Tags
Christianity, Church, Discipleship, faith, ministry, mission
I’ve been thinking a good deal about models for church – how church runs, if you want to think about it that way. For many decades here in the US, we’ve been using a pretty standard model. There’s a building, a pastor, limited other staff, programs, committees, and worship is the big thing that we try to get everyone to on Sunday morning each week. There’s other stuff in that model too – education, ministry, budgets, and service projects. I’m sure I’m missing a few things, but that’s not the point. You know what I’m talking about.
But here’s the thing – this hasn’t been the only model for church. In Europe, the model has been different – mostly because of the relationship between church and state is far different from the US traditionally. When the church is an official state religion, you end up with a very different model. The state collects taxes for the church, staff is usually greater, with larger and older buildings, worship happens, but has few attendees, and the church provides some services to the general public – weddings, funerals, baptisms. The churches in these countries are usually more bureaucratic.
There are other models – African churches are different from American and European churches. Some countries have more evangelists than pastors – a role that doesn’t exist in American Christianity. The services are joyful expressions that last hours and are the heart of Sunday, with multiple offerings. The church is more central to the life of the community, and the church hierarchy has more influence on government in many instances.
In all of these examples, the models have worked…until the don’t. There were other models before these. And when they didn’t work anymore, the church changed. There are a variety of reason why a model doesn’t work any longer. The current model for the church in the US is not working any longer. The numbers show this. Attendance has been in decline for decades. Membership has too. Offerings to church has gone down as well over all. Although, the people who remain are actually giving more. There is a focus on seeing results for what is given. The numbers don’t lie.
Recently I made the argument that the church needs to be open to different models. There isn’t going to be a one-size-fits-all silver bullet. I do think there is something fundamental though – a shift in focus.
In the current model, there is usually great focus given to getting more people into worship first. There are reasons for this – worship is the center of Christian life. And so churches have spent a great deal of time, energy, and effort at figuring out ways to get people to worship. Some of this makes sense. It is during worship that an offering is made – the revenue for the running of the church. Churches adjust worship, add new things, have the latest technology, go old school with the liturgy, using social media – all with an effort to get people into the pews for worship.
Let me say this – I have nothing against worship. I’m a pastor and worship is a big part of what I do. I enjoy worship very much. But I wonder if there are other models that draw people in outside of worship. That’s not to say that worship should be excluded – it’s still a central part of Christian life. I’m saying there are other models that draw people in that will lead to worship. But worship isn’t the end all, be all either.
If you are like me, maybe you need a visual. Here’s a rough draft of the concept.
Throughout the Gospels Jesus is inviting people into relationship with him. He’s telling them to come and follow him. He’s inviting them into the work of the kingdom. He’s got a mission that he is sending them on.
But he isn’t inviting people to worship, in the sense that we think about it today. He invited people into ministry and mission, and he invited people into discipleship.
As you can see from the drawing, I put those two areas at each end of the church “pipe” as I’m calling it. They are entry points into relationship. And each of those moves towards and through worship and drives us out to do the other end. Think of worship as a pump that moves us through to the other side. In other words, if someone is invited to mission and ministry, they will be drawn towards worship and be sent out towards discipleship. Worship still has a central place in the life of the church – but a different role maybe. Ministry and mission, as well as discipleship are ways that Jesus brought people in and I think Jesus calls on us to begin relationships with people.
People want to be a part of ministry – especially hands-on ministry. People want to take part in mission. They are drawn to it. As a result, they will want to grow deeper in relationship with the people they are doing ministry and mission with. Worship is an opportunity for that. Worship is a communal activity in the church. At least in the Lutheran tradition, it involves gathering people in, hearing the Word, being in meal together, and being sent out.
Sent out where – for more ministry and for discipleship. Discipleship is going deeper in living the way of Jesus. It involves learning, listening, thinking, questioning, relationship, and more. While ministry and mission are hands-on, discipleship is heart and head on.
