Ministry in a Digital World

Ministry in a Digital World

by | Apr 19, 2022

The pandemic hastened online adoption in nearly every area of our lives. However, as with any new technology, people and institutions adopt technology at different rates. While online tech is the answer for many congregations, not every church will be able to do all the things they’d like to do. So, what if you can’t do it all or you just don’t have the people who can do tech?

In conducting research for my new book, Forging a New Path: Moving the Church Forward in a Post-Pandemic World (Market Square, 2022), I came across a thought-provoking concept noted by author Ryan Panzer. In his article, “Digital Ministry: More about Culture than Computers,” he keeps technology in proper perspective by focusing attention on what tech can do for Christianity. “We don’t need to be sophisticated users of technology; sometimes we may not need much technology at all. As church leaders, we simply need to notice these values in action and to determine how they align to God’s work in our Christian community.”

Technology itself is not a utopian solution. It’s more about the culture that digital technology has brought about. Panzer concedes that it’s not so much that churches need to become masters of technology. With technological advancements happening daily, there is much that simply can’t be mastered. Rather than try to stay abreast of every platform, keep up with every breaking trend, and use every app, he suggests that you look instead to the culture that digital technology has created. He calls this “tech-shaped culture.” Its four values include questions, connection, collaboration, and creativity.

Let’s look at them in turn.

 

Questions: Invitation to New Answers

Long before she had ALS, my mother was the first person I heard say, “Let me Google it,” when looking for an answer to a question. Now “Google” is an accepted verb and a commonplace way of researching information on the internet. Practically everybody uses it.

The ability to ask a question and have Alexa, Siri, or Google answer your question is a turning point in the quest for knowledge. Before these search engines, knowledge was organized by answers, not by questions. If you wanted to know what dinosaurs ate, you had to find a specialized book, or look up the entry “dinosaurs” in an encyclopedia, then browse the entire book or article to pick up the answer to the question. That’s very different from asking, “Siri, what did dinosaurs eat?” Further, encyclopedia entries are contained, assuming this information is all we know, or maybe even this is all there is to know about any particular field of study.

A question-oriented culture is a major shift in context. Asking questions pushes boundaries and opens possibilities. The question-asking culture encourages curiosity, agency, and engagement. It assumes that no question is off-limits, that every question has an answer, that a range of answers is available, and that questions are good and welcome.

In church cultures where every correct answer is “Jesus,” this sort of open-endedness and freedom can be both uncomfortable and exhilarating. It expands the boundaries of what can be created. So how can you encourage the asking of questions? Start by being willing to entertain and engage questions. Ask open-ended questions during worship and Bible study rather than give answers. Allow new points of view to shape new answers—especially points of view that come from a variety of generations and backgrounds. Allow people time to process, ask new questions, and discern the best answers.

Connection: Transcending Boundaries

The second value of the tech-shaped culture is connection. Digital technology connects people in Zoom rooms, on FaceTime, and through Facebook Live. It even connects people across the physical and the virtual, creating hybrid experiences. It transcends boundaries like location and distance in real-time, allowing for connection across many realms.

 

Collaboration: Participation and Contribution

In addition to online platforms like Zoom that allow people to meet together in real-time, other online tools allow people to collaborate by creating documents. Google Docs is one prime example. The world has come to expect collaboration; Google Docs has made it easier. Working together makes for stronger buy-in. It includes many points of view, and it engenders a sense of community. Leadership in the church is often seen as top-down, or sometimes, bottom-up. But imagine collaborating laterally in the realms of worship, mission, liturgy, and the future of the church. This type of teamwork goes beyond committee planning to a deeper give-and-take between and among people. Collaboration is consistent with our trinitarian theology. Just as the three persons of the trinity flow into one another and become inseparable, so collaboration produces something that is greater than the sum of its parts.

