Turning Lutheran
In 26 days I become a Lutheran. It could be quite painful. They might try to flush out my tartan Knox/Calvinist blood with a steady stream of lutefisk, lefse, and German beer (well, come to think of it, two out of three of those ain’t too bad). In truth, I only jest. I’m not really becoming a Lutheran — they’re just going to pay my health insurance and pension. What a deal!
Actually, come April I will be employed by several partnership bodies of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as Mission Developer for The Project F-M, but I don’t have to change my denominational colors. The PC(USA) is in full communion with the ELCA. We’re best of buds, and ministers from one denomination can easily serve a ministry of the other upon invitation. So I’ll still be Presbyterian, I’ll just have a double dose of meetings to attend.
I’m curious, though, Lutherans out there on the interwebs: What do you see as the important distinguishing characteristics of the ELCA (as compared to the PC(USA) or other denominations)? What does being Lutheran mean to you?
Here’s the obvious differences I’ve noticed over the years:
- Lutherans use paradox often as a means to describe tricky theological concerns. In fact, I challenge you to get a group of Lutheran pastors in a room talking theology and not mention paradox in the first hour.
- Lutherans speak of a law and gospel
dichotomydialectic fairly often. For instance, in my text study group for sermons, ELCA folks will describe the “law” of the text and the “gospel” of the text. (For various reasons, this wouldn’t happen in PC(USA) circles, but interestingly, rarely do any Presbyterians actually explain why.) - Lutherans have much more of a respect for liturgy than your average Presbyterian.
I’m very grateful for these differences. I’m thrilled to be called to serve in a partner denomination. I have a lot to learn from Lutheran colleagues (and goodness knows, Presbyterians are no angels). To add a wrinkle to the move, I’ll be serving in a position which may not emphasize any denominational brand very loudly at all. Up to now, at least, that hasn’t been the point at all. Fine by me. In fact, my dual-citizenship could be a real asset.
But, oh wise blog readers, I’m curious: If you were to turn me Lutheran what would you suggest? Norwegian sweaters (or buying that shirt above)? Memorizing Luther’s Small Catechism? Reading Bonhoeffer? What resources should I contemplate to better understand my Lutheran partners in faith and ministry?
Do members matter?
Originally posted at Gathering Voices: Faith Conversations from TheThoughtfulChristian.com
The church I serve has 133 members. We have records noting when each one of them was born, joined the church, and when the time comes we’ll record the date of their deaths as well. Much of my work as a pastor has to do with navigating the gray areas of life, but official membership is not one of those areas. We have a book. In it we record the names of church members. Case closed.
Except that, well, it’s actually a little more complicated than that — and more convoluted too. You see, in the Presbyterian church where we specialize in spiritual gifts of paper-pushing and rule-writing, we have made three categories of members: active members, inactive members, and affiliate members. (The definition of active and inactive members should be self-explanatory. “Affiliate members” are folks who retain their membership elsewhere but choose to affiliate with another congregation for a time.) And then, as if that’s not complicated enough, each congregation is supposed to review the status of members at least annually, counseling with those who “have neglected the responsibilities of membership.” That can get, well, rather tricky.
In our lovely denominational constitution, after several pages describing all this, there’s a little section on “non-member privileges” (“privilege” is not the word I would have chosen, but oh well). The point of this section is this: non-members have all the cool points as any active member — non-members can receive communion and present their children for baptism, they can participate in worship and the life of the church, they can surely share their financial resources, they can serve on committees — they just can’t vote or speak at congregational meetings. With as much sarcasm as I can muster: I’m sure there are hundreds of non-members crying themselves to sleep over not being to fully participate in congregational meetings; crying themselves to sleep.
With that inspired Presbyterian polity introduction, I can finally get to the point: why do we have members in the first place? And, truthfully, is it worth it?
Here’s what I know:
- many many churches do not have accurate membership rolls
- membership rolls can easily become about numbers rather than about faithful living
- emphasizing membership can send the message that we want new members so we can declare our church club is growing
- Jesus didn’t care a flip about membership rolls
- membership in churches can feel a whole lot like membership in a health club, only without the cool ID card and parking pass
So, pretend for a second that you’re starting a new faith community, you’re planting a new church that’s about relationships and following Jesus and you’ve never even heard of the Presbyterian church constitution: do you even bother to have membership status? Do you need to formally categorize those in your community? Do you want people to sign on a dotted line or walk the journey of faith?
image by Philippe Ramakers
Additional Resources from www.TheThoughtfulChristian.com
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“What Do Presbyterians Believe?” By Donald K. McKim (Adult Study)
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To see a list of all our studies on denominational beliefs, click here.
