Have you ever felt as though you lived in a strange land where there is a familiarity with the things around you but somehow you were out of step with all that was going on? I find myself there so many times, especially as I read the newspaper and listen to the media. The things which pass for reality I have to shake my head at. What is allowed or thought of as normal/okay floor me because I simply do not agree. I am "out of step" with the world around me!
Today I have been reading George Barna's book entitled "The Seven Faith Tribes" in which he describes the seven major faith perspective groups in the US. One group he identifies are what he calls "Casual Christians" which composes about 2 out of every three adults in America, according to Barna.
As Barna describes this segment of our society, he lifts up several key elements which describe this segment. Two of the finding jumped out at me and further reinforced that I am out of step but this time it is with those who profess to be part of the faith family.
Item one: Self-reliance is a big deal among Casuals. As a result, they live lives with the notion that their spiritual life is up to them and that God's highest desire for them is to be happy. Barna states, "Casuals are twice as likely to believe that God wants them to achieve happiness as those who believe that He wants them to achieve holiness." Now I have to confess that I have always chafed against those who advocate the "health and wealth" gospel or the "feel good" gospel but this study helps me understand why such groups grow so dramatically. I am out of step!!
This same group "generally have a low view of the importance of belonging to a genuine community of believers." Barna goes on to say, "less than one out of every five believe that spiritual maturity requires a commitment to a particular community of faith and investing themselves in those relationships. I suspect the massive amount of church shopping, hopping, and swapping is largely attributable to the Casuals - people for whom longevity in a family of faith is much less meaningful and attainable than investing in their biological families." How many times have we heard the adaptation of the phrase - I cannot ___ (fill in the blank) because Sunday is our family time. Or how many folks glance off of congregations because they do not see the importance of being deeply connected to a faith community.
I am out of step! I strongly believe that Christianity has to be lived in the context of community! Yes, you heard me place myself at the opposite end of the spectrum from the prevailing attitude of our culture, more frightening, our Christian culture.
Jesus admonition to "take up our cross" calls me to invest all that I am into this faith journey which I understand to be lived out in the context of the Christian community. It is by placing my life before others that I am allowing myself to be accountable for my actions and understandings as well as to learn from those around me as they discover the deep insights of faith.
I guess that I must get used to being out of step! How about you?
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Our Ministry Together
We share the ministry of the church together. I have always held this conviction that as a pastoral leader, I am simply one part of the puzzle which is God's church. My hope has always been to create and atmosphere where the gifts of everyone contribute to make a stronger whole.
I cannot remember a time when I did things on my own for very long. I am wired to need others and to live in community. As a youth, I craved the company of our youth group so I found myself always with different members of that community. I experienced college as part of a group, closely connected to others. It was the same way in seminary. The church has been no exception to that process. I feel most comfortable working in the context of a team.
Jeff Jones in his book entitled "Heart, Mind, and Strength" talks of ministry in the context of the congregation. He shares the understanding that our work is done together, a collection of gifted individuals who are bound together for the common cause of ministry.
The church is in a transitional time. Our role in the society and culture have changed since many of us first became connected with the local church. It feels at times that the challenges are great or even unsumountable at times. How do we adapt or change in order to continue to reach our community? How do we continue to remain effective in this constantly changing society? It puts pressure upon us to discern or discover answers in a tough time. My observation is that in times like this, it is easy for people of become discouraged and disheartened in the work of the church.
Jeff ends this wonderful book with this paragraph. "Ministry in all its forms is a wondrous thng. For both clergy and laity is makes greater demands and at the same time bestows astonishing gifts. Our ministry as leaders in the church is in a very real sense an impossible challenge. And yet if we attend to the who and the what, if we nmurture both the heart and the mind, the strength we need for the chaallenges we face will come tous. By the grace of God, it will come."
I cannot remember a time when I did things on my own for very long. I am wired to need others and to live in community. As a youth, I craved the company of our youth group so I found myself always with different members of that community. I experienced college as part of a group, closely connected to others. It was the same way in seminary. The church has been no exception to that process. I feel most comfortable working in the context of a team.
