Clearing out the clutter

A couple of years ago, I moved to the Washington, DC, area.  Well, “moved” really overstates the case, because I didn’t really move away from my home in the Midwest.  Rather, I moved toward a job in the East.  I suppose I was hedging my bets:  I didn’t really know how this would all work out.  So, I left my home pretty much intact (“just in case”), and filled up my car with the  essentials needed for outfitting an apartment.  Now, after a couple of years, I think I’m pretty settled here.  Consequently, I have decided to rent my house.  Now, I really do have to move out of it, and that process will eat up my summer vacation.  It was with that prospect before me that I read my friend Bill Cotton’s Memo to Preachers this past week.  In he quotes Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline.  Bill is particularly interested in a list in Foster’s book that Bill says can help us find our way to the Kingdom of God.  Seems to me that this list is also a pretty good one for a congregation thinking about resources, or a family seeking the basics, or someone sorting through the accumulation of things in her house:   

Learn to enjoy things without owning them.

Develop an appreciation for nature.

Avoid the buy-now-pay-later schemes.

Let what you say be simply yes or no.

Reject anything that breeds the oppression of others.

Reject anything that keeps you from seeking first the kingdom.

Buy things for their usefulness rather than for status.

Reject anything that becomes an addiction for you.

Give things away.

Refuse to be propagandized by the custodian of modern gadgetry.

Seek the maximum of well being with the minimum of consumption.

What does this list bring to your mind?

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To  (perhaps mis-)quote Rahm Emmanuel one should “never waste a good crisis.”  Maybe he coined the phrase or maybe he heard it somewhere.  No matter.  It’s probably true.  This economic crisis we are in is too dramatic and too far-reaching to lose the moment simply trying to survive it.  Somewhere out there on the other side of this, things will look different.  Jobs, corporations, banks, education, communities, families, congregations, denominations – we are all going to have undergone some changes before we feel safe and stable again.  Safe and stable may never mean the same thing again.  One question worth asking is, “How do we deal constructively with all this upheaval?”   Oneleilove Alson, writing on the God’s Politics blog, points us to theologian Gary Dorrien.  Dorrien suggests that this is a good time to think again about  capitalism, socialism, and a third way – economic democracy – within the context of Christian ethics.  This is a 10-minute video, so grab a cup of coffee and see what you think.

Facing a national — indeed global — economic crisis, it is no wonder that much of our attention gets focused on that scale.  Here in the shadow of our nation’s capital, it is becoming almost a daily commonplace to hear someone lamenting the fact, as the Washington Post did last week,  that “Faith-based charities, which provide an enormous array of private social services to the nation’s sick, elderly and poor, are facing unprecedented cutbacks from one of their biggest funders: the government.”

Jim Wallis of Sojourners had only the week before written about our national need for “Finding the Faith-Based Balance ” — and already it seemed we were in need of crafting a new story to describe the challenges non-profit social service organizations face in carrying out their missions to the neediest.

As important as this discussion is for our country, it also is important to realize that the same need for crafting a new story in a time of crisis is experienced on a local level as well, especially among the members of religious congregations. Recently Alban Senior Consultants Larry Peers and Dan Hotchkiss led an Alban Webinar entitled, aptly, “Crafting a New Story in a Time of Crisis.” It was based on a simple observation, that the current economic slump not only poses financial challenges for almost every congregation, but even more importantly casts doubt on some of the stories we most like to tell about ourselves. For example,

• Congregations who have portrayed themselves as helpers of the needy now see their own members needing help.
• Success-oriented congregations struggle to make sense of setbacks.
• Congregations that have built and borrowed as their members prospered now live in an era when belt-tightening, foreclosure, and bankruptcy are the currency of daily life.

The profound question then becomes: When comfortable stories cease to speak in altered circumstances, how do we craft new ones?

