Creating Congregational Identity
One of the SIX Dynamics of Congregational Transformation
The Who wrote the music, but CSI has forever tagged the tune to our information-mining culture. Using the latest forensic and computer-assisted technologies, Grisom and his CSI’s let the evidence speak for itself. When applied to congregational identity, the “let the evidence speak for itself” often belies a serious identity crisis in the American church today. Who we are generationally is a helpful beginning (see chart below). Identity is the elusive pursuit of generations like Generation X, earning the Who Are We?
Generationally…
Adapted from Wikipedia article, “Generation-X”
Silent Generation 1925-1945
Baby Boomers 1946-1964
Baby Busters 1958-1968
Generation X 1961-1981
MTV Generation 1975-1985
Generation Y 1982-2003
iGeneration 1986-2000
New Silent Generation 2001-
Wikipedia comment: “In math, ‘X’ stands for 'substitute anything', and Gen X takes some collective pride in their own tolerance, diversity and inability to be labeled.
Who we are positionally is another way to assess identity. Famously, Jesus posed a question concerning his own label to his disciples (Mark 8:29). “Who are you?” is a persistent question in the Bible with as many as 50 occurrences (depending on the question’s actual phrasing). From Jacob’s deception of Israel, to Joshua, Abner, Isaiah, and dozens of inquiring minds in the New Testament, identity begs clarification of our positions.
In the first few hours of life, children are already identifying smells, sounds, and sights. This developmental process continues exponentially. Identity and self-awareness are part of what it means to be human. If you took this one essential trait of humanness, identity development, and applied it to the local congregation, you might conclude that there is a distinct lack of humanness in our churches! Developmentally, redevelopment experts and transformation teams try to help congregations honestly and accurately answer the question for themselves.
Congregational Identity is as an important dynamic of congregational transformation and spans two domains:
1. What is the congregation’s self-identity?
2. What is the congregation’s neighborhood identity?
Self-Identity: What sets your congregation apart from the Scouts or the Rotary? What sets you apart from other churches in your town? Who is the congregation to the membership?, or the leadership?, or to the older or younger people in your church?
Neighborhood Identity: When you ask someone about your church what do they say? Who is your congregation?, What does it look like? to the community at large?
Lots of times respondents will give you a funny look and say, “I haven’t a clue.”
Our church morphed from a closed and isolated fortress into a street-present, hope-bearing, community of faith. Through a vigorous and often painful process of transformation, we reneighbored. (You can learn more about the reneighboring idea and view photos of the transformation by clicking here for Kensington). We re-connected with the neighborhood. We self-identified not as a congregation to the neighborhood, or in the neighborhood, but of the neighborhood. We became a transforming agent, giving a new face and a new voice to people who called our neighborhood home.
Over many decades, Wilkey Memorial Presbyterian Church in north Philadelphia went from a thriving, effective neighborhood-centered ministry to a stranger to the people it once served; a stranger to itself and its identity. Likewise, the neighborhood felt like a stranger, too. The task of transformation required us to reneighbor the ministry to the people.
What did we do? We didn’t have much by way of resources, but what we had we decided to give, namely ourselves. Instead of acquiescing to drive-in, disconnected worshippers, we recruited families to move back into the neighborhood.
To become present for others is really pretty simple. Be there. Be there in the morning. Be there at noon. Be there at night. Be there on weekends. Be there during the week. We needed to be present. We told a neighborhood that God loved it, 24/7. We opened those red church doors to let us out, and the neighborhood in!
Each congregation’s identity has to connect with its assets in order to do mission. For Wilkey, we were a safe place for kids to have fun and hear about Jesus. We met our neighbors. And what’s more, our neighbors became us as much as we became them.
When people outside your fellowship says to the query, “Who are you?” “Oh, that’s the church that... helped when our house burned; is a safe place for kids; or has the great senior lunches; offers a super music program, or pre-school, provides for creative and meaningful worship, etc., you know you are on the right journey.
The real proof of a transformed identity is how your ministry impacts the people around you.
I wonder what Grisom would conclude, based on the evidence?
Kevin
Dr. Kevin Yoho, (email: dr.kevinyoho@comcast.net
Consultant for Congregational Transformation, Presbytery of West Jersey
Monday, May 08, 2006
Enhancing Spiritual Energy
Enhancing Spiritual Energy
One of the SIX Dynamics of Congregational Transformation
Have you ever read a book that once read, keeps reading you? It’s message percolates in your mind. You put it down, but it continues to pop back up. Chuck Meyer’s Dying Church Living God: A Call To Begin Again is one of those books for me. He offers a bold, radical plea for enhancing spiritual energy in the Church using the metaphor of Lazarus' death and resurrection.
