A Church for Starving Artists

Forbes Magazine shared 5 Hiring Trends to Watch last week which are especially helpful when translated to hiring trends for pastors.  As I work with congregations seeking new pastoral leadership, it often feels like we are looking for pastors who fulfill dated job descriptions and expectations.

Even – especially? – for small congregations barely able to afford a pastor, it’s essential that we pay attention to the kind of leadership needed for a growing 21st Century Church. It’s not just about preaching poignant sermons anymore. Or at all.

Here are Forbes’ trends with my translation for pastors & congregations:

1. “Job offers will include more perks and benefits.”  Lifelong learning is not just a perk/benefit; it’s essential for leadership development, especially in terms of figuring out how to lead a congregation in the throes of what Pew calls “America’s Changing Religious Landscape.”  Conferences addressing the landscape Pew describes are indispensable and it costs more than a couple hundred dollars of continuing education money per year.  Forward-thinking congregations will offer generous study leave funding and a sabbatical after 5-7 years of service.  If you want your pastor out in the community, you need to fund it.  I used to serve a congregation that expected me to spend money to have coffee out with both parishioners and community leaders, and it was part of my benefits package.

2. “Increased interest in boomerangs.” (Forbes reports that employees increasingly return – or would return – to former organizations.) Although this is rare in Church World, what is more prevalent is the church that hires within their staffs.  Directors of Christian Education become Associate Pastors.  Youth Leaders become Directors of Membership.  Former field education students become the new Pastor.

3. “Social media will be increasingly used to find candidates.”  Media savvy churches put pastor position openings on Facebook.  We use social media connections to ask for good candidates.  And it goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that social media activity also weeds out candidates.

4. “More lucrative employee referral programs – and beyond.” Most pastor search committees do not use head hunters or other professional recruiters.  But they call seminary presidents, other pastors they know, and even relatives in other cities about pastors they need to recruit as candidates.

5. More offers will include flexibility. This is huge.  Gone are the days when pastors sit in their offices and wait for parishioners to drop by.  Today’s pastor is out in the community meeting with school, civic, and elected leaders discerning the needs that might be addressed through their congregation.  Today’s pastor spends an enormous time equipping other people to be leaders.  The work schedules of any pastor have always been flexible.  But what we do in those hours has changed dramatically since the 1950s.

Of course everything I’ve written here is contextual.  Huge churches have Preaching Pastors whose primary role is to prepare and deliver sermons.  Tiny churches can only pay for someone to spend a handful of hours serving them.  If they want a weekly worship service, there will be no time to be out in the community.

My point is that 21st Century pastoral leadership is very different from 20th Century pastoral leadership, and yet we tend to seek pastors with 20th Century expectations. There are many reasons why this is so – the first being that many of our church members haven’t been taught otherwise.  A wise colleague shared recently:  We cannot imagine what we cannot imagine.

I was a high school cheerleader.

. . . but not like this.

I would love to tell you that I ran track or played soccer in high school but Title IX wasn’t the law until I was almost done with my secondary education, so there were few options to don uniforms devoid of pom poms.

It occurs to me, though, that cheerleading was excellent preparation for pastoring.

I learned how to stand in front of large (or not so large) crowds and proclaim things.  I learned how to keep my hair out of my face.  I learned how to bolster spirits and be part of a team.

Last night – and on many nights over the past several years – I tapped my inner cheerleader for Jesus.  As I talk with weary people who haven’t experienced many ecclesiastical victories lately, offering a message about something bigger than themselves.  Yes, this all sounds very hokey, but it’s true.

Our people need to hear a simple message and it’s a message of hope – not the hope of “winning” but the hope of community and reaching out to broken people because we are broken too.  The pom poms are gone but honestly we need some heartfelt cheering in these days.  I’m not talking about ridiculous, inauthentic “cheering up.”  I’m talking about being courageous in the face of darkness.  Who doesn’t need to hear this?

My favorite salon recently convinced me to invest in peptides. Specifically, I have been persuaded to apply Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4 to my face in order to stimulate my fibroblasts to rebuild my extra-cellular matrix.  Whatever.

Peptides have been an intentional part of my life for two weeks now and the long term impact has yet to be seen.  But I’m feeling hopeful about peptides and – for now – I’m game.

