Wednesday, February 1, 2017

"Leading Ideas: Organizing a Missional COMMUNITY | Four Functions of a Church Choir" from Lewis Center for Church Leadership from The Wesley Theological Seminary of Washington, D.C., United States for Wednesday, February 1, 2017

"Leading Ideas: Organizing a Missional COMMUNITY | Four Functions of a Church Choir" from Lewis Center for Church Leadership from The Wesley Theological Seminary of Washington, D.C., United States for Wednesday, February 1, 2017
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Organizing a Missional COMMUNITY by Doug Powe And Hal Knight 
Hal Knight and Doug Powe discuss nine characteristics of transformative Christian communities that allow them to nurture spiritual growth while also remaining open to others and connected to the broader community.
Whether starting a new church or renewing an existing congregation, leaders must be able to organize communities so that their members are growing in spiritual depth while also focusing outward. The acronym COMMUNITY highlights some of the characteristics of transformative Christian community. Congregations can successfully organize their communities around these characteristics — not simply for the purpose of adding people to the roll — but for greater discipleship.
Clarity of purpose allows a community to be open and yet cohesive. It does not matter if people come or go when everyone is committed to loving God and neighbor.
Connect
We cannot grow in love if we are not acting in love to others both in and outside the community. The tendency for too many congregations today is connecting with one another and then choosing either connecting with God or with those in the broader community. This is not usually a conscious choice. But to focus on spiritual growth while not reaching out to the broader community compromises that growth.
Open
One of the precursors to growth is an openness to others. There is something reassuring about seeing the same familiar faces week after week that provides stability in life. But when the stability of a community comes from their common purpose, it does not matter if people come or go because everyone is committed to the practice of loving God and neighbor. Clarity of purpose allows a community to be open and yet cohesive.
Mercy
The mercy we receive from God helps to shape our lives toward deeper piety, and the mercy we extend to others helps them experience God’s grace. The transformation of community is not possible without God’s mercy and the sharing of God’s mercy. A community shaped by mercy is a community where lives are changed because acceptance of all is more important than the victory of a few.
Mutuality
It is common to assume that those with economic means have something to give to those disenfranchised, while the disenfranchised do not have anything to give. In a transformational community, however, it is understood that all have something to contribute. While giving includes meeting economic needs, it encompasses so much more. The ability to really experience this sort of give-and-take requires a different mindset in the way we interact with one another. Mutuality should be at the heart of what it means to be in community.
Unconventional
Unconventional practices, such as John Wesley’s field preaching, can help us reach more people. But we should not think some magic thing exists that will solve all of our problems. We need to be creative in ways that fit our context, which requires that we truly understand our surrounding environment. A missional approach calls for us to be unconventional in connecting with others, but doing so as a means of furthering the work of community.
Narrative
Transforming communities keep the biblical narrative at the forefront of the community. The biblical narrative, not the pastor or leader, is the source of community life. We all have access to the narrative and through it are able to invite and sustain others in the community. The narrative shapes us toward a deeper love of God and neighbor. It provides a common language for inviting people into the community and sustaining them in faith. Simply put, transformative communities share a common narrative.
Invitational
The word “invite” in a Christian culture is not as straight forward as it seems. Typically when we extend an invitation, we give individuals information pertaining to some event, and once we do, our job is finished. Christian invitation goes beyond the simple sharing of information. Christians are extending an invitation to others to come to something, but the something is not a one-time event. It is a transformed life lived in a particular community for the rest of one’s days. This is the same invitation that Jesus extended to the disciples — to experience God’s transformation lived out in community.
Trustworthy
One of the challenges any community faces today is trust. Today, people are more wary of individuals who say they are interested in their souls, but really are not genuinely concerned about their well-being. We have to find ways to reach out to others that come across as authentic and not inauthentic. Being trustworthy will help a community to invite and sustain others on the journey.
Yearning
The word yearning is another way to describe our ultimate hope. The question is, “What is our yearning today?” Is it to be transformed into the likeness of Christ? Or is it to simply survive? A missional approach focuses on yearning for transformed hearts that enable us to daily love God and neighbor. It does not settle for anything less.
Not every congregation will exhibit all nine of these characteristics, or exhibit them to the same degree. Some will emphasize different characteristics depending on where they are on their journey. But always try to engage all nine in some manner. Transformation is never easy, but it is immensely satisfying when it deepens our relationship with God and enables us to bring others into a loving community.
