I am an Executive Search Consultant with the Rukes Search Group, as well as a retired CRCNA pastor. I have had the privilege of serving congregations in both the RCA and CRCNA. When I am not working, I am hanging out with my family or reading a book or fishing in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan or serving as the Commissioner of the Chicago Suburban Baseball League or playing piano.
Erin, thank you for your comment. I concur with the temptation but have not been able to identify its root cause. Maybe it is an aversion to risk. I say that because shepherding people can be difficult.
John, thanks for your comments. I am sure there are a few pastors who may be tempted by sloth. I don't know many and that hasn't been my experience. Unfortunately, the temptation of success, as well my people-pleasing tendencies, has resulted in the opposite problem: a disregard of a biblical pattern of work and rest.
Just ran across these words from a sermon on the Holy Spirit by A.W. Tozer: There is more of God in Augustine's Confessions than there is in all of the books written in fundamental circles in the last fifty years. If I were on an island and I could have a pile of all the fundamental, full-gospel literature written in the last fifty years, or have Augustine's Confessions, I would give up all the rest to keep the one book because God is in that book.
Paul, thank you for your thoughtful response to Bill Hybels. I believe he has also said that the local church is the hope of the world. And I believe that statement is pretty important to his approach to ministry. But Willow Creek or Bill Hybels or the Seeker Sensitive movement are not the source of my statement. Your response, as well as Bill's, encourages me to flesh that our a bit. I hope to do that soon.
Having said that, we agree that the local church is called to join God in his mission to seek and save the lost by making disciples. Pastors would benefit form conversations about benchmarks for discipleship in their ministry contexts.
Bill, I think you caught me! Right or wrong, I have a very high view of the local church (which I think reflects my pneumatology, my love for Paul's letters to the Corinthians, and my friendship with the late, great John Williamson Nevin).
I have observed, perhaps you have as well, that many view the church politically or organizationally as a voluntary society or collective of like-minded individuals. I suggest that this type of thinking flows from the politics of American republications with its inherent call for the separation of church and state. But maybe there is more to it than that.
In contrast, I take the apostle Paul's teaching to the messed-up Corinthians church at face value. I believe the local church is the people of God the Father, the bride and body of Christ (the presence of Christ in a community), and the temple of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 3:16) consisting of individuals who are also temples of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 6:19). By the promised presence and power of the Holy Spirit at work within the local church, she can do far more abundantly than she can ask or imagine.
No other group, not even a denomination, can claim to be the temple of the Holy Spirit consisting of many individuals who are also temples of the Holy Spirit. (Granted, a group can claim that some of its individuals are temples of the Holy Spirit.) No group other than the local church can claim the promises made to churches like that of Corinth or those in Ephesus or to contemporary local congregations. That's why, for me, the local church is the hope of the world.
To your second point, I have had the privilege of witnessing many congregations throughout North and Central America minister effectively to the poor, the weak, and the forgotten. That is not to say, however, that a cluster of congregations wouldn't come together to do so together, or that a congregation wouldn't initiate a conversation with its denomination for help in this area. This may be an area where a denomination could help its local congregations better fulfill its mission.
And I affirm your emphasis on the importance of confession and accountability. I would hope that local congregations would find value in both accountability and shared confessions. In my estimation, those are two essential functions of a denomination.
Thanks Bev. You raise some good points about the relationship between the organism (the local church) and the organization (the denomination).
As you note, the denomination is a human construct that, we trusts, helps the local church join with God in his mission to seek and save the lost by making disciples, even among the least of these. But as a human construct, I find helpful and even necessary to, at least, protect churches from pastors and pastors from churches. Congregations, like individual Christ-followers, benefit from accountability, don't you think?
Thanks for your response. It confirms that the crcna is taking the repair option discussed in part 1. I hope the efforts are successful. As I noted in part 1, I lean towards the reform option though it is nothing more than an idea, though the ECO suggest that it may work.