I have also learned in my peptide research that “the hype is . . .  that there is one magic ingredient or group of ingredients that is the anti-aging answer. It’s simply not true. There is no single solution for all the signs of aging—though we admit it would be great if it was really that simple.”  In other words, peptides will not make my skin look like I’m twenty. At best it will make my almost sixty-year old skin look like healthy sixty-year old skin.  That works for me.

Of course I’m going to connect this to Church because that’s what I do.

It occurs to me that there is no one program, no single model, no perfect structure, no unique path that will guarantee Church Health.  What works in my church will not work in yours.

Context is everything.  And in order to discern what our context actually is, we need to ask questions, develop relationships, become learners.  We cannot count on one magic ingredient.

What doesn’t work:

1. Copying what seems to be the recipe for success in another congregation/institution/community.
2. Quick fixes.
3. Hiring consultants who come in with a tool box and assumptions about who we are, but no desire to learn who we really are.  (See #2)
4. Calling a pastor who will save the day/make it all better/”bring in the young families“

There is no perfect pastor who will turn everything around anymore than there is a perfect peptide that will turn the process of aging around.  What worked 20 years ago doesn’t work anymore.  Heck – what worked five years ago doesn’t work anymore.  That’s a good thing.  We are learning all the time about new ways to be the Church because the Spirit is still moving.

I was talking with a pastor yesterday and as she shared the amazing things happening in and around her congregation, her words are joyfully seared into my soul:  “God wants so much more for us than most of our churches realize.”  Yes.

But we only figure out where God is leading us by trying lots of things and seeing what works for here and now in our particular time and place.  Maybe it’s the organizational equivalent of a peptide.  Or maybe it’s something else.

The bottom line is that I – Jan Edmiston – am aging and that’s a normal and lovely thing. Whether I use peptides or not, I will continue to age.  But I’d like to age gracefully and in ways that please my Maker.

The Church of Jesus Christ is also aging.  Parts die off.  Other parts are new and growing. It’s a normal and lovely thing.  How can we be the Church that ages gracefully and seeks to please our Maker?  I have so many ideas about this.

Image of Hydration Serum with Peptides by Lucrece.  I have no idea if this stuff works.

TBC and I were recalling Valentines Past the other day and we remembered shopping in Target about ten years ago looking for Valentine cards. It was about two weeks before the big day but we wanted first dibs on the best choices.  And this is what happened.

Me (to Target employee):  Excuse me.  Where are your Valentines?

The Target Employee was a young man who was not originally from the U.S. and he looked off into the distance and quietly repeated:  Valentimes.  And then he looked back at me and TBC and said:  I do not know Valentimes.

Me:  You know.  They are those little cards that children pass out at parties on Valentine’s Day.  They might have pictures of Hello Kitty on them.  Or Batman.

Target Employee:  I don’t understand.

Me:  They’re maybe in the card section.  They’re usually red or pink.  Sometimes they are lacy.  You can get them with Sesame Street characters.  Or Dr. Seuss.

Target Employee:  ?

The more we tried to explain, the more ridiculous we sounded.

Sometimes we try to explain things to people who are unfamiliar with Church World and it sounds a little ridiculous.  Or worse, we don’t even try to explain and we simply assume they know what we are talking about:

• Special Music
• Coffee Hour
• Offering Plate
• Narthex
• Blood Hymns
• Stewardship Season

Seriously, try explaining “special music” to someone who has never been in a church building.  It’s special because  . . . ?

Hope everyone had a Happy Valentine’s Day as well as a meaningful Lent 1.  Can we easily explain what that means?

Today in Havana, the Bishop of Rome –  His Holiness Pope Francis –  Sovereign of the Vatican City will sit down with the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia – Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church –  Bishop Kirill.  The last time the Roman Catholic Pope met with the Russian Orthodox Patriarch was 1964 in Jerusalem.

You can read about the 1050 schism between the Eastern and Western Church here.  This article speaks of “ancient ‘anathemas‘” between these two branches of Christianity who have called each other heretics, held each other in contempt, and condemned each other to hell.

We’re talking about cosmic things here.

Many of us carry ancient anathemas around with us too, but they tend to be less weighty than matters of human reason versus human nature or from where the Holy Spirit proceeds.  Is it from the Father and the Son (Roman Catholic) or solely from the Father (Orthodox.)  Of course, “anathema” in the Church is a curse involving excommunication.  An anathema is “devoted to evil.”

