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The author of the book of James wasn’t kidding.  Considering what people have said about Jesus for 2000 years – from the tempter  to Dan Brown  – it’s particularly interesting that these words came from a man that scholars believe was literally Jesus’ brother/half-brother.

The worst purveyors of gossip I’ve personally experienced have been church people.  This makes no sense to me logically or theologically.  Whole congregations of people who have stood up  and publicly proclaimed Jesus Christ to be their Lord and Savior on Sunday mornings barely get out of the church parking lot before sharing erroneous tidbits about people that can be life-ruining.

It’s a power play game, really.  In my current ministry, I see the firsthand devastation inflicted on individuals, families, and congregations by people who share lies as if they are truth:

– the pastor whose life is ruined because someone shares a rumor about her sex life or his finances, and it goes viral, especially if certain members see this as an opportunity to discredit the pastor,

– the elder who slips incendiary comments about the church treasurer’s honesty,

– the pastor who slanders a member in order to remove her from blocking his plans for the church.

How can followers of Jesus Christ do these things to each other?  People who sing “They will know we are Christians by our love”  and then fail to display self-control much less compassion.

We used to have notes on all the phones in the church building where I once served:

Is it true?  Is it kind?  Is it necessary?  It was a simple spiritual practice.

I’ve had to take church men and women old enough to be my parents and grandparents to the proverbial wood shed when they’ve shared erroneous information to hurt or discredit their brothers and sisters in Christ.  It’s embarrassing to do this, but it’s also essential.   We need to stop being “nice” in church and start speaking up when we see injustice – especially when it’s coming out of our mouths.

Kind of a preachy post today, but I’m weary of putting out those fires James was talking about.

This photo is in nobody’s Pinterest file.  It’s our kitchen ceiling.

Last January, the plumber had to cut a hole in our kitchen ceiling to replace a worn out pipe.  It was a mess but The Cleaning Lady from Heaven essentially Cloroxed our kitchen.  And then we needed to have someone else some repair the hole.

Now it is April and there is still a hole in the kitchen ceiling.  The weird thing is that I don’t even notice it anymore.  Friends from Virginia came to visit and said, “Wow, there’s a hole in your kitchen ceiling” and I said, “Oh, right.  There is.  We need to get that fixed.”  But office days are long and there’s work travel and Easter took a lot of attention.  But, yes, we need to get that hole fixed.  Honestly, I’m not even sure who to call for this.  (A plasterer?  A construction professional?)

The ecclesiastical moral of this story:  churches have had assorted versions of holes for years and we get used to them and don’t even notice, until an outsider comes in and notices the hole.  Churches’ possible responses:

• We can’t afford to fix the hole.
• We’re so used to the hole, we stopped noticing.
• I can’t believe you’d offend us by mentioning the hole!
• We’ll try to fix the hole ourselves, although we don’t really know what we’re doing.
• Do you know anyone who can help us fix this hole?  And maybe re-paint, while we’re at it?

Happy Wednesday.

I find myself humming this song as I ask, “How do we measure a year in the life of a church?”

Some would say it’s about numbers.  An elder once challenged me (yes, just me – as if church membership was solely my responsibility) to “grow the church by 10% each year.”  My response was that I could probably convince people to join the church to make that 10% increase but that I’d rather have 1% new people with a longing to follow Jesus than 10% new people with mere pulses.

Some say it’s about new programs, new ventures.  I increasingly balk at churches that congratulate themselves with a long list of programs and mission projects in their annual reports.  I would rather serve a church with one single transformational practice than a congregation that offers an array of programs which have become institutional obligations.  I would rather serve a church that gives a large, life-changing  sum to a single mission  than a church that donates a hundred dollars here and two hundred dollars there.

So, I need your help here.  If you know of assorted instruments for measuring a year in the life of a church, please share those resources.  I hesitate to call these metrics “measures of success” because a successful congregation in God’s eyes often has little to do with worldly success.

What questions would you ask church leaders in order to discern if a congregation is “thriving” spiritually or if a congregation is merely “surviving“?

Here are some off the top of my head:

• Can you identify an occasion in the last year when the congregation chose faith over fear?  Tell me about it.
• Is the church living off an endowment or do the tithes and offerings of the congregation cover all expenses?
• Can you name things your congregation tried that failed in the past year?  (Note:  if you didn’t fail at anything, you probably didn’t try anything new.)
• Can you name ten people who were spiritually transformed in your congregation in the past year?  What did that look like?
• Can you identify one person who was identified as a new leader in the past year, and then share how she/he is being equipped for ministry?  (Note:  this is a person who has never been a leader before in the life of your church.)
• What hymnal does your congregation use regularly?  (Note:  Maybe you don’t use a hymnal.  Or maybe you are using a hymnal published in 1947.)  How does music glorify God in your faith community?  (As opposed to pleasing your own personal tastes.)

What questions would you add to this list?

