St. Mark Presbyterian Church
Congregational Meeting
January 29, 2017
Click here for Part 1 (If this is too small to read on your email, click on the link and go to the web-site)
Today, I would like to share with you what I see as the most pressing interim
tasks I believe we still need to accomplish, or at least work on, in the time before St.
Mark’s next installed Pastor arrives. These tasks are large and small, simple and wideranging,
practical as well as theological, easily accomplished and the work of a lifetime.
In short, there’s something for everyone!
The interim tasks I will be addressing with you in the coming months include
Governance Structure, Bylaws and Operational Reform, and Conversing About Difficult
Subjects.
The first interim task I want us to focus on today is that of leadership. Churches
that want to thrive in the 21st Century, churches that want to exist 15 or 20 years from
now, need leaders. In a Presbyterian church, this means a session that provides bold and
decisive leadership, rather than safe and sufficient management. This means moving from
“management board” governance to “leadership board” governance.
This Leadership Board versus Management Board distinction in important. Ten,
twenty, or even fifty years ago, when churches were filled with people, and church
programs were full, and there were always enough volunteers, the session could function
in a way that they only needed to keep things stable and functioning. They only needed to
focus on keeping programs going pretty much the same year to year; on finding slots for
all the volunteers; on keeping things from failing on their watch.
But fast forward to the present, and what a church, what all of us, need from a
session is very different. These days people are attending in fewer numbers, and for the
most part congregants are older; programs that thrived for decades no longer draw as
much interest; visitors are fewer, attendance patterns have changed dramatically because
people’s lives have changed in all sorts of unexpected ways. The church active out in the
world in the name of Jesus, instead of active only within its walls, are what those who are
looking for a church today are most interested in. Look, nobody is at fault; no one is to
blame. Change is change. It’s always happening at a ceaseless pace. How we respond to
that change as a church community is the key to our faithfulness, and ultimately to our
survival.
To respond in the ways we need to respond as a church, St. Mark needs to be led
by a strong leadership board, the session along with the deacons, made up of spiritual
leaders, led by the Holy Spirit, who are seeking to keep the church relevant and faithful to
God’s unfolding future. They need to focus on “big picture” and “far ranging ideas” for
mission and ministry, and our collective faithful service to the Gospel. Most of the church
boards I have worked with over the years I have been a pastor have been stuck in a
management pattern from the past: of making every little five dollar decision that comes
along; of staying firmly entrenched in the weeds of minor issues; of playing it safe, so
things don’t fail on their watch. St. Mark is not different. Now hear me clearly, this
observation is not a reflection on the people who are serving at present, or who have
served over the years. They are good and faithful people, carrying on the job that was
handed to them, that is expected of them – of managing this place. But our session, and
deacons, need to be making $1000 and $10000 decisions – dealing with big and bold
ideas about where God is calling us individually and all together into God’s future.
Leadership Boards pray, engage the congregation in conversation, listen carefully,
pray some more, and make bold and decisive big picture, long-term decisions. Leadership
Boards are: smaller; intentionally work in partnership with the pastor, utilizing her or his
specialized education, experience, and spiritual insight; engaged in continual learning
about the needs of the larger community in which the church exists, and how the church
can and should address such needs; and are supported by staff members and a lean
volunteer structure that tend to the management needs of the congregation (physical
plant, functions like the preschool, programmatic aspects like worship, education, and
fellowship).
The second task I will be focusing on in my remaining time with you is Bylaw
and Operational Reform. The current bylaws are not sufficient for the nimble operating of
a 21st Century congregation. We have begun to address some of those insufficiencies by
giving the Board of Deacons and the Session more flexibility in the number of members
required to serve. The Deacons were addressed at the September 2016 congregational
meeting, and you just acted upon the change for the Session. This will allow both boards
more flexibility and agility in how they function, and allow them to focus more on bold,
big picture ideas and decisions.
One of things that I have noticed in my time here is the absence of an Operations
Manual that supplies guidance on proper procedures for church life. Without a
functioning Operations Manual, there are no clear lines of authority, no way of
prioritizing church functions and activities, and no process for vetting, evaluating, and
aligning ideas with the vision for ministry and ministry goals as determined by the
Session. The absence of an Operations Manual creates a climate of constant
misunderstanding and/or disagreement, which tends to keep the congregation in silos, or
paralyzed, or frozen in place, and easily allows the loudest voices of individuals or small
groups to control the agenda of the entire congregation. My goal is to provide the
incoming installed pastor with a completed Operations Manual.
The third area I believe needs some attention in the coming months is how we
have conversations about difficult subjects. Nearly all Christian congregations in our
country are experiencing pressures these days, as fewer people attend church, as
attendance and giving patterns shift. Fewer resources, financial, human, or otherwise,
mean that hard choices about priorities continually have to be made. I believe there is
hopeful work to be done for better connecting the essential functions of the church to the
spiritual needs and actual schedules of today’s members and friends of the congregation.