One creative alternative is described by Alban author Joy Skjegstad, who recently has been pondering the potential in congregations partnering with, or indeed founding their own, non-profits in order to fulfill their missional imperatives of service. The participants in the Alban Webinar on “Crafting a New Story” responded with observations and questions of their own to augment the expertise of our two panelists, Larry Peers and Dan Hotchkiss.

They spoke of their congregations’ “historically low expectations” about “openness to embracing a new story” about the role of money — sought after, as well as spent — in church and synagogue life.  They pondered the challenges of reconciling liberal commitments to social justice with conservative attitudes about frugality and financial responsibility. They wrestled with their desires for long-range missional thinking about money, especially when facing their congregations’ short-term problem-oriented preoccupations with sheer survival.  Other listeners wondered aloud about what good might come from having our financial ‘comfort zones’ disturbed, and how it might actually help congregations to rekindle the imperatives of love and justice that are at the foundation of religious community life. They marveled at what they were learning about what they really care about, are proud of, and admire and how that is related to having or not having the financial security they had come to take for granted in congregational life.  Others agonized about what it means to be a minister in a congregation when facing personal questions about their own financial commitments as leaders.

The webinar ended with two summary remarks that I leave you with here.  The first was a recognition of how far Dan and Larry took us into this uncertain and demanding territory: “Thank you. You guys rock,” was the actual final comment submitted by a listener!  Even more important was the person who wrote: “Some of us likely hav our own ‘fresh ideas’.  Can Alban add a blog near the recording of this webinar where participants can share their own ideas?”:

Well, here it is! Please write your comments to what I’ve said here, so others can benefit from your questions and wisdom.  Longer comments will be turned into blog posts in their own right, so others can more readily engage in conversation with you about your ideas and experiences.

You can click on the word Economy in the “tag cloud” to the right, and it will sort out all of the blog posts already on the Alban Roundtable about the economic crisis facing congregations and the world we live in.

Happy Blogging!!  I’m sure I’ll be back in a few days to say myself: “You guys rock!”  Have fun helping one another in this important process of “Crafting a New Story in a Time of Crisis.”

Many of the most thoughtful voices of reflection on the web this week have been focused on the deepening economic crisis. Sometimes what is needed is straightforward advice, such as the “Good $ense Seminars” advertised on the website of the Moravian Church in North America. For others, the tone sounds far more urgent.

For example, The Rev. Tom Hansen, the interim pastor of a Minnesota congregation with numerous members losing jobs and homes, writes: “Everybody’s dreams are dying and we don’t have the resources to help them,” said Hansen, adding that “some laid-off members have exhausted the social service aid available to them.”

And as the organization Christian Churches Together (Disciples of Christ) works to address poverty, General Minister and President Sharon Watkins laments: “We’ve heard a lot recently about Wall Street and Main Street. Our concern is the people who live on the street, or have no street address.”

And lest we think that this is an issued preoccupying only American denominations, you might want to read this week’s official report by the General Synod of Church of England,”The International Financial Crisis and the Recession.”

Here at Alban, we continue to actively work with congregations and your leaders to provide resources to do more than circle the wagons against a feared oncoming storm. Our upcoming webinar, or web seminar, “Crafting a New Story in a Time of Crisis,” for example, will provide practical wisdom from two of our senior consultants, Larry Peers and Dan Hotchkiss, about how to take seriously the changes congregations are facing, without losing sight of your congregation’s essential identity or missional focus.

We invite you to join us there, or here at the Alban Roundtable, to let us know the impact of the ecnomic crisis on your congregation.  How are you remaining faithful to your congregational identity and ministries, while you learn to respond to the ever changing challenges that face us all?

The current economic situation has me wondering about the role that endowments play in a congregation’s life. I have never been much of a fan of endowments for congregations, although I realize that many thoughtful people are.

• It has always seemed to me that a congregation ought to spend its resources (personal, organization, spiritual, financial) down to the nub on its mission.
• And it also seems to me that endowments encourage saving resources – only parceling out small portions at a time.