In a Presbytery in which I once served, there were whispers of a “Secret List” held among the leadership.  The covert list included three columns:

• The Healthy Churches
• The Churches Just One Crisis Away from Disaster
• The Dying/Dead Churches

The largest group was the middle column of congregations just one leaky roof, one kitchen fire, one sexual misconduct pastor away from life and death disaster.

The healthy churches were not necessarily “large” congregations in terms of numbers, but they was energy and vitality in the community.

The dead churches were – for the most part –  satisfied to struggle along until the coffers were empty and the last member was gone.

I’m not sure why this list was so secret.  Some churches live in serious denial of their vulnerability, and it seems to be a good idea to share the seriousness of their situation.  Sure, some congregations don’t want to hear the truth.   But there are others who need for us to look them square in the eye and say these words:  There is no way your congregation will be in existence 3 years from now without some serious shifts in the way you do ministry together.

Because I now work for The Presbytery and am immediately suspect (see this post) some congregations assume that I want them to close so that we can “take their building” or simply control them.  Actually all I want – and I honestly mean this – is for congregations to thrive and grow and transform people and neighborhoods in the name of Jesus Christ.

We are now in the process of discerning the health and future of our individual congregations and I need your help:

What metrics would you use to measure a congregation’s vitality and health?

What columns would you use to differentiate the thriving congregations from the fragile congregations?

How would you organize this list?

And finally: what is the best way to share the truth with congregations about their need to make changes in their ministry?  How can we get them to hear those of us who serve them?

And when we figure these things out, we won’t be keeping this list a secret anymore.  It’s time to act in faith to be a new church for the 21st Century.

There’s a joke about two people in a bar – one being a businessman and the other being a prostitute.

Prostitute:  Hey Big Guy, want to have some fun?  I’ll do anything for you.

Businessman:  Anything?

Prostitute:  Yes, anything!

Businessman:  Paint my house.

Not only is that joke politically incorrect, but it’s metaphorically problematic as well.  But I hear varieties of this conversation in the context of the church on a regular basis.  It goes something like this:

Church Leaders:  We’ll do anything to grow.  That’s all we want for our church.

Me:  You’ll do anything?

Church Leaders:  Yes, anything!

Me:  Hire a bilingual pastor, since your neighborhood increasingly speaks Spanish.  Move out of your building because it’s a money pit and you will never be able to afford what it will take to refurbish it.  Mix it up in your worship style.  Welcome  those people who visit occasionally and take them out for lunch or coffee this week.  Offer a Bible study in a local diner or bar. 

Church Leaders:  We didn’t mean things like that.

The great news is that they are in fact some congregations who would do anything.  Check this out – below –  (and please be patient with the buffering.)

Art by the amazing Shawna Bowman.

Dear Sweet Man on Plane Yesterday,

Even though I like to read on airplanes and my Kindle was open and ready to go, it was clear you wanted to talk on our flight between Little Rock and Dallas.  Of course, we found connections:  we’ve both lived in Northern Virginia, we share the same political proclivities (and I loved your fun Bill Clinton stories.)  We are both Presbyterians, even knowing some of the same pastors.  When I told you I was going to the Board of Pensions Regional Meeting you nodded knowingly.

But in the back of my mind as we talked about church, what I wanted to do was hand over my Kindle and plea that you read this book and get back to me.

Clearly you are a wonderful man with an interesting history and a satisfying life.  And yet you aren’t deeply satisfied.  Among the things you said that made me want to hug you and quote Diana Butler Bass:

• We’re thinking about switching to the Baptist Church because the preaching is better.  The sermon isn’t supposed to be entertaining, but, to tell you the truth,  I like being entertained.
• Maybe I should go to a Bible Study or something.
• I’ve been ushering for years but it’s an obligation, really.

When people think of the word “religion” they consider external things: “institutions, organizations, buildings, dogma, rules, hierarchy, order, and authority”  From Christianity after Religion by Diana Butler Bass

All together now:  Yuck. 

What we long for are the internal things:  deep community, unconditional hospitality, spiritual peace, God moments.  But – even if your spiritual community is a house church – there will be some management required.  The not-fun-stuff of ministry.  Somebody’s got to be sure there is toilet paper.  And coffee.

When I first read the job description for my current church position, one job requirement stood out:  The Ability to Sit Through Long Meetings.

Really, that is one of my job requirements, which begged the question:  Just how long are these meetings?  For the record, I’ve not experienced terribly long meetings, or at least they haven’t felt long, mostly because they are about things I love:

• talking with people about their faith journeys and how they believe in God
• hearing about what God is telling people – often over coffee or lunch
• mediating tough issues as brothers and sisters in Christ
• figuring out how we can get out of the way and help somebody’s call come to life

I love this stuff.  But – from all outward appearances – I am the purveyor of rules and regulations.  I am the person who is going to make pastors and churches do something they don’t want to do.  I am “The Presbytery.”

I planned to go to a church meeting to talk about their mission plans a couple weeks ago, but the day of the meeting was asked not to come.  “They don’t want ‘The Presbytery’ there.”