Jeff Jones in his book entitled "Heart, Mind, and Strength" talks of ministry in the context of the congregation. He shares the understanding that our work is done together, a collection of gifted individuals who are bound together for the common cause of ministry.
The church is in a transitional time. Our role in the society and culture have changed since many of us first became connected with the local church. It feels at times that the challenges are great or even unsumountable at times. How do we adapt or change in order to continue to reach our community? How do we continue to remain effective in this constantly changing society? It puts pressure upon us to discern or discover answers in a tough time. My observation is that in times like this, it is easy for people of become discouraged and disheartened in the work of the church.
Jeff ends this wonderful book with this paragraph. "Ministry in all its forms is a wondrous thng. For both clergy and laity is makes greater demands and at the same time bestows astonishing gifts. Our ministry as leaders in the church is in a very real sense an impossible challenge. And yet if we attend to the who and the what, if we nmurture both the heart and the mind, the strength we need for the chaallenges we face will come tous. By the grace of God, it will come."
Monday, August 17, 2009
Language!!
Jeff Jones has written a good book entitled "Heart, Mind, and Strength" in which he deals with the subject of leadership in the church. One section he spends time with is called "language." He opens the section with these words, "It is impossible to underestimate the power of language." He goes on to suggest that "it can change attitudes and shape behaviors." I believe Jeff is correct.
He shares seven ideas from Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey of the Harvard Business School which I found to be great. The seven ideas deal with how we talk and how changing the way we talk can change the way we work. In reading this, I think this has powerful implications for the church if we were to pay attention to these ideas.
All seven ideas are suggestions to move from one style of language to another.
1. From the language of complaint to the language of commitment. It is moving from complaining about what I do not like to the place of being committed to preserving what is most valuable, most precious and most deserving of being promoted and defended in this organization. How often in the church do we just complain about the way "they are doing it" instead of committing ourselves to the tasks at hand?
2. From the language of blame to the language of personal responsibility. "Blaming encourages a desire to fix the problem as quickly as possible by getting rid of or changing the one who is at fault." Moving from blame to understanding my personal responsibility in facing the issues confronting us. In the church it is easier to blame someone else rather than to honestly evaluate the possible ways in which our actions are causing difficulty.
3. From the language of New Years' resolutions to the language of competing commitments. The authors suggest that there is fear in the change which may come if we actually do what we resolve to do because it reveals other commitments that we have or things we cherish. Now I understand that, the resolution to lose weight means fear, the fear of having to let go of one of my favorite pastimes - eating! It reveals that I have competing commitments. The talking about the possibilities of change but also the pain of loss and fear of letting go.
4. From the language of big assumptions that hold us to the language of assumptions we hold. They suggest that big assumptions are assumptions that we hold to be true and are never questioned. What assumptions do we hold as a church? I laugh because in reality we have many of these which we couch in the language of we have never do it that way or that will never work. Many times, we do not know until we try!
5. From the language of prizes and praising to the language of ongoing regard. They take great care to spell out that praise and prizes allow us to confer upon others their source of worthiness, we decide what is good and not for the church. They suggest we speak in regard of the effort or work of the individual rather than saying what was good or bad. This one I must confess connected with me the least, not sure I got what they were driving at.
6. From the language of rules and policies to the language of public agreement. "Rules and policies are about compliance." "Rules and policies are about an external standard." We in the church live by the shared values of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ rather than upon the rules I or anyone else might create. But this is an easy one to stumble over because a rule is easier to create than to talk about the common understandings of what the Christian life should encompass.
