Re-Rooting ~ Re-Routing ~ Re-Fueling

NWMN SynodChurch Council Training Event 2010

“Re-rooting”

NW MN SynodChurch Council Training Events

February 2010

“In the church there’s a lot of dust in the air right now…” R. Bliese

• Recession• Unemployment• Flooding…last year and

this year• Difficult growing year

for farmers• Turmoil over actions at

the 2009 Churchwide Assembly

The “dust” dare not define us!

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation…

II Cor. 5:18f

As the dust settles…it’s time for “re-rooting!”

Re-rooting in three areas

•God’s Word•God’s

mission•God’s call

RE-ROOTING…in God’s Word

• Jesus, the Word-made-flesh

• The Word proclaimed

• The written Word—our Book of Faith

The Authority of the Written Word

• “The Bible has authority for us because its message is true…”

• A true, but static, way of saying it

The Authority of the Written Word

• “The Bible is the book through which God will do to you what God wants to do to you…”

Mark Allan Powell

• A more dynamic way of saying it…

Be re-rooted in the Word

• Bedrock faith practice for all followers of Jesus—especially those called to lead the church

• We continue unfolding the Book of Faith Initiative as a church

• The Bible is meant for “reading, marking, learning and inwardly digesting”—not thumping!

Deuteronomy 6:4ffHear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Frontlets and Phylacteries

Mezuzah

God’s Story is Our Story

1. Prepare to be changed.

“Other books were given for information;

the Bible was given for our transformation.”

2. Anticipate hard work

3. Pray your way…

4. Translations and paraphrases

5. Toolbox

•Maps•Bible dictionary•Concordance•Commentaries

6. Expect trouble!“Many people are

bothered by those passages in Scripture which they cannot understand, but as for me, I always noticed that the passages that trouble me most are those which I do understand.”

Mark Twain

7. Jesus is at the heart of the Bible.

“The Bible is the manger that holds the Christ Child…”

Martin Luther

A monthly resource for councils

“Life Overflowing”—a series of twelve monthly columns

Suitable for individual reading and reflection

Also suitable for council devotions/Bible study

Discussion questions provided each month

Table Talk

• Right now, what’s the most important way you are regularly getting immersed in God’s Word?

• How does deep engagement with God’s Word (e.g. substantial Bible study/prayer at each meeting)help church councils do better work?

RE-ROOTING…in God’s mission

A bracing vision--• “Every bishop in the

ELCA is leading as a missionary bishop, and every person is a missionary, every pastor is a mission director, and every congregation is a mission station for the sake of world.”

Rev. Stephen Bouman

God is calling us to pursue…

“The grassroots mobilization of passionate Jesus-communities who are witnesses of the Resurrection for the sake of the world.”

Rev. Neil Harrison

God’s Mission is BIG!

Formerly, we talked about “the church having a mission.” Mission was one of many good things we did…

Today, we speak rather of “God’s mission having a church.” Mission is of the essence of the church.

Field Marks of Missional Churches

• God is Real. People speak of God’s activity in present-tense verbs. “God Things” keep popping up. Folks live as though Jesus really is risen from the grave, nevermore to die.

“God sightings”• Amazing outpouring for Haiti! $4.6 million and

counting through ELCA Disaster Response• 243 new “mission directors” (2010 graduates

from the ELCA’s eight seminaries) to be assigned for first calls on March 4th.

• Sixty-five synods have over 120 “companion synod” relationships in 90+ countries around the world.

• Mission starts and ministries in the Frazee area, among young adults in Fargo-Moorhead, with people living in poverty in Bemidji.

Field Marks of Missional Churches

• Members Expect Something to Happen. Folks are done with “business as usual” church life. Transformation stories are told and shared. Testimonies are offered. Guests come away thinking: “Wow! These people are engaged in vital business.”

Example: Mission trips

Field Marks of Missional Churches

• The Bible Provides the Framework. Infants, children, youth, and the families that nurture them are being drenched in the Word, marinated in the Scriptures. The community lives with a text—all week. Disciples are recovering “Biblese” as the first language of faith.

Sage words… “Thanks for publicizing the synod's

budget deficit. This is more than about money, as we all know. It is about the apostolic mandate for evangelism.

I believe that the money is here. I also believe that the only effective fix for it is to make the study of the Scriptures the highest priority for every congregation. …

I told my friend (senior pastor of a large church) that if they had 1000 people intently studying the Bible every week to better understand God's will for their lives, they would not have to cut $100,000 from their budget. They would oversubscribe.”--Pr. Arland Fiske

Field Marks of Missional Churches

• Deep Commitment to the Ministry of the Baptized. We are church 24/7. Most of our life as “church” is in “scattered” mode—Monday through Saturday ministries in God’s world. Folks no longer expect the pastor to be at the center of everything, leading everything, making everything happen. Pastors know how to give ministry away.