 

Creativity: An Expression of the Divine Within

In the online world, each person is a content creator. From the simplest post to sharing photographs to recording a video, social media platforms have encouraged an explosion of creativity. This profusion of self-expression can easily be encouraged and included in the church as well. Imagine people sharing their prayers, artwork, and unique spiritual experiences with one another. Historically, church has been a venue for creativity from spoken word, to fabric arts, liturgical dance, and music ranging from classical to traditional to innovative. Creativity is the ultimate expression of the divine Creator. As we share our own creativity, we have the opportunity to expand the presence of God in the world.

 

Changing Your Focus

Making this shift to a tech-shaped culture doesn’t require any special equipment. All it requires is a change in focus. When you think about it, church sanctuaries are arranged like classrooms of old where a teacher stood in front of the class to dispense knowledge. But even classrooms have changed. Instead of a teacher standing in front of rows of desks, children are often gathered in huddles of desks so that students can learn together in groups. Students not only learn from the teacher, but they also learn from each other and from other sources such as books, online resources, and outside experts. One way this recent model of learning can be applied to the church is to envision church in the round.

Open Space is one such example. This format, developed by Rev. Mary Beth Taylor, forms Jesus-based community by fostering open-ended questions and discussion about matters of faith during in-person and online church meetings. Mary Beth has found particular success with bringing young people in by offering permission to ask questions in a safe and welcoming space. When churches discourage questions, they self-sabotage by pushing younger generations away, making them feel as though they should just “be quiet and believe everything they’re told.” Only, that’s not the way it works anymore. Not in a tech-shaped culture. In a tech-shaped culture, questions, connections, creativity, and collaboration mean anyone and everyone can participate.

If you are still struggling to get your people on board with technology, I invite you to join me for my upcoming webinar, How to Do More with Less: Leading the Post-Pandemic Church. We’ll explore not only how to do more with fewer resources, but also with less experience.

 

Adapted and excerpted from Rebekah’s upcoming book, Forging a New Path: Moving the Church Forward in a Post-Pandemic World, 2022.

 

Copyright © 2022 rebekahsimonpeter.com, All Rights Reserved.

Embracing a Jewish Jesus

Embracing a Jewish Jesus

by | Apr 12, 2022

This week we celebrate the miracle around which Christian life revolves: the death and resurrection of Jesus. It makes me wonder if we are truly ready to embrace a Jewish Jesus.

Jesus is seen as a Jew in many pulpits and pews, but usually as an exception, an anomaly. In too many sermons, commentaries, and hymnals, his teachings on love, inclusion, and forgiveness are set up as a contrast against the Jews and Judaism of his day. What makes him distinctive, we say, is that he’s not like the other Jews. He reached people on the margins. He talked to women. He ate with sinners and tax collectors. But these characterizations of a Jewish Jesus are still distorted.

Dr. Amy-Jill Levine explains why:

“Jesus becomes the rebel who, unlike every other Jew, practices social justice. He is the only one to speak with women; he is the only one who teaches nonviolent responses to oppression; he is the only one who cares about the “poor and the marginalized” (that phrase has become a litany in some Christian circles). Judaism becomes in such discourse a negative foil: whatever Jesus stands for, Judaism isn’t it; what Jesus is against, Judaism epitomizes the category.”

Yes, Jesus reached out to all kinds of people. Yes, he counseled mercy and patience. Yes, he healed and set people free. But rather than see Jesus as different from the Jews around him, I suggest it is time to see Jesus’ ministry as a natural evolution of the whole history of Jewish teaching, ethics, morality, practice, and service of God. Otherwise, he serves as an archetypal anti-Jew.

Think about it. If Jesus was fully Jewish, operating in a Jewish context, living a Jewish life, studying Jewish texts, praying to a Jewish God, clothing himself in the Jewish commandments, where else did it come from? If we believe that Jesus was one with the God of Israel, then surely, Jesus drew upon the same Source and sources that inspired all the other teachers, miracle-workers, prophets, and kings that preceded and surrounded him. Quite often the rabbis of his era were arriving at the same conclusions he was, from the Golden Rule, to teachings on Sabbath, to the importance of love of God and neighbor. Others were engaged in calling disciples, healing, and miracle-working. Even his interactions with women, children, and Gentiles were not anomalous.