This material was adapted from the book Transforming Community: The 
Wesleyan Way to Missional Congregations, by Henry H. Knight III and F. Douglas Powe, Jr. Copyright © 2016 Discipleship Resources, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Transforming Community is available at Amazon.
Related Resources:
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Four Functions of a Church Choir by Brian Hehn
Choir director Brian Hehn has helped Arapaho UMC become a “singing congregation” by emphasizing the choir’s four key functions — to lead and enliven the congregation’s song, to sing music that the congregation cannot, to serve as a small-group within the church for faith formation, and to sing music that glorifies God and edifies the congregation.
As the director of a church choir, I use four functions to explain why the church choir exists and to help determine the programmatic choices that our music ministry makes. These functions are in a specific priority order, but I also believe each function is equally important as they must be present to have a vital music ministry.
1. The church choir leads and enlivens the congregation’s song.
Let’s not forget that without a congregation, there could not be a church choir! The singing group would instead be a community choir. But why is it important that the congregation’s song be supported, instead of just focusing on the church choir’s musical success? Choral musicians know that we become what we sing. When we take words and put them to music, it becomes part of who we are. Therefore, it becomes imperative that we put as much of the Word into the congregation as possible. If the congregation can sing it, but we don’t let them, we miss an opportunity to transform people’s lives in the most direct way possible. By giving the congregation new singing skills and confidence, we empower them for the rest of their lives to better embody God’s Word through music.
The reason that we work so hard to create beautiful music together is so that we can glorify God and help people experience a holy moment.
Taking our cue from the great church musician John Ferguson, it is important to view the congregation as the “big choir,” and the church choir as the “little choir,” or as I like to think of it, my chamber group. I often utilize my choir as “section leaders,” positioning them around the congregation strategically to support the parts that I’m teaching for a congregational hymn or song. I have the choir stand in front of the congregation to lead them in rounds and canons. They become active leaders in building up the congregation’s song. By doing this, the congregation is prepared for discipleship through the soul-embracing power of song.
2. The church choir sings music that the congregation cannot.
Let’s be real. There’s lots of great music that needs to be sung that just cannot reasonably be done by a congregation because it’s too complex to be done by untrained musicians or just too difficult to be done without extensive rehearsal. There are some texts set to challenging music that congregations need to hear, whether it’s because it is comforting in times of crises, praising in times of joy, or inspiring in times of apathy. By spending the time and effort to rehearse each week, the choir provides a great service to the congregation by opening up the amount of literature the congregation can be exposed to. Used appropriately, this has significant theological and musical implications, broadening the congregation’s experience of the divine.
3. The church choir serves as a small-group within the church for faith formation.
I imagine that we all have stories about our choral groups taking care of each other or holding someone up in a time of need. When we sing together, a bond is created that unites us unlike any other activity. In a church setting, this function can be intentionally formed and nurtured. Because we meet together once a week to do work for the Glory of God and benefit of neighbor, taking care of each other is no longer an option; it’s a responsibility.
As the leader of this small-group, a church choir director’s job is no longer limited to musical direction, but also spiritual direction. This doesn’t mean you’re responsible for giving a sermon each week or listening to people’s confessions, but it does mean that you are charged with ensuring your group enacts the Word you sing week in and week out. I expect them to act like “Christ’s love has gathered us into one,” and my expectations are almost always met because the majority of my singers have been singing their faith for decades and have already been formed by the church’s song. I rarely have to ask for food to be brought or people to be prayed for because before I can bring it up, someone from the group has already asked for it to be done by their fellow choir members. It’s a witness that is refreshing to see each and every year I direct.
4. The church choir sings beautiful and challenging music to praise God and edify the congregation.
This is where the majority of our rehearsal time is taken up, because singing challenging music beautifully is difficult to do and takes lots of practice. It is important that when we sing, we sing beautifully, because it touches people’s souls. The reason that we work so hard to create beautiful music together is so that we can glorify God and help people experience a holy moment. On the opposite end of the spectrum, it is important that our singing is not outrageously bad because it can be distracting and therefore prevent people from having a holy moment. I find that one of the best motivations for my choir when rehearsal is getting into the nitty-gritty, is to say something like, “This is a moment where we can touch someone and help them have a moment with God.” Reminding the choir that musical details can make the difference in someone’s spiritual life goes a long way to power through tough rehearsal moments.
