Transforming Church

Guess Who Has Been “Left Behind?”
For most of the world this has resulted in a major shakeup. It is not difficult to document decade by decade the core changes in environment made by the corporate world. They call it a change in environment while the church calls it transformation. Such change is also easily identified in the worlds of science, arts and entertainment and others. The worlds of education, politics and government are still struggling, but for the Church, this period of time has been a disaster.

We struggle with the realization that only about twenty percent of our congregations are focused primarily on Christ’s mission in the world. A big part of that problem was inevitable when the immigrant church in America chose to make membership its basis of organization. The resulting problems have been easy compromise of the congregation’s purpose by membership’s power to vote and secure personal preference, as well as tunnel vision within the congregation rather than reaching out. Many congregations need clarity of purpose and others need correction of purpose.

Often heard is, “But this is the way we have always done it”? There are numerous other like-minded expressions that are symptomatic of a congregation that has frozen or become locked-up in its paradigm. Back in the sixties and seventies when the corporate world motivated by profit was struggling with how to release or free-up its paradigms, the church was planting its feet in an attempt to defend its own. In some ways that was intensified through the eighties and nineties.

…We Have a Problem
We finally get to the focus of this article. In its own mergers in the early-sixties and mid-eighties, the ELCA, in particular, missed opportunities to face the new age with intrinsically new model constitutions. On both occasions the church chose to still offer models based on membership, European institutional structures that mimicked the industrial machine, the corporate pyramid and methods of operation that lead to survival mentality and tight ministry management.

Instead of allowing direction of the congregation and its ministry to be in the hands of the Holy Spirit, voting memberships with powers of self-determination, including the shaping of ministry, the responsibilities of ministry and the accountability of ministry, got their own way with each of their votes. As a result most of the church is, to greater or lesser degree, somewhat off-track with Christ’s mission, spinning its wheels in survival mode. Often congregations choose to simply stick their heads in sand, hoping that somehow God will make tomorrow a better day. Surely He will ultimately prevail and bail us out. I believe He wants to do that, but….

Wake up! There are between 3500 and 4000 congregations in America closing their doors every year, while only 1100 to 1500 new ones are being started. Disaster is often headed off by bequests, endowments, and other unique gifts, but at any given point in time thirty-five percent of all congregations in America cannot be guaranteed their existence beyond the next five to six years. The growth of Christianity lags disastrously behind population growth with most church bodies showing a net decline. Projections of such statistics help no one, and I prefer to remain optimistic that a wakeup call will defer those projections from being realized.

There Is Hope
The church IS beginning to wake up. It knows it has to get back to the climate of multiplying disciples for Christ instead of rationalizing that a trickle of new members is getting the mission accomplished. Twenty years ago it was being said we need a new paradigm for church, but a new paradigm can move us a notch closer to Christ’s mission only to lock us up all over again.

Something I learned about from Bill Easum and Tom Bandy, what we need is a new mental map. Maps are always a work in progress; they are never finished or done. They have to remain fluid because things are always being added to and taken away from it. When we look to paint the new look on a canvas, it becomes obvious the church needs to be organic like it was in the 1st Century.

What organic basically describes is an environment in which ministry is allowed to grow out of other ministry (fractiling), a system that is team based rather than committee based (there is a world of difference) and intentional utilization of all spiritual gifts that are brought to the table. The anything-but organic millstone to be contended with is our (ELCA) model Constitution.

The Real World
Affiliation with the ELCA dictates a congregation’s Constitution has to fit within (modeled by) the ELCA Constitution. To this end the suggested Model Constitution has articles and points of detail that bear an asterisk, meaning required and unchangeable. If I were to sit down with blank paper and draft a Constitution for a congregation, it would be quite different. However, what is being offered here is an attempt at minimal tweaking for the purpose of shifting the focus from machine to organism and from voting-membership-authority to disciple-responsibility.

Openly admitted up front, the only “stepping on toes” real change of a “sacred asterisk” portion in the present model is pinpointed under C4.04 with the suggestion that the role of the Congregation Council with ministry is better focused on guiding and coaching instead of managing it. To manage the ministry implies (1) Council manages the Holy Spirit’s responsibility, (2) Council has the inside track on the Holy Spirit’s intent, or (3) Council is better at leading ministry than the Holy Spirit. An acceptable transformed Constitution allows the Council to administratively manage, while removing ministry management. This still satisfies state corporate law.

Don’t Start With the Constitution
If you would like to get your congregation started into the 21st Century, don’t start with the Constitution. Save that, if you can, for the wrap up. Realistically you don’t know right now where you are going to come out on the other side of this journey. Whatever you might do now will likely have to be changed again later. We are talking such a transformation here, not only will it take a minimum of two, maximum of six, years of education and transition, it would be better to “mentally” set aside your current Constitution for that time and see where the Holy Spirit leads you.

However, if you are unfortunate as I was that your “Robert’s Rules” guys and gals (why is this almost always just guys here?) won’t let you alone, you may need a “Stage One” change of minimum pieces and parts so as to broaden directives to include room for change (i.e. “no fewer than and not more than…”). If you constitutionally change the word “committee” to “team,” DO NOT make that change anywhere else UNTIL you truly have a team to call a team. Simply call a committee a team and you will open a can of worms from which it will be hard to escape. Stage One changes should accomplish your needed flexibility for the next two-six years.

In the meantime concentrate on a climate of trust and permission-giving, step out with every opportunity 24/7 to emphasize such themes as the higher calling of discipleship to membership and constantly emphasize how Christ’s interests are best served by having the congregation’s mission, vision, core values and core beliefs shape and direct the ministry. Also have a very intentional plan for the transition from committee-planned ministry to team-acted-upon ministry.

Remember, One Size Does NOT Fit All
What is offered here is one congregation’s history and tools from this journey. Do not even entertain the idea of simply changing the name on these tools to that of your congregation. You need to discover your own path together, but hopefully this record of another congregation’s journey might mentor you. Any of the following can be downloaded as Word documents:
~ The ELCA Model Constitution for Congregations
~ Download file">A Transformed Model Constitution
~ Download file">A diagram of the organic system represented in the Transformed Model
~ Download file">An explanation of the organic system that is represented
~ Download file">A Transformed Set of Bylaws with this particular organic system
~ Download file">A Transformed Set of Continuing Resolutions with this organic system
(If you use your internet "back" arrow to get to the next download, be aware it takes a bit of time for that transition.)