More than that, the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament is marked by theological and behavioral leaps, beginning with Abraham’s innovation that God is one, not many; continuing with Moses’ skilled but previously unknown leadership in leading the Israelites from slavehood to peoplehood; game-changing visions from prophets; and the courageous renewal of Judaism under Nehemiah and Ezra after the return from Babylonian exile. Jesus is the product of generations of Jewish innovators, completely in line with the spiritual genius that went before him and even those that came after him.

If we were to truly embrace a fully Jewish Jesus, it would take a renewed scholarship among preachers, prayers, poets, professors, and Bible study writers and teachers. It would take some work to leave behind comfortable but dishonest dichotomies and ready stereotypes. Not easy for already overworked church leaders. But there are many excellent resources that can help, many of which I note in my book The Jew Named Jesus. It’s worth the effort. We are grand participants in a historic reconciliation, the fruits of which are only beginning to be realized.

This historic reconciliation points out an underlying truth: it hasn’t always been good between Christians and Jews. A long history of Christian teaching of “contempt of the Jews” made positive interfaith relations all but impossible for centuries. After hitting a theological bottom in the Holocaust, though, the church has intentionally hammered out new theologies and reached for new understandings that allow for love, acceptance, and embrace of Jews. In response, Jews have done the hard work of forgiving and rapprochement too.

However, a worldwide uptick in anti-Semitic crimes, including synagogue attacks, bombings, and the targeted killing of Jews, undermines this progress. But would this anti-Semitism have any traction if we truly embraced a fully Jewish Jesus? In good Jewish fashion, I assert that even the question is a good one.

It leads to all kinds of other interesting questions. If Judaism and Christianity could hammer out a new relationship, is the same possible for Christianity and Islam? If we could, should we?

This letter to Christian leaders, created by Muslim clerics and scholars, “A Common Word Between Us and You,” stated that as the two largest world religions, the peace of the world depends on peace between Muslims and Christians. It used as its reference point the Hebrew Bible teachings of love of God and neighbor, saying they were common to both Islam and Christianity. More recently, House of One, a faith center in Berlin, is being built as “a house of encounter” between three religions – Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. This prayer and teaching center will serve as a place for the three religions to coexist peacefully.

We have the opportunity to turn a new page. To restore and revamp our understandings of Jesus and Judaism. And to open our hearts to new understandings of our Muslim neighbors. What a great start to the Easter season this would be.

They’re risky moves for sure. Especially in an age of polarization and blame-game politics. But isn’t that when the resurrection is needed most?

 

Copyright © 2022 rebekahsimonpeter.com, All Rights Reserved.

The Power of Community to Heal

The Power of Community to Heal

by | Apr 5, 2022

We live in a time of deep political, economic, religious, social, racial, and generational polarization. It’s hard to agree on truth, let alone find traction to move forward. Yet, the church has an important role to play. We know the power of community to heal. So, how do we use Christian resources to transcend what Arthur Brooks calls the “culture of contempt?”

Throughout the process of writing my upcoming book, Forging a New Path: Moving the Church Forward in a Post-Pandemic World (Market Square, May 2022), I have spoken with many church leaders who worry that the Global Methodist Church splitting from the United Methodist Church will rupture an already fragmented institution. They have expressed concern that the polarization we’re experiencing today will remain unresolved, and even worsen, as we navigate the unknown future. But I don’t believe that this needs to be true. We are stewards of the Gospel of the Kin(g)dom of God. We are bearers of the vision of beloved community.

In this week’s blog, I’ll share three ways to activate the power of community to heal. These practices include reframing, motivational interviewing, and the Platinum Rule. Taken together, these practices foster productive and respectful conversations, open the door for understanding, and renew love.

