Doing a New Thing

"Doing a New Thing" is the focus for the tenth chapter of You Only Have to Die: Leading Your Congregation to New Life, written by Jim Harnish. To his credit, he doesn't start with the old adage that the "Seven Last Words of the Church" are "We Never Did It That Way Before." Instead, he begins with a story of the inveterate opposition toward changing the color of the "red trousers" worn by the French military in World War I.

Despite all that commended such a change, time and tradition were against it, and so French soldiers continued to wear clothing that led to their destruction and death. It was, Harnish writes, "an historic example of the tension between tradition and change, taste and function, mission and method; between something old and something new"(p. 128).

Jesus himself, of course, faced the same tension. There was "the old way of Hebrew tradition," and there was the new reality of "the coming of God's reign in Jesus"(p. 128). That tension was experienced in different ways in Jesus' ministry.

One time, sitting at table with "tax collectors and sinners," Jesus was challenged--albeit indirectly--by the Pharisees about such conduct. Rather than give in to the conventional practice of avoiding such people, Jesus claimed the witness of Hosea that God desired mercy rather than sacrifice(Matthew 9:10-13) And thus Harnish asks of us, pointedly enough,

"How much of your congregation's tradition are you willing to change in order to welcome new people into the kingdom of God?
Does your congregation have a passion for welcoming spiritually hungry people to the table of God's mercy the way Matthew invited that crowd to his dinner party?"(p. 129)

Right now, I think that the jury is out on both questions. There are times when I am encouraged about our willingness to welcome new people. At other times, discouragement is the order of the day, as we seem unable or unwilling to welcome others unless they meet our expectations and standards.

Harnish goes on to highlight the story of John Wesley, who was originally "a prim, proper little Anglican priest who was convinced that the gospel could only be preached in a consecrated pulpit in the Church of England"(p. 130). But, Wesley's heart--and life--were transformed, first by his Aldersgate experience on May 24, 1738, and then by accepting the invitation to preach outdoors--where the people were--"to poor people and coal miners"(p. 130).

Harnish goes on from there to lift up the "critical question" for those of us in mainline denominations--like The United Methodist Church. That is, are we willing "to change our methods in order to fulfill our mission--specifically, the mission of sharing the love of God in Christ with people who have not yet experienced it?"(p. 130).

Harnish's concern is that we seem to have "lost a passion for sharing the love of God in Christ with spiritually searching people in their communities and . . . finding ways to engage those persons in a process of discipleship that will equip them to become the agents of God's love in the world"(p. 131).

Those are strong words, but not inaccurate ones. At First United Methodist Church, we are generally willing to receive--and more or less accept--those who make their way to us and insist on finding a place among us. But we do not have a process of discipleship in place, either for them or for those already here. Nor do have methods in place to equip them--or those already here--to fulfill their particular ministry in the world.

Harnish spends the rest of this chapter outlining how the process of how change happened at Hyde Park United Methodist Church in Tampa, Florida. Told that the leadership of the congregation "wanted the church to grow," he responded that the real question was "whether we are willing to make the kind of changes that might make growth possible"(p. 131). That was threatening--but accurate--thing to ask.

It took eighteen months at Hyde Park for them to answer the key questions, "Who are we? and Why are we here?" Then they focused on the questions, "What are we to do? What kind of ministries and programs would best accomplish that mission?"(p. 135). The goals that they established were in the areas of:

• Worship, with a commitment both to "the liturgical tradition of the Methodist-Anglican branch of the Protestant Reformation" and to "new, creative, and exciting alternatives in music and worship . . ."(p. 135);
• Education, with "a strong program of Christian education for all ages and for a wide variety of people"(p. 136);
• Caring Ministries, with the expression of "the Spirit of Christ in caring and compassionate ministries within and through our congregation"(p. 137); and
  
• Witness and Service, implemented by "drawing uncommitted persons to Jesus Christ and by being in ministry to the needs of our city and our world"(p. 138).

Harnish wraps up this chapter by sharing several lessons that he has learned:

1. Living the Mission Means Talking the Mission. The people of Hyde Park United Methodist Church were determined, Harnish writes, "to live the mission of the church and to align everything we did with it"(p. 139).
   
2. Remember That the Best Surprise Is No Surprise. One of the ways they helped this to happen at Hyde Park United Methodist Church was to include a "What It Will Take" section for each of their major goals.
3. Create Opportunities for Buy-In. There was a continuing--and continual--effort to share with the congregation the process as it unfolded, with time allowed "for people to think, talk, and engage in the process"(p. 140).
4. Watch for "Critical Mass." That is what happens, Harnish observes, "when a vision begins to take hold in the heart of the congregation"(p. 140).
5. Stick With Jesus. Harnish closes by citing the insights of Bill Easum and Tom Bandy, two of the "leading spokespersons for change in the church in America today." They point out that any change in the life of the church "must be anchored in the experience of the congregation with Jesus.'(p. 141). There will be no genuine, lasting change--or growth--in the life of the any congregation that is not grounded in our own "continuing spiritual growth" in our relationship with Jesus(p. 141).

"Doing a new thing" at Hyde Park United Methodist Church undoubtedly took more time, effort, and energy than anybody outside the congregation ever realized. It will be no less of an investment here at First United Methodist Church. I want to believe that we are not only capable of "doing a new thing" but that we will actually do so. As we do so, whatever "new thing" is actually should not be done simply because it is new or different but so that we might truly make a difference, that we might reach out to others, and that we might ourselves be drawn closer to the person and the presence of Jesus Christ.

