I'm reading a book about the World Columbian Exposition, the world fair in Chicago in the 1890's, and it's been an interesting story. It started with me looking up the history of the Ferris Wheel, and it turned into me being really intrigued by the story of the Chicago world fair. We think about all the incredible technology and board walk rides we have now, but the WCE was really a class of its own time. Millions of people flocked to Chicago, a city recently rebuilt after a devastating wild fire. It's an amazing history. And it got me thinking.
So many things drew people to that world fair. It was new and exciting. It was something wild that they didn't have to get on a boat and go across the ocean to see. Here was something cool and magnificent on American soil. Sure, it had its set of problems -- deaths, robbers, even a murderer -- but there was something about the chaos and excitement that thrilled people enough to come in to see it from every walk of life.
I work in small-church ministry, so setting up a world fair isn't an option here (I think big, but I also think realistically big). But maybe if churches could learn a few lessons from the world fair, we might open our hearts and minds to discover new ways to draw people's attention.
Outreach and Evangelism are kind of like a bank account.
Okay, hear me out before you roll your eyes.
Think about your checking account. When you use your check card, you can either use it for a charge or a debit. The difference is minimal; the money is coming from the same account. The heart of outreach and evangelism is the same: it's opening people's eyes and heart's to Christ. The difference between outreach and evangelism is that the former brings people to an individual church while the latter brings people to the church universal. Small scale vs. big scale.
At the church where I'm currently serving, outreach and evangelism are the same committee. Ideally, this would not be the case, as each requires a different set of gifts. But the reality of small church work is that when you have a limited amount of people, you do the best you can with what you're given. We combine outreach and evangelism because even though they each require different gifts, they're each from the same account: it's how do we as a church welcome people to know Christ better? In outreach, we invite them to church, we invite them to social events, and we find new ways to advertise our church. In evangelism, we tell people our faith story by showing them how much God loves them.
And I'll say this even though I know some will disagree: Evangelism is NOT about growing your own church program. That's outreach. Growing your church program is a result of evagelism, not a cause. Evangelism is growing the church universal; that is, it's bringing people to Christ even if they don't find a home in your church. The hope is that they will find a church home somewhere with a church family that rises to the occassion to nurture their beliefs and help them grow in their walk with Christ. Ideally, your church is the one that does that, but it's not always the case.
So that's the difference: Outreach, small scale. Evangelism, global scale.
As a new pastor, my main concern is outreach, not evangelism. I'm looking for new and exciting ways to reach out to the community to let them know that this church is still here and waiting to serve them. I recently read a report from a previous pastor that people think this church where I'm serving is a "well-kept secret in the community." Someone recently shared with me that they didn't know our church was even still open for worship services. The task of outreach is to change that perception so that people know we're here and we're inviting them to share in the glory of God with us in worship, Sunday school, and other social activities. There are so many ways to reach out people that we would never have time to put all of them into practice. So let's start small. What can we change today, or this week, or this month that will encourage people to step through our doors and visit this church? We're not setting up a world fair, but we're setting up a church family that has a face in the community so people know this is a place that will welcome them and encourage them when they come here.
Reach out to people. Let them know they are welcome as they are. I hate the saying, "Welcome the stranger." In the church, there are no strangers, only brothers and sisters in Christ.
Wishing you peace,
Pastor Becki
Friday, October 29, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
A New Creation
I've been keeping an eye on the maple tree outside my sliding glass doors at home and watching as the leaves go through their autumn metamorphisis. One side of the tree changed fairly rapidly. The leaves shifted their colors and one by one, they plummeted from their branches to the grass below. Before long, one side of the ground around the tree was blanketed in leaves of various colors. One side of the tree, though, held out. It stayed green for a while and then very slowly, the leaves started to change. It started in the tips, the part of the leaf farthest away from the moisture source. The colors crept down the veins of the leaves until the whole leaf was a new color. Now, for the most part, the tree is just about bare.