First, let’s look more closely at the culture of contempt. One of the fatal flaws of dealing with polarization is to buy into the false dichotomy it promotes.

 

Reframe the “Culture of Contempt” 

 In the culture of contempt, differences are framed as fatal, but differences are healthy, even Biblical. Diversity is an essential element woven into creation, recognized by Paul, and acknowledged in the last days. Differences as fatal deepens distrust of the other and encourages a gleeful sense of superiority over others. This too is not Biblical. We are all made in the image of God. And we are all sinners. In other words, we share the highs and lows of being human. No one is inherently better or worse than another. The culture of contempt fuels an ever-ready sense of outrage, draining our hope and energies before we even get to the issues that ought to cause real outrage. This prevents us from addressing deeper issues like human trafficking, homelessness, hunger, poverty, and hierarchies based on color, money, or privilege.

The first step to cultivate the power of community to heal is to reframe differences as healthy, vital, and natural. With this step, you reduce anxiety and create a framework for workability. Next, let’s look at how to bring the power of community to heal through curiosity and conversation.

 

Adopt motivational interviewing

The second step to resolve polarization, transcend the culture of contempt, and activate the power of community to heal comes from Rev. Derek Kubilus. He suggests an innovative way to address the particular impacts of conspiracy theorists in the church. “Debate only drives it deeper,” he cautions. “Ridicule only exacerbates the problem.” To address these challenges, Derek suggests using a form of engagement called “motivational interviewing,” in which a person asks three questions of another person:

  • Why do you believe what you believe?
  • What led you to these ideas?
  • What makes these ideas so convincing for you?

For conversations like this to work, he says it’s necessary to “create a safe space where folks can feel free to interrogate their [own] beliefs under an umbrella of trust, transparency, and vulnerability.” That means approaching each other with openness and curiosity. Spiritual community can create just this sort of safe space. “While arguing and debating another’s point of view drive us deeper into our trenches, sharing stories can bring sunlight to our wounds.” While Derek suggests this process for de-escalating and re-integrating conspiracy theorists in the life of the church, I think motivational interviewing can work for any kind of polarization. Rather than demonize or dehumanize the other, it deepens a sense of belonging by creating connection.

In order to forge a new path through polarization and move the church forward in a post-pandemic world, it’s time to reclaim the art of talking and listening to each other. Spiritual community, deeply founded in the love and grace of God, provides the necessary framework for this kind of risky, vulnerable conversation. Next, to sustain us in community-building, take the third step of practicing the Platinum Rule.

Practice the Platinum Rule

Jesus counsels us through the Golden Rule to treat others in the way we ourselves would like to be treated. The Platinum Rule builds on the Golden Rule and takes it one step further. The Platinum Rule suggests that we honor the dignity of those who are different, sometimes very different, from us, by treating them the way they want to be treated. For instance, my friend Cherisa wants to be referred to as Black, while David prefers the term African American. Nyx prefers the personal pronoun “they” instead of “he” or “she.” My husband Jerry prefers to be identified as Hispanic, not Latino, and certainly not Latinx. While adapting to others’ preferences is not always comfortable, especially if you don’t understand why the changes are necessary, drawing closer to differences works better than retreating.

How do you keep all this straight?  When in doubt, ask! Applying the Platinum Rule requires getting to know people in your community, asking questions, and finding out how they want to be treated.

The Platinum Rule not only applies to those with different beliefs, backgrounds or lifestyles than us, it applies to people whose personalities differ as well. Instead of rolling your eyes at the person who analyzes every risk, or insists on making friends with every stranger, or takes command to get things moving, or refuses to take the next step until every person has been heard—let go of judgment. Instead, honor their behavior as an expression of their unique humanity.

