MONDAY MUSINGS

May 26, 2008

A Look In the Mirror

This evening I will begin a series of six sessions with the people of Evangelical United Church of Christ in Shelbyville.  I will be using Twelve Keys to an Effective Church, by Kennon Callahan as a framework for our work together.  By the time we are finished we will have evaluated 12 areas of the life of this congregation and selected two or three of the 12 that will receive special attention over the next 2 or 3 years.  (The folly is trying to address all 12 and becoming very frustrated in the process.)

This congregation has been through a number of pastoral changes recently and is slightly off-balance as a result.  A week ago Rev. Linda Frische-Mouri was installed at the Pastor and Teacher of the congregation, marking a new chapter in the life of this sturdy group of Christians tracing its beginning back to 1880.  I understand this is a daughter church that separated from Zion United Church of Christ, the country church, over the issue of the use of the German language.

Most congregations are reluctant to invest the time and effort required for self-study and self-analysis.  Looking in the mirror is sometimes painful, recalling events and issues that were troublesome, and evaluating honestly who we have become.  Although we may not be pleased with our present manifestation, it may be challenging to examine the path that led us to this outcome.  Even more challenging is discerning the way forward as we make plans for whatever it is God may have in mind for us.

I have led such a process in about 30 congregations, mainly when I was serving in the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference.  I think that about 1/3 of those churches were significantly helped and empowered to act in new ways as a result of looking in the mirror.  I think another 1/3 were not changed at all, and the remaining 1/3 were still making up their collective minds as to what sort of future they would be creating for themselves.  There is no magic or free lunch here.  It is not easy to determine a new way of being a Christian community and then marshalling enough people and energy to make this happen.  Old habits are strong and the tendency to keep on doing what we have always done is pervasive in most churches.

We begin our journey this evening by looking at our past as Protestant churches in the American scene and trying to understand more fully the various generational groups that make up the congregation.  Then we will be ready to assess our present status and choose appropriate priorities.  Pray with us that God will be leading our work and that God will bless our efforts.  Peace.  John Krueger