Fall is an interesting time of the year. It's all about change. When we think of new things, we usually think of the spring when things start to grow again. But so many new things happen in the fall that it's hard to limit the idea of "newness" to the spring. Think how exciting the first day of school is come August or September (for me, the first day of school was always in September, but I know different states follow different calendars). It's a new year. It's a new book bag, new books, new lunch box, new clothes, new everything. Fall is all about new. It's a chance to reinvent yourself.
I've been thinking a lot about the tree in the front yard of my apartment complex and how part of it held out while the rest of the tree was happy to change, as was expected of such a tree in its season. Churches follow the same pattern. It's hard to change, and when it comes to change there are sides that resist it. In our own individual lives, sometimes we recognize a need to change but there's a part of us that seems to resist it. Change can be bad, for sure, but it doesn't have to be. Change is all about perspective.
When a church considers making a change, whether it's a change in leadership or in worship style, or even in just rearranging a few items of furniture in the nartex, the church goes through a process. Change should always be accompanied by at least two questions: First, is this change going to help us further our ministry for the service of God's kingdom? and second, "Who does this change affect?"
I knew a church back home in New Jersey several years ago that wanted to change their front doors. The old doors were heavy wood. Solid. Sturdy. Old. The pastor decided that the doors looked foreboding and he had a thought that maybe changing the doors would encourage new people to visit the church. He went to his session and asked about switching out the old doors for a set of clear glass doors so people could see through into the sanctuary. At first, his idea was met with resistence. The old doors were perfectly functional. They were historical. They were gorgeous. Eventually, the pastor convinced the session to switch out the doors. An amazing thing happened when they did that. More people came into the church. Younger families started visiting more often and membership grew. When the session asked people what attracted them to the church, many of them said that they saw through the doors how inviting worship looked and they decided to check it out. It's amazing what change can do.
Change can certainly be scary. We get set in our ways and we like to hold on to what is comfortable. But sometimes change is just what we need in order to reach out to people in a new way. We don't have to change everything all at once, but steps here and there to discover new ways to do ministry is a great way to keep the Message from going stale. If we do things a certain way because that's the way we've always done them, we fall into the risk of getting too dependent on a routine. Routines can be good, but if our routine is keeping us from experiencing God in new ways, we have to ask ourselves if the routines are really worth it.
The tree outside my apartment is mostly bare, but I know in the spring it will have new beauty to offer. In this season of new and season of change, I'm excited to see the new and exciting ways we can discover God's presence and glory in this world.
Change one thing, today. It doesn't have to be a big thing. Change something small. Maybe take a different route to work. Wear different shoes than you usually wear. Try praying differently. You might be surprised how making even a minor change in your routine can help you experience God in a new way.
God Bless,
Pastor Becki
Fall is an interesting time of the year. It's all about change. When we think of new things, we usually think of the spring when things start to grow again. But so many new things happen in the fall that it's hard to limit the idea of "newness" to the spring. Think how exciting the first day of school is come August or September (for me, the first day of school was always in September, but I know different states follow different calendars). It's a new year. It's a new book bag, new books, new lunch box, new clothes, new everything. Fall is all about new. It's a chance to reinvent yourself.
I've been thinking a lot about the tree in the front yard of my apartment complex and how part of it held out while the rest of the tree was happy to change, as was expected of such a tree in its season. Churches follow the same pattern. It's hard to change, and when it comes to change there are sides that resist it. In our own individual lives, sometimes we recognize a need to change but there's a part of us that seems to resist it. Change can be bad, for sure, but it doesn't have to be. Change is all about perspective.
When a church considers making a change, whether it's a change in leadership or in worship style, or even in just rearranging a few items of furniture in the nartex, the church goes through a process. Change should always be accompanied by at least two questions: First, is this change going to help us further our ministry for the service of God's kingdom? and second, "Who does this change affect?"
I knew a church back home in New Jersey several years ago that wanted to change their front doors. The old doors were heavy wood. Solid. Sturdy. Old. The pastor decided that the doors looked foreboding and he had a thought that maybe changing the doors would encourage new people to visit the church. He went to his session and asked about switching out the old doors for a set of clear glass doors so people could see through into the sanctuary. At first, his idea was met with resistence. The old doors were perfectly functional. They were historical. They were gorgeous. Eventually, the pastor convinced the session to switch out the doors. An amazing thing happened when they did that. More people came into the church. Younger families started visiting more often and membership grew. When the session asked people what attracted them to the church, many of them said that they saw through the doors how inviting worship looked and they decided to check it out. It's amazing what change can do.
