Calvin Synod Herald, 2009 (110. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2009-09-01 / 9-10. szám
8 CALVIN SYNOD HERALD Continued from page 7 8. Numbers don’t matter, but numbers do matter. 9. We stand at the crossroads. What will we do? We have only ourselves to look at in regards to the future. God stands ready to guide, inspire and bless. We must stand ready to commit. 10. Will we close our church doors? Or will we rebuild our congregations and move into the future God has planned for us? TO BURY OR TO BUILD - THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION TODAY! 1. We’ve talked often of church growth at past meetings. Talk must lead to action. 2. Anyone who is pessimistic about the future of their congregation should consider resigning important leadership positions and giving responsibilities over to others who wish to succeed. 3. Those who wish to build for the future, must make an important commitment to our Lord and to the members of their congregations: “I refuse to lead a dying church!” LEADING A LIVING CHURCH MEANS MAKING 6 CRITICAL CHOICES: 1. Choosing Life Over Death. 2. Choosing Community Over Isolation. 3. Choosing Fun Over Drudgery. 4. Choosing Bold Over Mild. 5. Choosing Frontier Over Fortress. 6. Choosing Now Rather Than Later. CHOOSING LIFE OVER DEATH 1. Choosing life means reframing the playing field for your ministry in a way that enables you to concentrate on what is living and thriving, and to pastor/lead/encourage that. 2. Tend primarily to what is living, not to what is passing away. 3. If we are not focused on growing a new thing in an old place, it is very easy to become simply a caretaker of a church in decline. 4. Balance time needed to care for current membership, with, o More time building bridges in the community, and developing programs and activities that will better serve the potential, new members of the congregation. o Less time in pointless meetings and activities, o More time developing the leaders and activities that will be taking the church into the future. 5. Be sensitive to the fact that there are those who “control” the life of a congregation for their own purposes or for their own sense of security. 6. Work instead to be a center from which the Gospel of Jesus Christ is lived and shared with all. 7. Make the development of new leadership a priority. CHOOSING NOW RATHER THAN LATER Reasons We Procrastinate: o We need to get out of debt first. o We need to focus our energy first on a fund-raising campaign or building project - that may have nothing to do with the most urgent matters before us. o We need to work first on doing a better job at pastoral care of our current members. o We don’t have enough workers for the things we are trying to do currently. o We need to grow our current ministries to a certain level first before spreading ourselves too thin in something new. o We need to help our current pastor make it to her or his retirement first, then hopefully receive a pastor more suited to lead us through the challenge before us. o We need to wait until after our new pastor’s honeymoon (with the church) is concluded, rather than risk his or her credibility with major change too fast. o We want first to spend a couple years on self-study and discern our mission, vision and values. o We need to wait for Mrs. Smith to die, because she runs the place and she would not like this. o There’s a new condo development being planned for our area. When that is built in a couple of years, we will have the people we need to do this. WHY WE C-LVT WAIT: 1. Our churches are not getting any younger. 2. Most historic churches, despite occasional financial challenges, have more real dollar value today than they will likely have in the future, unless they grow. It will be harder to afford tomorrow to do what we need to do today. 3. Do we truly believe that Jesus’ invitation “Follow me” can be put off until a more convenient time? 4. If historic churches do not become more assertive and begin to grow in number, fundamentalist and non-denominational, or even non-Christian, voices will further dominate the national and international conversation in the years ahead. 5. Though the number of young adults who distrust organized Christianity is skyrocketing to the highest levels in American history, this is one of the most spiritually minded generations we have seen. As Jesus said, “The fields are ripe for the harvest.” (John 4:35). There are millions of non-church people talking about the most important things in life, if only we would choose to be a part of their conversation. 6. If our Hungarian Reformed Churches disappear from the landscape, more than a century of Hungarian American Reformed Church history will be relegated to the Archives. As we discussed earlier, God invites our congregations to thrive, generation after generation. WHAT NEXT? 1. Do something, and do something soon! 2. Start by affirming, or re-confirming, that Jesus is at the center of our congregational life. He is why we exist. He is the reason we are together as a Church, and that our main reasons for existing is to worship God, to enjoy fellowship in Jesus, to spread the Good News of grace, salvation and peace, found in Jesus Christ, and, in the name of Christ, to serve and benefit humankind. 3. Engage members of the congregation in a structured “futuring” study. I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church! is one good program. The Purpose Driven Church by Pastor Rick Warren, is another. There are many other guides available. Take advantage of them.
