A Church for Starving Artists

Some vocations require the sharing of bad news. Consider what it’s like to be . . .

• An oncologist
• An admissions director
• A mold remediation specialist
• A pastor

Wait? A Pastor? Sorry, but yes. If we take seriously matters of calling and gifts, we sometimes have to share news that’s hard to hear.

Among the hard news I’ve had to share in my ministry:

• “I’m sorry but we have to let you go because we can’t afford your position.”
• “I’m sorry but we have to let you go because it’s not a good fit.”
• “I’m sorry but we have to let you go because the charges against you are serious.”
• “We need you to step away from the Diaconate.”
• “We need you to step away from the Board of Elders.”
• “We need you to step away from this pastoral call.”
• “You don’t seem to like children so maybe being a Sunday School teacher is not a good match for your strengths.”
• “If you wear a Spiderman outfit to your interview, it probably won’t go well.” (The details on this one are changed for the sake of confidentiality.)

I am a Gabriel wannabe in that I LOVE to share good news. But the truth is that my role – especially now – is to share not-so-happy-news on a regular basis. At least in the beginning it doesn’t feel good to the hearer, but I pray for the right words that convey the truth in love.

Sometimes I get to share the hard news because the Personnel Chairperson or the Pastor just can’t do it. But here’s the thing: the ability to have difficult conversations is the mark of a healthy relationship.

I once had to fire a staff member who was also a friend and I remember begging God to give me the right words. I started by saying, “I need to tell you something very difficult.” To be perfectly honest, it didn’t help her to hear the hard part (“We need to let you go . . . “) but it helped me start the conversation.

I have found that if we share hard news as early as possible (do not withhold hard news hoping it will go away) and we share it with compassion and clarity, it helps everyone move forward. Maybe the hard news is not “personal” but it feels personal. And it will feel both personal and humiliating if it’s heard via the grapevine and not from a supervisor/spiritual leader/friend.

Basically sharing hard news is easiest if there is trust between the sharer and the receiver. I’ve heard seminarians say, “How dare you tell me I’m not called to professional ministry when I know God has called me.” Truly we could be way off in walking alongside someone preparing for ministry. But when they cannot pass ordination exams and their psych assessment indicates complex issues and their professors express concerns and their supervised ministry mentor is worried, then it’s time to talk. If we have a trusting relationship, then sharing hard things is easier. It still hurts, but at least we know we are loved.

A note to all pastors and all church leaders: there are times when you will have to share hard things for the sake of the Gospel. This is why it’s essential to let people know we love them no matter what.

I’m deeply self-conscious about reading this book in public today.

The air is thick with tension after the terrorist attack by Hamas in Israel over the weekend. My friends and family include rabbis and the Jewish faithful, Christian Zionists, Palestinian Christians, Muslims and every kind of secular human. Reading this book would not please some of the people I care about on any given day, and now it’s worse:

The (Hamas) militants infiltrated 22 Israeli towns and army bases and took civilians and soldiers hostages, many of whom they brought back to Gaza. At least 700 Israelis had been reported dead by officials as of Sunday. Andrés R. Martínez and Emma Bubola for The New York Times 10-9-23

It happened on Simchat Torah and the Supernova Festival in the Negev desert was one of the targets killing concert goers in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Yes this is terrorism. And also there has been terrorism on every side for as long as anyone can remember. The freshness of the latest attacks do not negate the decades of attacks on the innocent.

And so I read Mitri Raheb’s book today – with its provocative title – knowing that the whole premise of the book – that there can be no justice in the Middle East as long as settler colonization exists – pierces souls in a different ways.

Terrorism can never be theologically or historically justified. And . . . and when indigenous people lose their land and heritage, they often fight back. When the vulnerable are pushed around long enough, they fight back. When injustice crushes generations of people because of their skin color or heritage or religious beliefs, they fight back.

What happened in Israel Saturday was unspeakably evil. And we who live on colonized land must acknowledge our part in this evil.

This is not exactly a colorful Columbus Day Parade blog post, is it? But it’s true. We who believe in the message of Jesus, for example, are called to repent of our participation in anything that destroys other children of God. Our Jewish siblings have Yom Kippur. Our Muslim siblings have Ashura. We Christians have Lent and Good Friday. But we need to acknowledge our complicity every day.

We American Christians are naive in our understanding of what’s happening in the Middle East. And we American Christians are naive in our understanding of what happened to the First Nations where we live. We can do better. We have to at least try to understand each other.