It is important, however, that the first three priorities are not forgotten when trying to achieve our most beautiful sounds. A church choir’s job is not just to sing beautifully, but rather it is to minister to the congregation and to each other in a variety of ways, helping to change the world into a more loving and peaceful place.
Letting these four functions guide your program makes the choir a conduit of faith for themselves and the congregation. Telling your choristers what and why they do what they do gives them a framework to express the importance of the church choir and be an advocate for music ministry. Most importantly, these four functions can enliven your congregation’s singing through the faithful discipleship of your church choir members.
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The Right Question
Leaders do not need answers. Leaders must have the right questions.
Jodi Goldstein, managing director of the Harvard Innovation Labs, says that when she was looking to hire new people, she looked for "amazing." She later learned that the ability to handle adversity was a more important trait. A right question she uses in interviews is:
What's something that went wrong, and how did you deal with it? 
Want more Right Questions? Read Right Questions for Church Leaders.
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50 Ways to Take Church to the Community by Lewis Center
Churches can no longer open their doors and expect that people will come in. Effective congregations go into the world to encounter those in need of the gospel. These 50 Ways provide tips on reaching beyond the walls of your church with worship, community events, ministries, and service.
Embrace an expansive concept of community
Learn to regard your community as an extension of your congregation. A church’s mission field goes beyond its membership to include all the people God calls it to serve. You are connected to individuals who never set foot in your building.
Know that what’s happening within the church — preaching, worship, music, Bible study — is no longer enough to attract people in an age when church attendance is no longer a cultural expectation.
Don’t sit in your church building waiting for people to come. Be prepared to meet people where they are.
Prepare spiritually
Acknowledge the synergy between the Great Commandment in Matthew 22 (love your neighbor as yourself) and the Great Commission in Matthew 28 (go and make disciples). Evangelistic outreach expresses our love of others.
Remember that Jesus primarily engaged people through everyday encounters, rather than in the Temple or synagogues. He fed people, met their everyday needs, and enjoyed the fellowship of others.
Express love and compassion for your community in big and small ways. Avoid judgmentalism.
Pray regularly for your neighbors and lift up community concerns.
Attend to the faith formation of existing members. Willingness to share faith and reach out to others develops as one grows in faith and discipleship.
Prepare spiritually for the transformation that creative, risk-taking outreach will bring.
Get to know the community surrounding your church
Review demographic data from public, private, and denominational sources, but don’t assume that statistics alone will tell the whole story.
Get out in your neighborhood. Walk the streets. Map the area, and record your observations. Note how the community is changing.
Assess community needs and assets. What are the needs of your context? Who are your neighbors, and how can you serve them?
Be attuned to where God is already at work in your community.
Listen and learn
Know that ministries that truly bless a community often arise out of conversations where you listen for the hopes and dreams of people in your community.
Interview residents of the community. Sit in a park, diner, or coffee house. Ask simply, “What are your challenges, hopes, longings and dreams?”
Get to know the major public officials. They are people with tremendous influence. They need to know of your church’s commitment to the community.
Involve many people from your church in this work. Hold one another accountable to the tasks of engaging and learning from others.
Discern clusters of issues and concerns that arise from these conversations. Ask what issues, suffering, injustices, or brokenness might you address.
Build authentic relationships
Strive for meaningful engagement with others, not superficial gestures.
Make sure you are reaching out to people for the right reasons. If your motive is simply to get them to come to church, people will see right through to it.
Maintain appropriate boundaries, and respect all with whom you engage.
Collaborate with others who are also passionate about the community. Don’t reinvent the wheel if you can partner with someone else serving the community.
Turn your existing ministries outward
Challenge each church group with an inside focus to find a way to become involved with the community outside the church. A choir might sing at a nursing home, or trustees could sponsor a neighborhood clean-up.
Extend recruiting and advertising for church groups and events to audiences beyond your congregation. For example, recruit for choir members in a local paper or community list serve.
Build relationships with those taking part in existing programs that serve the community, such as ELS classes, food pantry or clothes bank users, daycare families, etc.
Reach out through community events
Plan “bridge events” designed explicitly to draw people from the community by providing for them something they need or enjoy — block parties, free concerts, seasonal events, parenting classes, sports camps, or school supply giveaways, etc. Source: Get Their Name by Bob Farr, Doug Anderson, and Kay Kotan (Abingdon Press, 2013)
Hold these events off church property or outside the church walls in venues where people feel comfortable and naturally congregate.
