Certain approaches work to bring people to churches and some do not. Before moving on to describe those approaches that work and those that do not, let me first explain what I mean by the phrase "bring people to churches."
I do not mean that these approaches, or any others, necessarily bring people to membership in local churches. Local churches are not necessarily called to grow memberships...or to guarantee ongoing financial stability...or to make sure that their organizations are assured forever. Churches are called to serve people, both those within the neighborhoods surrounding our facilities and those who live farther away from our locations.
This is upsetting to some. If congregations make their organizational success or institutional sustainability the key to their activity and function, the churches may well gather for reasons that have nothing whatsoever to do with the ministry of Jesus Christ. If Christ, expressed in our neighborhoods and beyond, is the ball upon which we are trained to keep our eyes, then our ministries and missions will only incidentally impact organizational success or institutional sustainability.
That expressed, there are approaches to bringing people to our churches that do not work. Advertising, by and large, does not work. Fancy, glitchy ads that promise personal fulfillment or spiritual development are the least effective way to attract persons. They do exactly the opposite, in fact. They tend to repel.
Programming that is geared to societal or cultural strata do not work. What organization has not tried to structure approaches around target demographics? What church has not attempted socio-economic or geographical groupings to attract like-minded an like-oriented persons? What church has not tried tying itself to some distinct political or social cause? These attempts may work for a short time, but they eventually fade away and cease to be effective.
What works is simple and basic. Congregations that serve their neighborhoods, that are seen as a resource to and an aid for neighbors, thrive and grow. Their ministries expand. Their missions grow.
Shiloh Church has demonstrated this simple fact in two very important ways. Firstly, Shiloh's Front Porch Ministry has been a tremendous success. The Front Porch takes place in the course of Shiloh's Saturday Farmers' Market. Regional farmers, and other food-related producers, gather to sell products to the community every Saturday morning, May through October, in the parking lot of Shiloh Church. The Market offers WIC/food stamp usage as a means of serving our area's financially struggling population, as well as those who may be able to afford fresh produce. Members and friends of Shiloh gather each Saturday, in the Gazebo, to offer welcome, discussion, hot and cold drinks, breakfast sandwiches and friendship. There is no proselytizing, no commercial, no church information...unless persons ask. The majority of Shiloh's new members, through the last three New Member Sundays, have come from the Front Porch. Many more lives have been touched.
Yesterday, Shiloh offered its first-ever Trunk of Treats program. From 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. twenty-two members and friends of Shiloh gathered in the "point" of the facility's parking lot, decorated trunks of cars, backs of SUV's and beds of trucks, and distributed candy, pencils, and fun products to more than 385 neighborhood children and families. The neighbors enjoyed free hot dogs, chips and drinks as well. By providing a safe environment in which children could trick-or-treat, Shiloh served a huge segment of its neighborhood. The program was simple, but memorable. We are certain that the project will expand, both with community response and Shiloh members' involvement.
These programs work. Serving our neighborhood, representing Christ to and with them our closest neighbors in creative and imaginative ways, works. It brings people to Shiloh. Activities like the Pumpkin Patch, the Fall Fair, the Holiday Bazaar, the Golf Outing, Food Bank Collections, and too many others to mention, work. Well done, Shiloh! You are representing Christ to, in and with your neighbors.
Monday, October 27, 2014
Monday, October 13, 2014
Something Better?
I do not know for certain whether the tendency comes from the culture or from the nature of the contemporary church. Perhaps it is not universal at all, but part of my, admittedly, limited experience. It certainly seems to be true, however.
People do not sign up. They do not commit. They do not attach their names to projects or programs or events. Only at the last minute do people seems to be willing to state their devotion to x, y, or z. It seems as though people hold out until the last possible minute to commit, seeming to expect something better to come along and claim their attention.
So it was, I imagine, in the Gospel parable from this past Sunday. The king had invited certain people to the wedding banquet of his son, but they refused the invitation. Worse, they made light of it, thinking that other things in their lives were more important, more attractive, more fun or more meaningful. They rejected the king's invitation. They abused the king's servants. The king was enraged and caused the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem at the culmination of the Roman/Jewish war in 70 c.e. Others were invited. They came, but some were unprepared for what the banquet required. So, many are called but few are chosen.
The more I study and learn, and the more I wrestle with God's will for humankind, the more I am convinced that authentic spirituality invites us simply to go out of our way for the sake of others. It is the highest of heavenly virtues. It is at the core of the Christ ethic and speaks of the motivation that lies behind the archetype of Christ's Crucifixion and Resurrection. Every religion has at its core the simple act of sacrificing self for the benefit of others.