The persistent spiritual-energy truism is that all things spiritual are sourced, discovered, experienced, and controlled INSIDE the church. This may sound like classical Roman Catholicism, but recent trends such as membership downturns, Louisville pink slips, synodical vaporware, and clergy dissonance, suggest that many euphemistically called main-line denominations have containerized the Good News, hiding the light under the proverbial bushel basket.
Chuck Meyer refers to Numbers 11:24-29 when the Spiritual-Police complained to Moses that non-priests, those OUTSIDE the Tent of Meeting, were prophesying! I love the response: But Moses said, “Are you jealous for me? Would that all GOD’S people were prophets. Would that GOD would put his Spirit on all of them.” Spiritual energy is not a controlled substance. Jesus said the Living Waters would flow! Its disturbing that the church thinks of itself more like a dam then a spigot.
Did you know that microwave ovens were tested for leakage using a florescent bulb? They proved they were working when the bulb glowed…outside! Where do you see the glow in your community? Outside the church buildings? See any real halos on the heads of believers? Anything emanating from the pews during worship, or in the parking lot afterward?
There is a demonstrable lack of spiritual yearning in many of our churches. But there is an inversely demonstrable spiritual yearning outside our churches! It’s ironic that denominationally we are loosing 1,000 “insiders” a week. One reason may be our snubbing of spiritual energy. (See 10 Sure Ways to Snub Spiritual Energy in Your Congregation list in the sidebar. http://www.kevinyoho.com/fuel.html)
We can’t even connect with the spirituality of those inside the “tent” of what Chuck Meyer calls the Dying Church, let alone those outside.
Our transformation journey suggests that many of our structures and theology make no sense today and haven't for decades. The point is not whether our structures or theology are correct. They could be! The missional point is that whatever our structures and theology, we are not connecting with people’s spiritual yearnings today.
With Moses, we must first courageously admit that it is God who seeks us where we are and as we are. Second, we must not allow nostalgic irrelevance to monolithically stand in the way of the Spirit.
People are desperately seeking hope, nurture, purpose, and God. They are looking for the glow of spirituality but often are not finding one lumen of light among churched people.
Remember to take some spiritual energy TO-GO inside your congregation and in your community. By enhancing spiritual energy IN our congregations, we can rediscover our missional capacity to pray with Moses that God would put the Spirit on everyone.
Kevin
Dr. Kevin Yoho, (email: dr.kevinyoho@comcast.net)
Consultant for Congregational Transformation, Presbytery of West Jersey
One of the SIX Dynamics of Congregational Transformation
Have you ever read a book that once read, keeps reading you? It’s message percolates in your mind. You put it down, but it continues to pop back up. Chuck Meyer’s Dying Church Living God: A Call To Begin Again is one of those books for me. He offers a bold, radical plea for enhancing spiritual energy in the Church using the metaphor of Lazarus' death and resurrection.
The persistent spiritual-energy truism is that all things spiritual are sourced, discovered, experienced, and controlled INSIDE the church. This may sound like classical Roman Catholicism, but recent trends such as membership downturns, Louisville pink slips, synodical vaporware, and clergy dissonance, suggest that many euphemistically called main-line denominations have containerized the Good News, hiding the light under the proverbial bushel basket.
Chuck Meyer refers to Numbers 11:24-29 when the Spiritual-Police complained to Moses that non-priests, those OUTSIDE the Tent of Meeting, were prophesying! I love the response: But Moses said, “Are you jealous for me? Would that all GOD’S people were prophets. Would that GOD would put his Spirit on all of them.” Spiritual energy is not a controlled substance. Jesus said the Living Waters would flow! Its disturbing that the church thinks of itself more like a dam then a spigot.
Did you know that microwave ovens were tested for leakage using a florescent bulb? They proved they were working when the bulb glowed…outside! Where do you see the glow in your community? Outside the church buildings? See any real halos on the heads of believers? Anything emanating from the pews during worship, or in the parking lot afterward?