Change can certainly be scary. We get set in our ways and we like to hold on to what is comfortable. But sometimes change is just what we need in order to reach out to people in a new way. We don't have to change everything all at once, but steps here and there to discover new ways to do ministry is a great way to keep the Message from going stale. If we do things a certain way because that's the way we've always done them, we fall into the risk of getting too dependent on a routine. Routines can be good, but if our routine is keeping us from experiencing God in new ways, we have to ask ourselves if the routines are really worth it.
The tree outside my apartment is mostly bare, but I know in the spring it will have new beauty to offer. In this season of new and season of change, I'm excited to see the new and exciting ways we can discover God's presence and glory in this world.
Change one thing, today. It doesn't have to be a big thing. Change something small. Maybe take a different route to work. Wear different shoes than you usually wear. Try praying differently. You might be surprised how making even a minor change in your routine can help you experience God in a new way.
God Bless,
Pastor Becki
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Children's Sabbath
For the Presbyterian Church, this coming Sunday is Children's Sabbath. I've been wrestling with how to do my sermon this week because the text I'm preaching from is saying something different than my liturgical topic. I'm preaching from 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5, which is the non-gosepl lectionary text for this Sunday. My struggle stems from the fact that Timothy is telling me one thing while my liturgical calendar is telling me something else. I want to preach a sermon for the kids, but the text is telling me to talk to the parents about being leaders and getting involved in the church. Be an evangelist so the church doesn't die. I have been forcing the liturgical calendar to try and fit into my text more neatly than it does and I started to realize a couple of things.
First, I am guilty of doing what the text is warning me about. James Dunn, professor of theology at the University of Durham in England said, "Too much time is misspent asking scripture what it was not designed to answer. Better that scripture itself should instruct us as to what its purpose is" (New Interpreter's Bible commentary, Abigndon Press, '2 Timothy'). In my study of Timothy, I've been trying to make the text speak to kids when really the text isn't for kids at all. It's on behalf of kids, but it's really written to the adults. It charges adults with the task of fulfilling the ministry of the church even when the times are against them. "Tell the message. Be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable." Let scripture speak for itself; it has stood for thousands of years and will continue to stand on its own.
Second, of course the text connects to children's sabbath. It would be the lectionary text this week if it didn't some how connect to the theme (would it?). This thought makes me feel a little bit better about the sermon I've prepared (I'm talking about how if our voices don't rise up to tell God's story, other voices will rise up that might not be telling the story we want told the way God would have it told). I'm getting just a little bit snippy with the congregation, telling them to get involved in the ministry of the church as a way to participate in evangelism.
So how does this text connect to Children's Sabbath? Sabbath is about rest. It's about taking time out whatever kind of a schedule we're keeping to celebrate our relationship with God. As adults, sometimes we forget to be child-like because it feels child-ish. And I do believe there is an important distinction there. In doing the work of the evangelist as we're called to do in 2 Timothy, we can take time out of those schedules to participate in those baptismal vows; to raise children up in the nuture of the Christian community. In all that we say and in all that we do, we tell a story in our words and actions. It is our responsibility as Christians to be sure that our words and actions fall in line with the message of God's love and grace. Children's Sabbath is about celebrating our relationship to God in a multi-generational way. It's about recognizing that we have to keep telling the story of God's hope for our lives so that those who come after us have access to that same story. Scripture has stood the test of time in many ways (it's still here, right?), but it's our responsibility to take what we've been given and keep the story going.
Celebrate Children's Sabbath with me by taking time out of your schedule to tell someone the story of your faith. Remind a child that God loves them and that Christ is taking care of them, just as God has done from the beginning of time.
