(Note: This blog entry is based on the text for The New Normal Church, Part 3: Post-pandemic Development, originally shared on November 19, 2020. It was the sixty-sixth video for our YouTube Channel, Streams of Living Water (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB7KnYS1bpHKaL2OseQWCnw), co-produced with my wife, Rev. Sally Welch.)
How will church
development take place in The New Normal Church, once the pandemic is past. Who
will be involved, and how?
We are now at a point in the
pandemic where 250,000 people have died of the coronavirus here in the US, and we
are hearing of surges in coronavirus cases instead of spikes. Doctors Without
Borders, an international organization, is providing care in Wisconsin.
This is coming just as we are
getting into the flu season and the colder and wetter weather that will place a
damper on outdoor activities. And, the number of cases is going up almost
exponentially, even though simple steps could be bringing down that curve.
Here’s some figures that one
of my colleagues (Evelyn Panula Weston) posted on Facebook:
Per New York
Times and Johns Hopkins Covid Tracker,
confirmed
Covid in the United States:
First
reported US case on January 19, 2020.
1 million cases
on April 28, 100 days later
2 million on
June 10, 43 days later
3 million on
July 7, 27 days later
4 million on
July 22, 16 days later
5 million on
August 9, 18 days later
6 million on
August 31, 22 days later
7 million on
September 25, 25 days later
8 million on
October 16, 21 days later
9 million on
October 30, 14 days later
10 million on
November 9, 10 days later
11 million on
November 15, 6 days later
The pandemic seems to be
getting worse, but it doesn’t have to. And, eventually, it will be gone.
Then will come the
post-pandemic New Normal.
The Good News of Jesus Christ
and his death on the cross for our redemption remains the same from generation
to generation. The means we use to proclaim Christ are always changing. They
will be less important than the message.
What implications does this
have for the future of the Church? What is the “New Normal” likely to look like
when this pandemic is over, and how can we adapt for faithful ministry as the
Body of Christ, the Church, in this world, particularly in the LA area?
This is the third of three
videos on The New Normal Church.
I want to share a few thoughts
that have been rattling around inside me, as a life-long Lutheran Christian and
as a pastor for more than 40 years. I serve on a number of synod leadership
boards and committees, and I think about where we are going a lot.
In the first video, I shared
some ideas on near term or, “short term”, but I like “near term”, as a phrase
for “getting near to birth” changes that will happen either because external
circumstances require them, or because we are already headed in that direction.
In the second video, I reflected
on how the means that we use to conduct our ministry, like buildings, seminaries,
curriculum, and so on, will change in order to thrive in the post-pandemic “new
normal” for the church.
This the third of the three videos on The
New Normal Church. Today, I will make nine statements about what I see as the
result of those changes for future Church development.
All three of the videos will
be on our YouTube channel and the theme text will be on my blog today. I’ll put
the links in the comment section below.
All we can do now, however, is
to get ready by preparing to be the church God has called and equipped us to
be.
Part 3: Church
Development
Here
are nine ways in which the development of the Church will change:
One, the synod will become built around the
deans. The deans will tend to be the pastors of the largest churches in the
conference and the best models of faithful servant leadership. They will remain in that position until the
pastor of a comparable sized church expresses an interest in being the dean. Then,
the conference will holds an election.
Two, the synod will stabilize around a much
smaller administrative footprint. The conference will be the most meaningful
connection to the larger church for local congregations, not the synod or the
office of the bishop. This will increase the sense of connection to the larger
church on the part of members of local congregations, which will improve
stewardship.
Three, the office of the bishop will be
focused on administration, stewardship and fundraising, and the defense of, the
defense of historical creedal orthodoxy, and on being the public face of the
synod in the world.
Four, congregational vacancies will be
filled with those persons recommended by the dean, perhaps in consultation with
other deans and the other pastors in the conferences, from people they know
personally or from whatever version of the seminaries exist, as well as leadership
gatherings and continuing education conferences. First calls will continue to
be handled by the bishop in consultation with the deans.
Five, mentoring will have a more significant
role in the preparation and formation of clergy than is currently the case.
Six, synod-wide agencies will be funded
based on their proven contributions to congregational vitality and growth.
These agencies will include schools, colleges and universities, retirement
homes, social service agencies, hospitals, seminaries, etc.
Seven, where these agencies decide to separate
and go their own way, conferences in consultation with the synod, and synod in
consultation with whatever constitutes the churchwide expression of the
church/denomination, will fundraise and begin new agencies serving as
expressions of the beliefs if the Church in the new realities of the local,
regional and national expressions of the Church.
Eight, synod assemblies will be more
frequent, but will be focused on worship, celebration, and education. Annual
business meetings will continue per our constitution and the legal requirements
of the government.
Nine, decreasing services as a result of
declining revenue on the part of the churchwide and synodical expressions of
this church will likely result in a greater number of dollars staying at the
local and conference levels as people have immediate connections there and can
see the outcome of their giving.
Closing Thoughts
It’s my guess that there is plenty in these
notes to make everybody angry at least one recommendation.
[***What do you think? What do you
think will change with regard to how the Church is developed in the New Normal
Church?
Share your thoughts in the
comment section below and we’ll respond to every one.]
It is notable to mention that none of
summaries of our recent synod-assessment focus group’s SWOT exercises
(Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) mention evangelism (or the
equivalent). Evangelism is invisible to the participants in those assemblies. I
think that is a good way to describe the challenges before us.
We have congregations with wonderful
preachers, teachers, choirs, social services, and more. There are many reasons
to join those churches, and I’m sure there are many members who invite people
to behold those people and programs. How, however, do people come to a living
faith in Jesus Christ? And, to those who say that programs are attractional
evangelism I would say, “Fine. Who names the name of Jesus? Who connects the
dots to a living relationship with God?” This approach as not been working for
us, because when everything is evangelism then nothing is evangelism.
What do we provide people that invites them
into the presence of the transcendent God? What alternative to we offer to
their lives in this world? Do we expect that if non-believers entered our
churches that they would “get it”? Is that happening?
Why is it that, when people experience an
inner emptiness or a need for “spirituality” of some kind, that the Christian
church is not often an alternative that comes to mind?
If a non-believer came to one of our
churches, what would we say that would distinguish us from a voting bloc
seeking power, a nice family, a local historical tradition, or a social service
agency using religious language? What are the mechanisms by which such a person
would be challenged and nurtured? Our culture is rejecting the Church and our
congregations, those that are left, are shells of their former selves. Do we
have any expectation at all that we will be a synod that receives first generation
Christians?
Will our churches be more like hospitals waiting
for people to walk in the door or like paramedics going to where the broken
people are?
Our transformation to a church that goes to
where non-Christian people are, points to a living relationship with the one
true living God, and makes disciples of Jesus Christ of them, nurturing them to
greater maturity will be painful, but there is a Power in us that is not in
this world.
*1 John 4:1-4
What is the Holy Spirit calling us to be and
to do now? And, will we do it?
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