Into perils unknown
Last week, with a heavy heart, I announced to the Session at First Presbyterian Church in Hallock that I have accepted a new position. Talk about bittersweet. I love and cherish that congregation and have been honored to be called their pastor. It will be — already is — very hard to leave. But, sad as it is, my partner and I intend to tackle our next adventure together: Megan has been assigned to med school rotations in Fargo.
Not many people on this earth can say, when moving to the twin cities of Fargo, ND and Moorhead, MN that they are moving 1) south, 2) to a warmer place, and 3) to a much larger metro area. What a life we live!
My new position is both very exciting and very scary. Beginning in April, I will serve as Mission Developer for The Project F-M, a new vision and venture to cultivate a 21st century faith community in the Fargo-Moorhead area. What does that mean? Beats me. Seriously….who knows what God might be up to.
This is a bit of what I do know. Calling a Mission Developer is the third step of a process begun several years ago when an idea struck in a church basement (why do all the best ideas come in church basements or parking lots?). The group gathered was discussing the fact that there exists 45,000 persons between the age of 20 and 40 in Fargo-Moorhead unconnected to an organized faith community. And so, The Project F-M began. After an initial phase and gathering of support in local churches, a Community Organizer was hired for a year to listen and assess the interests, stories, and build relationships among F-M’s young adults and larger community. Now it’s my term to jump in as Mission Developer.
Funding has come from generous churches, two ELCA synods, and the national Lutheran church. It’s officially an ELCA call so I’m very grateful that the ELCA and PC(USA) are in full communion. I look forward to serving with my brothers and sisters of the Norwegian sweaters.
Stay tuned for more about The Project F-M in later weeks. (Current web presence is quite minimal, but it’s here.) Now, though, please pray for a smooth transition, but mostly for the kind folk in Hallock who have welcomed me so well.
I’ll close with a prayer found both in Lutheran and Presbyterian worship resources:
Lord God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
image by Mattox
A few good plugs
I’m happy to announce three cool things on A Wee Blether today. Yes. Count them: one, two, three!
- The Presbyterian Outlook, an independent magazine reporting on issues of interest to the PC(USA), is looking for two new part-time employees. And yes, you can even work from the comfort of your own home! I know I’m not alone in my push, in the most amiable way, for the Outlook to refocus efforts on web presence and social media (yes, their site makes me want to pull my hair out). Well, the new Internet Content Manager Job will do just that. They’re also looking for someone to fill this CopyEditor Job Description. I’ve worked with the Outlook folk in the past and can recommend them as a classy organization filling a vital role in the denomination.
- The Thoughtful Christian.com, a great portal for lesson plans and book deals, has recently expanded and launched a new blog: Gathering Voices. I managed to wrangle my way into the first group of regular bloggers, so Wednesdays my posts from Gathering Voices will be cross-posted back here. I’m excited to work with such an awesome group of bloggers — some young, some old, all smart — and I’m also quite happy that it’s less of a time commitment than my stint with the Century Blog. It’s live as of yesterday; my first post goes up tomorrow.
- MinnPost.com, speaking of new ventures, is a newish effort in high-quality nonprofit journalism for “news-intense people who care about Minnesota.” Well, that’d be me! I’ve followed them for a few months, and recently re-worked a post for them. It appears today in their “Community Voices” section under the title, “The Minnesota breakfast crew vs. the Twitterati: Cherishing a sense of perspective.” Check out their site, though, not for my voice but for their new model of quality journalism.
Advice for folk seeking a first call
Jeff contacted me recently seeking to collect advice for folk searching for their first call to ordained ministry. I’ve written on this in various ways over the years:
Negotiating for a better future
Why “bi-vocational” is a dirty word
On my evolving understanding of vocation
Are you an urbanist? Thoughts on rural ministry
PC(USA) Call Process: PIFs, Blogs, and Cautious Questions
But this post is actually more about practice than theory. Here’s some ideas that come to mind, and please add more in the comments section.