Darren, I hope I did not suggest that "repair" was a judgment, and hence fair or unfair. The reject, repair, reform triad is simply a typology that helps us interpret history. As types they do not describe reality, they simply approximate it. And institutional responses can be a mix but seem to land in one of the three categories. For me, the primary indicator that one has taken the repair option is that efforts are made to repair or, as you put it, reform current structures. The reform option tends to operated from ground zero and builds up from there (ECO or ARC as examples). Again, they are simply typologies that help us understand the ecclesiastical landscape we live in. While I have a preference, I meant no moral judgment to those who choose the reject option or the repair option.
Thanks much for taking the time to weigh in on this important conversation.
Thank you, Eric, for your post. In my initial post I noted that the fundamental purpose of most denominations has been "to do more together." With your comment, and that of Doug, I more clearly see that such a purpose may produce denominational advocacy groups, such as the Office of Social Justice (CRCNA). Perhaps it is my own insecurities, but these groups feel patronizing and paternalistic to those of us in the trenches serving local congregations. Plus, and more importantly, the very existence of advocacy groups at a denominational level suggests that the prophetic function of the church lies with the denomination and not within the local church which has been gifted by the Spirit with the prophetic.
But I will add that when I served as a pastor of a local CRCNA congregation, the denomination supplanted the ministry of my congregation, and the congregation would have loved to do more but couldn't because of ministry shares. Just two days ago, I received two personal phone calls from CRCNA pastors who, while thanking me for starting this conversation, shared the same experience.
On a similar note, I find broad support from CRCNA pastors, including this one, for the work of World Renew. Your agency meets congregations in their context, walks alongside of them, and provides opportunities to extend their witness. Keep up the good work.
Posted in: 3 Persistent Pastoral Temptations
Erin, thank you for your comment. I concur with the temptation but have not been able to identify its root cause. Maybe it is an aversion to risk. I say that because shepherding people can be difficult.
Posted in: 3 Persistent Pastoral Temptations
John, thanks for your comments. I am sure there are a few pastors who may be tempted by sloth. I don't know many and that hasn't been my experience. Unfortunately, the temptation of success, as well my people-pleasing tendencies, has resulted in the opposite problem: a disregard of a biblical pattern of work and rest.
Posted in: Confessions
Just ran across these words from a sermon on the Holy Spirit by A.W. Tozer: There is more of God in Augustine's Confessions than there is in all of the books written in fundamental circles in the last fifty years. If I were on an island and I could have a pile of all the fundamental, full-gospel literature written in the last fifty years, or have Augustine's Confessions, I would give up all the rest to keep the one book because God is in that book.
Posted in: Five Steps to Denominational Renewal - Part 2
Thanks, Doug, for your affirmation of the proposal. And I'll start thinking about part 3
Posted in: Five Steps to Denominational Renewal - Part 2
Paul, thank you for your thoughtful response to Bill Hybels. I believe he has also said that the local church is the hope of the world. And I believe that statement is pretty important to his approach to ministry. But Willow Creek or Bill Hybels or the Seeker Sensitive movement are not the source of my statement. Your response, as well as Bill's, encourages me to flesh that our a bit. I hope to do that soon.
Having said that, we agree that the local church is called to join God in his mission to seek and save the lost by making disciples. Pastors would benefit form conversations about benchmarks for discipleship in their ministry contexts.
Posted in: Five Steps to Denominational Renewal - Part 2
Bill, I think you caught me! Right or wrong, I have a very high view of the local church (which I think reflects my pneumatology, my love for Paul's letters to the Corinthians, and my friendship with the late, great John Williamson Nevin).
I have observed, perhaps you have as well, that many view the church politically or organizationally as a voluntary society or collective of like-minded individuals. I suggest that this type of thinking flows from the politics of American republications with its inherent call for the separation of church and state. But maybe there is more to it than that.