There is a demonstrable lack of spiritual yearning in many of our churches. But there is an inversely demonstrable spiritual yearning outside our churches! It’s ironic that denominationally we are loosing 1,000 “insiders” a week. One reason may be our snubbing of spiritual energy. (See 10 Sure Ways to Snub Spiritual Energy in Your Congregation list in the sidebar. http://www.kevinyoho.com/fuel.html)
We can’t even connect with the spirituality of those inside the “tent” of what Chuck Meyer calls the Dying Church, let alone those outside.
Our transformation journey suggests that many of our structures and theology make no sense today and haven't for decades. The point is not whether our structures or theology are correct. They could be! The missional point is that whatever our structures and theology, we are not connecting with people’s spiritual yearnings today.
With Moses, we must first courageously admit that it is God who seeks us where we are and as we are. Second, we must not allow nostalgic irrelevance to monolithically stand in the way of the Spirit.
People are desperately seeking hope, nurture, purpose, and God. They are looking for the glow of spirituality but often are not finding one lumen of light among churched people.
Remember to take some spiritual energy TO-GO inside your congregation and in your community. By enhancing spiritual energy IN our congregations, we can rediscover our missional capacity to pray with Moses that God would put the Spirit on everyone.
Kevin
Dr. Kevin Yoho, (email: dr.kevinyoho@comcast.net)
Consultant for Congregational Transformation, Presbytery of West Jersey
Capacity Building Book List
Capacity Builders
Bowling Alone : The Collapse and Revival of American Community by Robert D. Putnam
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman
Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change by William Bridges
Leading Change by John P. Kotter
Blink : The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
Becoming Nehemiah: Leading With Significance by David L. McKenna
Whose Religion Is Christianity?: The Gospel beyond the West by Lamin Sanneh
Jesus in Beijing: How Christianity Is Transforming China and Changing the Global Balance of Power by David Aikman
The Next Christendom : The Coming of Global Christianity by Philip Jenkins
These are active Amazon.com links in the online version of this issue. (http://www.kevinyoho.com/fuel.html).
Look for a future annotated bibliography and book reviews with these titles.
Kevin
Dr. Kevin Yoho, (email: dr.kevinyoho@comcast.net)
Consultant for Congregational Transformation, Presbytery of West Jersey
Bowling Alone : The Collapse and Revival of American Community by Robert D. Putnam
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman
Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change by William Bridges
Leading Change by John P. Kotter
Blink : The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
Becoming Nehemiah: Leading With Significance by David L. McKenna
Whose Religion Is Christianity?: The Gospel beyond the West by Lamin Sanneh
Jesus in Beijing: How Christianity Is Transforming China and Changing the Global Balance of Power by David Aikman
The Next Christendom : The Coming of Global Christianity by Philip Jenkins
These are active Amazon.com links in the online version of this issue. (http://www.kevinyoho.com/fuel.html).
Look for a future annotated bibliography and book reviews with these titles.
Kevin
Dr. Kevin Yoho, (email: dr.kevinyoho@comcast.net)
Consultant for Congregational Transformation, Presbytery of West Jersey
Sign, Sign Everywhere a Sign
Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Transformation and Change
The Presbyterian Church (USA) is not an immovable juggernaut. Anything will change when afraid, or in Kotter’s words, when there exists a sense of urgency. In fact, the institution has shown three signs of its re-imagined self.
The first sign of change occurred in the 80’s when declining membership fear fueled a desire to structurally reorganize and geographically run away,. It reunited the sinking Northern with the regionalized Southern churches to the Midwest heartland. Sweet? Not really. It may have reduced overhead costs, but it also effectively marginalized itself from the world marketplace of ideas and commerce in New York. From hardly a voice at all, the reunited church became dumb. (Yes, a double sens, or entendre.)
The second sign of change within the Presbyterian Church was again motivated by fear. The “problem must have a solution” people decided to make evangelism the church’s number one priority. So in 1987, programatic efforts were underway to stop the membership tailspin. Little did they know, but every association and group, including religious ones, were experiencing the same decline (See Bowling Alone). Acting in isolation however, a desperate evangelistic crusade was fought. “Bring the people in and everything will be fine,” mantra fell on deaf ears. Sadly, the denominational decline through the mid 90’s was growing worse. Evangelism fails when motivated by fear.
We are in the midst of the third sign of change within our denomination. With little left to organize, the GA, Synod, and Presbytery Trinity of our church structure is morphing into what is essentially a two-legged stool. The middle judicatories are being gutted leaving presbyteries even more removed from the mother ship. What’s worse, fear of survival has decimated the mission units of the church.
