Keeping an even keel in a flood of innovation

In the middle of a sea-change, it’s hard to get clarity about much of anything, except that the sea is changing and it’s time to paddle hard, or hoist the sails, or trim the sails, or put on a lifejacket, or start swimming. Who knows?

 

What I took two years ago to be an orderly emergence of something I called the “multichannel church” has turned into a flood of innovations.

 

Not only is Sunday morning worship giving way to other days, other times of day, but the worship paradigm itself is changing. Here’s what I wrote to a friend this morning:

 

“I think we are witnessing a fundamental rethinking of that Judeo-Roman-Christian mindset. It goes way beyond the Reformation, which we now know simply gave new names to old things.

 

“Imagine faith not leading inexorably to worship, not centering in the work of clergy, not taking the form of large gatherings, not grounded in ecclesiastical doctrine, but rather in the sharing of stories and glimpses of God, in prayer and oneness (probably on a small scale), in learning not to be afraid, in venturing into love.

 

“It’s an exciting time.”

 

Also changing — and confusing some people — is the nature of pastoral care.

 

Time was when the pastor rode around the village and checked in on people. He knew all the stories, people knew him, and when need arose, people said, “Call the church.”

 

As congregations have gotten spread out and populated by busy people, pastoral care has passed into small groups — if the congregation has been wise enough to form small groups — or into hit-or-miss connections on Sunday.

 

Now it is peers who provide solace and encouragement. Groups become the new confessional. Group leaders become the pastors. Networks of para-church entities like 12-step meetings and mission teams provide opportunities to care. Social networks become the new “church friends.”

 

To older constituents, such behavior can seem bleak and aimless. Surely, the pastor’s job is to be their “good shepherd.” Who else has the training?

 

Religious caregiving, however, has become more like parenting: some do it better than others, but we learn by doing and give as best we can. God fills in the rest.

 

The clergy’s authority comes from helping people proceed in this sea-change. Clergy initiate venues where connecting can happen. Clergy provide reminders of Why a faith community matters, What it properly should be doing, and Where it will find sustenance. This is teaching and preaching, but it also is explaining, giving permission, encouraging new behavior, calling back efforts that seem misguided.

 

Lay leadership needs to change, too, becoming less focused on counterbalancing the power of clergy and managing the institution, and more focused on leading small groups, forming mission teams, looking outward to a troubled world and imagining responses that bring together new collaborators.

 

When the congregation can do little more than manage its institutional affairs, it has a brief life expectancy. A balanced budget won’t provide the care that people seek, and a well-orchestrated Sunday won’t inspire people to let God transform their lives or to work with God on transforming others.