I learned a fascinating tidbit the other day about our body's immune system. As you know, the immune system keeps us healthy. But did you know that the lymphatic system in our immune system which cleanses our cells and carries viruses away doesn't have a pump to circulate it through our body. The lymphatic system circulates through movement, our movement. We need to move to transport these problematic cells out of our body. If the lymphatic system doesn't move, if we don't provide movement for it, then the nasty cells build up and we get sick.
As I thought about that I wondered if the Body of Christ operated the same way. If the church isn't moving, then do problematic cells build up eventually making the Body sick? Or to put it another way are the healthiest churches the ones that are moving, circulating good fresh fluid through the system, eliminating the stuff that make a church sick?
So many churches these days, especially the mainline ones, seem to be sedentary. Just sitting on their corners, opening their doors from time to time during the week to allow in a nursery school or the local AA group but not really moving as a Body. What would it take to get your church moving? And what would movement look like? Have you ever asked your church to brainstorm or dream about this question?
And as the pastor what is your movement level? I don't mean how many meetings you attend, or how many visits you make or how many hours you work. Sorry, that's not the kind of movement necessary to push the immune system to health. What type of movement do you know you need to do because it makes you feel alive, full of purpose and energy? What can you model for your congregation in terms of spiritual movement, drive, flushing?
If the metaphor is too abstract then think of your own body. What are you doing to keep your immune system healthy and moving? Our bodies need good, healthy food, 8-9 hours of sleep a night, cardio-aerobic exercise and lots of water. Start there, get healthier yourself and then apply the same concept to your leadership style. Where does the church need to stretch, bend, flex or sprint? What kind of "food" is the church eating? Is the church getting adequate rest? Is the "immune system" of your church being treated to the very best in terms of positive energy. Paul's wonderful words to the Church at Phillipi help here: "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." (4.8)
Feel the difference, see the difference, and most of all live the difference. And let me know what happens. If you are already doing this and your church is moving, let me know that too. Let's share our successes for a healthier Kingdom.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Does Your Church Need a Chiropractor?
A colleague of mine said she was so thoroughly refreshed after a summer of breezes, gardens, birds and a less hectic schedule that she didn't think she could leave it all behind for the frantic pace of Fall. As I thought about that I wondered why we have to leave it? What is the magic theological marker in the sand that we cross on Rally Day Sunday or Labor Day Sunday or whatever your church calls it? Where in the Bible does it say we have to become crazy out of our mind busy from September to June? Who set up this insane sense of program year anyway??
Everything we read these days is about how busy and stressed everyone is, how clergy are burning out at a rapid rate, how kids are over scheduled, how calendars conflict between school, church, work and community, and on and on. And yet we in the leadership of the church jump right in and join the stressed out crowd trying to see who can be the busiest of them all. (All clergy know that means how busy can we keep the pastor or can the pastor keep him/herself because when the bodies aren't there to carry on, the pastor will be).
I say it's time for a Parts Integration! The body of Christ is out of alignment and it is time for a re-alignment. Ask the chiropractors in your congregation what being out of alignment does to the body. Then try this simple exercise: Draw a line vertically on the page and on the left side of the line list 5 things that are most important to your church/congregation. On the right side list the the 5 things you spend most of your time doing. Are the two lists in synch, in alignment, congruent? If not, how do you bring them into alignment? Many times what we say is important to us is not what we spend the majority of our time on. Is that the case for your congregation? If Christian Education is important to you, then how much time and how many people are involved? Or worship? Or visitation? This is not just for the pastor. It is for the entire church body to think about.
Now there is a second step to this process of realignment and this is a bit more difficult. Are you ready? Make a list of the "open loops" that are robbing you of your energy and keeping you out of alignment. What's an open loop? An open loop is something in your life that has not been resolved, is open ended and is draining you of energy either by worry, on your mind constantly, guilt, etc. For example, is there a relationship that needs mending in your life that takes energy from your day as you worry about it or have to avoid it? Go to that person and resolve the issue. Close the loop. (Seems Jesus had something to say about that in several places). Maybe there is someone in the congregation who is constantly starting little fires to keep the church off balance and no one is stepping up to deal with this person. This is an open loop that drains your energy. If you have more than 3-5 open loops, get to work! You are energy depleted. Once you identify this then make an action plan to close them, set a time line and begin the process.
This is an exercise that needs to be done by everyone in the leadership at minimum and the whole church at best and then something the congregation as a whole enters. Where are the open loops that the church body has not closed and is draining their energy?
Re-aligning the Body of Christ, resolving the energy drainers and focusing on the important things will keep fresh breezes blowing.