Love and peace,
Pastor Becki
First, I am guilty of doing what the text is warning me about. James Dunn, professor of theology at the University of Durham in England said, "Too much time is misspent asking scripture what it was not designed to answer. Better that scripture itself should instruct us as to what its purpose is" (New Interpreter's Bible commentary, Abigndon Press, '2 Timothy'). In my study of Timothy, I've been trying to make the text speak to kids when really the text isn't for kids at all. It's on behalf of kids, but it's really written to the adults. It charges adults with the task of fulfilling the ministry of the church even when the times are against them. "Tell the message. Be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable." Let scripture speak for itself; it has stood for thousands of years and will continue to stand on its own.
Second, of course the text connects to children's sabbath. It would be the lectionary text this week if it didn't some how connect to the theme (would it?). This thought makes me feel a little bit better about the sermon I've prepared (I'm talking about how if our voices don't rise up to tell God's story, other voices will rise up that might not be telling the story we want told the way God would have it told). I'm getting just a little bit snippy with the congregation, telling them to get involved in the ministry of the church as a way to participate in evangelism.
So how does this text connect to Children's Sabbath? Sabbath is about rest. It's about taking time out whatever kind of a schedule we're keeping to celebrate our relationship with God. As adults, sometimes we forget to be child-like because it feels child-ish. And I do believe there is an important distinction there. In doing the work of the evangelist as we're called to do in 2 Timothy, we can take time out of those schedules to participate in those baptismal vows; to raise children up in the nuture of the Christian community. In all that we say and in all that we do, we tell a story in our words and actions. It is our responsibility as Christians to be sure that our words and actions fall in line with the message of God's love and grace. Children's Sabbath is about celebrating our relationship to God in a multi-generational way. It's about recognizing that we have to keep telling the story of God's hope for our lives so that those who come after us have access to that same story. Scripture has stood the test of time in many ways (it's still here, right?), but it's our responsibility to take what we've been given and keep the story going.
Celebrate Children's Sabbath with me by taking time out of your schedule to tell someone the story of your faith. Remind a child that God loves them and that Christ is taking care of them, just as God has done from the beginning of time.
Love and peace,
Pastor Becki
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Stewardship Wows vs. Stewardship Woes
I know I said I would update weekly and Friday isn't here yet, and this isn't part two of my church outreach thoughts, but something came up in my ministry this week that I had to write about.
I went out yesterday to administer communion to those who are homebound. One woman I've already met, but I met another woman and a couple for the first time. We had very good albeit short meetings, but the communion seemed meaningful for them and that was a positive.
The woman I met for the first time yesterday lives in an assisted living facility. She's been there for about a year and she's quite sharp for her age. I asked her how she was getting along and made sure to point out that the bread and juice we were using for communion were the same pieces of bread and same juice we used in worship the previous Sunday. We use the same stuff to emphasize the point that we are all part of the community of God, even when we can't physically be there. The woman (whom I shall call Helen) told me that she wished sometimes that she could just disappear.
Helen: Sometimes I wish I could just disappear.
Me: Why is that?
Helen: Well, I'm in this place now and it costs money to educate that girl (motioning to the picture of her granddaughter who is in college...Helen contributes a great deal to help support her granddaughter's education). I want to give to the church, but I just can't, so if I were to disappear they wouldn't be able to ask for money.
Me: Well, I want you to know that financial giving isn't the only reason you're a part of our church community. Even though you can't be there, you're still a part of the family.
I'm not sure if what I said helped. She kind of changed the subject after that. Having worked as a hospital chaplain, I've spent some time analyzing what people say during visitations and how I react to what they say. So when Helen told me she wished she could disappear so the church wouldn't ask her for money, it made me sad. I wanted to communicate to her that she was a part of the community for more than just financial reasons.
When we talk about stewardship as giving of time, money, and talents, how do you communicate to a woman who cannot offer her time and talent anymore that her membership is not contingent on her giving alone? I chewed on that for a while and thought about what I've been calling a "ministry of presence." While I can't claim the statement as original to me, the concept is that there is ministry is being a part of someone's journey. It can in offering a prayer with them or for them. It can even be in attending their funeral even if you didn't know them personally. Being present with them as part of their community of faith is an important ministry, and it's one that Helen can still offer without leaving her room.