Change is not transformation.
Intentional congregational transformation is a proactive response to change. Signs of change have sociological and demographic indicators. Signs of transformation have missional and contextual indicators.
The Transformation To-Go redevelopment groups (http://www.kevinyoho.com/fuel.html) will explore best practices in order to redirect the congregation’s energy toward the communities it seeks to serve.
Hang on, new signs will direct us on a great ride!
Kevin
Dr. Kevin Yoho, (email: dr.kevinyoho@comcast.net)
Consultant for Congregational Transformation, Presbytery of West Jersey
Transformation and Change
The Presbyterian Church (USA) is not an immovable juggernaut. Anything will change when afraid, or in Kotter’s words, when there exists a sense of urgency. In fact, the institution has shown three signs of its re-imagined self.
The first sign of change occurred in the 80’s when declining membership fear fueled a desire to structurally reorganize and geographically run away,. It reunited the sinking Northern with the regionalized Southern churches to the Midwest heartland. Sweet? Not really. It may have reduced overhead costs, but it also effectively marginalized itself from the world marketplace of ideas and commerce in New York. From hardly a voice at all, the reunited church became dumb. (Yes, a double sens, or entendre.)
The second sign of change within the Presbyterian Church was again motivated by fear. The “problem must have a solution” people decided to make evangelism the church’s number one priority. So in 1987, programatic efforts were underway to stop the membership tailspin. Little did they know, but every association and group, including religious ones, were experiencing the same decline (See Bowling Alone). Acting in isolation however, a desperate evangelistic crusade was fought. “Bring the people in and everything will be fine,” mantra fell on deaf ears. Sadly, the denominational decline through the mid 90’s was growing worse. Evangelism fails when motivated by fear.
We are in the midst of the third sign of change within our denomination. With little left to organize, the GA, Synod, and Presbytery Trinity of our church structure is morphing into what is essentially a two-legged stool. The middle judicatories are being gutted leaving presbyteries even more removed from the mother ship. What’s worse, fear of survival has decimated the mission units of the church.
Change is not transformation.
Intentional congregational transformation is a proactive response to change. Signs of change have sociological and demographic indicators. Signs of transformation have missional and contextual indicators.
The Transformation To-Go redevelopment groups (http://www.kevinyoho.com/fuel.html) will explore best practices in order to redirect the congregation’s energy toward the communities it seeks to serve.
Hang on, new signs will direct us on a great ride!
Kevin
Dr. Kevin Yoho, (email: dr.kevinyoho@comcast.net)
Consultant for Congregational Transformation, Presbytery of West Jersey
Monday, February 13, 2006
Yellow Lines and the Super Bowl
Learning from the Super Bowl
O.K. I am not a sports fanatic. I’m not a big turkey-eater either, but I still celebrate Thanksgiving. So when the annual and arguably the biggest eating day in America arrived, I was enjoying the event with my family, watching on a big HDTV, pizza in hand, hoping the 2006 Super Bowl commercials to be as interesting as the football game. One Ad, in fact, had a compelling message. Remember viewing the commercial from Budweiser about the young Clydsdale hourse during the telecast?
(visit www.budweiser.com to view the Ad)
The commercial was all about energy, community, and confidence in moving forward and fulfilling one’s dreams. You don’t have to enjoy the beverage to experience the Ad. It may be a most surprising source for such a message. Maybe a better observation to make is think when a message this compelling was recently made at your church. Transformation, anyone?
Just when I thought the commercials would win the day, the game got interesting, as well. But it occurred to me the very most interesting aspect of the Super Bowl for me this year was when I began to notice that yellow yard marker line. The video overlaid graphic on the field is so awesome. The TV audience can see how far the ball has travelled toward the end-zone and specifically, to the next first down. (Yeah, a couple of years ago, it took me a while to figure out it was actually a video graphic, and that not only couldn’t the players on the field see it, but they couldn’t get that yellow paint on the soles of their shoes, either. Nice.)
Of course, movement, measurement, and markers define games. And life.
But those ever moving Yellow Lines were something to watch!
According to The New York TImes, the computer generated yellow line markers, “introduced on Sept. 27, 1998…, has been well received by viewers: a 1999 Harris poll found that 92 percent of football fans wanted to see the virtual first-down strip in future broadcasts” (NYT on the Web, January 27, 2000). A company in Princeton, NJ, PVI, (and Sportvision) developed the super-advanced video system to calculate the yellow line marker from several possible camera angles, making sure the line looks painted-on the Astroturf, or like chalk on a grass field. The real trick is to offer the production engineers split second control of the line as it moves, sometimes rapidly, to keep up with the pace of the game.