The Heart of Transformation

In chapter nine of You've Only Got to Die: Leading Your Congregation to New Life, Jim Harnish goes from "preachin' to meddlin'!" The chapter is entitled "The Heart of Transformation," and this is the chapter in which Harnish moves from talking about mission to what it actually means to live out (or into) our mission.

The challenge is right there in the opening paragraph of the chapter:

"It's one thing to have a mission; it's another thing to actually live it. Living it means aligning all of the congregation's resources to accomplish that mission. It means saying yes to everything that contributes to it. Even harder, it means saying no to a multitude of good things that do not contribute directly to the mission"(p. 111).

Ouch, that hurts! Like many churches, we have a pattern at First United Methodist Church of promoting, encouraging, or at least allowing "a multitude of good things." And, in my experience, saying" no," "not yet," or "not now" is seldom well received. We do not currently have clarity about our vision or mission, so we are likely to try whatever seems good or right at the time. And we wind up frittering away both time and energy.

We need to wrestle with the deeper questions that Jim Harnish identifies at the outset of this chapter:

• "How does this mission become a transforming reality in the lives of real people?
• "What is the definable process by which the Spirit is at work to accomplish the mission of this church through the lives of our people?"(p. 111)

At Hyde Park United Methodist Church, they were able to go to their mission statement to describe "the key elements in the heart transformation process" in their congregation(p. 112). It turns out that the process had these elements:

• Community. Recognizing that "transformation happens in community with other Christian disciples," they set out to establish a process "for people to build loving, Christlike relationships with other people." Small groups thus became the norm. Their goal was to become "a church of small groups" rather than "a church with small groups"(p. 112). That is far from where we are, but I believe it is where we need to go. And it needs to be more than just calling what we already do by a new name. It means to develop specific ways in which people are enabled "to develop personal loving, caring relationships"(p. 113).
• Commitment. A critical component of the process of transformation at Hyde Park United Methodist Church "begins with a personal commitment to become a disciple of Jesus Christ"(p. 113). They are not concerned so much with 'how' it happens but 'that' it happens. At the present time, we at First Church are willing to talk to people about becoming members of the church but it is difficult for us to use language about faith in Jesus Christ in a way that begins to approach personal.
• Spiritual Empowerment. Using traditional Wesleyan terminology, Harnish reminds us of the reality that being transformed into the likeness of Christ is "not something we do, but something the Spirit of God does within us." The church's task (or privilege or obligation or opportunity) is "to offer spiritual disciplines, the means of grace, and opportunities for ministry that can become settings in which the Spirit is given the freedom and opportunity to do this work in and through our lives"(p. 113). We are better in this area in the sense that we do provide a variety of ways for the Spirit of God to be at work among us. However, we tend to "pick and choose" what we think best in any given situation. There is not (yet) a sense of discipline about how we engage our members and friends in opportunities to be shaped by grace.
• Unity not Uniformity. Again hearkening back to Wesley, Harnish emphasizes "learning to allow space for different convictions while being centered in the love of God in Christ." Being truly transformed into the image of Christ "is not a process of making everyone agree on all of the same information, but a process by which the love of God in Christ unites different people in a common experience of grace and a common sense of mission and purpose in sharing the love of God with others"(p. 114). Our issue is perhaps the opposite of the situation at Hyde Park; we do not overtly or covertly seek uniformity, but we are not clear about what truly constitutes our unity in Christ.
• Mission-Directed. The purpose for all the programs, activities, and projects in the local church are "for the larger purpose of making the love of God in Christ a tangible reality in our world"(p. 114). In our setting, I am concerned that our programs, activities, and projects may exist largely for their own sake or because they are things we've always done. We do not have a clear process for measuring how well any of our programs, activities, or projects help to fulfill our disciplinary mission of "making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world."
  

Harnish acknowledges helpfully that they didn't always get things right at Hyde Park Church--or at least not the first time they tried. They "live in the continuing tension between what we currently are and what we believe God would have us become"(pp. 115-116). That is a tension, of course, that we all know!

The remainder of this chapter is devoted to the story of how Hyde Park Church experienced "the heart of transformation." The principal means by which this was accomplished was through a vision of what Jim Harnish calls "Wesley Groups," modeled after the "class meetings" of early Methodism. It was a vision "for 'small communities of Christians who are making God's love real through worship, education, caring, and ministries of witness and service'"(p. 117).

It became, as Harnish recalls, "the first priority" for Hyde Park church to fulfill its mission. And so the tasks were:

1. Call leaders.
2. Train leaders.
3. Invite people to participate.
4. Just do it! (p. 118).

There are clear expectations for the Wesley Group Leaders to be "praying leaders," "learning leaders," "caring leaders," and "witnesses for Christ"(pp. 119-120). Wesley Group Members are expected to "become praying people," "become learning disciples," "care for one another," and "be in ministry together"(pp. 121-122).

Those seem like they ought to be expectations of any leader or member of any church--including First United Methodist Church in downtown Hutchinson. Perhaps, with the urging and insistence of the Holy Spirit, this is just the direction we will move--together! It may turn out that Jim Harnish wasn't "meddlin'" after all, but he was helping us get to "the heart of transformation."