However, I admit that I have never – not as a denominational staff member or finance committee member in my local church – been able to sell this idea to very many folks. Seems like a lot of folks who don’t have endowments want one, and folks who have them want bigger ones. And I understand. A cushion that means the heating bill will get paid looks pretty good in a winter like this one.

In fact, our own Alban consultants advise about how to set up an endowment, and our seminars often address the issue of how to manage endowments wisely. And there are organizations, such as the Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes, who regularly ask tough and creative questions about the role of endowments in congregational life, as in their upcoming webinar, Key Endowment Challenges in a Difficult Economy.  Other groups like the Lewis Center for Church Leadership at Wesley Theological Seminary provide ongoing educational series such as “Funding Your Congregation’s Vision,” which includes a segment on “establishing an endowment through planned giving.”

But times like these, when endowments aren’t the stable, dependable rocks they seemed to be only a few months ago, are making me wonder if there is an even more immediate reason to be suspicious of the role of endowments in a congregation’s life.

• What if giving generously is like a muscle that needs lots of exercise to be strong?
• And what if an endowment is like the car sitting the garage, tempting you to drive instead of walk or ride a bicycle? For many congregations, that car is on the fritz – fuel pump is shot, radiator leaks, and the tires are bald. So those congregations are finding themselves on foot. This situation is probably a lot more exhausting and scary for the folks who never walked beyond the end of their own driveway than it is for the ones who have been hoofing it all over town for years.

Could this be a good time to rethink not only how endowments help us pay the heating bills, but also how they affect our ability to be in mission beyond out own driveways?

As churches continue to learn to respond creatively to the world of tightening finances, they already seem ready for resources that help them move constructively beyond “the money crisis mentality.”  Congregations are asking how to sustain a focus on their core mission and ministry, while at the same time being responsible stewards of the resources they have.

Articles such Joy Skjegstad’s “The Case for Nonprofits” (in the Christianity Today E-zine: Your Church newsletter) and her upcoming Alban Institute webinar, “Winning Grants to Strengthen Your Ministry” (January 28, 2009, 1 p.m. EST) help congregations to extend their vision of what community ministry looks like and funding sources beyond the usual church budget.

The Episcopal Church’s episcopallife online shows an entirely different face of the conversation, reporting on a meeting of British bankers calling “for a return to basic banking and an economy propelled by values other than greed.”  The Presbyterian Church U.S.A. is urging its members to fast on January 30-February 1 in order to focus attention away from our own needs in the developed world in order to see, for example, the impact of diminishing global resources in the face of “increased demand on food in India.”

How is your denomination or congregation beginning to refocus on the larger challenges — and opportunities — that are being raised by the economic jolt of a rapidly changing economy?

The current economic crisis combined combined with the Bernie Madoff scandal has hit some Jewish nonprofits hard. The Jewish news service JTA reports that pressure is mounting for several Jewish educational institutions to merge.  Some Jewish charities will have to shut down entirely because their endowments have been wiped out.  (link to story)

The news story points out that a factor in the decision to merge is the inability for these organizations to adapt with the times and remain innovative and relevant. Over the years, their efforts became part of the establishment and overlapped the work of other organizations. What is true for the Jewish nonprofit world is no doubt true for Christians, even at the local congregational level. Economic pressures will have a winnowing effect on ministries that have outlived their relevance. Or it may pressure congregations to consider the wider context of their ministries.

Are other congregations duplicating what you do, and should you consider “merging” things like Vacation Bible School, food banks, adult education programs, Peace rallies, discussion forums, outreach…etc.? If your denomination has five churches all within driving distance of one another, and each boasts a sanctuary that today seats 1/5th of its historic capacity, this economy may be the catalyst that justifies reconfiguring those costly building assets.

