Habits for a Healthy Heart

"Habits for a Healthy Heart" is the focus for the twelfth chapter in You Only Have to Die: Leading Your Congregation to New Life, written by Jim Harnish. Cardiac intervention--whether for an individual or a congregation--is not simply a one-time event. It is "an ongoing process of heart transformation that never ends"(p. 167).

In our spiritual lives, it is the "ongoing work of the Spirit of God in the deepest part of our being"(pp. 168-69). It is our participation in the process "dying and rising" with Christ by which we are shaped more and more into the likeness of Jesus Christ himself. It is the process of what John Wesley called "sanctification."

At Hyde Park United Methodist Church, the work of transformation continues. This initially obligated them to focus on who they were and what they were called to be. Once clarity was reached in this area, the question became how they can best fulfill their mission "in the constantly changing realities of the community and world" and how they "grow in obedience to the way and will of Christ"(p. 170).

In response to the question of how a congregation maintains "a healthy heart for the long haul," Harnish invites us "to go back to the model of vibrant, healthy, Spirit-energized congregational life recorded in the book of Acts"(p. 170). Passages of particularly importance are Acts 2:43-47 and Acts 4:32-33.

Common Mission. The early church had a clear sense of purpose and direction. To be sure, there were disagreements, misunderstandings, and differences of opinion along the way. At the center of their life, however, was a common mission, "a clear sense of why the church was there: to give testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus"(p. 171).

At Hyde Park, their common mission is summarized in the phrase, "Making God's Love Real." For us at First United Methodist Church, it might well be a line from our Litany of Hospitality, "You are welcome here." However the mission may be stated, there needs to be "clarity of conviction and respect for differences"(p. 172).

Common Discipline. The early church's life together was a "day by day" experience, taking shape through shared disciplines. As Harnish reminds us, "there is simply no way for new life in Christ to take tangible form in our experience without shared common discipline"(p. 173). These include:

• The discipline of worship. They discovered at Hyde Park that this discipline has two interwoven dimensions. One is "corporate discipline for gathered worship," and the other is "the personal discipline of spiritual formation and prayer"(p. 173). Each is vital and necessary.
  

• The discipline of education. The biblical core of shared life at Hyde Park Church is the intensive study of scripture, primarily through DISCIPLE Bible study but also in a variety of other ways. Their discovery was that "when people are united around the Scripture, God transforms their lives"(p. 174).
  

• The discipline of caring. Caring for other people in "tangible and practical ways" is critical for a church that wants to be healthy. And this is more than pastoral visitation. It is also the ministry of the laity expressing the love of God for one another.

• The discipline of witness and service. Faith isn't really faith until we give it away, or "until it takes form in giving ourselves to others through practical forms of witness and service"(pp. 174-175).

These four elements define, for Hyde Park Church, the "common discipline" that sustains them in a "healthy spiritual life." It would be hard to argue otherwise!

Common Generosity. The final dimension of the life of the early church is their remarkable generosity. It is common only in the sense that it is shared among all members of the community. Otherwise, it is entirely an "uncommon" generosity.

There was in the early church a form of "communal economics" that did not last very long and which has never been realized on a large scale. However, as Harnish points out, there was underneath this economy "a common level of generosity, a profound awareness that nothing we own belongs to us"(p. 175).

A congregation that is sustained in ministry for the long term is one that is committed to disciplined giving, including the biblical discipline of tithing, and to "warmhearted generosity that is something like the extravagant generosity of God"(p. 176).

Uncommon Power of God. Harnish concludes his chapter on "Habits for a Healthy Heart" by pointing beyond common mission, discipline, and generosity to the "uncommon power of the Spirit of God." There should be in every congregation, he points out, something that "cannot be explained by anything other than the power of the Spirit of God"(p. 176). It is that spirit which takes "all of our human efforts and does something with them that goes beyond our human ability to predict, plan, or control"(p. 176).

At First United Methodist Church, we are still discovering, discerning, and deciding God's purpose and direction for us. I believe that we have begun to settle on "You Are Welcome Here" as a bedrock principle. We have not yet begun to explore all that this means, but it is certainly an excellent starting point.

As we begin to explore and understand what "welcome" truly means, the disciplines outlined in this chapter will serve us well. Whatever decision we make about our "core purpose," we need to be engaged in worship, education, caring, witness and service. Each of these disciplines needs to be oriented to the "core purpose" of our life together, and each needs to be coordinated with and supportive of others. Along with this, we need to move toward shared leadership in each of these areas rather than letting things fall primarily if not exclusively on the staff.

We are blessed, I believe, with a generous congregation--not a wealthy one but a generous one. One of our challenges is to extend, increase, and expand that circle of generosity so that more and more people come to experience the genuine joy of giving and the work we do together is sustained more dependably.