Stewardship is more than just money. Helen's ministry of presence can come in the form of praying for her community of faith and offering the gift of hospitality when a member of that community visits with her. In opening up her room -- her home -- to me yesterday for home communion, Helen practiced faithful stewardship. In praying with me and sharing that meal with me, and in the way she offers a smile and her friendship to the other people living in that facility, she is practicing good stewardship. Good stewardship doesn't have to mean you come to church and teach Sunday school or even writing a pledge card. It's so much more than that, and I hope in future visits to Helen, I can communicate to her how important she is to this community of faith.
It's interesting going into a stewardship season without a stewardship committee. The committee right now consists of a chairperson and one other person who has offered to help without being on the committee. As a new pastor who comes from churches with healthy stewardship committees, this makes me uncomfortable. A campaign is going to happen, but it is going to be very interesting to see what happens with such a lack of structure. Will there be any change in giving? Will people give more if they hear about it less? Or will giving decrease? Maybe it will stay the same.
I'm trying to encourage the congegation to think of stewardship in terms of Wows instead of Woes. It's because stewardship happened last year that the church is still here today to practice effective ministry. So praise God for that! Instead of thinking about what we sacrifice in the name of stewardship, let's think about what we gain. What ministries can we offer that will help us do God's work in the church? If our attitude toward stewardship changed so that we see stewardship as a blessing, how would that change the giving structure in a church?
Just some thoughts.
In Christ,
Pastor Becki
I went out yesterday to administer communion to those who are homebound. One woman I've already met, but I met another woman and a couple for the first time. We had very good albeit short meetings, but the communion seemed meaningful for them and that was a positive.
The woman I met for the first time yesterday lives in an assisted living facility. She's been there for about a year and she's quite sharp for her age. I asked her how she was getting along and made sure to point out that the bread and juice we were using for communion were the same pieces of bread and same juice we used in worship the previous Sunday. We use the same stuff to emphasize the point that we are all part of the community of God, even when we can't physically be there. The woman (whom I shall call Helen) told me that she wished sometimes that she could just disappear.
Helen: Sometimes I wish I could just disappear.
Me: Why is that?
Helen: Well, I'm in this place now and it costs money to educate that girl (motioning to the picture of her granddaughter who is in college...Helen contributes a great deal to help support her granddaughter's education). I want to give to the church, but I just can't, so if I were to disappear they wouldn't be able to ask for money.
Me: Well, I want you to know that financial giving isn't the only reason you're a part of our church community. Even though you can't be there, you're still a part of the family.
I'm not sure if what I said helped. She kind of changed the subject after that. Having worked as a hospital chaplain, I've spent some time analyzing what people say during visitations and how I react to what they say. So when Helen told me she wished she could disappear so the church wouldn't ask her for money, it made me sad. I wanted to communicate to her that she was a part of the community for more than just financial reasons.
When we talk about stewardship as giving of time, money, and talents, how do you communicate to a woman who cannot offer her time and talent anymore that her membership is not contingent on her giving alone? I chewed on that for a while and thought about what I've been calling a "ministry of presence." While I can't claim the statement as original to me, the concept is that there is ministry is being a part of someone's journey. It can in offering a prayer with them or for them. It can even be in attending their funeral even if you didn't know them personally. Being present with them as part of their community of faith is an important ministry, and it's one that Helen can still offer without leaving her room.
Stewardship is more than just money. Helen's ministry of presence can come in the form of praying for her community of faith and offering the gift of hospitality when a member of that community visits with her. In opening up her room -- her home -- to me yesterday for home communion, Helen practiced faithful stewardship. In praying with me and sharing that meal with me, and in the way she offers a smile and her friendship to the other people living in that facility, she is practicing good stewardship. Good stewardship doesn't have to mean you come to church and teach Sunday school or even writing a pledge card. It's so much more than that, and I hope in future visits to Helen, I can communicate to her how important she is to this community of faith.
It's interesting going into a stewardship season without a stewardship committee. The committee right now consists of a chairperson and one other person who has offered to help without being on the committee. As a new pastor who comes from churches with healthy stewardship committees, this makes me uncomfortable. A campaign is going to happen, but it is going to be very interesting to see what happens with such a lack of structure. Will there be any change in giving? Will people give more if they hear about it less? Or will giving decrease? Maybe it will stay the same.