Practicing the Platinum Rule isn’t always easy. It requires a hidden superpower: the ability to be a non-anxious presence. Everyone feels anxiety to some degree about certain things. But noticing your own tendency to be anxious helps you not project that on other people. This superpower is exceedingly useful for disciples and apostles of Jesus, people who care about Jesus’ dream: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

 

The Power of Community to Heal

I’ve shared with you three practices to activate the power of community to heal. As you employ them, your vision of others changes. The temptation to gossip will be replaced by the desire to get to know people anew. You will look for opportunities to heal relationships instead of avoid conflict, or to address issues instead of letting them fester. Your defenses will fall as you seek to find your identity in Christ and in Christian community, rather than an artificial sense of outrage.

Imagine church as a community where people can share the depths of their lives without fear of gossip or rejection. Where the values of honesty, vulnerability, celebration, and accountability hold sway. And where we know that God speaks to us and invites our response.

Adapted and excerpted from Rebekah’s upcoming book, Forging a New Path: Moving the Church Forward in a Post-Pandemic World, 2022.

Copyright © 2022 rebekahsimonpeter.com, All Rights Reserved.

How to Build Spiritual Community

How to Build Spiritual Community

by | Mar 29, 2022

Belonging is a key aspect of mental health, happiness, and productivity. This is especially true in a post-pandemic world. It’s why creating true community at church—community that is both social and spiritual—is essential. In this article, I’ll share three ways to build spiritual community.

 

Belong to Groups

One crucial element of community is having friends or being with like-minded people, but there’s more to belonging than that. Participating in groups is also important. The real power of belonging is revealed when you are part of multiple groups: for instance, belonging to church, plus singing with the choir; or belonging to your family, plus being on the team that organizes the summer reunion; or belonging at work, plus being part of the group that plans the Christmas party. Or all of the above. The more groups you belong to—no matter how big or small—the more your self-esteem rises because it affirms that you belong. You’re part of the community.

An enduring Harvard study revealed that “close relationships are what keep people happy throughout their lives, and these relationships with family, friends, and community delay mental and physical decline.” I assert that vibrant connections of belonging—to one another, to God, to the community at large—can delay organizational decline as well.

A recent study conducted by neuroscientists at MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, found that cravings for human interactions and food register in the same part of the brain. Likewise, the pain of being excluded by others and physical pain are also located in the same part of the brain. In other words, belonging is as delicious as your favorite food. Not belonging throbs like a broken bone.

 

Include Time for Talking

I arrived early for worship one morning and headed straight for the front chancel area since it was my turn to serve as liturgist. As soon as I arrived, I was invited to join the small choir that would be leading the singing. It was easy to say yes because I wouldn’t have to worry about hitting every note; the pipe organ would be the dominant sound in the sanctuary. In between preparing the scripture reading, glancing at the call to worship, and scoping out the hymns on the order of worship, Linda, Dana, Susan, and I chatted about Linda’s recent doctor’s appointment, Susan’s preparation for the children’s sermon, and Dana’s impeccable sense of timing. I’m not super close to these folks, but this kind of informal talk pulled us together as worship leaders and prepared us to enter into the spirit of worship by giving us a sense of belonging. I could feel the sense of connection deep in my bones.

At one level, being social is as simple as our informal visiting before worship. On another level, being social can be an even more intentional part of what it means to be spiritual. For instance, I noticed that as worship unfolded—since there was no passing of the peace or passing of offering plates—very few people moved or had speaking parts in the service. Along with the preacher and the musician, the small choir and I were responsible for all the service’s active parts. That meant everyone else in worship was fairly passive. There wasn’t even an official time to say hello to each other.

This dynamic could be changed by asking people to exchange a few words with a person sitting nearby—like introducing yourself, sharing something you are grateful for, noting where God was present in the previous week, or exchanging a prayer concern. Those online could post something in the chat to share with others participating virtually. Even small social interchanges such as these can amplify a sense of belonging and create a greater sense of community.