Presbytery Mission
When I compare personal transformation to a game played on the field, I believe a lot of the energy we exhibit correlates and fluctuates with the perception of our achievement. How far down the field, and how close are we to our "yellow line," regarding our life goals? Who would know?
We need indicators so our energy can at least be congruent with real data. We have fuzzy goals and unclear markers. We do not have a yellow line. We don't need more negative, draining connotations as to our lack of progress or get more blame thrown on ourselves by ourselves or others. But we all could benefit from our own Yellow Line. We could use indicators, milestones, objectives, goals, achievements, needs, projections, or resources for each priority of our life. SImple is best. Clear is better. Congruence builds energy. The Yellow Line.
We could make the the idea of “movement” desirable and welcomed. A Yellow Line could be a tool to offer clarity and build ownership of our priorities from the ground up. More importantly, energy could correspond with actual, measurable, data which all of us have a stake in. I am ready to offer whatever I can to help carry a bucket of yellow paint!
Like the Young Clydesdale, our life's mission can show progress in achieving our dreams.
The Super Bowl was not just about football!
Thanks for thinking.
O.K. I am not a sports fanatic. I’m not a big turkey-eater either, but I still celebrate Thanksgiving. So when the annual and arguably the biggest eating day in America arrived, I was enjoying the event with my family, watching on a big HDTV, pizza in hand, hoping the 2006 Super Bowl commercials to be as interesting as the football game. One Ad, in fact, had a compelling message. Remember viewing the commercial from Budweiser about the young Clydsdale hourse during the telecast?
(visit www.budweiser.com to view the Ad)
The commercial was all about energy, community, and confidence in moving forward and fulfilling one’s dreams. You don’t have to enjoy the beverage to experience the Ad. It may be a most surprising source for such a message. Maybe a better observation to make is think when a message this compelling was recently made at your church. Transformation, anyone?
Just when I thought the commercials would win the day, the game got interesting, as well. But it occurred to me the very most interesting aspect of the Super Bowl for me this year was when I began to notice that yellow yard marker line. The video overlaid graphic on the field is so awesome. The TV audience can see how far the ball has travelled toward the end-zone and specifically, to the next first down. (Yeah, a couple of years ago, it took me a while to figure out it was actually a video graphic, and that not only couldn’t the players on the field see it, but they couldn’t get that yellow paint on the soles of their shoes, either. Nice.)
Of course, movement, measurement, and markers define games. And life.
But those ever moving Yellow Lines were something to watch!
According to The New York TImes, the computer generated yellow line markers, “introduced on Sept. 27, 1998…, has been well received by viewers: a 1999 Harris poll found that 92 percent of football fans wanted to see the virtual first-down strip in future broadcasts” (NYT on the Web, January 27, 2000). A company in Princeton, NJ, PVI, (and Sportvision) developed the super-advanced video system to calculate the yellow line marker from several possible camera angles, making sure the line looks painted-on the Astroturf, or like chalk on a grass field. The real trick is to offer the production engineers split second control of the line as it moves, sometimes rapidly, to keep up with the pace of the game.
Presbytery Mission
When I compare personal transformation to a game played on the field, I believe a lot of the energy we exhibit correlates and fluctuates with the perception of our achievement. How far down the field, and how close are we to our "yellow line," regarding our life goals? Who would know?
We need indicators so our energy can at least be congruent with real data. We have fuzzy goals and unclear markers. We do not have a yellow line. We don't need more negative, draining connotations as to our lack of progress or get more blame thrown on ourselves by ourselves or others. But we all could benefit from our own Yellow Line. We could use indicators, milestones, objectives, goals, achievements, needs, projections, or resources for each priority of our life. SImple is best. Clear is better. Congruence builds energy. The Yellow Line.
We could make the the idea of “movement” desirable and welcomed. A Yellow Line could be a tool to offer clarity and build ownership of our priorities from the ground up. More importantly, energy could correspond with actual, measurable, data which all of us have a stake in. I am ready to offer whatever I can to help carry a bucket of yellow paint!
Like the Young Clydesdale, our life's mission can show progress in achieving our dreams.
The Super Bowl was not just about football!
Thanks for thinking.
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