Congregation or Corporation
My congregation, Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, is probably typical of many small churches these days. Membership is flat or declining. Giving is flat or declining. We have budgetary concerns. In short, we are struggling. What to do? As Pastor Wilken points out in his presentation, we call in our heretics, the consultant.
Last night, we had a consultant from the CNH district pitch a process for “Transforming for Mission.” Every good consultant has a mantra, so of course he did. His was, “The Gospel hasn’t changed, the Scriptures haven’t changed, the Holy Spirit hasn’t changed.” This was likely a focus grouped message to quell any concerns of the confessionally minded. I’m sure “adiaphora” will be tossed around a lot in the coming weeks.
So what was the gist of the pitch? Vision, leadership, and accountability. Now those are all words I connect with business, not the church. I envision CEOs, Boards of Directors, vision statements, etc. Well, lo and behold the outcome of this process for another congregation was just such a prescription.
I know I will stand against this, and I fully expect to be the lone voice (Oh I would love to be proved wrong). The problem is that things truly need to change and it is easy to look to man-made solutions to solve our problems. If we stick to God’s vision of the church and focus on His Word and sacraments, will this “inward focus” lead to the death of the congregation? I keep thinking about the antidote for a life without works and that is a life with more faith. I pray for that faith for myself, my congregation, and my pastor.
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December 13th, 2008 at 1:20 am
I’m a visitor from Issues, etc., and I just want to let you know that I’m praying for you and Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church.
December 13th, 2008 at 2:32 am
Gary,
Your prayers are most welcomed.
—Brian
December 13th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Brian,
I heard about your blog on Issues, Etc. Then when I got home and pulled it up, it was a huge flashback for me. I used to work for a very large church in Charlotte, NC. It wasn’t Lutheran. It was reformed, but this corporate mentality seems to be alive in every denomination.
The main pastor had recently left to pursue a call in Birmingham, Al., and the associate pastor took over. Not only was he looking to make the church more “modern,” he was also looking to make it more corporate. We soon had a heretic…uh…I mean consultant come in and start making suggestions. Man, it sounded just like what you were describing! So, we all had to start writing vision statements for our departments that spearheaded into the main vision (oh yes, there were a lot of buzz words, too…like “spearhead”).
Eventually they hired an administrative pastor who came directly out of the corporate world with no biblical training at all. All of this together nearly destroyed the church. That pastor is not gone. The admin pastor is not gone. Many of the members are now gone. I am now gone (“let go” because I didn’t fit in with the vision that I didn’t agree with). I hear now that they are recovering and that they have a pastor who is preaching law and gospel. Thank God for that.
I don’t say all of this to discourage you, but to encourage you to prayer. I will pray with you and will keep up with your blog to see how things are going. I will pray for you if you stand alone, but I hope others see it, too. There is no doubt a place in each church for business as we have to do accounting, IT, maintenance, etc. My area was IT. However, that mentality can invade and take over the whole church. Stand strong, brother.
Phil
December 15th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
Exactly! This is a problem I have been bemoaning since exposed to it in seminary. Serving in an ELCA congregation, this is all we hear also-you need a “Mission Plan” and “Long-range planning committee’s” and the like. We were even told by one of the presenters at the latest synod theological conference, that we need to look at what is happening in our churches and keep what is good, change what is viable and to ditch what is not “working” (even if it is some tradition within the church). We are to treat the church as a business, b/c “that” is what is going to “attract” people to the church. Silly me, I always thought it was the work of the Holy Spirit, working in and through the Word and Sacraments, that did such.
December 15th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Phil,
Scary story, bringing in an admin. Seems unlikely to happen in the LCMS, but there is a Specific Ministry Pastor program which my allow for this craziness.
Thanks for your prayers and encouragement.
—Brian
December 15th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Craig,
I hadn’t thought of all the things you say to look out for. I especially look out for “long-range planning committees” and ditching what is not “working.”
Thanks,
Brian
December 16th, 2008 at 2:44 am
Actually, I meant to say that the admin and offending pastor are now gone which is a very good thing. Sorry about that. I’m glad the LCMS has policies in place to help keep some of this from happening. Supposedly, the PCA did, too, but the church decided to go against that.
…and..yes, Craig, it is amazing the lengths that a church will go to to attract people. I agree with you about it being a work of the Holy Spirit working in and through the Word and Sacraments.
December 18th, 2008 at 2:37 am
Brian,
Found your blog through Issues and then realized you’re the Wittenberg Media guy. I still listen to those all the time so thank you so much!
December 18th, 2008 at 4:26 am
Edie,
That’s me. I’m trying to get back into posting over there more often. Glad to hear you’re listening to them.
—Brian
January 6th, 2009 at 12:06 am
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