 

Include Food

Weaving the social and spiritual together can take place at a programmatic level as well by gathering folks together around common interests and needs. For example, find themes or activities that are biblical and contemporary with both social and spiritual aspects. Take cooking and eating, for example. Consider the meal Abram and Sarai made for the angelic visitors at the oaks of Mamre. Or the many times Jesus ate with others as occasions for fellowship and teaching. Or the post-resurrection meal Jesus shared with a handful of his disciples. In each instance, eating was both social and spiritual. Who doesn’t know the transcendent experience of being nourished by just the right food at just the right time? Food is more than calories or nutrition. It provides the bridge for conversation and sustenance for the soul.

Resurrect the practice of building social and spiritual community around food by intentionally hosting classes or experiences that encompass these themes. For instance, in teaching people how to garden or cook, you could offer a store-to-plate or farm-to-table experience. As you first shop or garden, prepare, cook, and enjoy the food, you can interweave biblical themes like hospitality or care of the body into your discussions. Or, more simply, share a scripture or two. Then invite the Risen Christ to join you at the table. Not only will community form around these experiences, but these experiences themselves can lead to community-oriented projects or congregation-community partnerships.

 

Get Hands On

When weaving together the social and the spiritual, the same sort of multi-faceted experience can apply to crafts and creativity, construction and building, parenting, and mentoring children or young adults.

By designing gatherings that include both the social and spiritual, you promote spiritual and emotional growth while building community between and among members. The bonus in creating spiritual community is that you bolster mental health as well. When you belong to groups, include time to talk, and include food, you help create a stronger church – one that is both social and spiritual. It’s not hard to do, and it may seem too simple to be true, but it makes a world of difference.

Adapted from Rebekah Simon-Peter’s upcoming book, Forging a New Path: Moving the Church Forward in a Post-Pandemic World (Market Square Publishers, 2022)

 

Copyright © 2022 rebekahsimonpeter.com, All Rights Reserved.

The Surprising Truth about How to Do More with Less

The Surprising Truth about How to Do More with Less

by | Mar 22, 2022

Two long years. It has been two long years since the World Health Organization officially deemed Covid-19 a pandemic. Who would’ve imagined, way back in March 2020, where we would be today? I think it’s safe to say that everyone thought, or at least hoped, that this deadly virus would be long gone by now. Instead, the virus continues to spread throughout the world, businesses are desperate to recover, and churches are asking how do we do more with less? In this article, I want to share with you the surprising truth about how to do more with less.

My new book, Forging a New Path: Moving the Church Forward in a Post-Pandemic World, coming out in May 2022, deals with the culture shifts that need to take place within the church to withstand any external circumstance that may come along. In my research, I thought, who better to survey than the church leaders and colleagues in my program, Creating a Culture of Renewal®. I asked, “What would you like to see in a book about growing the post-pandemic church?” By far, the most common answer was, “We’d like to know how to do more with less.”

 

What have you found there is less of?

My follow-up question was this:  “What have you found that there is less of?” Their answers were relatively consistent: less people, less money, and less tech experience than needed. Makes sense. We have all felt the lack of contact with others during the quarantine, the loss of employment and income, the stress of adapting to unfamiliar situations, and the pinch of resources that were once more readily available.

 

Surprising Truth Revealed

While the tremendous losses can feel overwhelming, you can only see the full picture by looking at the other side of the coin too. So, I asked the same church leaders and pastors, “What have you found that you have had more of throughout the pandemic?” Here is where things really got interesting. Not only were their answers more varied, they offered a surprising truth. Even though people have less overall, they now have more of a sense of hope and togetherness, unexperienced before the pandemic. I heard answers such as “tighter knit congregations,” “more ways to connect,” “more time with God,” and “more ways to create community outside of our building.”

I was blown away. How beautiful and optimistic! While the focus had been on the negativity that surrounds the pandemic and all that has been lost, these leaders were taking ownership and intentionally looking for evidence of the Kingdom of God around them and what they and their churches gained in these long two years. It got me thinking about how we can utilize this time for learning and growing. What are people really yearning for?

