I’ve deeply considered the practices that lead to the deterioration of the inner life which occurs when church leadership neglects to undertake the disciplines which nourish the soul. I have thought carefully concerning the disciplines of rest, reflection, solitude, and re-engagement. Jesus modeled a life of withdrawal and engagement. His example might be one we wish to follow.

Such practices are for all disciples, not clergy alone. What are the practices that you include in the rhythm of your life in order for God to heal, restore, and direct you as you engage the world that surrounds you? How do you maintain spiritual health amongst the busyness which our age holds as a cultural value?

In John 10:10 Jesus said that he has come that we “may have life, and have it abundantly.” Investigate and incorporate the practices of discipleship which yield health, so that our involvement with church communities can yield good fruit and provide a witness of life, not death, as reflected in the song lyrics above.

What are the ways that you cultivate a healthy life of following Jesus?

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Where are the Young People? Leadership Development and Going Forth

Over a month ago I happened upon an article concerning “young clergy” and the dire need to increase the percentage of young leaders within the United Methodist denomination.  You can read the article I happened upon here.

Since reading this article I have continued to reflect on this topic.  Upon following the link you’ll find an article titled, “Leaders Share Best Practices to Attract Young Clergy.”  The word that kicked my grey matter into action was “attract.”  It didn’t sit right.  In fact, my stomach churned.

The question, “where are the young people?” is not an uncommon one.  Jean Twenge, in her book Generation Me, has provided ample data to show that members of my generation are dropping out of the church in droves.  Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone chronicles the decline in civic involvement which has eventually led to my generation’s increased disengagement not only in church, but in all spheres of public life.  Many of our large churches are asking how to engage my demographic, formulating strategic plans, launching evangelism initiatives, and deriving innovative ways of doing and being church.  Perhaps the loss of the young’uns has hit the mainline denominations hardest, as existing beaurocracies perpetuate status quo approaches to doing ministry, expecting my generation to conform to traditional expressions of faithfulness mediated through too narrow a variety of communication techniques.  It isn’t that my generation doesn’t want to plug into something that is very old and very true, it is just that in many ways the truth of the gospel is being communicated in ways that we have not been trained to understand.

Which brings me back to the word, “attract.”  Would you rather be attracted to a special event, such as a Dave Matthews Band concert through saavy marketing, or personally invited by a friend to share in a common experience?  Leadership in the United Methodist Church and other denominations would be wise to implement invitational language in how they approach leadership recruitment and development.  Such an invitation also requires a compelling vision which a young person would like to come and be part of.  Planting churches, leading congregations, discipling people to follow Jesus, seeing lives transformed–such things are compelling enough, I believe.  Communicating this vision to ”young people” will require living in community with these people.  Where are the young people in our communities who have shown gifts for leadership and ministry?  Do you know any?  Have you developed any?  If not, how can you reach out into your community, find such gifted students, love them, encourage them, and develop them as leaders?  These people don’t appear from thin air, and there is no “bat signal” which will bring them to your doorstep.  You have to have your eyes open. 

Such invitations should also be accompanied by prayer.  What would happen if the Council of Bishops called on every prayer group meeting in every United Methodist Church to dedicate a portion of their meetings to specifically petitioning God to raise up leaders for the United Methodist Church in this generation?

I’ve been talking about the recruitment of young people for pastoral leadership, but such thinking also applies to including a younger contingency in local congregations as part of the laity.  This does require a change in worship format, as I indicated above–people in my generation need the gospel communicated to them in ways that are understandable.  More importantly, however, where do the 20 and 30 somethings in your community live?  Do you have people in your congegration who befriend and love them?  Is there a small contingency of young people who want to reach out to their friends and neighbors, co-workers and social networks and share the gospel?  Do they understand the reason why Christians convictions call us to talk to others about Jesus, and do they have a passion to communicate that message to others?

As much as language of “attracting” new leaders and young people to us might make sense, it won’t work.  The church will have to go, recognizing our unique vocation as a sent people to enter into the world as Jesus’ disciples, proclaiming his gospel and inviting others to walk with us on the journey.

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