If self-sacrificing service is at the core of our religion, and I firmly believe that it is, then one might assume that the best that the church has to offer is the opportunity to engage in and embody that service. There is nothing better. There is no greater good, no superior service, no more meaningful use of time, energy, talent of wealth.
One would expect therefore that opportunities to participate in self-sacrificing service ministry and mission would be the most important, most exciting, most meaningful opportunities that we have to offer. But people still seem to be waiting for something better to come along.
I wonder for what we wait? What do we expect to come along that is superior to the self-sacrificial service opportunities that we offer?
To find an answer, I look in my assessment mirror and find there...myself.
Ah. That.
The sole reason for waiting to commit to opportunities for self-sacrificing service is the self that wants anything but to sacrifice. Of course I wait for something to come along that better suits me, my self, I. I avoid the self-sacrificing service if I can better serve myself with something more self-serving. Tautology much there, Plato?
Of course we are tempted to wait to see whether or not something more self-serving might come along before we commit to an opportunity for self-sacrifice. I wonder, though, how we market the notion that opportunities to embody self-sacrifice are preferable to the best of self-service? If we could sell that notion, if we could just convince one another of its merits, sign-ups would be immediate and commitment would be sure and certain.
Until then, alas, people will be people. Sorry, king. Can't come to your banquet. I've got a mani/pedi scheduled at 5:00.
People do not sign up. They do not commit. They do not attach their names to projects or programs or events. Only at the last minute do people seems to be willing to state their devotion to x, y, or z. It seems as though people hold out until the last possible minute to commit, seeming to expect something better to come along and claim their attention.
So it was, I imagine, in the Gospel parable from this past Sunday. The king had invited certain people to the wedding banquet of his son, but they refused the invitation. Worse, they made light of it, thinking that other things in their lives were more important, more attractive, more fun or more meaningful. They rejected the king's invitation. They abused the king's servants. The king was enraged and caused the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem at the culmination of the Roman/Jewish war in 70 c.e. Others were invited. They came, but some were unprepared for what the banquet required. So, many are called but few are chosen.
The more I study and learn, and the more I wrestle with God's will for humankind, the more I am convinced that authentic spirituality invites us simply to go out of our way for the sake of others. It is the highest of heavenly virtues. It is at the core of the Christ ethic and speaks of the motivation that lies behind the archetype of Christ's Crucifixion and Resurrection. Every religion has at its core the simple act of sacrificing self for the benefit of others.
If self-sacrificing service is at the core of our religion, and I firmly believe that it is, then one might assume that the best that the church has to offer is the opportunity to engage in and embody that service. There is nothing better. There is no greater good, no superior service, no more meaningful use of time, energy, talent of wealth.
One would expect therefore that opportunities to participate in self-sacrificing service ministry and mission would be the most important, most exciting, most meaningful opportunities that we have to offer. But people still seem to be waiting for something better to come along.
I wonder for what we wait? What do we expect to come along that is superior to the self-sacrificial service opportunities that we offer?
To find an answer, I look in my assessment mirror and find there...myself.
Ah. That.
The sole reason for waiting to commit to opportunities for self-sacrificing service is the self that wants anything but to sacrifice. Of course I wait for something to come along that better suits me, my self, I. I avoid the self-sacrificing service if I can better serve myself with something more self-serving. Tautology much there, Plato?
Of course we are tempted to wait to see whether or not something more self-serving might come along before we commit to an opportunity for self-sacrifice. I wonder, though, how we market the notion that opportunities to embody self-sacrifice are preferable to the best of self-service? If we could sell that notion, if we could just convince one another of its merits, sign-ups would be immediate and commitment would be sure and certain.
Until then, alas, people will be people. Sorry, king. Can't come to your banquet. I've got a mani/pedi scheduled at 5:00.
Tuesday, October 07, 2014
Open and Affirming?
I found myself drawn into a lengthy email conversation a week or so ago that I think the Shiloh community might be interested in knowing. It involved the United Church of Christ stance that many of us know of as "Open and Affirming (ONA)."
The "Open and Affirming" stance states that congregations are both open to and affirming of persons and couples in same gender relationships. It says that the doors of the church are open to persons from the LGBT community, and that we affirm that lifestyle. Shiloh is not technically an "ONA" congregation.