The truth may surprise you. What people really want is a deeper sense of togetherness with God. People want to be in relationship with God, feel God’s presence, and know God is always by their side. Good news for us. There should be no better place to fulfill this desire than in the church. This doesn’t, however, happen by having a great worship service and fellowship dinners. We need to take one more step. We need to create the space for a deeper sense of togetherness with God by focusing on our own spirituality.

In my new book, I write about 4 models of spiritual growth. Below is one of the models, The Covenant Group Model, that I encourage you to try with your people.

 

Covenant Group Model

The focus of the Covenant Group Model is the desire to experience the presence of God. It requires a willingness to be honest, vulnerable, celebratory, and accountable. The covenant group model provides the space to dive beyond one’s everyday life into the realm of the soul. The experience is guided by these four questions:

 

  1. How is it with your soul?

The starting place of the spiritual journey is the core of your being, the well-spring from which life flows, a direct connection with God. When all of the world’s demands and distractions are moved aside, what is left? Honesty is the foundation of this question.

  1. Where have the challenges been?

As you move to the second question, vulnerability joins honesty in the conversation. Sharing your challenges is the first step to loosening their grip on your life. The difference between a challenge and a blessing is just a shift in perspective.

  1. Where have the joys been?

After honesty and vulnerability comes celebration. God is at work in your life. Give thanks and praise God for God’s never-ending presence. There is no limit to where sparks of joy can be found. Joy may be found in a simple smile at the right time or in a life-changing and unexpected shift to a better life. To see the Kin(g)dom of God around you, simply stop and notice.

  1. What would you like to be held accountable for?

The covenant group model of spiritual growth deepens from honesty, to vulnerability, to celebration and finally to accountability. It’s a way of saying, “Here’s my commitment; please hold me to it. Ask me the hard questions when I fail to follow through and rejoice with me when I succeed.”

 

Take your next steps

Participating in a covenant group is a powerful way to deepen your spirituality and build the bonds of community. It puts you in the flow of unconditional love, the wellspring of all spirituality. This love is the foundation of growth, discipleship, and the Kin(g)dom of God.

Even though you may feel you have to do more with less than you did before the pandemic, the surprising truth is that spirituality can give you more hope and togetherness than you had before.

Are you ready to try this model with your people? I’d love to hear how it goes! Share with me in the comments what you learned, what worked or didn’t work, or how you tailored it to fit your particular group.

To learn more about the surprising truth about how to do more with less, please join me for my upcoming workshop, How to Do More with Less, through Market Square Publishers.

 

Adapted and excerpted from Rebekah Simon-Peter’s upcoming book, Forging a New Path: Moving the Church Forward in a Post-Pandemic World (Market Square, 2022).

Copyright © 2022 rebekahsimonpeter.com, All Rights Reserved.

How Your Church Can Partner with Your Community

How Your Church Can Partner with Your Community

by | Mar 15, 2022

“I’m a pastor, not a warehouse manager,” Rev. Leigh Goodrich said to the church trustees when they complained that they had no free space to store things anymore. “I’m not here to deal with your stuff. At least not that stuff.” Leigh’s church had been in the process of making space for a preschool, a new partner gained during the pandemic, when the complaint arose. Leigh remained unruffled. While she encouraged the trustees to continue clearing out the junk they had been storing for years, Leigh kept her focus on the church’s partnership with the community via the preschool. As a result of this partnership, the church came out of debt during the pandemic.

How can your church partner with your community? It may feel challenging, even impossible, especially if your congregation is set in its ways. But it’s worth doing. Forming partnerships with your community opens the door for both your town or city and the church to be blessed beyond expectation.

Through completing research for my new book, Forging a New Path: Moving the Church Forward in a Post-Pandemic World, I talked with church leaders from all over the country. Together, we discovered the four ways that are most effective for not only creating beneficial partnerships, but also creating those that will last.

