Called to Witness, not to Judge

I have a new piece about whether people of other faiths can be saved on Living Lutheran. It's entitled "Called to Witness, not to Judge".

The Future of Seminary

I was supposed to start my Doctor of Ministry degree at Luther Seminary this summer. But a couple of weeks ago I received a letter saying that my particular program was going to be put on hold for the year due to low enrollment numbers.

Needless to say I was disappointed but I also understand that the Seminary is going through a really challenging time financially. According to a study posted on the blog of one of our ELCA Bishops, my Seminary is not alone in facing these challenges.

There are many sobering realities in the report. Clearly Seminary education is not going to look the same in the future as it has in the recent past. The Seminary system has changed very little over the last one hundred years while Church participation has been declining. Obviously something had to give and it seems the Seminary system has blinked first.

In truth the American College and University system has also changed very little over this time period and a potential showdown looms for them as the number of High School graduates has now plateaued.  Colleges have been able to expand their course offerings to attract more students however. Seminaries typically don't have that flexibility because like most graduate schools they have a narrowed focus.

What does the future hold? Well, recently several ELCA seminaries have merged (or are merging) with ELCA Colleges, a trend that is likely to continue. Such arrangements allow for sharing of costs and other administrative advantages. The proliferation of online Seminary courses will also likely continue.

I have mixed feelings about all of this. On the one hand there is something really significant about being part of a residential Seminary community. According to the report many young people see value in this experience as well. Recent College graduates are the only group that is increasing on Seminary campuses. I still don't think this will be enough to "save" the current form of Seminary education. Although that is sad it might also be necessary. Times have changed and so must we.

The Church's Perfect Storm

Just came across an article by Thom Rainer called "Autopsy of a Deceased Church: 11 Things I learned". Essentially it's the story of a recently closed Church that Thom consulted for and some observations about why it may have died.

There are some really good insights in the article about the correlation between the Church's decline and its increasingly inward focus. Here are the findings from the autopsy...

1. The church refused to look like the community. The community began a transition toward a lower socioeconomic class thirty years ago, but the church members had no desire to reach the new residents. The congregation thus became an island of middle-class members in a sea of lower-class residents.
2. The church had no community-focused ministries.  This part of the autopsy may seem to be stating the obvious, but I wanted to be certain. My friend affirmed my suspicions. There was no attempt to reach the community.
3. Members became more focused on memorials. Do not hear my statement as a criticism of memorials. Indeed, I recently funded a memorial in memory of my late grandson. The memorials at the church were chairs, tables, rooms, and other places where a neat plaque could be placed. The point is that the memorials became an obsession at the church. More and more emphasis was placed on the past.
4. The percentage of the budget for members’ needs kept increasing. At the church’s death, the percentage was over 98 percent.
5. There were no evangelistic emphases. When a church loses its passion to reach the lost, the congregation begins to die.
6. The members had more and more arguments about what they wanted. As the church continued to decline toward death, the inward focus of the members turned caustic. Arguments were more frequent; business meetings became more acrimonious.
7. With few exceptions, pastoral tenure grew shorter and shorter. The church had seven pastors in its final ten years. The last three pastors were bi-vocational. All of the seven pastors left discouraged.
8. The church rarely prayed together. In its last eight years, the only time of corporate prayer was a three-minute period in the Sunday worship service. Prayers were always limited to members, their friends and families, and their physical needs.
9. The church had no clarity as to why it existed. There was no vision, no mission, and no purpose.
10. The members idolized another era. All of the active members were over the age of 67 the last six years of the church. And they all remembered fondly, to the point of idolatry, was the era of the 1970s. They saw their future to be returning to the past.
11. The facilities continued to deteriorate. It wasn’t really a financial issue. Instead, the members failed to see the continuous deterioration of the church building. Simple stated, they no longer had “outsider eyes.”

When a congregation becomes inwardly focused it almost always means death. Thom's article encouraged me to evaluate our ministries according to this standard and think about where we've become inwardly focused. 

Although there is some great stuff in the article I think it fails to take into account an important factor...the context for ministry has changed greatly since the congregation's glory days in the 1970's. It isn't merely the inward focus of many congregations that are leading to their demise. Any good Doctor would tell you that disease is caused by a host of both personal and contextual factors. Our changing culture along with the inward focus of many congregations has created a "perfect storm" and many will not survive.  

On the same day that Thom Rainer's article was posted Diana Butler Bass posted a piece called "The Future of Faith" which acknowledges these complexities. Acknowledging the changing cultural landscape, particularly the rise of the religiously unaffiliated, she gives this advice to congregations.

I suggest that those who care about that their churches survive to the future try something new: Listen to the new voices, hear what is being said about conventional religiosity and church life, and change thoughtfully and wisely. Right now, the church does not need to convert the world. Rather, the world needs to convert the church. The unaffiliated, I suspect, would like to see a more humble form of faith from churches and denominations, an active, authentic way of life in line with biblical practices of hospitality, forgiveness, friendship, service and generosity.