I'm trying to encourage the congegation to think of stewardship in terms of Wows instead of Woes. It's because stewardship happened last year that the church is still here today to practice effective ministry. So praise God for that! Instead of thinking about what we sacrifice in the name of stewardship, let's think about what we gain. What ministries can we offer that will help us do God's work in the church? If our attitude toward stewardship changed so that we see stewardship as a blessing, how would that change the giving structure in a church?
Just some thoughts.
In Christ,
Pastor Becki
Friday, October 1, 2010
Welcome to my blog!
As someone who falls into that amorphic spectrum of "young adult" or "Generation Me" or "Generation X" or whoever culture is telling me I am, I'm fully aware of how information gets out there. I do most of my information-harvesting on the internet. Nothing new there. As a former reporter, I also know that blogging has really changed how people are fed their information. The internet has drastically changed the newspaper business to the point where we're seeing newspapers with more advertising (to compensate for loss of subscription money) and smaller size papers (again, a cost-saving strategy). Staffs are shrunk and the news itself is based on what stories will sell more papers.
I'm not knocking newspapers. That's how I got my start in what we call "the real world."
I'm also not knocking the internet. Heaven knows how much time I spend on the internet all the time, whether it's chatting up a storm with friends back home or getting the blitzkrieg of information from CNN headlines.
I do, by the way, check the obits in my home paper online religiously every day. Morbid? Nay. Necessary. It's how I find things out that people wouldn't think to tell me.
Hi. I'm Pastor Becki. And this is my blog.
It's a ministry tool, really, where I'll be posting a new blog entry once a week. Topics will be all over the place, from things going on in the church where I'm currently serving (names omitted or changed) to Christ in Culture to...well, anything else that I think is important to document. Think of these as mini-sermons.
For my parishioners, that doesn't mean you get out of Sunday worship. :)
But my goal is to write blog entries that people can connect to. I want to start conversations. I want to find out how powerful a blog can really be for outreach. It's sort of experimental in a way. I've been asking myself a lot lately, "what draws people to church?" So that's going to be my first blog entry. Well...second blog entry. My first blog entry is what you're reading now.
Welcome to my blog :)
**Please do not solicit on my blog. I'm not looking to start a revolution or finish a debate. I'm here to put in my two cents with the rest of the part of the world that keeps a blog. Do not leave hate-messages, but do feel free to comment if you disagree. Just be prepared to tell me why :) We can always agree to disagree. I reserve the right to delete your comment if I think it violates me or my beliefs in any way.
I wish you peace and love.
--Pastor Becki
I'm not knocking newspapers. That's how I got my start in what we call "the real world."
I'm also not knocking the internet. Heaven knows how much time I spend on the internet all the time, whether it's chatting up a storm with friends back home or getting the blitzkrieg of information from CNN headlines.
I do, by the way, check the obits in my home paper online religiously every day. Morbid? Nay. Necessary. It's how I find things out that people wouldn't think to tell me.
Hi. I'm Pastor Becki. And this is my blog.
It's a ministry tool, really, where I'll be posting a new blog entry once a week. Topics will be all over the place, from things going on in the church where I'm currently serving (names omitted or changed) to Christ in Culture to...well, anything else that I think is important to document. Think of these as mini-sermons.
For my parishioners, that doesn't mean you get out of Sunday worship. :)
But my goal is to write blog entries that people can connect to. I want to start conversations. I want to find out how powerful a blog can really be for outreach. It's sort of experimental in a way. I've been asking myself a lot lately, "what draws people to church?" So that's going to be my first blog entry. Well...second blog entry. My first blog entry is what you're reading now.
Welcome to my blog :)
**Please do not solicit on my blog. I'm not looking to start a revolution or finish a debate. I'm here to put in my two cents with the rest of the part of the world that keeps a blog. Do not leave hate-messages, but do feel free to comment if you disagree. Just be prepared to tell me why :) We can always agree to disagree. I reserve the right to delete your comment if I think it violates me or my beliefs in any way.
I wish you peace and love.
--Pastor Becki
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