Example: Stephen Ministries

Field Marks of Missional Churches

• Commitment to Connecting. Persons see church as people on the move more than “here’s our building.” God’s mission is way too big for any one person, congregation, synod, denomination. People look for and expect “synergies” to be popping up all over the place.

A fresh example…• New life is coming to

the Native American Christian Ministry of Fargo-Moorhead, thanks to the willingness of ELCA and United Methodist disciples to join hands with the Recovery Worship ministry, led by Rev. Ray Branstitter

Field Marks of Missional Churches

• Prayer. Everything is begun, continued and ended in conversation with our living God. Prayer opens people up to #1-5 above, prayer “softens” us and schools us to expect God to be at work in our lives. Prayer reminds us that this is God’s business—first, last and always. “Work like it all depends on work; pray as if it all depends on prayer.”

Example: Prayer vigils

Field Marks of Missional Churches

• Back to the Future. Much of what seems “new” in church renewal is actually a re-embracing of the old, treasured faith practices and ways of being church. Discipleship replacing membership, parents and other adult caregivers reclaiming their role in nurturing the young, present-day “circuit riders” covering regional parishes, etc.

Example: Vibrant Faith Ministries

Field Marks of Missional Churches

• Asset-Based. God creates out of nothing; we do not. We never “start from scratch.” We begin by inventorying our assets, then discovering and adding new assets.

Example: Neighborhood canvass

Field Marks of Missional ChurchesGaining a Hearing for God’s Word. The Word

alone renews us. And that is God’s work—we don’t control it.

We do give the Word a chance to work its power in our lives, i.e. “gaining a hearing” for God’s Word through small groups, renewed worship practices, transformed confirmation ministries, discipleship covenants, renewal retreats, etc.

For the sake of the Word these are more than “gimmicks” or “techniques.”

Example: Lent 2010

Field Marks of Missional Churches

• Making Excellent Mistakes. Lutheran disciples have historically been scared-to-death of failing. (You’d think that we DIDN’T believe in a God who never tires of forgiving sins and mistakes!) We can take risks, be playful, have fun and hand it all over to God.

Babe Ruth’s two great records…

Table Talk• Which of these marks of a missional church is

your congregation already exhibiting? Which mark would you like to work on together in the coming year?– God is real– Members expect something to happen– The Bible provides the framework– Deep commitment to ministry of the baptized– Commitment to connecting (with other Christians)– Prayer– Back to the future (recovering ancient faith practices)– Asset-based– Gaining a hearing for the Word (through new/old approaches)– Making excellent mistakes (taking some risks together)

RE-ROOTING……in God’s call

God has called you to LEAD

• ….and feeling inadequate to that task is perfectly NORMAL!

How we lead is more important than what we actually do

Leaders…are health promoters. The true mark of a leader is spreading health throughout the community. The presence of mature, self-aware, and faithful leaders means health is possible in the community.

Rev. Peter Steinke

God calls leaders to know who they are

They are comfortable in their own skins and don’t hesitate to define themselves for others. They are anything but chameleons or “shape-hifters.” They resist being squeezed into other persons’ molds or preconceived notions of what a leader should be.

God calls leaders to take responsibility for their actions

• They know they can’t be responsible for how others function. They are self-aware, able to take criticism, willing to accept the consequences of their decisions

God calls leaders to live in God’s peace

They can move calmly, patiently, deliberately within an anxious church environment. They resist picking up the “virus” of worry or desperation. God graces them with the ability to weigh alternatives, think clearly, and act responsively.

God calls leaders to stay connected with others

… including those absorbed by anxiety or those stirring up mischief in the congregation. Such leaders listen to others, creating space and time for respectful conversations. But they do not allow the mission to be thwarted or the congregation to be highjacked by persons with narrow agendas.

God calls leaders to “immunize” the Body of Christ

Leaders resist forces that undermine a congregation, forces that take our eyes off God’s mission, forces that tempt us to act in under-handed ways.…Leaders provide immune capacities when they are clear and “immovable” about what God’s word and God’s mission is for us—and when they’re willing to resist any and all forces that threaten that. That’s a wonderful sort of “immovability.”

God calls leaders to challenge God’s people

Leaders in Christ’s church love God’s people enough to look them right in the eyes and name uncomfortable truths. Leaders are willing to upset the equilibrium in their relationships with others—to challenge them to address issues and respond healthily to changing circumstances.

God calls leaders to learn from “best practices” (handout)

• Preparing oneself to server as a leader• Building effective agendas for meetings• Managing and participating in meetings

effectively• Attending to leadership roles BETWEEN

meetings of the council• Avoiding pitfalls and resisting temptations

Table Talk

• What is one gift for leadership that others have identified in you?

• What is a weakness or “growing edge” as a leader that you’re aware of?

• What is ONE “best practice” that would help your council be more faithful and effective in 2010?