Those are fighting words, especially if the differences are about whether or not Mary was herself immaculately conceived.  (Our Orthodox sisters and brothers say no.)  But enough about doctrine and theological truths.

Is there anyone in your life whom you consider to be an anathema? Is there any situation which you consider to be anathema?

[Here’s one.]

Some of us carry bitterness over relatively minor slights.  But others of us carry anger and fear based on the actions of people who have genuinely hurt us or the people we love.  If we have never experienced being personally wounded to the point that we are now haunted and heavy-hearted, we are most fortunate.

And so now we find ourselves in the season of Lent.  This is the season when we turn from our destructive ways to a new way that brings life.  This is the season that we try to forgive because we’ve been forgiven.  This is the season when we walk toward the light and ask to be set free.

It’s not easy.  It might even feel impossible.  But the Pope and the Patriarch are meeting today and so maybe anything is possible in these 40 days.

Images are of the men formerly known as Jorge Mario Bergoglio and Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev who now wear the holy headware of the Vicar of Christ and the Patriarchal Vicar respectively.

In this presidential election year, some political nerds might remember The Big Mo.   George H.W. Bush spoke of it in the 1980 election.  He had it after the Iowa Caucuses that year.

Some of our congregations also experience The Big Mo. A colleague recently shared that his church has noticed several guests visiting from a neighboring congregation going through turbulent times. Subsequently, giving is up, there is increased energy, and people are excited to be a part of things.

When a spiritual community is clearly on a roll – reaching out in effective ministry, making an impact in their suburbs, regularly welcoming new members -momentum is up.  I loved this as a parish pastor.

In the same way, when a congregation is in a downward spiral with low energy and low satisfaction, momentum slows to a halt.  Congregations become stuck and floundering.  I hated this feeling as a parish pastor.

How do we turn around a low energy church?  Sometimes we can’t.  The leaders are too tired and the resources are depleted.  It’s a holy thing to close congregations whose momentum has slackened to a point of no return.

But it’s also possible to change a congregation’s momentum.  It happens when:

• There is a core group of leaders (more than one or two) who have energy and skills willing to work alongside the pastor.  Both the pastor and the leaders find themselves to be faithfully fearless and teachable.
• There is a strong capacity for ministry.  Resources exist – from financial to human – to expand outreach into the needs of the community in the name of Jesus.  Those in need are no longer invisible in the neighborhood and there is a spiritual craving to connect with them.

This is not about large endowments and “big givers.”  Yes, money can fuel ministry. But money ≠ momentum.  Sometimes it’s a bandage but the bandage won’t last forever.  Underneath, growth and healing are required to shed dependence on the bandage.

Momentum Killers include:

1. Long meetings with no purpose.
2. Cranky leaders who shame and blame visionaries.
3. Pastors who have given up but won’t leave/retire.
4. An inability to articulate why (theologically) our church exists.

Momentum Builders include:

1. Gatherings that feed souls.
2. A clear connection to the needs of the community.
3. Sacrificial giving of all resources.
4. A clear vision that even a child can articulate.

My favorite mission statement:  We exist to change the world for good in the name of Jesus Christ.   This kind of audacious proclamation fuels all kinds of mo.

Image of Newton’s Cradle which demonstrates the transfer of momentum.

“Remember you are dust and to dust you will return.”  Genesis 3:19b

In world where we humble-brag, where we are encouraged to climb the proverbial ladder, where we push our children to be on top, where we push our neighbors out of the way to get to the top ourselves . . . the voice of God reminds us that  – actually – we are broken, weak, ridiculous, and hurt, if we tell the truth about ourselves.

Ash Wednesday puts us in our place.  This is the day when we remember that – while wonderfully and fearfully made – we are also mortal creatures who will die one day.  And how we will live this one remarkable lifetime we have been given?

• Seeking to know who we are and who God is.
• Serving in proportion to our privilege.
• Living to bring heaven to earth.

This is my favorite season.  What an opportunity.

I faithfully voted in North Carolina until 1984 when I was briefly living in New Hampshire and couldn’t resist voting in the N.H. Primary.

