You Only Have to Die

The second chapter in Jim Harnish's book--You Only Have to Die--has the same title as the book itself. Its scripture verse is "He was indeed so ill that he nearly died. But God had mercy on him" (Philippians 2:27).

This chapter begins with two blunt sentences:
"The key to becoming a Spirit-energized, people-loving, life-giving, community-transforming congregation is really very simple. All you have to do is be willing to die." (p. 21)

That is really much more than most of us are willing to consider. We might now and then consider inconvenience or perhaps even disappointment. But Jim Harnish puts it much more starkly.

He bases his comments out of his own cardiac difficulties, which nearly led to his death. His experience with heart disease and subsequent recovery--which his doctor judged to be miraculous--became a metaphor for understanding what God was doing in the life of the dying congregation to which he had been appointed. They were suffering, as he writes, from "congregational cardiopathy" and what was most needed was "congregational cardiology"--which goes right to the heart.

Harnish advises the following steps, not only for dealing with personal cardiac problems but also in terms of "congregational cardiology."

1. Listen to Your Heart. Cardiac crises--personally or congregationally--do not necessarily begin in a spectacular fashion. There may simply be a sense that something "isn't quite right" and that we are "out of harmony with ourselves, with others, or with God"(p. 25). Such signs need not to be ignored but taken as possible symptoms that something needs to be done.
   
2. Find Out What's Going On. Whether we like it or not, we need to find out what's actually going on rather than just rely on our own experience. The fact that we have so many long time members is a good thing, and yet "familiarity often creates blind spots . . . The longer we attend a church, the less aware we become . . . "(p. 26). We need to take steps needed to find out what visitors or newcomers experience when coming to this church and encountering our congregation.
   
3. Call in the Specialists. Most of us put off going to the doctor as long as possible. Even when we do, we dislike referrals to specialists. But sometimes specialists are just what we need. There are those with training and experience who have guided churches through the kind of transformation that we need, and it is important to take advantage of their knowledge and experience.
4. Use Your Oxygen. We need to continue to breathe--not only physically but also spiritually! We cannot just stop doing everything else while we focus on cardiac issues, whether personal or congregational. We need to inbreathe the "wind" or "breath" of God that can bring freshness to anyone or anything!
5. Take Your [Medicine]. In a congregational setting, this means "a massive infusion of the power and presence of the Spirit of God, appropriated through consistent, patient listening in prayer" (p. 29).
   
6. Change Your Lifestyle. To deal constructively with cardiac issues, we are often called to do things differently. Right now, we are sorting out here at First United Methodist Church what we think that might be.
   

These are the steps to which we are called--not only as members of our congregation's Re-Vision Team but as members and friends of this congregation called First United Methodist Church. May God give us the strength and the courage needed to go "all the way to the heart!"