And how to approach them
In reflecting on the last few years – I have seen three major challenges emerge. ‹#›
Three Challenges
Broken Community Financial Stress Mission Focus
Broken Community
There is no one who has not been affected There has been a loss of trust There is tension created by wondering “whose side are you on?”
Some things to note about our community is that no one has not been affected – there has been very difficult emotions for all of us and it is important that we process those emotions together as a community. As Bp Talmage pointed out, there was conflict in the church from the beginning Part of the difficulty is that there has been a loss of trust, and an increase in suspicion in our community – this makes it difficult for us to move ahead together One of the many problems at the church in Corinth, is that people began to align themselves with particular individuals, in this case, Paul, Apollos and Peter – and Paul rather firmly reminded the people that they belonged to God and no one else. ‹#›
Financial Stress
We experienced rapid growth in both membership and staff in a time when the economy was expanding rapidly We are in a new reality now and have to face it with a new approach How we got to where we are is far less important than where we go next
Often in family therapy, there is one child who is identified as “The Problem.” One goal of treatment is to take that burden off the child, to see both problems and solutions as owned by the entire family – I will have more to say about that later ‹#›
Mission Focus
Emphasis on decline, conflict and lower revenue has caused us to lose focus and to not celebrate the gifts we have God calls us to a mission that binds us together as a people even in the midst of our differences Our unity as the church in this place does not depend upon uniformity
Some Family Systems Concepts:
We are more than the sum of our parts
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers. Acts 1:12-14
The gathering of the faithful was from the beginning diverse, and often broke down the barriers that existed in the culture. This is evident in the way Jesus included women, Samaritans and possibly Gentiles into the fellowship – IT IS ALSO SIGNIFICANT THAT IN THE BIBLE GOD FREQUENTLY CHOOSES THE LEAST LIKELY TO LEAD – THAT GOD HAS A SPECIAL AFFINITY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN LEFT BEHIND ‹#›
Some Family Systems Concepts:
Anything that affects one part of the system causes change to the entire system
‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ Acts 2:17-21
Borrowing from the Prophet Joel, Jesus once again proclaims a gospel that is not for any one part of the population, but a gospel that transcends barriers – Paul echoes this idea in Galatians when he writes “there is no longer Jew Nor Greek, slave nor free, male or female for you are all one in Christ Jesus ‹#›
Some Family Systems Concepts:
Members of the system tend to react emotionally rather than respond effectively
And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. A windstorm arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25And they went and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” 26And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. Matthew 8:23-26
Jesus responds to the panic of the disciples with a non-anxious presence – and yes the acronym is NAP – but for Jesus living without fear or anxiety is a sign of faith – 365 times the bible says to be not afraid ‹#›
Some Family Systems Concepts:
The higher the level of anxiety, the more likely members will react in self-defeating ways
When there is enough anxiety, people will do and say things that they would never do or say if they were calm ‹#›
Our first objective then is to reduce anxiety
And we do that by focusing on our core values and primary purpose: WORD AND SACRAMENT
Article 7 of the Augsburg Confession states that where the word is preached faithfully and the sacraments are administered rightly – there is the church ‹#›
“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
We are primarily a worshipping community instituted by God for the renewal of God’s Covenant
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22: 36-40
The Great COmmandment ‹#›
Our primary emphasis should be on worship, prayer and community building
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20
The Great Commission ‹#›
Reaching out to every member, increasing conversation and transparency
The Communication team has already presented a plan to you on how we maintain multi-layered conversations with members of our community – I encourage you to participate in the Blog – and soon we will be putting together a facebook group for friends of Esperanza ‹#›
To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.
Comments