In contrast, I take the apostle Paul's teaching to the messed-up Corinthians church at face value. I believe the local church is the people of God the Father, the bride and body of Christ (the presence of Christ in a community), and the temple of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 3:16) consisting of individuals who are also temples of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 6:19). By the promised presence and power of the Holy Spirit at work within the local church, she can do far more abundantly than she can ask or imagine.
No other group, not even a denomination, can claim to be the temple of the Holy Spirit consisting of many individuals who are also temples of the Holy Spirit. (Granted, a group can claim that some of its individuals are temples of the Holy Spirit.) No group other than the local church can claim the promises made to churches like that of Corinth or those in Ephesus or to contemporary local congregations. That's why, for me, the local church is the hope of the world.
To your second point, I have had the privilege of witnessing many congregations throughout North and Central America minister effectively to the poor, the weak, and the forgotten. That is not to say, however, that a cluster of congregations wouldn't come together to do so together, or that a congregation wouldn't initiate a conversation with its denomination for help in this area. This may be an area where a denomination could help its local congregations better fulfill its mission.
And I affirm your emphasis on the importance of confession and accountability. I would hope that local congregations would find value in both accountability and shared confessions. In my estimation, those are two essential functions of a denomination.
Thanks again, Bill.
Posted in: Five Steps to Denominational Renewal - Part 2
Thanks Bev. You raise some good points about the relationship between the organism (the local church) and the organization (the denomination).
As you note, the denomination is a human construct that, we trusts, helps the local church join with God in his mission to seek and save the lost by making disciples, even among the least of these. But as a human construct, I find helpful and even necessary to, at least, protect churches from pastors and pastors from churches. Congregations, like individual Christ-followers, benefit from accountability, don't you think?
Posted in: Five Steps to Denominational Renewal - Part 2
Thanks
And your last comment seems to me right on.
Posted in: Five Steps to Denominational Renewal - Part 2
Thanks for your response. It confirms that the crcna is taking the repair option discussed in part 1. I hope the efforts are successful. As I noted in part 1, I lean towards the reform option though it is nothing more than an idea, though the ECO suggest that it may work.
Posted in: Five Steps to Denominational Renewal - Part 2
Darren, I hope I did not suggest that "repair" was a judgment, and hence fair or unfair. The reject, repair, reform triad is simply a typology that helps us interpret history. As types they do not describe reality, they simply approximate it. And institutional responses can be a mix but seem to land in one of the three categories. For me, the primary indicator that one has taken the repair option is that efforts are made to repair or, as you put it, reform current structures. The reform option tends to operated from ground zero and builds up from there (ECO or ARC as examples). Again, they are simply typologies that help us understand the ecclesiastical landscape we live in. While I have a preference, I meant no moral judgment to those who choose the reject option or the repair option.
Thanks much for taking the time to weigh in on this important conversation.
Posted in: Five Steps to Denominational Renewal - Part 2
Thank you, Eric, for your post. In my initial post I noted that the fundamental purpose of most denominations has been "to do more together." With your comment, and that of Doug, I more clearly see that such a purpose may produce denominational advocacy groups, such as the Office of Social Justice (CRCNA). Perhaps it is my own insecurities, but these groups feel patronizing and paternalistic to those of us in the trenches serving local congregations. Plus, and more importantly, the very existence of advocacy groups at a denominational level suggests that the prophetic function of the church lies with the denomination and not within the local church which has been gifted by the Spirit with the prophetic.
Posted in: Five Steps to Denominational Renewal - Part 2
Me, too ... Still working on it, Wendy!
But I will add that when I served as a pastor of a local CRCNA congregation, the denomination supplanted the ministry of my congregation, and the congregation would have loved to do more but couldn't because of ministry shares. Just two days ago, I received two personal phone calls from CRCNA pastors who, while thanking me for starting this conversation, shared the same experience.
On a similar note, I find broad support from CRCNA pastors, including this one, for the work of World Renew. Your agency meets congregations in their context, walks alongside of them, and provides opportunities to extend their witness. Keep up the good work.