In these uncertain times, clergy stress, fatigue, and spiritual needs usually take a back seat to managerial and budgetary deliberations and decisions.  Why not start the new year right by focusing on clergy wellness and self-care, your own or your pastor’s or priest’s?

As part of Alban’s ongoing response to the issues facing congregations in light of the ongoing economic crisis, Rochelle Melander — Alban author, coach, and spiritual leader — is offering a webinar entitled,“Start the New Year Right: Clergy Care in Uncertain Times“ on Thursday, January 29, 2009 from 1:00-2:00 p.m. EST.

Rochelle Melander is the author of A Generous Presence: Spiritual Leadership and the Art of Coaching and The Spiritual Leader’s Guide to Self Care. Healthy leaders provide healthier leadership for their congregations; join Rochelle to discover how to care for yourself, or the clergy-person you care about most.  The cost is just $30.

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by ames Hudnut-Beumler

In many congregations, talking about money is taboo. That we don’t talk about money doesn’t mean we don’t worry about it, though. In fact, most Americans worry about it constantly. Are we saving enough? Will Social Security be there for us when we are old? Will the nursing home costs for our aging parents clean us out just in time to prevent us from sending our children to college? And now, how will the mortgage lending crisis and the sharp declines in stock values affect me and my family?

Many people keep such worries to themselves or share them only with their spouses. Sometimes we turn to a coworker for understanding, but rarely to a pastor or to the church and its members.

One of the best ways people can be the church together in a money-dominated age is to break the taboo against discussing money and money worries. If we are concerned with having enough money to care for others or ourselves, or with meeting payments, let’s confess those concerns to our brothers and sisters in a supportive setting. A burden confessed is a burden shared.

If we are going to talk about money in the context of our congregations, we owe something to each other—the discipline of going to the next level in listening. One is tempted, when someone relates a financial problem, to try to help that person find a quick fix. What most of us need is not a quick fix or even a good coping strategy. For most of us, a money-related problem is the tip of the iceberg. Underneath the worry about Social Security is worry about growing old.

Will I keep my independence, my friends, my mental capacities? Will I be able to buy the help, if I need it, of people I can trust? Below the issue of how to pay for college is concern for the welfare of one’s children. Will they be happy? Will they choose important and satisfying work? Will they be able to get by without parental protection? What Christians need to do for each other is to engage their brothers and sisters at below-the-surface levels.

The place to begin is with leading people to say what’s in their hearts and then following up the Social Security comment (to cite but one example) with a question related to hopes and fears about aging. The prime American value of autonomy will make us want to deflect such questions. “No,” we will want to say, “I know exactly what to do as long as I’ve got enough money.” The tragedy of this presumption of autonomy is that we cut ourselves off from the very conversations about our hopes and fears and insecurities in the world and before God with which our faith communities are in a position to help us.

Congregations of Christians can do other things to counter the power of money in our lives. The church’s ministry to its members is not merely problem-centered. We also can tell the stories of our lives in less materialistic ways. If we truly believe that life is more than bread and water (and clothing, houses, and cars), then the church must be the institution that validates our nonmaterial values. How? By telling the stories of the generous saints in our midst.

An example: A man’s child is dying of cancer. He takes family leave without pay to tend to the child. The cancer abates for a while, then returns. The man’s employer replaces him at the end of the statutory leave period. The child dies at home one evening. Now, what does the congregation say in public? What do members say in private to the man who lost a job for the child he loved? Too often we just say, “Sorry for your loss.” Privately we may even say to each other, “It’s too bad that cost him his job.”

These weak responses are not adequate to the followers of Jesus Christ. Someone needs to stand up and say in the presence of the congregation: “Henry, we grieve with you, but we are also proud of you, for you gave of yourself to your daughter in her time of greatest need without reserve. You are a witness to us all that people come first. We say that nothing can separate us from the love of God; you showed us all the love of God made real through your steadfast commitment to Sarah. Now, Henry, in the name of Jesus Christ, we promise to stand by you in love as you grieve and as you begin to put your life back together. We’ll help you find a job, and for my part, I’m going to pay your electric bill until you’re back on your feet.”