The challenges facing the contemporary Church are not technical problems that merely require a recalibration of current congregational operating practices. This is an adaptive challenge that requires us to take into account not only our own actions but what is going on around us. Ironically a Church can be "outwardly focused" without actually listening to its community and its changing realities. 

One of the things I think the Church needs to do is stop referring to those who don't belong (as Thom's article does) as "the lost". This pejorative term is demeaning and reinforces the idea that the Church has all the answers and anyone who isn't part of it is to be pitied. 

We also need to get away from this preoccupation with our own survival. This just reinforces the idea that Churches see people as commodities to be used to keep the doors open. One could argue that such behavior is just another example of the inwardness that Thom is critiquing. 

Jesus once said that in order to save your life you must be willing to lose it. Maybe that is true for the contemporary Church as well?

Sermon: Why Go To Church?

This sermon was preached on Sunday, April 14th 2013 at the Wartburg Chapel. We were celebrating the completion of our catechumenal process "The Way of Jesus". Seventeen students and one faculty member affirmed their Baptism and we baptized one of our Seniors. It was a good day.

Text: "The Walk to Emmaus" Luke 24:13-35

Sometimes being a Pastor feels kind of like being a rare or exotic animal…people know Pastors exist but they don't expect to encounter one outside of the their natural habitat, a Church building...

This is less true in the Upper Midwest than it was in my first call in Phoenix Arizona…In Phoenix many people were so disconnected from the Church that they had never met a Pastor before...so when they they met one they just acted like themselves which was actually kind of refreshing...

Many people in the Midwest are also disconnected from the Church...they may only occasionally attend but they were probably raised in some sort of faith community...So when they encounter a Pastor they often get a rather guilty look on their faces…and they proceed to confess that they don't actually go to Church much, as if somehow I will know this, followed by a list of the reasons why...These reasons range from sad and painful stories about being hurt by the Church…to somewhat trivial things like “I don’t like the new carpet in the sanctuary”…but most often they admit that going to Church doesn’t do much for them…they feel as if they can just as easily worship God on their own…that they encounter God in the beauty of a sunrise or a good conversation with a friend…Which is true, you can encounter God anywhere, but there still are compelling reasons to be part of a Church community...

It’s no secret that more and more people are dropping out of Church…usually for the reasons mentioned above…In fact there are now as many “none’s” in the US, people not affiliated with any religious tradition, as there are mainline Protestants…a group which includes older denominations like the Lutheran. Methodist, Episcopal, and Presbyterian Churches to name a few…and it isn’t just these older denominations that are losing members, every single denomination in the US is now in decline…

And contrary to popular belief these individuals have not lost their faith…in fact most report that they still believe most of what they learned growing up…what they’ve lost is a desire to be part of a Church community…

Today’s Gospel story supports the notion that God can be found anywhere…two of Jesus’ disciples are returning home from Jerusalem where they have just witnessed the public execution of their leader…understandably they are a bit dispirited but when they encounter a stranger on the road they invite him to join their group…as they walk along they are astonished to discover that this stranger seems to know nothing about what has been going on in Jerusalem…he doesn’t know about the trial and execution of Jesus…and certainly hasn’t heard the rumor that Jesus has been raised from the dead…

But then the conversation gets a little weird…because when they tell the stranger all about these things he scolds them…saying…don’t you get it…this is what the prophets and Jesus himself said would happen…and he begins to proclaim to them the story about how the messiah must suffer and die, then be raised on the third day…

Eventually they get to their destination and the stranger looks to continue onward but they prevail upon him to stay with them and have dinner…and it is there, during dinner, when the stranger blesses and breaks the bread, that they realize that they are having dinner with Jesus…who then disappears…and as they think about what they experienced on the road and at the table with him they say to themselves…were not our hearts burning within us when he opened the scriptures to us…

This encounter with Jesus doesn’t happen in a temple or other sort of Church building…but there is no doubt that these two disciples of Jesus have been to worship…they encountered the risen Christ in an unlikely place…and no doubt it changed their lives forever…

But strangely enough…although this encounter didn’t take place in a Church building…it is a powerful an example of why the Church is still relevant for us today…You see we gather together for worship for three things…

The first is because we need to be in the company of other disciples…Like in today's story you rarely saw the disciples of Jesus by themselves...They almost always were with other disciples...they interacted often with people who were not believers but they spent a lot of time together as well...there seems to be something important about being part of a community of disciples…

Secondly we gather to remember who we are by hearing God’s word proclaimed…Jesus did this on the road to Emmaus...he opened the scriptures to the two disciples and explained many things about why he had to suffer and die...he used the scriptures to proclaim the good news of the Gospel...Hearing the word is important because it creates in us a sense of identity and belonging...just as a family tells stories to develop its sense of identity…we tell stories to one another through scripture…stories that shape and mold us…connecting us with those who have gone before us and giving us guidance for the future…

And finally, we gather together to receive God’s grace through the sacraments…It was in the breaking of the bread that the disciples in today's story recognized Jesus...so too we gather together weekly because we know that Jesus promises to show up in the breaking of the bread, the sharing of the cup…and in the waters of baptism…You can find God in lots of places...but it makes sense to show up in places we know Jesus is to be found...namely in the sacraments...