Some people may be invited into discipleship and be drawn to that as well. In growing deeper in discipleship, there will be a desire for relationship with other disciples where people can gather, hear the Word, be in meal together, and be sent out. Sent out for more discipleship and ministry and mission.
A new model for church isn’t a total scrapping of everything the church is about. It’s really more a change of what already exists. Instead of focusing on getting people to worship first, the change is on reaching people through mission, ministry, and discipleship. Those relationships will drive engaged people towards worship and send them out for more ministry, mission, and discipleship.
The practical question becomes, how do you pay for the running of the organization? Good question. Maybe offering in worship is just one aspect. Maybe our idea of offering needs to expand because isn’t ministry, mission, and discipleship exactly what the church is called to? Is that not participating in the unfolding of the kingdom? Are there opportunities to support these efforts directly? I have no idea. But I’m willing to guess that there are.
This also raises other questions – what does the structure of the church look like? What is the role of the pastor? What does church look like as an organization?
These are really big questions, which I don’t have the answer to. But I think it’s important to ask the question, to explore, to test, to try things. It’s important to recognize the reality that what worked in the past isn’t working any more. It’s important to look at the reality of the numbers and face them, rather than kick the can down the road. There is no more road for many churches. And even though many church should have been tackling this challenge years ago, it’s never to late to start. But the longer we wait, the worse the options will be.
But the good news is that this is a great time to be the church. Yes, the numbers look bad. But all that means is that we are given an amazing opportunity to do something that happens once every 500 years or so – rethink church and discern how God is calling the church to carry out the mission. We have an amazing opportunity set before us. We can approach it with fear, clutching onto a model that doesn’t work, saying things like “we’ve never done it this way before,” or we can respond in trust to the faith that God gives us, opening our arms to new models that haven’t been tried, and saying things like “We haven’t tried that before, I wonder what would happen…”
God is giving us an amazing opportunity. How will we respond?
Laced up Lutheran 
I appreciated Phyllis Tickle’s ‘Emergence Christianity’ and your optimistic last paragraph.
It’s out-of-the-box stuff and I don’t always go all the way with him, but Frank Viola’s books ‘Re-Imagining Church’ and ‘Finding Organic Church’ are worth a read. It’s pretty radical stuff for heavy traditionalists (I don’t consider you one, my brother) but then sacred cows sometimes make good hamburgers – Jesus was/is pretty radical too.
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Thanks. I’ll check out the books. Blessings.
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At the end of the day it is pretty much about relationship, vertical and horizontal, imho. You are right about the modern idea of ‘worship’ too, I guess the prophet Amos was pretty scathing about the popular sanctuaries’ of his day and their ‘come to us for great worship.’ Especially when such worship was divorced from the heart and the needs of society.
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Erroll – thank you. Yes, relationship! People won’t come to worship if there is no relationship. Worship is communion – in relationship with one another and with God. Jesus draws us into relationship through mission, ministry, and discipleship. And worship strengthens those things.
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I’m in coach for the ride and discovery!
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I completely agree with your premise. Something needs to be done and I get the feeling that more and more believers are thinking the same thing. You’ve inspired in me a very curious question: Why don’t we find Jesus commanding, “become devoted members at your local synagogue”? Thanks.
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Great question. The lack of an answer should tell us a great deal. I really don’t like the idea of membership for church. It turns the church into a club with those on the inside and those on the outside. I think this is part of the reason for decline actually. The church has lost focus of what it is, becoming more concerned with the running of an organization rather than with making disciples. Thanks for reading the post.
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Like you I spend a fair amount of time pondering these issues.
First, in our confused and obnoxious polity and formal church structure rolls end up in some odd places. Why is Chicago and our seminaries trying to be the cutting edge of mission when mission is by definition local and personal? Why have we left ecumenism in the sole hands of national where it is symbolic but useless. My views on national social statements are deeply conflicted because of one church three expressions + bound conscience.
