Transforming Church

Transformation – A Way of Life

Transformational ministry is an ongoing way of life for congregations that will remain effective in mission in a changing world. There is no “arrival point” where the work is done. God is on the move. The world is on the move. An unchanging church will eventually lose touch with both God and the world – becoming spiritually dead and culturally irrelevant. This means that the ELCA had to wrestle (and continues to struggle with this) with the reality that no short term program would redevelop a congregation and then things could settle in to a new state of “fine.” A new vision of church that was as able to change as the world in which it finds itself was essential.

Armed with that information, the Transformational Ministry Team for the ELCA has been developing a process over the last 6-7 years. It involves training teams of leaders rather than just a pastor. It focuses most of the early energy on developing a biblical sense of purpose and articulating missional values. Leadership teams are trained to lead the process – not to do the work for the congregation. Participatory change and change dynamics are taught. Teams then go from the training, not armed with the answers to feed their congregants but rather to lead a process than engages people in prayer, scripture study and dialog in order to allow God to speak and renew the congregation. Purpose and guiding principles for ministry are articulated.

At the same time, it is clear that most congregations are not only disconnected from God’s purpose for their ministry, they are also disconnected from their neighbors. At one recent event that I led for a small cluster of congregations I asked people to think of the eight homes closest to their church building and then to write the names of the people who lived in those homes on a sheet of paper. With a pastor and 3 or more leaders from each congregation, not one team could name more than two of the eight closest neighbors. While they could bemoan the fact that people were not coming it had not even dawned on them that they weren’t sending themselves out either! The process involves tools to help congregations learn not only data about their community but to restore relationships by meeting people and engaging them in conversations about life in their neighborhood.

The Renewal Process:

It is crucial that a congregation think about renewal as a process that outlines a way of life. It is not a project for the short term in which everyone pitches in for a while and then can settle back into a new comfort zone of effectiveness. This new way of life means that the congregation internalizes change as a part of what it means to be normal in a new way.

The process has a “Missional Identity at the Core.” The central questions for the church and for each member of it are “What is God up to?” and “What is my/our role in it?” The answers to these questions evoke stories – narratives of how we have encountered God at work in our lives. This gives individual disciples a sense of calling. It gives congregations a communal sense of identity grounded in purpose. For both individuals and communities of faith it brings a sense of identity that shapes values and behaviors for the journey ahead.

The Steps of the Process are: Discovery and Diagnosis (What's really going on?), Planning (Decide to act!), Implementation (Do something!), and Learning and Assessing (How is it going. While the circle surrounding the missional identity at the core can be accessed at any point in the process, it is most likely that a congregation that comes to grips with God’s claim on its life together will move to “Discovery and Diagnose.” It is here that a community opens itself up to reality in a truthful and curious way. Curiosity at this point is a gift. It brings a sense of discovery and wonder. Accurate information is no longer threatening but an opportunity to see clearly. It is this new sight that can open a door to new ways of doing ministry that better participate in what God is up to. Things that were seen but denied (or perhaps never even noticed at all!) become issues and opportunities for a new and increasingly faithful way of doing ministry.

The clearer the outcomes of Discovery and Diagnosing the current situation, the easier it is to begin to “Plan” new ways of carrying out the mission. As communities of disciples come to grips with reality, they are also now free to envision and claim new ministries that engage the situation. This involves seeing and using their assets and gifts to think about what they can do to be faithful. As ideas are claimed as goals, planning involves thinking about what God wants done, how it will be done, who will accept responsibility for the work and when it will happen.

Eventually, congregations have to do something in order to change. Change is not just an idea or attitude – it involves new behaviors. At this point congregations “Implement” missional actions. This is the place where the majority of changes succeeds or fails. Ideas that sound good can produce exciting results and anxiety and stress – all at the same time. The ability to put good energy into the plans, make mid-course corrections, and process grief and conflict are essential skills in this stage. Coaching can provide essential support and clarity to congregations at this point.

A key to long term change also means asking, “How is it going?” “Learning and assessing” are essential to ongoing transformational efforts. To ask what went well, what changes or adjustments could have happened, and what we learned are important in increasing the capacity of a ministry to do its work. An important attitude for this stage in the process is an attitude of openness and a desire to learn. Things that went well are celebrated. Things that could have been better are viewed not simply as failures, but as learning opportunities.

This feeds the process again and leads to not only learning from what we have done, but looking forward to new work and to more “Discovery and Diagnosis.” And the cycle continues again.

One caveat - the “Missional Identity at the Core” of the ministry is not just an entry point to do pre-work and move on. Each of the four ensuing stages of the process is clearly tied to this core. It is never “done” and then left behind for the remaining work. It is the motivation and lens by which all life in the mission of the congregation is to be understood. As the hub of this work, it is connected to and present in the midst of all the work.

The above description describes a particular order that involves starting at the “Missional identity at the Core” and then moving through “Discovery and Diagnosis”, “Planning”, “Implementation”, and “Learning and Assessing”. It is this order that will flow most logically. It is also this order that shapes the agenda for the Transformational Ministry Training. However, it is possible that congregations can enter this process in other places and then use it to discern what might be next for them. For example, congregations already doing something may find it easier to identify their missional core and enter through “Learning and Assessing.” Or a congregation with openness to learning and a willingness to fail without blame may simply decide to do something and then assess and learn from the experience.

When seen as a way of organizing congregational leadership’s thought patterns, the above process can be helpful and provide a framework for thought and clarity about what things need to be focused on in the congregation’s mission as a congregation is transformed into a healthier and more vibrant center for mission.

Summary

The ELCA has been working with variations of this model for thinking since 2001. Over that time we have learned much about transformation and about how congregations deal with processes rather than programs (not well!). In order for the work that is described here to move from theory to practice in a meaningful way, the work must involve an accountability that has been hard to foster in the life of most congregations. To overcome this struggle, the ELCA has incorporated coaching into the process. Congregations send teams of leaders (laity and clergy) to an event to receive help in engaging the change process within their congregation. A coach also works with them, both at the event and in the work they do when they return home. It is clear that coaching provides a structure where accountability is more possible.

Within the ELCA there are 50-60 congregations who engage this process each year, either at national trainings or at regional events. Although hard data is still a few years away (longitudinal studies require more duration than we have) an honest assessment of the outcomes is that 20-25% of these congregations appear to undergo significant systemic transformation. An additional 40-50% of the congregations experience renewal in the lives of a significant number of their leaders and members but fail to make the kind of systemic changes needed to provide for significant growth. The remaining 20-30% appear to experience little or no transformation at either the individual or corporate levels – generally through a failure to engage the work or the exit of key leaders early in the process. Renewal is a one in four or one in five chance. The odds are definitely against you!

Having said this, from the work that the ELCA churchwide organization has done it is safe to say that renewal, while not easy, is an effective and necessary aspect of the life of the church. If one in five renewal efforts produces a significant ministry, the cost to renew five congregations is still significantly lower than the cost to start one. Although they precede the process I describe here, both Community Church of Joy (attendance of 3200 each week in Glendale, AZ) and Lutheran Church of Hope (attendance of 3600 per week in West Des Moines, IA) involved the renewal of existing systems that were struggling before leadership changed. When renewal happens significant things can follow.

The ELCA has no corner on the renewal of the church but the work done there has been a good place for research and development on how change happens within the life of the church. While this work has not been a magic bullet, out of this work, many congregations have renewed and many leaders have been formed.

For more information on renewing and redeveloping congregations in the ELCA, see this website.