If this fictional speech seems too personal for your church, it suggests how far we have to go in most congregations to reconcile ourselves to gospel values. The way to encourage generosity is to recognize it publicly and to support those who display its virtues.

The people of God know something that others don’t. They know that their worth comes from God and not from money—not from money earned, hoarded, spent to purchase things, or used to exercise power. Once people see this truth, they can see that they have things going for them, for they are gifted with an abundance of skills and stories, with opportunities for love and service, and with one another. The people of God know that they have things money cannot buy; they know they are rich in things of the soul. The job of the contemporary congregation is, as always, to increase love and understanding of God and love toward the neighbor. Lest money stand in the way of love, congregations must become places where the abundant gifts of God to the people of God become known and celebrated.

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Adapted from Generous Saints: Congregations Rethinking Ethics and Money, copyright © 1999 by the Alban Institute. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2008, the Alban Institute. All rights reserved. We encourage you to share Alban Weekly articles with your congregation. We gladly allow permission to reprint articles from the Alban Weekly for one-time use by congregations and their leaders when the material
is offered free of charge. All we ask is that you write to us at weekly@alban.org and let us know how Alban Weekly is making an impact in your congregation. If you would like to use any other Alban material, or if your intended use of Alban Weekly does not fall within this scope, please submit our reprint permission request form.

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FEATURED RESOURCES

Generous Saints: Congregations Rethinking Ethics and Money by James Hudnut-Beumler

Author James Hudnut-Beumler explores the economic and theological assumptions that are at the root of congregations’ difficulty in talking about and dealing with issues of money, and presents an inspiring challenge to consider what it would mean to craft lives of generosity, as individuals and as congregations.

At Ease: Discussing Money and Values in Small Groups by John and Sylvia Ronsvalle with U. Milo Kaufmann

This practical, accessible, and flexible book uncovers the reasons congregations don’t like to talk about money and offers sound advice and helpful tools to make it safe for congregational committees, teams, and other small groups to do so. Based on congregational small-group discussions that create support and trust, At Ease helps individuals identify their fears and worries as well as their attitudes on stewardship and support of the church.

Starting Simple: Conversations about the Way We Live by Bob Sitze

In today’s complex and busy world, people yearn for simpler lives. Bob Sitze believes conversations change us as individuals and that most important social changes take place through conversation, so in Starting Simple he invites us into heart-to-heart conversations about simple living.

Alban Weekly, 2008-10-13 Number 220

These are times of stress and uncertainty. They also are opportunities to refocus on what is most essential to congregational life and the myriad ways that churches can both continue and grow their ministries and service opportunities even during a time of dramatically shrinking financial resources.

In addition to our long-standing collection of resources on Faith and Money in our Congregational Resource Guide, the Alban Institute recently has taken several concrete steps to make sure that we are even more available to help congregations to respond to the stresses of uncertainty in healthy and productive ways. “Alban’s Response to the Economic Situation” includes:

• An ongoing series of Alban Weekly newsletters on helpful approaches to leadership.
• Increased resources available through the www.Alban.org website.
• A series of online webinars beginning with “Ministry and Mission in Uncertain Times“
• Downloadable articles from past issues of Congregations magazine.
• An upcoming special issue of Congregations on ministry and mission in uncertain times.

We also know how important it is for clergy, in particular, to attend to their own particular vocational challenges and the stresses of leadership in uncertain times. One concrete response is our upcoming webinar on January 29, 2009, “Start the New Year Right: Clergy Care in Uncertain Times”.

We invite you to join us in that web seminar to share with us your experiences in the face of the economic situation we all share, especially the ways you have chosen to respond to the shifting needs, resources, and opportunities you face — and the challenges you face in remaining healthy for your role of leadership.