The old model of if we breed them they will come and Angel’s will fall out of the sky and become the next generation of pastors has been dead and rotting in the sun for 2 decades. Much like the plague era, people rub snake oil under their noses or done strange and haunting masks in order avoid the stench of the “vapors”. Church planting should be organized at the national or synodic level and it has been a low priority, relative to eccumenism, mission agenda, and social statements. No emphasis on raising disciples, the pool from which diaconal and pastors come from. Do good, say good, be good is a failing or failed model of the church.
Not once in ELCA have we truly claimed the evangelical part. Evangalism is personal, often deeply personal. It is not programmatic. We, at al levels, have done a horrible job raising and empowering evangelists. Why? Is too hard? Too scary? The push for mission church is frequently a cover for outreach, or membership, without the evangalism.
Within the subculture of American Luthernism evangalism has been the pastors job. The pastor, the professional, the one with the time, is supposed to grow the church. That part of the model is dead. The fix is not the right public statement or theologically convoluted agreement with another tradition. Neither of the above are bad or horribly wrong but they dont address discipleship and evangalism in a post christendom American.
I rant all the above because we need to declare some horses in the race dead and hold the funeral.
My 2 cent model basics.
Lutherans are worship centric, everything we do flows in and out of worship. So how does that play out: celebrate and bless. Celebrate what we are doing in discipleship, evangelism and mission. Bless every quilt, towel and bar of soap donated. Pile the Ed materials for this year on the alter and bless them, thank the authors. Bless and consecrate the volunteers, even, maybe especially the one soul who takes the recycling to the center.
Equip parents to teach their children the faith. Teens drive like their parents not like the drivers ed teacher because they have been learning to drive since we faced the car seat forward.
If they can teach the faith to their children then they have the tools to evangelize to virtually any curios novice.
Embed ourselves in the community as it is.
Strip the old high piety paint off to reveal the luster of warm and aged wood. We meet the other in our equality of sin not in the disparity of our percieved glory. Change our surroundings one heart at a time, not one protest at time, from within as a neighbor not from without as faceless group.
Finally, respect power differentials. A church giving away X as part of their heartfelt and honest mission is a “has” giving to the “have nots.” Rockefeller and Carnegie gave away millions to truly good causes, most of the recipients were darn sure they weren’t their equals. In a post-christendom America fewer and fewer outside the church understand the why behind the give away and they have been taught how to play the game, say the right words, and there are no free lunches. Do the on site mission givers have full time employment with benefits? Power deferential. Our the givers educated? Power differential. Some of those in need, need to be carried, some a hand up out of the ditch and some will dust themselves of thank-you-very-much. The one in the power seat must learn to navigate which is which while. This takes time, patience and listening – its personal. The awkward part us the giver has probably never considered themselves as part of the powerful.
Well enough ranting. Hope that helped or at least didn’t eat up too much time.
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John, Thank you so much for your thoughtful commentary and questions. I really appreciate it. And thank for waiting patiently for a response. I agree with much of what you say – especially recognizing that the old model is dead, lets call it what it is and move on. Change is occurring whether people in the church want it to happen or not. We can either embrace that reality and adapt as needed and benefit from it and be a benefit to our contexts living out our faith, or we can resist it. The result of resistance is that churches will die. And if more pastors refuse to prop up an old model, then churches will have no choice but to either die off or change. The church is blessed with having fewer pastors – yes blessed with fewer pastors. This means that the churches that are open to vision and direction in living out the Gospel will adapt and change and thrive, while the others will have no one else to turn to. I’m glad about it. And I don’t worry about the church. The movement will go on regardless of the institution. God is with the Jesus movement and promises to be with it. Now is the time of discipleship and ministry. Worship is central to the life of Lutherans, but it has been the thing that we try to get people to, rather than an expression of our faith that people come to because of discipleship and ministry – the thing that they are drawn into and then are sent out from. It’s a good time to be church.
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