Over the past year Pastor Ramona and I have had the privilege of walking with a group of students who have been exploring their call to live as disciples of Jesus…learning his way of loving god, loving self, and loving others…

They did this by committing to gather together weekly to be formed as disciples of Jesus through community, word, and sacrament...

If someone had looked in our weekly meetings probably wouldn’t have said…oh, they’re having Church…but over the course of this process we have become Church…a community of disciples committed to God’s work in the world…shaped by God’s story and nourished through the sacraments...

The Baptism and affirmation of Baptism that they participate in today is both an end and a beginning…it’s an end to this part of their journey, but also a new beginning for them as leaders of Christ’s Church…

We are so proud of each of you...it has been a privilege to walk with you as you have grown and matured int he faith…We look forward to seeing what God does through you in the future...both here on this campus and in the world that God loves...Amen.

Lent: Fitting our lives into God

Sorry for my lack of posts recently. We're int he process of moving to a home we bought in Waverly and have been a bit busy!

Speaking of busy, I do have a new post up at Living Lutheran about the challenges of keeping a holy Lent in the midst of our culture of busyness. Check it out if you have a chance.

Pluralism and public witness

After he participated in an interfaith memorial service for the Sandy Hook Elementary students a Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Pastor was asked to apologize to the LCMS for worshipping with non Christians. The request came from the LCMS President and elicited the requested apology from the Newtown Connecticut Pastor. He apologized not for participating in the service but for causing offense to others in the Church. A minor but important distinction.

I honestly am confused about the reason for this apology and fear it may further antagonize those who judge the Church to be unwelcoming. Perhaps its hard for me to understand the concern because of my location outside the tradition.

From my perspective I don't see interfaith worship services as expressions of theological agreement. I think its possible to worship together without minimizing differences. In fact I think it is imperative to do so. It seems to me that this was a pastoral act intended to help a community heal rather than a statement of theological agreement.

If the Pastor had held a service in his Church just for those who were members to help them heal, wouldn't that send the message that the Church exists only for those who are already part of the club?
The real threat to the Gospel in this situation isn't theological compromise but rather the inability to live out the Good News.

I know that there are many LCMS members and Pastors that are also frustrated by this. There are also legitimate questions about whether this is merely an internal matter for the lcms. The bigger question however is whether there can be a distinction between internal and external issues for the church? I'm not sure there is... But that question requires some more thought.

(This is an edited version of my original post. I'm grateful to a colleague who rightly pointed out that some of the original language and conclusions were rather harsh. I apologize for allowing my frustration get the better of me.)

Colleges And Consumerism

I was really surprised to see an article recently from Mark Cuban, flamboyant owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, about the future of higher education. Usually Cuban is known for getting fined by the league for his post game comments rather than offering social analysis.

In the article Cuban makes some interesting observations about Higher Education from his perspective as  a business person. He begins by arguing that College is still a good idea for students. He writes,

I've been getting a lot of questions from high school kids asking whether or not they should go to college. The answer is Yes.

College is where you find out about yourself. It's where you learn how to learn. It's where you get exposure to new ideas. For those into business, it's where you learn the languages of business, accounting, finance, marketing and sales.

He goes on from there to question the financial model of American Higher education, arguing that schools are taking on too much debt to improve their campuses resulting in perpetual tuition hikes.

I couldn't agree with him more on that point. Colleges are investing way too much money in new and updated facilities in order to attract students. Cuban fails to see the connection between these two factors however. The truth is that Colleges and Universities are mostly tuition driven, meaning their endowments are not large enough to meet their budgets. They depend on tuition revenue for almost everything, so when enrollment drops trouble is on the horizon.

The issue is that to attract students Colleges need to offer competitive financial aid packages and facilities. When one College builds a beautiful new building it creates a ripple effect, all its competitors feel they too need a new building on order to compete.

And this pressure is exacerbated by the skyrocketing expectations of prospective students and families. The relationship between the rising costs of higher education and student's expectations is rarely recognized. It's not at all unusual to hear a student complain about the quality of their residence hall and in the next breath complain that tuition is too high.

Strangely Cuban goes on to suggest that students need to become better consumers in order to get the best education for the least amount of money. He advocates taking classes as cheaply as possible from a variety of sources and transferring when there is a better deal to be had.

This mindset may work at the grocery store. But if the College experience is about "finding yourself" and "learning how to learn" as Cuban argues, it's hard to believe that jumping around to different institutions for every class is really going to fulfill its purpose.

Now I realize that to some extent this is already happening. Students often take introductory courses at cheaper Colleges over the summer, or enroll in online courses. And there is no doubt that Colleges need to find ways to curb rising tuition.

But it seems to me that consumerism is the problem rather than the solution to higher education's woes. Until Colleges can get themselves out of the construction arms race things are not likely to improve. But tit's going to take sacrifices from both students and Colleges.