Notes during the Migration: Mutual Respect
By Ted Hartman
One of
the great blessings of being involved with "Transforming for Mission" consultations is that we get to be
around a lot of God's people and get an opportunity to listen to them. We
listen to God's people of multiple generations during the interviewing process,
during the focus group sharing, and during the leadership dialogue. It is a
rich and enlivening environment.
My
observation is that we, as a church body in the California-Nevada-Hawaii
District, are learning to respect each other greatly as we migrate under the
leadership of the Spirit of God from a churched-world to a post-church world.
We take with us the same Gospel, the same scripture, the same faith connection,
and the same genuine community of faith that we have always experienced. But we
move now into a world that sees us as irrelevant, hypocritical, self-righteous,
and judgmental. We can argue all we want about the accuracy of their
perception, but that seems to be their perception and "perception is reality."
In the
midst of this migration into a new world of perception, we have experienced
remarkable unity and respect between generations of God's people. These are
people with different vantage points of the cultural changes. Some are far away
because they were around long before the Post-Church phenomenon became a
reality. Others are closer because they have watched it unfold as they grew up.
However, they all share the same faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and a
confident hope of eternal life.
Let me
give you an example of this mutual respect. In one of our focus groups a man of
80 plus years talked about how at this stage of his life he likes things
predictable. "I like my newspaper waiting for me in the same place every
morning." He likes "church things" the way they have always been. But, he also
recognizes that some things have to change in order to relate to the new times
with the good news of Jesus Christ. His statement of mutual respect is "I don't
need to change, but I won't stand in the way of what needs to change." What
spiritual maturity! He recognizes his own preferences, but gives of himself to
open doors of change because it is the best for all in the Kingdom.
The story
doesn't end there. Over the next few minutes, the younger members of the focus
group responded. They celebrated him and his position of spiritual maturity and
in a number of different ways said this: "We love and respect you; and we won't
leave you behind." What a combination: "We will not stand in the way...We need to
move on but we will not leave you behind!" That is mutual respect. That is the Kingdom of God in migration.
"WE WILL
NOT STAND IN THE WAY...
WE NEED TO MOVE ON, BUT WE WILL NOT LEAVE YOU BEHIND!"
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Ted Hartman works with congregations and schools in the
California-Nevada-Hawaii District to
reorient and redirect their ministries in order to connect with
their local community. He also
coordinates the revitalization process for congregations who want
to begin a new life cycle of
ministry and is a certified mission coach. You may contact
Ted at ted@cnh-lcms.org
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Questions for Reflection
- How has your church faced the shift from a "churched-world to a post-churched world?"
- Who in your church are the culture watchers that help the body of Christ that is your church understand the changing culture?
- Is your church moving forward? How do you know?
- What will you do to help your church understand the shift in cultural attitudes toward the church?
- What will you do to foster conversations of mutual respect?
- What steps is your church taking to ensure that no one will be left behind?
Links
Together apart - managing generational differences without breaking up by David Pullar [webpage]
The Intrusiveness of Culture by David Wells [video]
Building the Bridge As You Walk On It: A Guide for Leading Change by Robert E. Quinn [book]
Church Transformation and Culture Change by Alan Roxburgh [webpage] [audio] [podcast] 41:11 min.
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News from the Center Upcoming Seminars
Daughter Church Planting- September 5-6 - Enfield,
CT - Contact the New England District
for more information
Urban Mission Planter Training - September 26-27 - Minneapolis/St.
Paul, MN - Register - Pay
TIME-SENSITIVE UPDATE|Pastor Rick Warren moderated forum with Obama and
McCain
The broadcast for this forum will be LIVE on THIS Saturday evening, August
16th, not
Sunday, as was previously announced in the "Mission Moments Special Edition" a
few days ago. Thank you for
your interest and your emails of prayer support for this event. Rev. Mike
Zehnder, mike.zehnder@worshipconsultation.com
Live Broadcast: Saddleback Civil
Forum on the Presidency
DATE: Saturday, August
16, 2008
TIME: 8:00-10:00 P.M. ET
/ 7:00-9:00 P.M. CT / 5:00-7:00 P.M. PT
LOCATION: Saddleback Church (Lake
Forest, Calif.)
Please know that the Forum will be
live-streamed at www.SaddlebackCivilForum.com and carried live on the Fox News , CNN, Daystar, and KDOC(Orange County station). Additionally, live signal will be
uplinked and available to all other networks and stations across
the country, so check your local listings for other potential program carriers.
A full two-hour program with interviews and special features during breaks will
also be broadcast on Moody Radio Network, and most Salem radio stations through special live remote by KKLA.
Again, thank you for your prayers
and support of this significant forum to enable the faith community and entire
electorate to learn more about what is in both the heads and the hearts of the
two presumptive nominees for President through these long-form
conversations.
DOWNTOWN - A publication provided by The Association of Downtown Lutheran Churches, a strategic partner of the Center for U.S. Missions. It is designed to share ideas and encouragement for congregations in or near downtown in urban settings. Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Certified Mission Coaches
- The Center for U.S. Missions trains and certifies missional coaches.
An explanation of what is required to be a certified missional coach
and contact information for coaches certified through the C4USM
training process.
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Mission Moments is a biweekly electronic newsletter sent by the Center for U.S. Missions to bring information and encouragement to all who desire to share God's great love in Jesus Christ with others. The Center for U.S. Missions provides research and training for mission work among unevangelized people in the United States. A partnership of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod (LCMS) World Missions, Concordia University in Irvine, California, and the North America Mission Executives of the LCMS, the Center serves all Christian denominations.
Center for U.S. Missions
949-854-8002 x1780; office@centerforusmissions.org
Mike Ruhl, Executive Director, mike.ruhl@cui.edu
Glenn Lucas, Director of Training; glenn@pastorg.com
Mike Zehnder, National Missional Worship Consultant; mike.zehnder@worshipconsultation.com
Michelle Connor, Coordinator; michelle.connor@cui.edu
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