A colleague of mine was examining Shiloh's website recently and emailed me, shocked that Shiloh was not an official ONA congregation. She has known me for some years, knows many of my theological and social values, and had always believed me to be a person who was welcoming of all persons, regardless of race, creed, national origin, gender or lifestyle.
She went on to explain that some biblical models seem to exclude persons, mainly on a social/cultural basis, but that the contemporary church should not be a part of such exclusion. She included several links to sites where I could access more information on those (six) biblical texts and how we might better understand them in a contemporary setting.
She wondered how I, a pastor of pretty consistent thinking and theology, could serve a congregation that is not officially ONA. Quite frankly, she went on and on and on, trying to convince me that the congregation that I serve must have led me down a more conservative path than she assumed that I would have followed. She even said that she was disappointed in me.
Well...
It is true that Shiloh is not technically an ONA congregation. There are two factors that have led to that factor that my colleague has failed to recognize. I explained in my return email:
There are two reasons that Shiloh is not ONA, neither of them accounted for in your earlier email.
1. ONA does not include all persons. How about issues of race, gender, national origin, economic status, social order, healthiness, residence, background or dress? None of these are addressed in the ONA stance. Shiloh believes in the equality of all persons, not just some. Therefore, the ONA stance does not go far enough for the way this congregation practices its faith.
2. Shiloh is radically welcoming. Ask the couples and families of every description who attend and who take part in the congregation's ministries. Ask our Indonesian, Hispanic, African-American, gay, artistic, conservative, progressive participants whether or not they are made to feel welcome as we work side-by-side in the ministry of Jesus Christ. Shiloh seeks to practice instead of taking political stances. We just do.
The remainder of the email was a request that perhaps we should gain information before judging or jumping to conclusion. Just because Shiloh is not technically ONA does not mean that we are not a welcoming community that stands in allegiance with persons of whatever description. This congregation prefers instead to claim that everyone is welcome here, no matter where they have been, what they have done, or where they might be on life's journey. Shiloh's doors are genuinely open and the congregation genuinely affirms every person. The congregation lives its faith. I am proud to serve here.
The "Open and Affirming" stance states that congregations are both open to and affirming of persons and couples in same gender relationships. It says that the doors of the church are open to persons from the LGBT community, and that we affirm that lifestyle. Shiloh is not technically an "ONA" congregation.
A colleague of mine was examining Shiloh's website recently and emailed me, shocked that Shiloh was not an official ONA congregation. She has known me for some years, knows many of my theological and social values, and had always believed me to be a person who was welcoming of all persons, regardless of race, creed, national origin, gender or lifestyle.
She went on to explain that some biblical models seem to exclude persons, mainly on a social/cultural basis, but that the contemporary church should not be a part of such exclusion. She included several links to sites where I could access more information on those (six) biblical texts and how we might better understand them in a contemporary setting.
She wondered how I, a pastor of pretty consistent thinking and theology, could serve a congregation that is not officially ONA. Quite frankly, she went on and on and on, trying to convince me that the congregation that I serve must have led me down a more conservative path than she assumed that I would have followed. She even said that she was disappointed in me.
Well...
It is true that Shiloh is not technically an ONA congregation. There are two factors that have led to that factor that my colleague has failed to recognize. I explained in my return email:
There are two reasons that Shiloh is not ONA, neither of them accounted for in your earlier email.
1. ONA does not include all persons. How about issues of race, gender, national origin, economic status, social order, healthiness, residence, background or dress? None of these are addressed in the ONA stance. Shiloh believes in the equality of all persons, not just some. Therefore, the ONA stance does not go far enough for the way this congregation practices its faith.
2. Shiloh is radically welcoming. Ask the couples and families of every description who attend and who take part in the congregation's ministries. Ask our Indonesian, Hispanic, African-American, gay, artistic, conservative, progressive participants whether or not they are made to feel welcome as we work side-by-side in the ministry of Jesus Christ. Shiloh seeks to practice instead of taking political stances. We just do.
The remainder of the email was a request that perhaps we should gain information before judging or jumping to conclusion. Just because Shiloh is not technically ONA does not mean that we are not a welcoming community that stands in allegiance with persons of whatever description. This congregation prefers instead to claim that everyone is welcome here, no matter where they have been, what they have done, or where they might be on life's journey. Shiloh's doors are genuinely open and the congregation genuinely affirms every person. The congregation lives its faith. I am proud to serve here.
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