May God bring mercy and peace, and make us agents of that mercy and peace.

Image of Mitri Raheb’s new book. Dr. Raheb is a Lutheran Christian pastor in Bethlehem.

These are tools for Ministry:

• Church Buildings
• Steeples
• Bells
• Cemeteries
• Membership Rolls
• Bylaws
• Constitutions
• Classrooms
• Playgrounds
• Institutional Kitchens
• Pews
• Baptismal Fonts
• Communion Tables
• Crosses
• Bibles (!)
• Letterhead
• Offering Apps
• Coffee Makers
• Church Signs
• Musical Instruments
• Choir and Clergy Robes
• Church Screens
• Church Bulletins
• Bible Studies
• Vacation Bible School
• Lecture Series
• Church Staff (!)
• Degrees and Certifications

This is Ministry:

• Feeding People (in every way)
• Comforting the Sick and Grieving
• Protecting the Vulnerable
• Celebrating Resurrection and Recovery
• Forgiving Our Enemies
• Forgiving Ourselves
• Housing the Unhoused
• Relieving the Overwhelmed
• Loving the Unloveable
• Visiting the Imprisoned
• Nurturing the Spiritually Curious

Obviously neither is a comprehensive list.

In the five weeks since I returned from Sabbatical, I have noticed once again that church conflicts happen when we confuse Ministry with Tools for Ministry. Imagine caring as much about serving our neighbors as we worry about what they wear to church. Imagine spending as much time befriending the lonely as we spend arguing about whether or not to replace the sanctuary carpet.

I’ll ask it again: did Jesus die for this? Yes, if it’s people. No, if it’s stuff. Have a wonderful weekend.

Most Pastors are our own gatekeepers in terms of our time. Most of us don’t have an executive assistant who fields our calls and manages our schedules.

As a Pastor in a mid-council context (I work with 92 congregations) there are over 27,000 parishioners in the Presbytery I serve. Here’s a question I’m pondering these days: who gets a slice of our time?

Ostensibly any member of any of our congregations can contact me or other members of our staff for any reason. My cell phone number is in the Presbytery Directory. And among the phone messages I’ve received over the years:

• I’m not happy about the new fence on our church property, and the pastors and elders won’t listen to me.
• Our organist lost his temper last Sunday.
• I’m new to the area and want to join a Presbyterian Church but nobody speaks to me when I attend their worship services.
• Our confirmation class is using a curriculum that offends me.
• I would like to schedule a time we can meet to talk about supporting Ukraine.
• My husband’s grave needs to be weeded. Can you help me?
• I have an idea for our congregation. Can we meet for coffee?

Who gets a slice of my time? Who gets a slice of your time? There are certain things we can do to create healthy boundaries in terms of our schedules:

• I remind people on my email signatures and voice mail messages that Friday is my Sabbath and I don’t do Church work on Fridays.
• I try to head off unnecessary conversations by inserting, “Let me stop you right there. Thanks for calling but this is an issue for your congregational leaders . . .”
• When someone from a different Presbytery contacts me for help finding a pastor, I direct them to their own Presbytery leaders.
• I’m starting to use Calendly which has a handy spot for people to include a reason they want to chat. (“Can we get together to talk?” is not enough information.)

Church Sage Bruce Reyes-Chow is working on a new curriculum for boundary training for leaders and I encourage you to check it out. Boundary training is certainly about preventing sexual and financial misconduct, and it’s also about allowing at least 48 hours to respond to an email before re-sending or refraining from sending 500 word text messages.

So here are my questions:

• Is this a bigger issue for women? In talking with other professional women, it’s common for our clients/patients/parishioners to see us as girlfriends which subsequently means we are available for all kinds of important and not-so-important conversations.
• Is this a generational issue? Are younger Pastors more likely to be contacted with grievances/needs because they are making necessary but uncomfortable shifts in how we do church? Are older church members still expecting their Pastors to have designated “office hours” when they can drop by without an appointment?
• Is this basically a trust issue? Let’s say a congregation is experiencing conflict and measures are being taken to mediate that conflict. The leaders of that congregation and the leaders of the Presbytery are working on the issues, but the average parishioner (who doesn’t have a leadership role) doesn’t trust that anything is happening. Or parishioners simply don’t believe their Pastors are working hard enough because they don’t see what they do all week.