- if you can manage it, don’t narrow your options geographically — I had friends from Columbia Seminary who thought for certain they wanted to stay in the south, but found great calls elsewhere.
- consider rural ministry. It’s not for everyone, but there’s some huge benefits of small towns, small congregations, and probably a broader range of ministry experiences. Oh, and the church needs rural pastors desperately!
- If you are looking to buy a house and are short of funds, talk to the church about helping you with a loan or co-signing (or other fancy stuffy) the mortgage. One congregation I know made a $12,000 no-interest loan part of the call package and agreed to forgive $3,000 for every year the pastor stayed (or something like that).
- Be yourself in the call process, and somehow get the congregation to be themselves too. Some churches really stack the search committee with the coolest folks around so you’ll be drawn there and really keep their rough edges under the rug. Do your homework. Call around. Find their skeletons and see if you can work with them or not.
- Remember call isn’t just to one congregation but to a holistic life in that community.
- There’s nothing wrong with the old-fashioned three paragraph (one page) cover letter, but make sure it shows you’ve done your research and somehow pops out of a pile of others.
- Get a group of friends together every few weeks to support one another in the call-seeking process.
- Making a simple website for yourself is a good idea: put up biographical info, sermon videos, links to your writing. Somehow humanize the process.
No, I didn’t mention prayer or God or “sense of call” in the bullets, because that should be assumed and is essential. At the end of the day, I think of the process sort of like the process of looking for a college — I could have been a happy Cobber, or Seminole, or even Tommie but St. Olaf fit me best. The location, finances, people, and opportunities all melded into a good combination in which I thrived, just as I hope every pastor might thrive in her first call.
So what did I miss? What other advice do you have for first call seekers?
image by Sigurd Decroos
GA BLOG: Wrap Up & Pack Up
(This post will go up soon on The Outlook website, but I’m traveling so can’t link there immediately. Feel free to read and comment here, but also check out all the awesome General Assembly coverage over at The Presbyterian Outlook.)
And Friday night, at the General Assembly, the commissioners were tired, the energy level was low, and the most controversial items had already been considered. So, first a few funny recollections from the week:
- The Stated Clerk, Gradye Parson, has a suave-looking John Calvin bobble-head on his desk. I covet.
- Moderator Cynthia Bolbach’s fun sense of humor kept the assembly in good spirits throughout the week. Perhaps her best crack cams during the moderator election when she, and elder said, “Ministers going on tangents…who knew?”
- The chairs in the assembly hall, when scooted back or forth, sound like vuvuzelas. It’s hilarious.
More seriously, my read of the assembly is that it was a perfectly fine one, one that wrestled with tough issues conscientiously and sought the Spirit in its work. Many hugely important changes are proposed to the PC(USA) constitution, including the addition of the Belhar Confession to our Book of Confessions.
But, as I prepare to go back home, I’m also struck with a questioning sense about whether this formal, costly, somewhat unwieldy church structure is the most faithful way of conducting business at a national level. At 27, I’m too young to be a hardened cynic, but many times this week I thought, after a beautiful policy statement or theological document passed the assembly, “How much did we spend per word to make that document? And, how many Presbyterians – let alone others – will ever read it?” When I closed my eyes and listened to debate on the plenary floor, I wondered how much —really, how little— the basic way we govern ourselves has changed in fifty years. … Continue Reading
GA BLOG: A Fair Hearing?
(The Outlook website has this post up too, though comments here aren’t moderated as they are there so they pop up more quickly. I’ll keep this post up too.)
An Explanation of the Procedural Questions on the Definition of Marriage at General Assembly
Way too early, Friday Morning at GA in Minneapolis….
I’m seeing lots of questions and concerns on Twitter about what happened last night at General Assembly. Folks might be confused some complex parliamentary procedure things went down, and it’s especially difficult to follow new motions when watching the live feed of GA online.
A quite accurate 140-character summary that caught on last night reads:
PCUSA marriage debate wrap-up: We don’t really feel like hashing this out right now, so meet back here in two years? YES.
In fact, I think that quick summary is a valid analysis, but for a few more than 140 characters, read on. I’m too exhausted to write in paragraphs, so I’ll just interrogate myself: … Continue Reading
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