Everything we read these days is about how busy and stressed everyone is, how clergy are burning out at a rapid rate, how kids are over scheduled, how calendars conflict between school, church, work and community, and on and on. And yet we in the leadership of the church jump right in and join the stressed out crowd trying to see who can be the busiest of them all. (All clergy know that means how busy can we keep the pastor or can the pastor keep him/herself because when the bodies aren't there to carry on, the pastor will be).
I say it's time for a Parts Integration! The body of Christ is out of alignment and it is time for a re-alignment. Ask the chiropractors in your congregation what being out of alignment does to the body. Then try this simple exercise: Draw a line vertically on the page and on the left side of the line list 5 things that are most important to your church/congregation. On the right side list the the 5 things you spend most of your time doing. Are the two lists in synch, in alignment, congruent? If not, how do you bring them into alignment? Many times what we say is important to us is not what we spend the majority of our time on. Is that the case for your congregation? If Christian Education is important to you, then how much time and how many people are involved? Or worship? Or visitation? This is not just for the pastor. It is for the entire church body to think about.
Now there is a second step to this process of realignment and this is a bit more difficult. Are you ready? Make a list of the "open loops" that are robbing you of your energy and keeping you out of alignment. What's an open loop? An open loop is something in your life that has not been resolved, is open ended and is draining you of energy either by worry, on your mind constantly, guilt, etc. For example, is there a relationship that needs mending in your life that takes energy from your day as you worry about it or have to avoid it? Go to that person and resolve the issue. Close the loop. (Seems Jesus had something to say about that in several places). Maybe there is someone in the congregation who is constantly starting little fires to keep the church off balance and no one is stepping up to deal with this person. This is an open loop that drains your energy. If you have more than 3-5 open loops, get to work! You are energy depleted. Once you identify this then make an action plan to close them, set a time line and begin the process.
This is an exercise that needs to be done by everyone in the leadership at minimum and the whole church at best and then something the congregation as a whole enters. Where are the open loops that the church body has not closed and is draining their energy?
Re-aligning the Body of Christ, resolving the energy drainers and focusing on the important things will keep fresh breezes blowing.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Where is Your Skin Thin?
Where is your skin thin? A group of clergy and I were discussing where our skin is thin in our ministry and there came forth a common theme! It seems we find ourselves reacting most quickly when there is an attack going on in a meeting, a harsh confrontation or negativity engulfing the group. As we explored that a bit more deeply we also acknowledged that many times when this happens it is because something has been brewing under the surface for a long time and we, pastors, have chosen to ignore it and so have most of our people, until someone takes the lid off and all the built up pressure explodes. When that happens we are surprised that we get so hooked into our own emotional baggage and uncomfortable dealing with it.
Why should we be surprised? Chances are we have ignored it for just that reason...we are uncomfortable dealing with the underlying issues we know are there. So we avoid and then feel inadequate to deal with the mess that has arisen. Susan Scott in her book, Fierce Conversations, says the first principle of a fierce conversation is interrogating reality and she asks "So, what are you (have you been) pretending not to know?" Great question isn't it?
What would happen if we stopped pretending not to know what was going on emotionally in the folks around us and asked about the emotions under a statement or even offered what was going on in us on an emotional level before the confontation becomes inevitable and we are paralzyed by our fears and inaction?
And here is a segment from the Emotionally Healthy Church by Peter Scazzero:
"According to some scholars, the four presidents prior to Abraham Lincoln were 'compromise leaders,' unwilling to contront the difficult issue of slavery betwen the North & South. Then a mature leader with a solid sense of who he was, what he believed and valued - regardless of the consequences - took the White House. The strength and maturity of his character and convictions in many ways forced the nation to confront the reality of the abomination of slavery. The Civil War followed. The starting point for change in any nation, church, or ministry has always been the leader: As go the leaders, so goes the church.But it is not enough for the leader to change. God wants to set others free as well - whether this is their first year as a Christian or their fiftieth, whether they are single or married, and whatever their church role may be (new member, leader, or pastor). When you do the hard work of becoming an emotionally and spiritually mature disciple of Jesus Christ, the impact will be felt all around you..." p 36
Now admittedly the part about the Civil War might give you pause and yet we also know there is a price to pay when the truth is put on the table. And this truth had been ignored for well over 50 years as this country was being formed.
Jesus calls us to not be afraid, to walk into the darkness with his light, to bear fruit in our discipleship, to take care of our flock for their well being,to become emotionally and spiritually mature and to remember that we are resurrection people who will do even greater things than he did.
So what is it we are pretending not to know as we lead in these unsettled, anxious and emotional times?
Why should we be surprised? Chances are we have ignored it for just that reason...we are uncomfortable dealing with the underlying issues we know are there. So we avoid and then feel inadequate to deal with the mess that has arisen. Susan Scott in her book, Fierce Conversations, says the first principle of a fierce conversation is interrogating reality and she asks "So, what are you (have you been) pretending not to know?" Great question isn't it?