Every day when I walked to work from my house past the Hanover Inn to the old Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital for a Clinical Pastoral Education residency, I’d see at least one presidential candidate hanging out.  Jesse Jackson would be in the bakery.  Gary Hart would be eating a sandwich in the diner.  Walter Mondale would be interviewed on the corner.  I don’t remember ever seeing Ronald Reagan but he was probably there too.

Reagan ran unopposed.  There were at least nine candidates on the Democratic ticket.  And Independents could vote in either party’s primary, so it was only fun – Democrat or not – to vote in the Democratic Primary.  We filed into a school gym on Tuesday, February 28, 1984 and did our civic duty.

But as we voters were leaving the gym, Dartmouth students handed us slips of paper that said something like this:

• If you voted for Mondale, tell the media you voted for Jackson.
• If you voted for Askew, tell the media you voted for Glenn.
• If you voted for Hart, tell the media you voted for Mondale.
• If you voted for Hollings, tell the media you voted for Askew.

You get the idea.  In the throes of media madness when we sometimes do not believe our vote matters – because somebody has already predicted who will win, so why bother? – we were keeping our votes to ourselves . . . at least until someone had time to count them.

Political Nerds have almost as much fun as Theological Nerds.  Sometimes it takes a little whimsy to get us through this political season.

One of my favorite parts of the Transitional Executive Ministry Training I took last fall was the session on Conferences We Should Attend, Blogs We Should Read, etc.  [FYI: among the must-attend conferences are NEXT Church for Presbyterians and White Privilege for everybody.]

I have another list:  People We Should Know . . . if we are interested in 21st Century ministry.  Friends, we should all know William Barber II.

I first heard him speak at the Wild Goose Festival in 2013 and 2014 and this was after he had gained national attention as the creator of Moral Mondays in N.C.

Moral Mondays – which has now spread to twelve other states – was created to peacefully protest state government actions which impede voting rights and cut social programs.

Cornel West has described the Rev. Barber as “the only (Martin Luther) King-like figure we have in the country right now.”  His messages are powerful and Spirit-infused.  And in these days when the words of our political candidates are often violent (one wants to “carpet bomb” ISIS until the sand glows) and do not sound Christ-like in spite of coming out of the mouths of those who self-identify as Christians (“I will bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding”) Barber believes that – because words can still become flesh – we need to speak prophetic words in the likeness of Christ.

These, for example, speak to us all:  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others.”  (Matthew 23:23)

William Barber keeps reminding us what the weightier matters of the law truly are.  You can read more here.

Image by TW Buckner.

“I go to UVA!  I go to UVA!  I go to UVA!”  Martese Johnson being arrested outside a bar in Charlottesville, VA on March 18, 2015

It always bothers me when someone judges me based on my appearance.  My age.  My gender.  My race.  I might be wearing pearls but it doesn’t mean I’m not tough.  I might be pushing 60 but it doesn’t mean you can peg me in terms of my politics or my theology or my cultural proclivities.

Negroland by Margo Jefferson is a great read about a black family who lived on the Southside of Chicago in the 1950s and ’60s who were wealthier, worldier, and better educated than most people of any race or ethnicity in those days.  I highly recommend it.

Assumptions were made about Margo and her family based on the color of their skin. One of the most memorable stories is about Margo and her mother shopping for the latest appliance in a Sears department store and running into the white man who does their laundry.

The laundryman did not acknowledge them.  He was their employee and he did not acknowledge knowing them.  He was buying his clothing at Sears and they were buying the latest refrigerator – or something like that – but he pretended like he didn’t see them.

We make sacred assumptions about each other every day based on appearance. A young black man is arrested outside a bar in a college town and it’s assumed he is a hooligan, but actually he’s an honors student.  There’s a story about Thurgood Marshall on an elevator in the Supreme Court Building in DC and someone thought he was the elevator man.  Lord, have mercy.

What if – upon glancing at the stranger in the grocery store check-out line or at the bus stop or in the public library – we assumed that the person before us was a genius or a national treasure or a child of God?  What if we assumed that the brown child on the playground, the green-haired teenager in the ice cream shop, the tired-looking couple in the diner were all brilliant, extraordinary human beings?

What if we set aside our sacred assumptions and treated people as individuals – each with their own amazing stories and gifts?  (It’s so much easier to lump people into unfair stereotypes.)  But we are better than this.

PS – For more thoughts about this . . .