The Congregational Consulting Group, organized in 2014 by former consultants of the Alban Institute, is a network of independent consultants. We publish PERSPECTIVES for Congregational Leaders—thoughts on topics of interest to leaders of congregations and other purpose-driven organizations. — Dan Hotchkiss, editor
Sarai Rice Those of us who are older cannot expect the church to stay the same to accommodate our preferences. Every church needs to change if it is to continue to be faithful, and the only way for that to happen is if each of us agrees to start with ourselves.
Anxious people fight about stupid things. I learned this years ago, mostly from congregations. But I was reminded of it recently by a close encounter with party politics during the most recent election cycle, so I thought I would share a political example and prescribe a solution that almost always works to avoid fights in …
Many ministers, male as well as female, have experienced bullying. We tend to excuse it—“every congregation has someone like this”—or think we caused it somehow. We may feel powerless if the member is important or seems to be tolerated by others. We don’t often talk about what’s happening to us because we’re ashamed or because we think we’re called to forgive bad behavior. But at work and at school, there’s a name for our experience and there are policies for dealing with it. It’s time we were clear about bullying in the church as well.
We live in anxious times, and one of the things that makes small congregations especially anxious is the fear that they might need to close. As members watch their Sunday morning worship attendance dwindle, someone usually starts “running the numbers,” trying to determine how long they can continue before the money runs out and they’re forced to close.
“I only have my son every other weekend and he doesn’t like church, so I don’t come those Sundays.”
This is the voice of a church member attending a committee planning session I recently led. She was clearly an active member, committed enough to the life of her congregation to spend 4½ hours talking on a gorgeous late summer Sunday when she could have been outside playing. But, as you can see, she only attends church every other Sunday at best. For her and many others, Sunday morning church attendance no longer is a primary identifier of active membership. It is now just one way among many of being active, and for some it may even not be important at all.
As I reflected on Mary’s death yesterday, I realized that Mary and I were good friends with very different perspectives. When it came to people, she always saw the glass as half full, which may explain her faith in my children but which got in her trouble sometimes when people she trusted turned out to be unworthy of trust. From my point of view, it took her too long to see the red flags that signaled emerging issues. I, on the other hand, see the glass as half empty. I spot red flags as soon as soon as they walk into the room, and it takes me too long to see the signs of blessing.
by Sarai Rice Today, I’m talking to the 95% of you who think IRS rules are not as interesting as biblical texts or pastoral visits. You may be right 🙂 ! However, not caring about IRS rules could cost your congregation time and money. Let’s start where I started this week—with a religious body that …