7. From the language of constructive criticism to the language of deconstructive criticism. Now before you get turned off by their language, listen to what they mean. "constructive criticism is all about one person - the person who is critiquing - claiming to have the right answer. Constructive criticism assumes that the person receiving it doesn't have a clue. Most often the one who gives is in a position of power. Even in the best of circumstance, the one who gives constructive criticism claims both power and responsibility." What they advocate is rather than beginning with a critique of the person's behavior, begin with a statement like "I do not understand ..." which allows for understanding and or clarification. Now this one rang very close to home. I unfortunately have given way too much constructive criticism and must confess to having received far more of it than I would like. The authors are correct that moving away from this type of behavior will foster greater willingness from all to contribute their insights and understandings.
The reason I found this list helpful is that we live in a time of change in the church. Churches are looking to find the "right answer" for attracting persons, for strengthening ministries, for balancing budgets. In such an environment it is easy to fall into the less helpful patterns of communication, utilizing language patterns which harm us rather than aid us in our trying to discern where God is leading us. Take a few minutes to reflect upon your own language patterns.
He shares seven ideas from Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey of the Harvard Business School which I found to be great. The seven ideas deal with how we talk and how changing the way we talk can change the way we work. In reading this, I think this has powerful implications for the church if we were to pay attention to these ideas.
All seven ideas are suggestions to move from one style of language to another.
1. From the language of complaint to the language of commitment. It is moving from complaining about what I do not like to the place of being committed to preserving what is most valuable, most precious and most deserving of being promoted and defended in this organization. How often in the church do we just complain about the way "they are doing it" instead of committing ourselves to the tasks at hand?
2. From the language of blame to the language of personal responsibility. "Blaming encourages a desire to fix the problem as quickly as possible by getting rid of or changing the one who is at fault." Moving from blame to understanding my personal responsibility in facing the issues confronting us. In the church it is easier to blame someone else rather than to honestly evaluate the possible ways in which our actions are causing difficulty.
3. From the language of New Years' resolutions to the language of competing commitments. The authors suggest that there is fear in the change which may come if we actually do what we resolve to do because it reveals other commitments that we have or things we cherish. Now I understand that, the resolution to lose weight means fear, the fear of having to let go of one of my favorite pastimes - eating! It reveals that I have competing commitments. The talking about the possibilities of change but also the pain of loss and fear of letting go.
4. From the language of big assumptions that hold us to the language of assumptions we hold. They suggest that big assumptions are assumptions that we hold to be true and are never questioned. What assumptions do we hold as a church? I laugh because in reality we have many of these which we couch in the language of we have never do it that way or that will never work. Many times, we do not know until we try!
5. From the language of prizes and praising to the language of ongoing regard. They take great care to spell out that praise and prizes allow us to confer upon others their source of worthiness, we decide what is good and not for the church. They suggest we speak in regard of the effort or work of the individual rather than saying what was good or bad. This one I must confess connected with me the least, not sure I got what they were driving at.
6. From the language of rules and policies to the language of public agreement. "Rules and policies are about compliance." "Rules and policies are about an external standard." We in the church live by the shared values of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ rather than upon the rules I or anyone else might create. But this is an easy one to stumble over because a rule is easier to create than to talk about the common understandings of what the Christian life should encompass.
7. From the language of constructive criticism to the language of deconstructive criticism. Now before you get turned off by their language, listen to what they mean. "constructive criticism is all about one person - the person who is critiquing - claiming to have the right answer. Constructive criticism assumes that the person receiving it doesn't have a clue. Most often the one who gives is in a position of power. Even in the best of circumstance, the one who gives constructive criticism claims both power and responsibility." What they advocate is rather than beginning with a critique of the person's behavior, begin with a statement like "I do not understand ..." which allows for understanding and or clarification. Now this one rang very close to home. I unfortunately have given way too much constructive criticism and must confess to having received far more of it than I would like. The authors are correct that moving away from this type of behavior will foster greater willingness from all to contribute their insights and understandings.
The reason I found this list helpful is that we live in a time of change in the church. Churches are looking to find the "right answer" for attracting persons, for strengthening ministries, for balancing budgets. In such an environment it is easy to fall into the less helpful patterns of communication, utilizing language patterns which harm us rather than aid us in our trying to discern where God is leading us. Take a few minutes to reflect upon your own language patterns.
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