Get the word out through a well-planned publicity campaign.
Encourage church members to invite their friends and neighbors. It is less threatening for them to invite someone to a community event than to worship.
Avoid explicitly religious themes: no preaching, prayers, pressure, or financial appeals that might turn people off or reinforce negative stereotypes about church.
Remember, the event itself is not the purpose. The purpose is to meet people where they are and build relationships. Mingle. Get to know people.
Have a well-trained hospitality team. Make sure guests are enjoying themselves and know their attendance is appreciated.
Gathering people’s names and information about them will permit follow up to those for whom it is appropriate.
Invite those who attend community events to another event — sometimes called a “hand off event” — planned to draw them into a deeper relationship.
Extend your congregation’s spiritual presence beyond church walls
Recognize that many “unchurched” people are spiritually inclined but apprehensive about attending church because they feel unwelcome, distrust institutions, or have been hurt in the past.
Pay attention to the heightened receptiveness to spiritual engagement around religious holidays such as Easter and Christmas.
Offer offsite worship services on special days, such as Christmas Eve, Palm Sunday, and Easter. Select familiar venues where people feel comfortable — parks, restaurants, parking lots, coffee houses.
Offer imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday in public places.
Partner with other institutions (such as nursing homes, hospitals, or prisons) or commercial establishments (restaurants, bars, shopping centers, or sports facilities) to offer worship services to their constituents or clientele on special days.
Plan creative outdoor events, such as live nativities or “blessing of the animals” services, to help make your church visibly present to the community in creative ways.
Hold your Vacation Bible School in a local park or recreation center. Canvas nearby neighborhoods to invite families.
Reach out to local media. Community outreach is often newsworthy, and reporters are often looking for religiously themed stories around the holidays.
Connect spiritual outreach to community service
Acknowledge that many served through feeding and clothing ministries, justice ministries, weekday children’s services, and other ministries of community service have no other connections with our churches.
Ask if these ministries inadvertently convey an “us and them” attitude or communicate that “you are not worthy of joining us.”
Identify aspects of church life, such as characteristics of the building or how people dress, that may make some feel unwelcome. Are there alternatives that may reduce barriers for some to enter?
Treat everyone as a person of dignity who deserves respect.
Extend genuine hospitality to those you serve.
Focus first on building relationships of understanding and trust.
Consider adding a spiritual or discipleship element to community service activities but without any sense of expectation or requirement. For example, have a service or study following ESL classes for any interested.
Seek to conduct each activity in a way that connects people to God and the church.
Download a PDF of this page to share with others.
Reach New Disciples with the “Taking Church to the Community” Video Tool Kit
Explore strategies your congregation can use to reach beyond its walls with worship, community events, ministries, and service. The Taking Church to the Community Tool Kit features engaging videos, presentations, and supplemental materials and is designed for both self study and for use with groups in your church. Learn more and watch introductory videos today.Read now and download free.
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Quotable Leadership:
Becoming a leader is a process of internal self-discovery. In order for me to become a leader and become an even better leader, it's important that I first define my values and principles.[Olivia Lai]
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Learn about Capital and Operating Budgets
Save 15 percent when you purchase both video tool kits together.
We offer two video tool kits to help you improve church budgets. Building and Funding Your Capital Budget helps you understand what a capital budget is and how to engage the big questions about your church and assess your current situation. You will also learn how to organize and set priorities and how to fund your capital budget. Developing Your Operating Budget helps you understand what an operating budget is, different ways that churches create their annual operating budgets, and five common budgeting models.
Learn more and watch introductory videos now.
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Apply Now for Doctor of Ministry in Church Leadership at WesleyWesley Theological Seminary and the Lewis Center together offer a Doctor of Ministry in Church Leadership Excellence. With this track, clergy will receive the enhanced knowledge, skills, and motivation to increase congregational and denominational service, vitality, and growth. The next cohort begins in May 2017 in Washington, DC. Applications are due February 15.
Learn more and apply today.
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Editors: Dr. Ann A. Michel and Dr. Lovett H. Weems, Jr.
Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary
Connect with the Lewis Center:

Lewis Center for Church Leadership
Wesley Theological Seminary
4500 Massachusetts Avenue NorthWest
Washington, D.C. 20016, United States
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