St. John’s United Church

“Turnaround Churches”

This past week, I have had a number of people come to me expressing surprise and concern for the churches in our area.
Anglicans – Presbyterian – Baptist – United

When I was at Presbytery a few weeks ago, most of the business centred around Pastoral Charges that were in big trouble – trouble with finances, trouble with staff, trouble with leadership (lack thereof), trouble with aging populations and buildings. It was upsetting and discouraging to say the least. But our story is different. Ours is a story of good news.

This July, as I celebrate my seventh anniversary as your senior Minster at St. John’s – the first woman minister in it’s history - the church is alive and well. There is a great Spirit in this place that is enabling us to tackle the challenges of being a church in the 21st century with hope and joy. Why has it gone so well? A main reason is that St. John’s is a healthy church. While we may not be “the model” for the emerging church, we are healthy at the core. We have a fresh, mission-driven vision that builds on our historic strengths while encouraging new Kingdom initiatives. In the months ahead, the Skunkworks group, along with the Church Council, will be tackling some of the obstacles that may have limited our growth to a certain extent. By working through a process known as Natural Church Development, we will be looking at 8 characteristics of a healthy church and how they are reflected and lived out here at St. John’s.

We’re blessed with a great staff and Church Council that are a healthy blend of the old and the new. About two-thirds were here before I came - they anchor us to the church’s core values, providing stability and credibility in the midst change. The other third have come since my arrival, and they’ve provided a fresh perspective and an unbiased look at our strengths and weaknesses. All have a spirit that is forward-thinking, creative, and unified.

The overall health of the church is one of my greatest joys as I work with the leaders of this congregation. However, our health—the fact that we do so many things well — is also one of our greatest challenges. You see, healthy churches need change, too, but healthy churches often fail to feel the need for change. After all, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is conventional wisdom. Yet, the fact is that our church, like every good church, needs to embrace innovation. The successes of the past and overall health can mask the fact that some changes are long overdue.

In today’s culture, every church needs a change-friendly environment that welcomes innovation and creativity. Not everything needs to be dismantled or discarded. Yet, even our oldest and best ministries, need honest assessment, fresh vision, and creative thinking. For each ministry, we need to “break it down,” look it over, and then put it back together again… continually! Keep it flexible rather than fixed, always looking for ways to improve.

Over the last seven years, St. John’s has proven that it is amazingly flexible for a church that just turned 170! Yet, I also discovered that changing a healthy church, especially a large healthy church with a history of excellence, does not come fast or easily. It can, at times, be harder to lead a healthy church through change than one that is sick or dying.

The overall health of the church can mask the more subtle symptoms that indicate a need for honest assessment and fresh direction. Just as a generally healthy person tends to ignore going to the doctor, a healthy church tends to not gather the hard truth by asking, “How are we really doing?” Innovation should not be exercised in the emergency room of ministry but as a valued discipline of ongoing health maintenance. If a great church wants its future to be as exciting as it’s past, it must embrace change and its accompanying risks before it becomes unhealthy. Change must become a lifestyle. Why? Because, like it or not, rapid change is a part of life in the 21st century. This is the world Jesus has called us to reach.

A fascinating book came out a few years ago entitled, if It Ain’t Broke… Break it! The authors observed: “Not only is everything changing, but everything exists in relationship to something else that is changing.” If you don’t adjust to that, you will face extinction. And we are not ready for that yet as our mission – of going into all the world with the good news of God’s grace - is not yet accomplished. Jesus’ parable of the lost sheep demonstrates just how serious he was about reaching every lost person. According to this story, even if 99 percent of the culture is being reached, we should do whatever it takes to go after the final one percent. Since the world we live in and the people who inhabit it are constantly changing, every generation and every culture demands change, especially today.

At this point, some are no doubt thinking that the church has already changed too much and that change is actually the problem, not the solution. In some areas, I would agree. Not all change is good change. In his book, Less Is More Leadership, Dale Burke writes: “The best change happens when you first decide what will never change.”

