From Our Doorsteps

Rick Morse

Description

From Our Doorsteps helps congregations see that their context of ministry is no longer within their church's four walls, but the world around. This book enables a congregation to look at ministry opportunities in their community through new lenses of understanding. By looking at the changes in culture towards congregations and with the tools to interpret their community, congregations will see new ways in which they can begin engaging others in a vital faith community. From Our Doorsteps ends with a specific format by which church leaders can develop a ministry plan, and gain its adoption by the congregation so it can succeed in a transformational process of redevelopment that makes sense for the context.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Christian Church
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: Chalice Press
• Date de parution: 01 avril 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780827210462
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Our

To my wife Sam: My partner in life and in ministry Thanks for more than 30 years of fun and  three above average children!

Our

Developing  a Ministry Plan That Makes  Sense

RICK MORSE

Copyright © 2010 by Rick Morse. All rights reserved. For permission to reuse content, please contact Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 7508400, www.copyright.com. All Bible quotations, unless otherwise marked, are from theNew Revised Standard Version Bible,copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Cover art: Image Ideas, Inc. Cover and interior design: Elizabeth Wright

Visit Chalice Press on the World Wide Web at www.chalicepress.com

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EPUB: 9780827210455 EPDF: 9780827210462

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data Morse, Rick.  From our doorsteps : developing a ministry plan that makes sense / by Rick Morse.  p. cm.  ISBN 9780827210448 1. Church work. 2. Communities—Religious aspects—Christianity. 3. Mission of the church. 4. Church. I. Title.

 BV4400.M677 2010  254'.5—dc22

2010008564

Printed in United States of America

Foreword

Introduction

Contents

 1. A Macro Lens of Doing Church Today

 2. Exegete Your Community

 3. Assessing Congregational Readiness

 4. Good to Great Congregations

 5. Called for a Particular Purpose

 6. Writing a Ministry Plan

Appendix A: Lifecycle of a Community

Appendix B: Sample Ministry Plan

Notes

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 Extra information about researching your community is available on the From Our Doorstepsproduct page on www.ChalicePress.com.

Foreword

I believe in the transforming power of Jesus Christ. I have seen the Christian story impact people’s lives and bring wholeness and wellbeing for many. I also believe that God calls us to explore the Christian story together in faith communities. I believe it is impossible to investigate the scriptures and come to the conclusion that you can be spiritual without a faith community. I have watched many dedicated ministers and laypeople over the past thirty years who have given their lives toward reaching others in their churches, only to be disappointed, confused, and finally even cynical. Despite these heroic efforts, congregations are failing at an alarming pace, with more than 50,000 churches closing in the past century and accelerating numbers of people who are unaffiliated with any faith community. Congregational leaders have more resources, education, and outreach methods than any previous generation. Compared with congregations in the past, they have better facilities, far more funding and capital assets, and lots of books about how to do it better. Yet churches are struggling to pay bills and keep their doors open. During the past eight years, it has been my privilege to work with hundreds of new and existing congregations who are trying to reach their communities. I find that people really know what the Bible says about hospitality, evangelism, and mission. I also find that they have the passion to reach out to others in meaningful ways. People are getting stuck, however, with interpreting our rapidly changing culture, our communities, and the realities of what a congregation can effectively achieve. This is likely because congregations have used an old model for planning, namely the “problem solving” method, for generations. This linear approach has us fixing small things about our congregations without really doing anything to “adapt” to our changing environment. While Church Extension, the unit of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) where I serve, does not offer ministryplanning services, there is a large need for such a planning process. Therefore, I spent my sabbatical writing this book to fill that need.

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Foreword vii

In the past decades our culture has undergone a massive shift. However, many of our congregations are stuck in the glory days of the past. Leaders recognize the need to change, but they have not been able to initiate the kind of change needed. They have attended workshops, read books, and listened to engaging speakers, but when they get home they discover that what sounded good is met with resistance. That is largely because it is impossible to engage everyone in the same process at the same time. This book turns most planning methods upside down. It enables congregational leaders to encounter the same process of discovery together by: (1) exploring the culture, (2) exegeting the community, (3) assessing the congregation’s resources, and (4) rediscovering God’s call for this context and time. At the end leaders can follow a process to develop a ministry plan so that they can lead the congregation in a similar journey of discovery together. My desire and passion for writing this book stems out of my love of God. The Gospel has a profound ability to help ordinary people live extraordinary lives, andcongregationsmake a huge impact on the lives of people who are engaged in them. There is no other transforming organism in the world like a vital congregation. While this book attempts to measure many things, no process can ever truly measure the difference a church makes in people’s lives.The goal is for a congregation to make a difference, helping people grow in potential and courage in order to be the people God has truly called us to be. No book is big enough; neither workshops powerful enough; nor evangelism committees skillful enough to transform a church. It only happens when people journey together and discover what God is calling them to do. A powerful transformation takes place when congregations comprehend who they are and what God calls them to be. These transformed congregations find a different way of being church and begin to answer the very questions that people are asking. More simply put, vital congregations transform lives. They do so because people who have unleashed the power of the Gospel in their own lives cannot help but touch the lives of new people who come into contact with them. I affirm this because at an early age a vital congregation trans formed me and continues to transform me as I grow older. I am nowhere near the same person I would have been had it not been for the church and the way it has forced me to continually ask myself if my thoughts, behavior, and spirit honor God. The church has forced me to reconsider long held convictions, principles, and values, and

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has led me to a point in life where I can see the fruits of faithful living I desperately want that for others. My heart breaks for the growing numbers of people who no longer find relevance in a faith community. I also become restless thinking about my colleagues in ministry who work so hard and are deeply dedicated to their congregations, but feel they cannot achieve their calling in the church as it is today. This book is for those who want to make a difference, and for the millions who have yet to discover the transforming power of the Gospel when shared collectively.

Introduction

Earlier in my life I used to teach sailing. One summer week in the Puget Sound an acquaintance asked me if I would be willing to sail with him as his “safety net.” He had been day sailing for a couple of years and was ready to begin cruising, but wanted me to go along “just in case.” His instructions to me were clear: “Don’t say anything until I am on the brink of trouble.” I agreed; after all, an efficient boat can only have one skipper. We loaded the boat and were ready to set off with his wife, son, and another couple. I was looking forward to a week without much responsibility and was eager to enjoy the sights and sounds of sailing in the Pacific Northwest. As we cast off I asked the skipper where we were headed. His reply made me nervous: “north.” I asked again, “You mean the North Rim Islands?” to which he said…“yeah, ok.” We left the dock with provisions, but not a destination. Sailing in the Northwest requires some planning. You really need to be in a harbor by 3:30 in the afternoon or you may not find a spot to anchor for hours. You also have to be aware of the evening’s weather report and find a harbor that is sheltered from the prevailing winds; otherwise you could have a miserable evening dragging and resetting anchors. By 3:00 in the afternoon, our crew had sailed to the North Rim Islands, and I asked the skipper, “Have you decided where we are going to anchor tonight?” By his look of indecision, it was obvious he had not. He began to think out loud about places we could go and spotted a harbor nearby that was exposed to prevailing winds from the north. “Yeah…we’ll spend the night at Matia.” Having listened to the weather report I was leery, but trying not to step on his toes I politely asked: “Did you listen to the weather report today? It stated that we are going to have winds tonight from the north at thirty knots.” He quickly replied, “The weather man has been wrong all week. Besides, I can see with my own eyes that the dock there is wide open, and we can tie up directly instead of anchoring.”

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