When I first came on board, I hoped to get together with everybody who (like myself) attended the first Fellowship of Presbyterians gathering in Minneapolis.  But I was told it wouldn’t be good to attend because I now represented The Presbytery (and apparently this was not a good thing.)

I also wanted to get together with the pastors under 40 to help them get stuff done – in a new way.  After a couple attempts in the first months of my ministry, I am finally invited to assorted meetings of the Young Turks, so to speak.  It wasn’t certain, at first, if it was a good plan to have somebody from The Presbytery present.

Here’s the thing, we are all The Presbytery here in The Windy City and Windy Cityland – all PCUSA ruling elders, teaching elders, parishioners, friends, etc.  I just try to make things happen – God-willing – to the glory of God. 

Yes, I sit through long meetings.  But that’s not half bad considering what I get to talk about and listen to.  I’m not crazy about being the scapegoat when a pastor or church needs to blame someone.  (e.g. “The Presbytery made us do this.”)  It goes against every emerging church cell in my body to work in an administrative role for the institutional church – God’s little joke on me.

But – yes, I’m the Presbytery – and to sort of quote one of my favorite theologians – so can you. 

One of my fondest memories about church involved a meeting during which we were all waiting to be trained on the new copier.  We were waiting for the trainer, and I did what many pastors do:  I asked if there was anything we could pray about for each other:

– Person #1 (20-something)  “Please pray for my brother who’s run away from home and is addicted to crystal meth.”

– Person #2 (20-something) “Please pray for my parents.  My dad just retired and he’s driving my mother crazy.”

– Person #3 (20-something)  “Could we pray for my partner who is dealing with bipolar issues?”

– Person #4 (70-something)  “Everything’s okay.”

– Person #5 (60-something) “Everything’s okay.”

– Person #6 (70-something) “Everything’s okay.”

Perhaps it’s because of the Oprah generation, or the social media generation, or our chronological generations, some of us feel more comfortable talking about our real life issues than others.  I’ve known lovely church people with Serious Concerns who would no more share their personal issues than they would confess their most embarrassing sins to their straight laced Grandmothers.  Some of us are comfortable sharing our stuff and some of us are not.

I imagine a church in which we share our stuff.  I am tired of Mad Men Church in which we pretend that all is well, that “everything is fine” and  nobody needs anything.  I long for a church in which I can turn to the person beside me in the pews and – during the passing of the peace – I am free to say, “Things are not so great. Please pray that I get through this week.”  

This is the future of The Authentic Church.  It’s not about pretending to be who we aren’t.  It’s not about walking into a sanctuary, enjoying the worship gathering, and then having brunch.  It’s not about making ourselves happy while we pay people to Be the Ministers.

Can we really talk?  I hope so.  It’s a spiritual thing.

This weekend, read this book.  Pulling together analysis from Harvey Cox, Brian McLaren, Phyllis Tickle and others,  Diana analyzes the shifts in Christianity which explain – among many other things –  

• why faithful people in my denomination want to leave the PCUSA to join the ECO or EPC while other faithful people want to remain in the PCUSA
• why the “how” questions (“How do I believe?”) is a better question today than the “what” questions (“What do I believe?”)

I love this book.  It sparks ideas for theological education, sermons, liturgy, and endless grappling conversations over coffee.  Your brain, soul, and faith communities will thank you.

Part of yesterday was spent touring Inter Varsity Press in Chicagoland with one of my favorite theologians.  I, for one, believe that the business of publishing books is not toast – if we evolve and embrace change as a glorious adventure rather than a bitter shift.  Soon to be gone:  warehouses full of books waiting to be shipped off.  The trend:  Espresso Book Machines?

Espresso Book Machines are amazing.  Have you ever looked for a book in a bookstore and they don’t have it but a staffer says, “I can order for you.”  And you think, “Much easier to go home and order it on Amazon.”  The Espresso Book Machine makes a single published, bound copy for you on the spot.  Very cool.

While most people still read hardcover or paperback books, the scales will be shifting so that the majority of people will use Kindles, iPads, Nooks, etc. and the minority will want traditional books.  The IVP sage who spent time with us yesterday suggested that maybe the warehouses can be repurposed to house multiple Espresso Book Machines.  If somebody wants a classic copy of a classic John Stott book, IVP runs a single copy and sends it out.  No need to store lots of copies which may never be ordered.

We already have an assortment of paths in the publishing world.  Amanda Hocking  self-published several (enormously popular) ebooks and then got a fancy contract with St. Martin’s Press.  Tony Jones has several books published via traditional publishers and is now self-publishing digitally.  Whatever works.

I increasingly don’t want to lug books around and rarely read a book that’s not on my Kindle – although I was thankful to be given a copy of Amy Sherman’s Kingdom Calling yesterday.  Honestly though, I will sometimes turn down offers to be given free paper books. 

Have you totally shifted to digital books?  Would you buy a paper book if you could  sip espresso in a coffee shop while your very own, single copy was being printed and bound by a machine in the corner? 

Image is the warehouse at IVP.