4 EDITORIAL To whom much is given . . . REV. DR. TOM


SALSGIVER Director of Connectional Ministries


Susquehanna LINK - February 2017


FROM WHERE I SIT Confession and two questions


PHOTO PROVIDED BY: RETIRED BISHOP JANE ALLEN MIDDLETON


To whom much is given . . . There are 7 billion people living on planet Earth. If Earth’s population consumed at the rate of those who live in sub-Saharan Africa, the planet could sustain 15 billion people. If everyone on the planet consumed at the rate of persons living in North America, the planet could sustain 1.2 billion people.


. . . much is required. (Luke 12:48) What will “make America great again?” The answer lies in America’s response to the hollow cries of starving children, the despairing voices seeking safety, the shuffling footsteps of those yearning to breathe free. God calls us, “trusted with much,” to jointly find creative ways to respond to those whom God so loves.


GROWING EFFECTIVE CHURCHES There is no magic wand


REV. DR.


DENNIS OTTO Director of


Congregational Development


In the vast majority of churches where I have done consultations and workshops, similar questions and wishes emerge early in our time together. Those questions are framed: “What program can we do to get more people in the church?” “What is the conference going to do to help us get more people?” “What will attract people to our church?” The wishes follow: “If only we had the right pastor to help attract more people.” “I wish the conference would . . . leave our pastor longer, . . . move our pastor sooner, . . . tell us what to do, . . . stop telling us what to do . . . etc.” “I wish things would go back to the way they were . . . I wish the church would get into the twenty-first century.” My response is simple . . .


There is no magic wand! We are all made out of pixie dust! Making disciples is not magic, not the luck of the pastoral lottery, and surely is not some slick program. Making disciples is about relationships. It is about three basic relationships:


1. Disciples building relationships with those who do not know Jesus Christ.


2. Building new or deeper relationship with God through Jesus — new relationships for those who don’t know God and deeper relationship for those who do.


3. Creating a community that builds relationships with those new followers and invites them into a full fellowship.


The redundancy in using


“build” all


three


and “relationship” areas


in is intentional.


Relationships seldom just happen. People build


relationships, and


that takes time. Despite the many rapid things in our world, from microwave cooking to our digital devices, building anything takes time. in


three


Having been involved rather


large building


projects as a pastor, I remember my impatience with them. Each one took somewhat longer than expected, unexpected issues were uncovered, and what looked right on paper looked different in 3-D reality. Relationships are like that, aren’t they? They take time and have unexpected twists and turns. Build relationships with those


who do not follow Jesus. Most church folk have few friends who are not also church folk, and we generally thing.


think that is a good


Actually, it means that making new disciples is almost impossible. Those who follow Jesus need to spend less time with other followers and more time building relationships with neighbors, coworkers, the parents of our children’s friends, etc. so that we have the opportunity to share our faith. Build relationships with


God through Jesus Christ. The busyness of our lives — even, or maybe especially, our church lives — often keeps us from developing a genuine and deepening relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Unless we begin to look, love, and speak like Jesus, our witness is muted. When we do have the opportunity to share, most followers are not sure how to help someone take the


I have a confession – and then I want to ask two questions. My confession is that from Thanks- giving through the week of Christ- mas, Joanne and I are hooked on the Hallmark Channel and the Christmas movies. Please don’t judge me. I know that they are predictable, syrupy sweet, with much the same story line. But by the time Advent and Christmas rolls around, that’s exactly what I need. One of the stories this season featured a woman stranded in a small town. There she met a widower (with a daughter) who owned a Christmas tree farm that had been in his family for three generations. And, yes, true to most story lines of these stories, he was about to lose the farm because the trees were no longer selling as much as they had been. Shocker – the


job that the


stranded woman had was with an agency that helped compa- nies brand their product. In other words, she helped companies be identified and stand out in the market place so they could sell more and be more effective – just what the tree farm needed. Spoiler alert – she was able to do that for the tree farm so that they would not lose the farm and they became successful again. And, of course, the woman and man fell in love and formed a new family, including his daughter. I got to thinking about this


movie and our churches. Thus, one of my two questions: What is the brand of your church? An- other way to ask that question is, what is your church known for in the community?


Are you known as the church


that is growing so fast? Are you known as the place to go for chil- dren’s ministry, youth ministry, senior adult ministry? Is your church known as the church that is all over the community, in- volved in missions with the com- munity? Is your church known as the church where everyone is wel- come, no matter what they look like, how they act, or no matter what their backstory is? Maybe your church has the best day-care/ nursery school in the community. Maybe your church is known


as the church that can’t get along with each other. Or maybe your church is the church that has the


first or next step in their relationship with Jesus. This needs to be part of “Following Jesus 101.” Create a community that builds


relationships. Both before and after people commit to follow Jesus they need a community that engages them. Many of our churches just don’t have room for new people. It’s not that the seats are full. Far from it! It is that our relationship capacity is maxed out and so new people receive a friendly welcome but are not engaged as new partners in the journey. There may not be a magic wand or pixie dust, but we have the power of God, the grace of Jesus, and the presence of the Holy Spirit working in and through us to make disciples.


longest running spaghetti dinner, the best rummage sale, the best Easter eggs in the community. Maybe your brand is the fact that you haven’t changed worship styles, worship times, or haven’t started a new outreach ministry in years.


One of the questions I think we need to grapple with is what is each of our church’s brand? In other words, what are we known for in the community? One way to find out your brand is to ask the sales people at the convenience store, the waitress at the restaurant in your community, the employee at the gas station, or people in the neighborhood these questions: ”Can you tell me where (church’s name) is located? What do you know about them? Have you ever been there?” If you are too well known, it is great to ask a friend or family member who doesn’t go to your church to ask these questions. The second question that is even more important is, does that for which we are known fulfill our mandate to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transforma- tion of the world? In other words, that for which we spend the most church time, resources, and ener- gy – is that helping us make disci- ples or is it “good things” but not really ministry that brings people to know Jesus Christ? Does our children’s ministry, youth ministry, senior adult min- istry, outreach ministry, spaghetti dinners, Easter egg sales help us increase our own discipleship and help us make new disciples? In the past year, or even six months, we need to ask, with all our work, how many new people have we brought to Jesus Christ? I love the Hallmark movies be- cause they make me feel good. They don’t change who I am, but I get that warm all over feel- ing, and for me, that’s part of the Christmas holidays. But the church is ordained and


created by God for more than warm all over feelings for us and our members. We are marked by Jesus Christ who expects, wants, and even commands us to go out and not do simply “nice things,” but to do all that we can to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.


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