A few years ago, I was asked to speak at a United Methodist Men’s event on the topic: What Makes a Vital Church. I spent considerable time crafting my message supported by a few dozen PowerPoint slides and a couple of handouts. As I was being introduced, I had a thought, which I later credited to the Holy Spirit. As I made my way to the podium that thought crystallized into these words: “Your church will only be as vital as you are.” I thanked the group for inviting me, spoke those ten words and sat down. I sat for maybe a minute and returned to the podium where I delivered, I think, one of the most effective messages of my ministry.
“Your church will only be as vital as you are.” I think sometimes we look for church vitality to come from many things except perhaps the most important- from within ourselves and our own vital walk with God. If I am not intentionally tending to my own spiritual vitality six days a week the seventh day is not likely to have that much effect on me and subsequently the church. Spiritually transformational congregations are populated by spiritually transformational people who are guided by spiritually transformational leaders. See the flow right there?
I’ve been working on a clear and crisp definition of a vital congregation. Here’s what I’ve come up with thus far: “Vital congregations have a biblical understanding of why they exist, understand their purpose in their cultural context, have defined values and expectations of behavior, and strive to create spiritually transformed people who pattern their behaviors after Jesus to spiritually transform the world.”
If Covid-19 has taught us anything it’s this. Vital congregations really don’t need buildings, choirs, hymnals, bands, pews, bulletins, greeters, refreshments or three-point sermons to transform lives. Now, before you come to tar and feather me, let me add. I LOVE buildings, choirs, hymnals, bands and all that other stuff. I PREFER to have these things. But these things are NOT what makes the church vital. What makes your church vital depends a great deal upon what you do during the week to nurture your relationship with God AND nurture your relationship with other people who are nurturing their relationship with God. When we gather (virtually or in-person) we find ways to celebrate how we’ve experienced God’s presence in our lives and how God has worked through us so that others experience God too.
If we were never again allowed to go back to the way things were before Covid-19 would the God-project called “church” somehow cease to exist? Would we never again hear from God? Would our relationships with fellow believers’ end? Would we stop caring about others? Would we cease to talk to people about the difference Jesus has made in our life? Would the Holy Spirit quit pestering and empowering us? Would we care less about the work of social justice and reconciliation?
We’ve learned so much through the trials of the first half of this year. We learned that we could quickly pivot how we “do” worship (from live to virtual) to accommodate our flock AND (even more importantly) reach out to those around us who have not yet met the Shepherd. We found creative ways to care for one another through phone trees, FB live Bible studies and prayer meetings, front porch care packages, food collections and distributions to the needy, partnerships with local government, other non-profits and social service agencies to make sure all the people of our wider parish are cared for.
As we move or have moved fully into “green” I’m concerned. When we’re back in our boxes doing the things we used to do as a church will we forget the lessons we learned this first half of 2020? We’ve had to measure effectiveness in a whole new way. Will our vitality again be measured almost entirely by what happens on Sunday morning and get validated in a statistical report to the conference? Will we lose connection with the new flock who found us online and joined us in a simpler form of worship. Will they still recognize and connect with us when we default to streaming worship the way we used to do it. The way WE’VE always liked it.
For a couple months now we’ve managed to live in a new world without most of the things that always defined us, and guess what? We’re STILL the church. Hopefully, we’ve relearned that the church Jesus established isn’t defined by a neatly arranged package full of things we take out every seven days, play with, box up and then leave behind for the next seven days.
I can’t expect the church to be more vital than I am because the church is ME, and the church is YOU…wherever we are!
If you haven’t taken advantage of the forced sabbath given you by Covid-19 to reflect on your own spiritual vitality, it’s not too late. Talk to your pastor about resources that might help you. Invite a few trusted friends to join you in a conversation about this.
Here are three helpful links you might visit for more ideas.
You are never alone! The Equipping Vital Congregations Team is always ready to encourage and support you. Let us know how we can help!
With joy and gratitude,
Gary