As grateful as we are for our fond memories of how worship and church programs
happened in a former day, those memories and approaches may need to be left in the past
to which they belong. They may not work in the present circumstances, and we only
frustrate ourselves when we try to make them fit. Further, no one should expect that
things will remain exactly the same with the arrival of a new installed pastor.
I think it is important and possible to learn how to have these difficult
conversations without harming each other and the church we love. Graceful, appreciative
conversations can take place, and they must be intentional. The information gathered in
completing the Mission Study Report gave us an opportunity to practice how we talk
about challenging aspects, as we explored the gifts and strengths, passions and dreams of
this congregation. In the Spring of 2016, the Personnel Committee conducted staff
reviews for the first time in recent history to get a sense of how well staff is functioning.
And as mentioned previously, the elders are studying ways to become more effective in
balancing the energies required to pursue the new things God is calling St. Mark to do
while maintaining church life and ensuring all programs produce positive results. All of
these initiatives assist in providing more transparency and accountability, while also
giving the congregation an objective to framework within which to structure our
conversations about challenging subjects.
Keeping a congregation focused on the vision for ministry it believes in and
thinks achievable is an ongoing challenge. I am committed to facilitating these important
conversations in my remaining time: I believe it will be helpful in paving the way for a
new pastor to succeed and this congregation to flourish in its next season of ministry.
There are always many good ideas and programs that a church can pursue. A thoughtful
way to maintain vision and focus is to ask the question “so that?” for every mission,
activity, program the congregation currently engages in, or would like to engage in. Does
a particular mission, activity, program fit within the vision for ministry and ministry
goals as determined by the Session functioning as a leadership board on behalf of the
congregation? What good ideas need to be kept and faithfully pursued? What good ideas
must be saved for another time because they don’t fit the current vision? Here’s a
question we can all practice on: St. Mark exists in the 21st Century, so that . . . ?
Finally, I want to say how grateful I am for the creative, faithful, and energetic St.
Mark staff – Rev. Susan Hayes, Katie Sternberger, Ellen Hynes, Marsha Medley, Lynne
Dauve, Doreen Manhal, Carol Pfiel, Judy Young, and Lisa Marsh. They are storehouses
of valuable knowledge, and committed to helping St. Mark be the best it can be. I also
appreciate the leadership of our Board of Deacons and of the Session. And thank you, to
all of you, for the continuing welcome afforded me, and the willingness to listen to me
seriously, and engaging me in faithful conversation about where this particular
congregation is being called into God’s future. It is a privilege to serve you.
Indeed, 2017 promises to be an exciting year for our church and for our lives. All
of these remaining interim tasks are based on the premise that our God calls us in Jesus
Christ to be people on the go, rather than people stuck in place. That our God calls to be
friendly and caring, rather than dogmatic and uncompromising. That our God calls us to
be active in making a difference for others, rather than just making ourselves
comfortable.
The idea of being on the go, people in motion, people seeking and moving toward
God’s future was reflected in our scripture from worship this morning. In our Gospel
reading from Matthew, Jesus is calling disciples. As he calls to individuals – Simon and
Andrew, James and John – Jesus doesn’t woo them with wild promises. Jesus says two
words, “Follow me.” And off go the first disciples, following Jesus on an adventure, a
faith journey. A journey that is far from simple, and filled with uncertainty, and always
on the go.
Movement and adaptation, embracing change and forever seeking new
possibilities, are the expectations and the job requirements for being God’s people and
being Jesus’ disciples. To follow and be on the way and be focused on others are what
people of faith are all about. And this life in motion for others – this journey of faith – is
what you and I are to be about as well.
“Follow me,” says Jesus. Follow me and be people, and be a church that is always
. . . always in motion.
What will our answer be?
The Mission Committee would like to thank the St.
Mark congregation for its tremendous support of the worthy causes offered in the annual Christmas
Alternative Giving Program. Final results are in and
indicate a total of $13,050 donated, which represents a
record amount based on more than 10 years of
historical data. In addition, over 60 separate families
contributed this year.
PRAYER IN PREPARTION: God of Jesus, Light of the World: Give to us this day the ears to hear your living Word, the hearts to trust its saving power, and the courage to respond with our prayers, our praise, and our lives. Through Christ, to whom, with you and the Spirit, one Holy God, be honor and praise, now and forever. Amen.
When: Monday, May 8,
2017
"The Ly family (Chinese/Vietnamese refugees) arrived in St. Louis Jan. 25, 1980 after many months of planning by the Refugee Committee. Bao, Cuc and their three children Hanh, Minh and Duc, lived at first with the Bob Schultz family. Bob, Mimi, Kathryn, Kristin and Karen not only provided them shelter, but also a supporting relationship which helped them adjust to their American lifestyle.
During the month of February, Presbyterian
Women are sponsoring a Layette Drive for BRO.
Last 
PRAYER IN PREPARTION: God of blessing, you call us to be one with you and your creation in love, faithfulness, and truth. Help us to carry out the vows we make: to adore you with our whole heart, to live in mutual support of one another, and to love as if your reign has fully come. Amen
"Our custodial staff has consisted of many individuals, two professional cleaning services . . . . We 
