Clergy Columns: "What Kind Of Church Do You Want To Be?" by Pastor Greg, July

I had lunch with another pastor this last week. I shared the news that we had just called Pastor Wendy Deeben as our Associate Pastor and he congratulated us and wished us well. He then said something that resonated with some things that I had been thinking about, too. He said, “So, what kind of church do you want to be?”

Now, there are some obvious and true answers. We want to embody the ELCA and its traditions in Calvert County. We want to “grow and empower disciples of Jesus Christ for the ministries of God’s work in the world,” as our mission statement says. We want to be welcoming. We want to care about each other and the community in which we live. We want to embody and extend the Kingdom of God in this place. All of these express the kind of church we want to be. But were these the answer to the question my pastor friend had asked me and that I was asking myself?

I thought about the results from our leadership retreat in January. At that retreat, the leadership committed itself to deepening our culture and strengthening our relationships. Our leaders (myself included) at the retreat resolved to build up our community, “to cherish our children and teach them with gentleness, to honor and revere older members, to be sincere about our commitment to each other and to our congregation.”

These thoughts are echoed in the cottage meetings we held during Lent. The list of high priority items from the cottage meetings is shown on the next page – these are items that were voted as most important by group members at the end of the discussions. As you can see, these priority items cover many topics. The ones that stand out for me are that we wanted to be a close-knit (but open) community that had been transformed by the Good News of Jesus Christ. We want to have a strong youth ministry and want to make good use of our developing facility resources. We want to have strong outreach and educational programs. These, too, express something of the kind of church we want to be.

Smiling genuinely kind people whose lives have been transformed – welcoming visitors; the church is a place you want to be
More fellowship groups
Know more people and a little about them
Place where everyone is involved – no crying for volunteers
Close-knit congregation that works together

Growing vibrant youth group
Today’s youth as adult leaders & members
Cloud 9 – a place for youth with things like a ping pong table; their own decorations

Variety of worship environments and experiences – address issues that are important to people – one size doesn’t fit all
Saturday/Wednesday/Sunday night service

Active social ministry and outreach
Forums on different topics (financial planning – seminar & individual – estate planning, funeral/pre-arrangements)
Congregational dinners; dinner theatre/play

North Wing complete – big nave, 500 people, full every Sunday
Lutheran pre-school, nursery, and possibly kindergarten to middle school
Picnic areas close in; BBQ grill
Memorial Garden in back growing and beautiful

We have a wonderful opportunity with the calling of Pastor Wendy and the building of the North Wing to think (and pray!) through what mark God is calling us to make in this place at this time. The seasons of summer into fall are, in the church year, the Sundays after Pentecost, traditionally the season of the church, the season in which we reflect on the activity of the Spirit among us. I plan to spend these months thinking about my pastor friend’s question – “What kind of church do you want to be?” I invite others to join with me in this discernment. I haven’t yet settled on a vehicle for this activity, which I expect will stretch into the fall as well. Give me a call, send me an email or nab me during coffee and let’s “think about these things.”