Before I share the four ways that you can partner with your community, I want to make you aware of one pitfall to avoid. Don’t get caught up in thinking that there is only one way to accomplish this. Partnership can take on many forms. It all depends on your context. Read on to see what can work in your setting.

 

Partner with Your Community to Support Mental Health

This is the time to rebuild community. Children especially need a sense of community. For most young children, all they know is pandemic life, one separated from their peers, their teachers, and any feeling of stability and structure. This isolation eats away at mental health. The partnership between Leigh’s church and the preschool, for example, has the built-in benefit of helping those who know no difference to begin rebuilding their own sense of community. The mental health benefits positively impact parents, teachers, and the congregation.

 

Partner with Your Community to Celebrate

Adults, too, are recovering from feelings of isolation and struggling to regain normalcy. One of the best ways to rebuild is through celebration. Look around you. There are people, places, and things to celebrate everywhere! Widen your focus beyond those you go to church with to include all members of your community. Find people to celebrate: young people, doctors, nurses, essential workers, and restaurant servers. It’s time for the church to re-focus her time and energy away from survival to serving the community in which she is planted. Have a celebration in the community for the community. For example, if someone completes probation, jail time, prison time, celebrate them. When someone hits a milestone in recovery, celebrate them. When someone changes their circumstances in some way or renews their vows, celebrate them. Be a physical reminder of God’s partnership with those God loves.

Celebration is also good for the soul. It’s even a key component of healthy emotional intelligence. It draws communities together, builds bonds of happiness, and deepens your faith. It marks progress and invites you to praise God. Celebrations are important markers that anchor a person’s memory and participation. You never know what will happen when the community feels valued, loved, and connected. Celebration is a great place to start!

 

Partner with Your Community to Create Belonging

“One of the things that I’ve realized,” noted Rev. Leigh Goodrich, “is that Jesus didn’t walk around going, ‘Oh, I’m so poor. I don’t have any money. I gotta live in a deficit budget. What am I going to do?’ No. Jesus walked around looking for opportunities to help other people.” And Jesus used what He had in the moment: dirt from the ground mixed with spit to heal the man born blind; his words and hands to call the man to stand, pick up his mat, and walk; simple water basins to make wine for the wedding celebration. As the body of Christ, you have been blessed in order to bless your community. Your greatest asset may be your building. Use it to create belonging instead of excluding people. When you see the building as a community asset, rather than only a church asset, you pave the way for your building to expand your culture, and provide a place of security and belonging, rather than a place walled off to others.

 

Partner with Your Community to Balance Your Budget

When the church focuses more on the community than itself, unexpected blessings emerge. As the Trustees at Leigh’s church cleared out years of junk, they found they could welcome even more partners. “Because of two very strong partners that we have—an organization that helps with women’s breast cancer survival and a preschool—we eventually balanced our budget. We were in the hole $35,000 to $45,000 a year, and we balanced that out during the pandemic because we were willing to share sacred space.”

         To build successful partnerships that bless them and you, seek out organizations whose values are aligned with the values of your church. Find groups that could benefit from spiritual guidance, help bring events to your town, host seminars that educate and uplift, or celebrate the goodness of life. Truly see yourselves as partners, and not simply organizations occupying the same building. But, before anyone moves in, make sure to clear out space and get rid of things that are no longer needed.

         You may be thinking, “Yes, I hear what you’re saying, and that all sounds great. But our church is struggling. We can’t help the community when we can’t help ourselves.” That’s fair. Many churches find themselves in places where their desire is strong and the resources are few. I invite you to join me for my next workshop, “How to Do More with Less,” where we’ll explore what we have “less” of and how we can leverage what we do have to do “more” than we ever dreamed.

Excerpted and adapted from Rebekah’s upcoming book, Forging a New Path: Moving the Church Forward in a Post-Pandemic World (Market Square Publishers, 2022).

 

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