Thanks to BSE for this image and to the B52s for putting a tune in our heads.
I haven’t written a blog post in over a week – except for the ones in my head – because the days have been long and when I get home at night I honestly want to curl up with a glass of wine and watch Revenge. There, I said it.
At the risk of regurgitating Every Big Idea that’s run through my mind, here are some of my Questions of the Week:
- What happens when a pastor no longer believes in God? Or what if he/she believes in God but theology has become so mysterious that articulating clear doctrines of faith seems almost idolatrous?
- What happens when dying churches refuse to let go? Do you just come in and shout, “Enough!”
- How can we get churches to stop having Stewardship Campaigns and start talking about faith and money?
- What do we do for older pastors who still have mortgages and can’t retire?
- Is there a way to keep congregations from congratulating themselves for their assorted Mission Projects – especially in the holiday season – when the giving is sometimes (often?) for themselves?
These are some of the questions I ask after some busy days in one middle judicatory of the institutional church.
A Church for Starving Artists 
Hi Jan. I love the questions you ask and the ideas you put forth. We (PC(USA) church in Southern California) are asking a lot of these things as we try to figure out if we can find new ways of being church in the 21st century.
I have a question about a post of your from the old blog (and I can’t figure out how to email instead of comment, so this doesn’t really belong here, but, I’m not sure where else to do it.
If I’m remembering correctly–and I read a lot of blogs, so it might not have been you–you tossed a suggestion out once about making church school into a music program. Let the idea of church school as academic program go and make it something entirely new that brings community and learning and so much else with it. I’m wondering if you’ve thought any more about that or if you have the first post in your cache that you could send me.
I tossed out the idea as we consider where to go with church school and people are intrigued, but it would be helpful to have the post where I first read it (partly so it’s not just MY idea and also because it shows the thinking behind the idea). I wonder if it would be possible to email (you should see my email in your comment, but it can go to bookgirl71 (at) gmail(dot)com me that post or post it again or some such.
There seem to be a lot of churches that do children’s choir in addition to Sunday School–often during the worship hour, but I haven’t seen any that have just replaced the traditional program, and I’m curious.
Thanks.
Wendy
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Jan, Wendy,
I’m still catching up on your Chicago blogs. Below is a copy of what I believe is the blog post in question from my Google Reader. Hope this helps.
Dave
The Glee Effect for Churches?
by jledmiston 04/06/2011
Our congregation doesn’t have a children’s choir. No staffing for one, although our wonderful organist and choir director are supportive when parents and other volunteers want to lead the children in Advent or Lenten anthems.
But this week, I’ve had three friends – who are not part of our congregation – tell me that they would bring bring their children to church activities if we had a children’s choir.
This is a definite shift from the days when parents wanted their children to learn wholesome values via Sunday School lessons. My friends aren’t as interested in their kids learning about Noah and Abraham as they are interested in their children having a Sister Act experience.
“My daughter loves to sing. She wants to sing in a church choir.” This from a Muslim friend whose daughter is eight.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy just reported that, after a 60 Minutes story about a Gospel for Teens program, money has been pouring in. While middle and high school choir electives – at some schools – have been historically rejected for foreign languages and other art offerings, numbers are reportedly up for choral classes. Tough kids are revealing their inner-Puck.
Maybe the trending started with High School Musical, but Glee has made people want to sing and some of those people are kids. This is a great opportunity for the church – especially for congregations with tired children’s programs. What a concept: teaching theology (and hospitality, mission, worship) through music. Although large churches have long had strong music programs for kids, maybe small churches could rethink how we devote our meager resources and consider shifting them from traditional Sunday School to growing the realm of God through music.
Images of The New Dimensions and The Warblers from our favorite Fox show.
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Thank you! That’s the one! –Wendy
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I hope you have time to write/say more about the faith and money vs. stewardship drive.
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I had an important conversation about your last question this week. A charity that I enjoy a long association with is now holding the conversation about the churches, businesses, and civic groups that donate “stuff” or time to them. Many of these groups really want a lot of recognition for donations that are either small or sometimes not even wanted. This was all prompted by a recent donation that is unwanted–an item that will bring more trouble liability-wise than it is worth. My friend, who works for the organization, asked me “why do churches seem to need so much affirmation?” It wasn’t a church that donated the item that created the prompt, and churches do help out in many ways–but then seem to need to have their name somewhere, want the director to show up to accept their gift, etc.
Anyway, that’s a tangent on your topic–how can Christians learn to give just to give?
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Friends: I’ll be following up on these questions this week. Would love your continued feedback.
Wendy – my Blogger posts are long gone, I’m afraid, except for what I can find via a virtual research project. About the Sunday School thing, that might have been me. I know a church that does an M&M experience (Music and Mission) rather than traditional Sunday School. It’s all about singing – even taking popular music and creating new lyrics (e.g. From Three Dog Night’s Joy to the World: “Jeremiah was a prophet — duh duh — was a good friend of mine . . .”) and mission – which involves developing relationships with people instead of sending money/food/gloves to an organization and never knowing who was served/if it helped/how connections might be made.
For the tired and punchy Christian Educators and Choir Leaders, the whole “write new lyrics to popular music” is hilarious and energizing. We did it for VBS one summer and had so much fun. Totally cheesy and wonderful.
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Thanks so much for the reply. (and sorry about the former blog.)
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