Who gets a slice of our time? So many of our Pastors are exhausted. So many of our Parishioners are exhausted. We spend much of our precious time dealing with issues that distract us from the real work of the Church because it’s easier to argue about paint colors than develop spiritual maturity.

Did Jesus die for this? If the answer is “yes” then that’s where I will focus my time. What about you?

Every single person reading this can list what’s wrong with The Church – as a global institution, as a particular congregation, as the First Century attempt to connect as the Followers of Jesus. It’s human nature to focus on bad news perhaps. And when things are going well, we are not as lavish with words of joy as we are weighed down by words of sorrow. (When I was a hospital chaplain, nobody ever called me when a baby was born healthy.)

But since returning from sabbatical, I’ve had several days when Church has been the life-giving, life-changing, putting-a-spring-in-my-step community that God created it to be. Remember when Jesus said:

“Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them.” Luke 8:22

When Church is good, it’s great. When we see evidence of selflessness and generosity, when congregations vote unanimously to do the right thing, when neighborhoods are inspired by the vision of a congregation to serve the vulnerable, when loving people rise up to conquer hate . . . these are the things of an effective ministry.

Where I live and work, there are congregations organizing to provide affordable housing, people actively seeking reparations for those who’ve been cheated, whole neighborhoods coming together to support immigrants, and people paying attention when God calls them to take risks. Thanks be to the One who continues to create and speak and move.

How is your community of faith:

• bringing meaning,
• serving neighbors,
• getting people excited,
• giving you energy,
• making children laugh,
• giving you life,
• offering comfort,
• filling your cup,
• connecting people?

This is how we worship God.

Harvard Business Review has published not one but two articles on Psychological Safety in the workplace over the past 9 months here and here. If you are fortunate enough to have a healthy paid and volunteer staff in your office – or for my context – in your church, count yourselves most fortunate. And it’s way more fun to work in an organization where there is good-humor, joy, and safety.

Laura Delizonna defines “psychological safety” as:

The belief that you won’t be punished when you make a mistake. Studies show that psychological safety allows for taking moderate risks, speaking your mind, being creative, and sticking your neck out without fear of having it cut off 

• The liturgist forgets to announce a hymn.
• The confirmation teacher tries a new strategy that doesn’t work.
• The sermon series is a bust.
• The stewardship chairperson is slow to get letters out.

If people trust each other in an organization, simple fails don’t matter much. It’s easier to be forgiving and gracious when the staff gets along well and have each other’s backs.

But when trust is lagging – especially when congregations are anxious after COVID or some other cultural transition – it can be tempting to attack those who make mistakes. And a lack of grace is contagious.

I’m seeing lots of trust issues post-COVID and maybe they’ve been there all along. And helping a congregation move from rampant suspicion to deep trust is a long process that might involve more heartache before it gets better.

But it can get better.

Amy Gallo identifies the importance of learning as a tool for creating trust.

• What did we learn when we moved from daily Vacation Bible School to evening once-a-week Vacation Bible School?
• What did we learn when we tried shifting the Annual Chili Dinner from October to August?
• What did we learn when volunteers filled in for the church secretary last July?

Why is psychological safety important? Gallo writes this:

First, psychological safety leads to team members feeling more engaged and motivated, because they feel that their contributions matter and that they’re able to speak up without fear of retribution. Second, it can lead to better decision-making, as people feel more comfortable voicing their opinions and concerns, which often leads to a more diverse range of perspectives being heard and considered. Third, it can foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement, as team members feel comfortable sharing their mistakes and learning from them.

I can imagine someone reading this with dread because they know that there is no psychological safety where you work. I’m so sorry. I’ve been there. It can get better.

If you are the boss, please consider taking the lead on fostering a culture where failure is an opportunity to learn. If you are not the boss, consider approaching your supervisor – perhaps with another staff member – and share that you’d love to work together to bolster a culture of serving together better. And how can you do that as a team?

It is an underrated joy to work on a team that makes each individual better for the sake of a healthier institution. And the whole reason to have a healthier institution when we are in a church context is to expand the reign of God and make earth a bit more like heaven. (I know because I work on that team now.)

Image from Amy Edmonson’s book The Fearless Organization.

Confession: I talk too much. I give unnecessary details. I repeat myself. I interrupt people. I have a story for everything. I’m trying to do better.

“Talk less. Smile More” Aaron Burr in Hamilton

After a three month sabbatical with lots of quiet time, the hardest thing about re-entry is that there are too many words.

