Read this great article Rick Luoni has written about the how knowing your purpose will make your congregational ministry more successful.
John F. Kennedy said, “Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.” He was right, and as a Church we must remember his sentiments.
All too often I have found well-intentioned, hard-working people striving to make a difference in the world, but doing so with little or no purpose. How are things in your parish?
One thing I strongly suggest to clients is to define and know one’s purpose. Your purpose is why you exist. Your purpose is your work. Jesus knew his purpose; as his followers we should too.
Sounds simple doesn’t it? A couple of years ago I met with a pastor who declared that his congregation was struggling and that, while everyone was working really hard, they seemed to be stagnant. I asked him a simple question; “Do you and the church leadership know you core purpose for existing?” I explained that-- every decision, purchase, and sermon -- should in some way reflect or serve the core purpose. It keeps people focused, on track, and eases decision the making process.
I told him there was a distinct possibility that if asked each vestry member would give a different answer concerning his church’s purpose. He assured me everyone was “on the same page” and invited me to their next meeting. Needless to say, not only did every member not know the parish’s stated purpose that appeared on their literature, but also every member had a different idea as to why they existed. No wonder they were frustrated and confused-- everyone in leadership had a different view as to why the church existed!
I suggested that the vestry spend a portion of each meeting for the next several months examining their purpose and attempting to define why they existed. Members were encouraged to begin this process with prayer and to search scriptures for direction and to seek God’s leading throughout the entire process. In other words ask, “What does God want?”
After a few meetings something began to happen, a shift in thinking took place. Members became less inclined to seek their own interest and became more open to seeking what God was leading the church to do. Within a few months the church, while not perfect, had a better understanding about why they existed which seemed to bring a new level of energy and enthusiasm to the life of the church. There was an obvious impact on the entire congregation.
Do you know your purpose, why you exist? Does your vestry? Just for fun start you next vestry meeting with a brief survey. Ask each member to define the core purpose of the parish. “What is the purpose of our existence and how can we integrate this purpose in everything we do.” You must ask the basic: who, what, where, when, and why questions. Who are we? Why do we exist? Who makes up our congregation? Who makes up our surrounding community? What are the needs of our congregation? What are the real needs of the community? Doing so allows your parish the opportunity to discern and explore what God is calling you to be and do. It will help you to do away with antiquated ideas and allow the congregation to be future-focused. This should be an ongoing, continuous way of life for the remainder of your church’s existence.
Without a clearly defined purpose that can be articulated and lived every person within the organization, organizations seldom live up to their potential and often waste a tremendous amount of energy, effort, money, and time scattered in numerous directions. This often leads to frustration, low morale, and burnout. Having a central, core purpose that can be clearly articulated by your congregation allows for you to better able transform your purpose into focused action that is lived by your church.
Last chance to register for Partners for Sacred Spaces seminar on November 8th! If you're considering a capitol funds drive, and/or want to study the use of your buildings for expanded mission and ministry, read on...
Dear Colleagues in Congregational Ministry,
I am pleased to announce that the Diocese of California is considering teaming up with Partners for Sacred Places -- a national non-profit and non-sectarian organization that promotes the good care and active use of religious properties -- to provide training and small technical assistance grants to help 8 to 12 congregations in the Diocese find new support to sustain and actively use their older buildings.
We will be offering this new training program to a select number of congregations that need to raise significant funds to repair or renovate their buildings within the next several years. This intensive program will require the commitment of a team of four people from your parish – you and three lay leaders with responsibility for finances, outreach, and property – to attend four daylong training sessions over the span of several months in 2004. The team will also be trained to prepare a case statement for successful capital funding, using Your Sacred Place is a Community Asset, a new Tool Kit published by Partners.
To tell you more about the training program and invite you to consider participating, the Diocese and Partners are hosting a special Orientation on Saturday, November 8th at 10:00 a.m. at Grace Cathedral, Wilsey Conference Rooms, San Francisco. Please do join us!
