MOVING FROM DE- TO RE-

"Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders...?"

Mark 7: 5b

When the Pharisees asked Jesus this question, what they may have been asking was, "Why don't your disciples do things just the way we have always done them?"  In response, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees and scribes for elevating their human "tradition" to the level of divine commandment. This got me thinking more about one of the topics in my last missive, congregational vitality and the comment we sometimes hear in reaction to new proposals, "Well, because we've never done it that way before."

I am interested to see how similar models outlining the life of a congregation are. Many of the congregational life cycle models spring from the classic organizational life cycle which includes:  Birth, Growth, Maturity, Decline, and Death.

Martin Saarinen has adapted this cycle in his classic Alban Institute resource to include: Birth, Infancy, Adolescence, Prime, Maturity, Aristocracy, Bureaucracy, and Death. George Bullard presents the life cycle and stages of congregational development. He includes Gestation, Birth, Infancy, Childhood, Adolescence, Adulthood, Maturity, Empty Nest, Retirement, Late Aging, Old Age, and Death. Alice Mann, also a consultant with Alban Institute, weighs in with her cycle: Birth, Formation, Stability, Decline, Death. The Methodists have a resource that displays Birth, Growth, Stability, Decline, Decline, Decline, and Death. The Episcopalians list Birth, Shared Beliefs and Missional Goals, Nostalgia, Decline and Conflict, and Death. The Center for Progressive Renewal uses these models to place churches into one of four Quadrants of church vitality: New Church, Solvent/Healthy Church, Declining Church, Dying Church.

Though all these models have some variation in presentation, what they all have in common is they indicate that unless you add a lot of re- there is only going to be de-. What I mean to say, is that unless there are a lot of words that begin with the letters "re" in a church there are only going to be more words that begin with the letters "de." When the "de-cline," "de-nial" and    "de-ath" begin, they must be countered by some "re-definition", "re-development", "re-newal", "re-vitalization", "re-birth", and "re-surrection."

But you know what? Not only do the church vitality folks counsel an influx of energy into the equation, they also encourage churches to remember and revive the reasons for the birth of the church in the first place - not that these should be held higher than Holy Scripture, but the answers to these questions are important. On what were we founded? What was our original excitement about mission? What were our organizing principles and vision? Tying into that original energy is one way to begin the revitalization. So in an odd twist, we actually are called back to the "tradition of the elders." And, just perhaps, that is not so bad - if it can help us today prepare for a vital tomorrow.

I look forward to hearing not only your stories of birth, but also your visions for the future. Remember, even the prophet, Joel, knew that our old folks could dream dreams!

Loving Parent, help us to remember those good traditions and the committed elders that got us off to wonderful beginnings in the life cycle of our churches. Help us to reclaim some of the  re-   power in order to fend of the de-, de-, and still more de-. Amen.