Epiphanies

Discovering that this epistle actually has a few followers is a humbling experience; and one that causes me to desire even more strongly to share what is meaningful and substantive in the world of Congregational Development in the Diocese of Western Michigan.
When I came here in June of 2003, the Bishop had agreed that my notion of Congregational Development and Transition times in the life of congregations are inextricably linked. Heretofore I have avoided discussing transitions in churches, but it seems awkward to continue that practice, since I still believe the two to be connected, and since the two areas are the foci of my ministry.

Working with congregations during the transition in clergy leadership affords me the opportunity to engage in conversations with the Vestry and Search Committee together, so they have a common understanding of the size of their congregation and what that might mean about the nature of leadership they seek, as well as where the church finds itself in the life cycle. There are two monographs (also available on the Episcopal Church website) that are instrumental in this discussion: Sizing up the congregation for New Member Ministry; and Life Cycle. Arlin Rothage wrote these some 15 years ago, and yet they are still useful in describing the system of a congregation and the role a clergy leader is likely to play given the church's size. It has been my priviledge to work with Arlin shortly after these became public, and in the Diocese of Western Michigan, they are useful tools in congregational development -- fundamental, I think.

Once a congregation has a way to talk about how it functions, then we can have a discussion about the 'nuts and bolts' of application in a particular congregation. I had just that conversation last Sunday with the Vestry in one of our churches. Role clarification for clergy and laity is a helpful and necessary conversation if the mission of the congregation is to be lived out. If we get tangled up in disputes over whose responsibility it is to sweep the floors, then we are not having the conversation about how to live a Gospel-centered life. Every person in the church has a part to play in Gospel work. We need to know the community's expectations of us in order to find out if and how we can fulfill those expectations.

On another note, the Executive Council of our diocese posed several questions to the Congregational Development Commission related to mission strategy and ministry development in our diocese. The Cong. Dev. Comm. has begun to work through these questions and will make its first report to Executive Council tomorrow.

As we live into this season of Epiphany, when the wise ones visited the manger, and made known to a world outside of Palestine that an amazing birth had taken place, I pray that we may all discover new ways of considering what it means to be 'church,' and open ourselves to the manifestation of the Holy Spirit.