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The Color of Your Advent Candles Doesn’t Matter by Keith AndersonI have no patience for debates over the color of Advent candles and whether or not to sing Christmas songs in Advent. God became incarnate, and candles and carols are all some church professionals seem to care about. Give me a break. Here’s my problem with all this.
Spoiling Advent
First, it’s adiaphora, which is a nice Greek word that means “it doesn’t matter”; it is inconsequential for salvation, and, in this case, one might say, just inconsequential whether your candles are purple, pink, or blue. The overwhelming public witness of Advent should be about counter-cultural waiting, repentance, and anticipation of the incarnation. It should not be about which hymns and candles to use.
Isn’t this just like the church? We get into these arguments about little things that only church people care about, and everyone else beyond the church (and you know there are more and more of those, right?) finds it completely irrelevant. No one beyond the church cares about these things. Really. No one. And we wonder, “Why aren’t people coming to our churches?”
Liturgical Fundamentalism
What I see in this and many conversations around the church is a form of liturgical fundamentalism. We make the liturgy itself into God, in much the same way fundamentalists make the Bible into God. And whether you follow the proper rubrics becomes the measure of the quality of your leadership, perhaps even your character. At its worst, it becomes what I’ve come to call “liturgical fetishism” — getting everything perfectly “right,” as if all those little details are effective for salvation, or even proper worship. They’re not.
This is not what I learned in seminary from my wonderful liturgy professor, Gordon Lathrop. I learned that one should approach the liturgy with gentility, humility, and humanity. Liturgy is the work of the people, but it also ought to serve people of God and is always sensitive to context. Liturgy is always pastoral with a small “p.”
We can worship with integrity across styles and contexts. We can debate liturgical practice, but when it becomes our primary witness, it is a detriment to the work of the church.
Hopefully this Advent we can announce the season as an invitation to waiting, longing, love, and incarnation. Because, really, nobody cares about the color of your candles.
Keith Anderson is pastor at Upper Dublin Lutheran Church near Philadelphia and co-author with Elizabeth Drescher of Click2Save: The Digital Ministry Bible (Morehouse 2012). He is a popular blogger on religion, new media, and popular culture at http://pastorkeithanderson.net from which this article is adapted.
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Removing Obstacles to Giving by Lovett H. Weems, Jr.Sometimes churches have financial systems designed for the convenience of those receiving the contributions rather than for those who are giving. For example, consider this notice that appeared in an actual church newsletter. (I want you to know up front that it is true, because otherwise you will think I made it up!)
Our final deposit for 2005 will be made on Thursday, December 29, 2005. All 2005 donations must be received by mail or delivered to the office prior to December 29. If received after that time, it will be posted as a 2006 receipt and will not show on your 2005 giving record. This will not preclude you from deducting it as a charitable contribution in 2005. You will just not have a receipt for the donation. If you wish to contribute early toward your 2006 pledge, please mark your donation clearly as 2006. Any donation for your 2006 pledge received prior to January 1, 2006, will be deposited and posted to 2005 and will appear on your 2005 giving record for tax purposes.
This notice was written by either a very uptight financial secretary or an exceptionally legalistic finance committee. While it may offer correct information, it is a classic example of “inside-out” thinking that frames the issue from the perspective of the church’s procedures rather than from the viewpoint of the donor. One could get the sense that the church is doing people a large favor by receiving their money. What a peculiar perspective!
When you design and communicate financial policies, make sure they are done from the perspective of the giver and not simply to satisfy rules. Make sure that readers know your interest is primarily in them and their desire to fulfill their giving goals, not for the convenience of those handling the funds. This, for example, may be a more “giver-friendly” way of communicating with people about year-end giving.
The end of the year is coming. Some of you have said you will be out of town in the last days of the year. Others of you have said you won’t know about your total giving ability until you know the size of your bonus or other financial results. Church members face these year-end issues every year, and our church is happy to work with you to achieve your giving goals. Here are options and timelines available to you. You may always contact (name, phone, email) to arrange your giving at this busy time of the year.
Give at one of these remaining worship services ….
Mail your check to (address) postmarked by (date).
Contribute online at (link).
Use your bank’s bill pay system by (date).
If giving stock or funds managed by a broker, ask for a transfer to be completed by (date).
Bring your gift to the church office (hours) by (last day and time).
Thank you for making a difference in countless lives in this community and around the world.
Putting the focus on what people can do instead of what they cannot do helps them think positively about possibilities for giving. It also helps remind everyone that the church exists to work with them and thus make possible their ministry.
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., is director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership and author (with Tom Berlin) of High Yield: Seven Disciplines of the Fruitful Leader, recently published by Abingdon Press and available at Cokesbury and Amazon. His free 8-minute video on “Why Giving Matters and Clues for Improving It” can be seen at http://www.churchleadership.com/funding/WhyGivingMatters.asp.
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Quotable Leadership:
The church of tomorrow will be much more engaged in addressing the needs of the community. This church will be known more for its members’ relational acts of compassion outside of the church walls — taking ministry out, rather than waiting for outsiders to come in and sit.[Linda Ranson Jacobs]
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Learn about Stewardship and Biblical Generosity
Designed to nurture the spiritual discipline of giving, our new Theology of Stewardship and Biblical Generosity resources may be used in a variety of Christian education settings or in conjunction with an annual stewardship emphasis. The resources are ecumenical and may be used for self study or with groups:Stewardship 101
What the Bible Teaches about Giving
A Christian Understanding of Money, Possessions, and Generosity
Biblical Generosity
Each resource is $19, or save when you bundle all four resources together — $59 (includes additional video, Faith and Generosity). Available in DVD/CD and downloadable formats. Learn more and watch an informational video now.
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The Right Question
Leaders do not need answers. Leaders must have the right questions.
While acknowledging that effective preaching styles vary, one writer suggests four characteristics of preaching that are often found in vital congregations. Phrased as questions, they are:
Is it biblical?
Is it joyful?
Is it life-related?
Is it invitational?
Want more Right Questions? Check out “Right Questions for Church Leaders, Volumes 1–3.”
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Editors: Lovett H. Weems, Jr., and Ann A. Michel. Production: Carol Follett
Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary.
4500 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, DC 20016 United States
(202) 885-8757
lewiscenter@wesleyseminary.edu
Lewis Center for Church Leadership
Wesley Theological Seminary
4500 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20016 United States
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