State of the Church by Rev. Jim Poinsett Part 2

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?