If you have any questions, call me at 415-871-7825 or email me at michaelb@diocal.org I hope you will find this exciting new program of interest, and hope that we have the opportunity to work with you on behalf of your sacred place.
Faithfully,
The Rev. Canon Michael L. Barlowe
Officer for Congregational Development and Enrichment
Here's my speech to the Diocal convention last Saturday. It will give you some idea of how I see my work in condev:
At the time of the Resurrection, the entire Church was in Jerusalem: Mary, the mother of Jesus; John the Beloved; Mary Magdalene – and, of course, Peter and those who had gone into hiding at the first sign of trouble. But there was one slight problem: Yes, the Church was in Jerusalem, but Jesus was in Galilee. As the angel told the women in the Gospel of Matthew: “He is not here; …he has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.” (Matthew 28:6-7) So, while the Church was in Jerusalem, Jesus was in Galilee.
As part of the Jubilee Deo initiative, the Diocese of California is moving into Galilee, finding Jesus among the startling number of people who are also there: young adults in their 20s and 30s; people speaking in languages as diverse as at Pentecost; people who speak a postmodern language that doesn’t include a word for church; and the breath-taking diversity of folks sometimes called the “new majority.” All of them are spiritual seekers, but they are not going to Jerusalem to find the Church; they are in Galilee, and since Jesus is already among them, that is where we need to be proclaiming the Good News.
As Congregational Development Officer for the Diocese, I have already discovered many mission outposts in Galilee, populated by dedicated clergy and people from our churches, each of them trying to be more articulate and faithful in communicating the Good News of Jesus.
In a way, that is what congregational development is all about: assisting the Church in the very-Anglican enterprise of presenting the eternal Word in our time, in our place, and in the language of the people – which means finding new images, new strategies, new creative paths, and yes, new words. This is an exciting time in the history of the Diocese, with great opportunities and more than a few challenges. The Bay Area is one of the most “unchurched” places in the country, and yet the vast majority of our neighbors are interested in spirituality. How can the Church connect our apostolic faith with that contemporary spiritual quest?
This – perhaps the Church’s greatest challenge – is really the same one with which Christians have had to contend since the beginning of the Church: How can we faithfully and engagingly proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ in the language and in the culture of our time?
Today, that question may have a greater urgency than any time since Constantine, because we are living amidst the ruins of a construct once called Christendom – the synthesis of church, society, and secular culture. And in many ways, the challenge for us as evangelists is obscured by a simple truth: while the world is changing rapidly, we often act as though we were still in a society that is predisposed and sympathetic to “Christendom”. That makes it easy to get lost in internal dynamics, while the world is finding us less and less relevant to its pressing spiritual issues. Often, we present the Gospel in ways that answer our questions, rather than the questions the world is asking of us.
The irony of this is that the world has never been more in need of the Good News of Jesus; the world is insistent in asking “Why?” even if we continue to respond to the question, “How?”
I believe that God is calling us to a deeper engagement of our biblical and sacramental faith that can be articulated in the language – by which I mean the symbols, the music, the art, the philosophy, and the words – of the people of our postmodern world. One of the wonderful things about the Episcopal Church is that the deep roots of our tradition make us strong enough to try new ventures, and with God’s help, to introduce others to Christ. The possibilities are limited only by the limits we place on our imagination and faith. The challenge for us is to trust God, and to be pioneers in this exciting new world.
This is what I hope Congregational Development in Jubilate Deo time is all about, and I hope you will call on me to assist you as you build new roads into Galilee. We have the tools, the information, the success stories –we even have the Blog! But the journey to Galilee isn’t ultimately about the right tools: it’s about setting our sights on mission for the Good news of Jesus Christ.
The Gospel of Matthew ends with the eleven disciples finally arriving in Galilee, where they did, indeed, find Jesus. They worshipped him, and in response, Jesus said:
“‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”
This Great Commission is still our directive, and a good way to be with Jesus in our postmodern Galilee.