The majority of mainline churches in North America today are plateaued or dying for one of two reasons: (1) because they change what they should never change, or (2) because they refuse to change what they are free to change. The message and the mission should never change, yet our methods must flex to remain effective. In other words, Scripture gives us function but not form. One reason the first-century church grew so rapidly across cultural lines was that Jesus did not give the disciples a formula for “doing church.” The mission and message and values of the Kingdom were crystal clear while the methods and the models for “doing church,” were left vague. Why? Because a global movement with staying power throughout the generations would have to adapt continuously. Therefore, the apostle Paul could declare, “I became all things to all men in order that I might win some.” Firm up what you will never give up, and then flex as God leads on everything else.

The purpose or Mission Statement of St. John’s United Church was written in the 1980’s when the Rev. Ron Pierce was the minister here. I remember, because I was a member of the governing board at that time. The Reverends Ed Moll and Eric Barr affirmed it, and so have I. The Church Council revised it in 2003. It’s not flashy, but it is biblical and serves today to remind our members why we exist. You can find it on the front cover of your Annual Financial Report. For those of you who have it in hand, I invite you to read it with me.

“We, at St. John’s United Church, believe that God gives us a Mission and a Ministry to proclaim the good news of God’s love in Jesus Christ. We encourage all people on their spiritual journeys. We prepare ourselves and provide opportunities for others for stewardship and service in our community and in the world. We celebrate God in worship and share God’s love with others through Outreach and Pastoral Care. We explore our faith through Christian Discipleship, and support God’s work by giving generously of our resources.”

Every major change we have made – and will continue to make - is linked to moving us toward one or more of these core purposes. You see, if a church celebrates its methods, it can become calcified and difficult to change. However, by celebrating mission over methods, we can build a culture of creativity that remains open to change.

One of the things I have come to understand is that change is easier when you are healthy, than when you are unhealthy. If change is prompted by a crisis or severe decline, the congregation is prone to be suspicious of leadership and the new direction proposed. After all, why trust the leaders who let things fall into such disrepair? Innovation almost always comes at a cost, so doing it while you are healthy just makes sense. As you can see by our 2005 Financial Report, and in the dedicated service of the people you have entrusted with leadership positions, St. John’s is in a most enviable position. At this time in our history, we are “in the black,” we have core group of committed leaders and committee members, and, best of all, we have a plan to ensure that our health as the people of God does not deteriorate or jeopardize our mission.

Tom Landry, one of the greatest coaches in NFL history was always hardest on his team after a big win. His observation was that the best time to grow and improve was while the team was on a winning streak. Most winners tended to become prideful, believing they had arrived, so he would be more critical after a win, looking for ways to fine tune the plan or add a creative, new twist to their offence. The goal was to take their best performance and build on it, not maintain it. After a disappointing loss, the team’s energy was drawn to fixing obvious deficiencies and making sure the team did not lose heart.

Change is the norm in light of our spiritual DNA. After all, we are created in the image of God, born of God’s Spirit and filled with God’s presence. When the church becomes fixed in its ways it is evidence of a lack of intimacy with the Spirit of God who loves to provide both new wine and new wineskins. Healthy churches like St. John’s - led by healthy leaders - seek to develop a culture of creativity in which the people – that’s YOU - are free to innovate within the boundaries of clear vision and values. Servant-leaders continually ask, “How can we better serve you?” Asking that one question and listening to the answers – really listening - will unleash an avalanche of innovative thinking from an army of little creators made in God’s image. Fortunately – or, perhaps unfortunately for some - the goal isn’t to “please” people (and, as we all know, no one can please all the people all of the time!!). No! The goal is to “serve” people and to always seek to serve them better this year than last. Humility says, “I always have room to grow.”

“A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So, he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ ” ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”

Change is a part of life. At St. John’s, we are learning to embrace it. There is a cycle We seek to honour our rich history without allowing the ghosts of the past to stifle creative ministry. Howard Hendricks often said, “When your memories are more exciting than your dreams, you’ve begun to die.” Healthy churches – churches like St. John’s United Church, Brockville - must continue to find their greatest joy in their dreams, not in their memories. May those dreams call us to life-giving innovation!

Acknowledgements: from Less Is More Leadership by H. Dale Burke (Harvest House, 2004).

A meditation preached by the Rev. Myra Garvin at St. John’s United Church, Brockville
Sunday February 5, 2006 – Epiphany 5B