What would happen if we stopped pretending not to know what was going on emotionally in the folks around us and asked about the emotions under a statement or even offered what was going on in us on an emotional level before the confontation becomes inevitable and we are paralzyed by our fears and inaction?
And here is a segment from the Emotionally Healthy Church by Peter Scazzero:
"According to some scholars, the four presidents prior to Abraham Lincoln were 'compromise leaders,' unwilling to contront the difficult issue of slavery betwen the North & South. Then a mature leader with a solid sense of who he was, what he believed and valued - regardless of the consequences - took the White House. The strength and maturity of his character and convictions in many ways forced the nation to confront the reality of the abomination of slavery. The Civil War followed. The starting point for change in any nation, church, or ministry has always been the leader: As go the leaders, so goes the church.But it is not enough for the leader to change. God wants to set others free as well - whether this is their first year as a Christian or their fiftieth, whether they are single or married, and whatever their church role may be (new member, leader, or pastor). When you do the hard work of becoming an emotionally and spiritually mature disciple of Jesus Christ, the impact will be felt all around you..." p 36
Now admittedly the part about the Civil War might give you pause and yet we also know there is a price to pay when the truth is put on the table. And this truth had been ignored for well over 50 years as this country was being formed.
Jesus calls us to not be afraid, to walk into the darkness with his light, to bear fruit in our discipleship, to take care of our flock for their well being,to become emotionally and spiritually mature and to remember that we are resurrection people who will do even greater things than he did.
So what is it we are pretending not to know as we lead in these unsettled, anxious and emotional times?
Monday, August 2, 2010
Listening for God
How do you listen for God? And how do you know when God has spoken? These are frequent questions I get and I'm not trying to avoid answering, but the truth is everyone has a unique wavelength that they tune in on.
For some it is like a kick in the stomach or a slap up side the head. For others it is a still, small voice coming to them in the night. For others it is a visual laying out the next step. Some folks feel an unsettledness, a discomfort, a challenge outside their comfort zone or a nudge to move in a new direction. God comes to some folks in dreams, technicolor and all. And often times God comes to us in other people asking just the right question or making an observation. Whatever the method of God's contact, most of the time we have to slow down, clear the clutter from our head, the busyness from our hands and make room in our hectic lives for God's word to us. I mean look at Paul. He had to be knocked to the ground with a flash of lightning before he stopped long enough for God to get his attention.
And if it is a variety of approaches that work for individuals, then how does this work for churches? How do a group of diverse people listen collectively for the call of God especially when slowing down, stopping the frantic rushing and removing the clutter from the church calendar is not something most mainline churches know how to do let alone want to do?
The Whitewater Mennonite Church in Manoiboa, Canada decided to find out how a church can listen without the clutter of committee work and the business of the church. They took a sabbatical year from all committee work. All nonessential tasks and decisions were set aside. Monthly congregational meetings were held to decide only essential issues. Volunteers were tapped for specific tasks but is someone didn't volunteer then that task went undone and it was assumed that person needed a sabbatical as well. What did they do? They listened for God through prayer, Bible reading, rest and fellowship. Hmmm? I hope they publish their results.
In the meantime what do you think?
For some it is like a kick in the stomach or a slap up side the head. For others it is a still, small voice coming to them in the night. For others it is a visual laying out the next step. Some folks feel an unsettledness, a discomfort, a challenge outside their comfort zone or a nudge to move in a new direction. God comes to some folks in dreams, technicolor and all. And often times God comes to us in other people asking just the right question or making an observation. Whatever the method of God's contact, most of the time we have to slow down, clear the clutter from our head, the busyness from our hands and make room in our hectic lives for God's word to us. I mean look at Paul. He had to be knocked to the ground with a flash of lightning before he stopped long enough for God to get his attention.
And if it is a variety of approaches that work for individuals, then how does this work for churches? How do a group of diverse people listen collectively for the call of God especially when slowing down, stopping the frantic rushing and removing the clutter from the church calendar is not something most mainline churches know how to do let alone want to do?
The Whitewater Mennonite Church in Manoiboa, Canada decided to find out how a church can listen without the clutter of committee work and the business of the church. They took a sabbatical year from all committee work. All nonessential tasks and decisions were set aside. Monthly congregational meetings were held to decide only essential issues. Volunteers were tapped for specific tasks but is someone didn't volunteer then that task went undone and it was assumed that person needed a sabbatical as well. What did they do? They listened for God through prayer, Bible reading, rest and fellowship. Hmmm? I hope they publish their results.
In the meantime what do you think?
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