• Meetings are unnecessarily long because too many unnecessary words are spoken.
• People dealing with conflict need to share stories, grievances, and explanations.
• Congregations notoriously prefer dealing with policies and procedures than doing real-life “Jesus died for this” ministry.

I’ve been to many, many meetings since September 4th. There have been so many words that I return home late every night without the energy to share my day with HH. I whisper, “I can’t talk.”

Many of us talk too much for countless reasons from our own insecurities to infatuation with our own voices to neurodivergence. I have some thoughts on this:

• Use bullet points. (Lots of text without much spacing makes some of our eyes glaze over.)
• Be concise. Tell me in a sentence what you need. I’ll try to do the same.
• Use parliamentary procedure (or some other form of ordering a meeting.) No you can’t just insert a comment while someone else is speaking. No you cannot have the floor if you came to observe a meeting.
• Respect people’s time. I might be retired and have all the time in the world, but I need to notice that you have kids to pick up from school or another meeting on your schedule.

What I’m not saying: we need to privilege efficiency over relationships. No. The great thing about using fewer words is that we can focus on the relationships.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Talk less. Smile more. Always ask: Did Jesus die for this?

Some of us are poetic preachers. Some of us are world-class administrators. Some of us have brilliant theological minds. And some of us are the Einsteins of bedside manner. Assuming that we in the Church want to know/imitate/follow Jesus, we are on the same team. Not an original thought.

As a person who works with seminarians preparing for professional ministry, pastors currently serving as professional ministers, and pastors between calls or retired, there are countless ways to serve God in and outside the institutional Church.

Nevertheless, I’ve noticed that healthy leaders of all kinds have the following:

1. Boundaries. No we can’t schedule your wedding for that weekend because I will be my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. And you can’t get married New Year’s Eve in the sanctuary because that’s not fair to the church staff. And you can’t borrow money from your parishioners. And it’s a terrible idea to sleep with the new members.
2. Perspective. We are nobody’s savior – even and especially when people say we are. We cannot fix people’s lives. Or The Church. We can love people, stand with them, offer support.
3. Vulnerability. Each of us deals with something that somebody considers shameful. Pretending our lives are anything close to perfect will do us no favors.
4. A Cohort. These are the people with whom we can be especially vulnerable.
5. Energy. If you don’t have anymore of it, it’s okay. You don’t have to do this same ministry forever.
6. Intelligence. Curiosity is good.
7. Imagination. Imagine sharing leadership with staff and volunteers. Imagine what might happen if we partnered with the Methodists. Imagine having worship Thursday nights.
8. Love. Bottom line: do we love these people?

Do we love God’s people enough to share difficult truths, stand with them when they have to share difficult truths with someone else, forgive them, encourage them, hold them accountable, offer them grace?

Congregations: do you also acknowledge that loving your church leaders involves sharing difficult truths, standing with them when they have to share difficult truths with someone else, forgiving them, encouraging them, holding them accountable, offering them grace?

Because we are all on Team Jesus. Aren’t we? It’s all about love.

Church World is rallying/kicking off/starting all the things this week – unless your congregation is among the eager ones who started everything in August.

It’s off to the races. But it doesn’t have to be.

Slow down. Take a deep breath (says the Pastor who is just back from a three month sabbatical.)

Read Alex Lang’s viral message “Why I Left the Church” if you haven’t already. And imagine giving yourself, your church staff, your congregation time to address things that feed the soul. (Spoiler alert: it’s not what we’ve been spending most of our time doing.)

Before we rush out of the door on the Tuesday morning after Labor Day, before we overfill our fall calendars, before restart/perpetuate destructive habits, can we train ourselves to ask this question over the course of our days:

How is this (meeting/event/conversation/moment) deepening my relationship with God and others?

Am I really listening? Am I open to changing my opinion? Am I aware this this person before me is a child of God?

It’s a start. Also Alex’s last sermon as the Head of Staff of First Presbyterian Church of Arlington Heights, IL is worth a listen. Breathe in. Breathe out.

I knew Alex Lang when I served in Chicago Presbytery. He was a bold choice when called to serve as Head of Staff of First Presbyterian Church of Arlington Heights in his early thirties. And as a person who has served alongside hundreds of pastors, I can confidently say that Alex is among the best of us.

The last Sunday in August was his last not only in that congregation but in professional ministry in general Please read his story here..

Consider the hard work of faithful pastors on this Labor Day weekend. Thank you.