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What the Churches are Saying to the Theologians

Where you do find the best information about what is needed to get the job done?  You go to those on the front lines, people who deal with the challenges daily.  This is what Luther Seminary in St. Paul did.

During fall 2018, faculty and staff teams from Luther Seminary visited a dozen Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) synods across the nation for listening sessions with pastors, lay leaders, and synodical staff to ask this question: “What do leaders need to know, or know how to do, to be faithful and effective in a rapidly changing world?”

The report generated from these conversations identified seven key themes: connect with God; cultivate community; innovate faithfully; connect with diverse neighbors; equip the saints; shift ministry models; and deepen administrative leadership. Early last year, I conducted a research project with a much smaller sample, but many of the same themes emerged. These findings provide both theological educators and facilitators of Christian formation with important insights about where the church is today and what it needs to thrive in the days ahead.

Here are areas that seem to be particularly vital:

1. Connect with God.  The Luther Seminary study says, “Leaders and congregations need a Christ-centered identity, embodied in a life of discipleship and nourished through spiritual formation.” In my own research, I was surprised by the lay leaders who said that they desired to grow deeper in their spiritual lives, but their churches did not offer the means to do so and their pastors often lacked the skills to help them in their journeys.

2. Cultivate community.  I agree with the seminary’s finding: “Leaders need to cultivate community by listening to people, loving them, and building trust within and beyond the church.”  My colleague Patrick Vaughn points out in his recent book Meeting Jesus at Starbucks, “Recent research indicates that 65 million people have fled the church. Of these, 30.5 million still want to serve Jesus, but they no longer want to associate with Jesus’ people.” We have an identity problem which must be addressed.  Both spiritual and relational vitality are needed for congregations to thrive.

3.  Innovate faithfully.  Church and denominational leaders “need a spiritual and theological purpose that frees them to renegotiate established cultural norms.”  Ministering within our context requires agility, courage, and risk-taking.  Established often lack all three qualities.  In our work with churches through Pinnacle Leadership Associates, we have discovered methodologies that encourage church transformation for contemporary ministry.  This is a new area of engagement for seminaries.

4.  Connect with diverse neighbors.  We live in a multicultural, multiethnic society.  The study rightly observes, “Leaders and congregations need intercultural competence to connect with neighbors across all dimensions of diversity.”  Failure to witness, serve, and engage in our diverse culture with humility will assure the demise of the church in the 21stcentury.

5.  Equip the saints.  The study reports, “Laypeople need opportunities to develop as disciples, ministers, and leaders.”  Although some churches have moved toward a shared ministry concept, both theology and necessity push us toward more involvement of lay leaders in every area of congregational life.

6.  Shift ministry models.  The biggest challenge may be this one: “Leaders need to know how to start, tend, and manage entrepreneurial models of structuring and financing ministry.” This requires a shift of our paradigm in how we “do church.”  We may even need to reach back into our Christian past and rediscover old models that may be relevant again.

We can receive these observations in two ways.  We may see them as overwhelming or as motivating.  If we do seek to be the people of God in this time and place, we will seek the leadership of Spirit to embrace these challenges and make the changes necessary to pursue the work of the Kingdom.








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