"PRACTICAL WISDOM FOR LEADING CONGREGATIONS: To Do New Things Well, Congregations Must Learn" Alban at Duke Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina, United States
"PRACTICAL WISDOM FOR LEADING CONGREGATIONS: To Do New Things Well, Congregations Must Learn"
Congregations don't just do something new. They must learn to do something new.
"If it's a matter of consequence, congregations don't just do new things," said the Rev. Tim Shapiro, the president of the Indianapolis Center for Congregations. "They learn to do new things -- learning that is a durable change of behavior or attitudes or ways of thinking."
Over his 14 years with the Center for Congregations, Shapiro has worked with more than 1,100 congregations, and the Center has worked with more than 4,000. The stories and patterns Shapiro has observed are set out in his recently released book, How Your Congregation Learns: The Learning Journey from Challenge to Achievement.
The Center for Congregations is a nonprofit funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. whose mission is to help Indiana congregations find and use resources and to share what it is learning with a national audience. As part of that work, the Center in 2015 revised and relaunched the Congregational Resource Guide (CRG).
Shapiro spoke recently to our colleagues at Faith & Leadership about his new book, which includes stories about congregations of many types as well as reflection questions designed to help lay and ordained leaders learn how to do something new.
Faith & Leadership
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CONGREGATIONS Tim Shapiro: To do new things well, congregations must learn
An effective learning process almost always begins with comprehensively yet succinctly naming the challenge at hand, the president of the Indianapolis Center for Congregations says in this interview about his new book.
Congregations don’t just do something new. They must learn to do something new.
“If it’s a matter of consequence, congregations don’t just do new things,” said the Rev. Tim Shapiro, the president of the Indianapolis Center for Congregations. “They learn to do new things -- learning that is a durable change of behavior or attitudes or ways of thinking.”
The Center for Congregations is a nonprofit funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. whose mission is to help Indiana congregations find and use resources and to share what it is learning with a national audience. As part of that work, the Center in 2015 revised and relaunched the Congregational Resource Guide (CRG).(link is external)
Shapiro spoke to Faith & Leadership about his new book, which includes stories about congregations of many types as well as reflection questions designed to help lay and ordained leaders learn how to do something new. The following is an edited transcript.
Q: What do you mean when you say that congregations learn?
For a congregation to achieve or accomplish something new, it’s not just a matter of doing something. It’s almost always a matter of learning to do something new. There are many things that happen in a faith community in which something new doesn’t have to be learned. If it’s summertime and the air conditioners need new filters, chances are somebody has done that before. You just have the volunteer do it or call the air conditioning company. The congregation has achieved an objective, as simple as it might be, but they haven’t had to learn to do something new.
If it’s a matter of consequence, congregations don’t just do new things. They learn to do new things -- learning that is a durable change of behavior or attitudes or ways of thinking.
For instance, imagine a congregation is seeking to start a new Wednesday evening program. This new program is designed not only for the elementary school children in their congregation but the elementary school children who go to the school two blocks away. It’s the first time the church has reached out to that school. So the congregation is going to need to learn durable new ways of behaving, thinking and feeling about such an endeavor.
Q: What did you notice about congregations that led you to write this book?
Congregations that were able to effectively do what they set out to do were essentially doing the same things. There was a pattern that became apparent, whether the congregation was effectively meeting financial goals around a capital campaign or whether the congregation was starting a new youth ministry or going on a mission trip for the first time. When congregations told stories about their achievements, the same elements were showing up regardless of the size of the congregation, regardless of the location of the congregation, even regardless of the congregation’s affiliation.
This book is about the patterns I observed. For example, congregations that effectively developed new programs went on a learning journey, whether they were conscious of it or not.
The learning journey includes defining your challenge, exploration of the issue, disappointment, discovery, taking on and letting go, validation, and then inevitably, another challenge.
My hope is that if congregational leaders get to know some of these learning dynamics -- many of which are already occurring, just not at a conscious level -- they will become more intentional about the various conditions and factors that go into a congregation learning to do something new. The result would be less wear and tear on a congregation when it takes risks regarding new initiatives.
Q: What would be an example of a helpful learning dynamic?
Congregations often had to explore the challenge for a good period of time before they were able to implement the idea. There was a period of slowing down between identifying the challenge and receiving an epiphany about how to move ahead. There was a period of exploring the landscape of possibilities. This not only included slowing down and discerning in God’s time, but it also almost always included the engagement of an outside resource -- a helper, a support network -- to gain more education about the subject. Knowing that things naturally slow down as part of a learning process can help congregational leaders become less frustrated.
Q: Are all congregations naturally learning communities?
Almost all -- I would be hesitant to say “all” about almost anything -- are learning communities. Some of it goes back to the very nature of congregations. After all, the word “rabbi” means “teacher.” Congregations, like most human communities, need to learn how to do new things, just as a family learns new things when an infant enters that system, and corporations that are trying to earn profits have to learn new things to keep up with the markets.
Most of us in community find ourselves facing challenges that are just beyond our grasp, our capacities. The book isn’t proposing a new theory. What it is doing is unpacking the positive dynamics that are already present in congregations that effectively learn to do new things.
Q: Talk about the positive dynamics you’ve seen in congregations that do new things well.
There are three different ways to categorize the dynamics that are going on, creating a sort of three-dimensional picture. Becoming a bit more conscious of these dynamics that are probably already present creates the opportunity for the congregational leader to have more agency over the process.
First, there is a dynamic around congregational capacity. What is the congregation’s capacity in relationship to the specific program or initiative that is being considered? By capacity I mean the congregation’s ability, the strengths it brings to the new endeavor. If a congregation has never started a homeless ministry and that is its new challenge, then the congregational leaders are likely to need information and training before they can shape a program that works in their context.
Mention promo code 4ALBWK617 when you order “How Your Congregation Learns” on the Rowman & Littlefield website or order by phone at 800-462-6420. Offer expires July 31, 2017. Discount cannot be combined with other special offers.
I like to think about the capacity in terms of what level of learning is needed in a congregation in relationship to a specific issue. A congregation might simply need information. Or it might benefit from training, which is more sophisticated than receiving information. Some congregations have enough capacity to address issues through the lens of education and ultimately transformation, meaning that addressing this challenge will ultimately change something in the very form, culture, mission or worldview of the congregation itself.
Every congregation has multiple capacities, so the capacity should always be evaluated in terms of the specific initiative. For instance, a congregation may have high capacity when it comes to rich, deep, beautiful worship, and indeed, something about worship is continually transforming the congregation. But perhaps when it comes to older adult ministry that might be new to this congregation, this religious community may have low capacity. There’s nothing right or wrong; just knowing that can help a congregation know the pace it needs to go and the resources that are most helpful.
If you discern you have low capacity regarding a challenge, don’t jump in and hire a consultant or a coach. You will lose agency. You will give up your initiative to the consultant or coach. If your team is starting something brand-new with little knowledge, start by discussing a book chapter or a blog.
Q: What else do congregations do well as they try something new?
The second dimension has to do with the journey a congregation takes when it is learning to do a new thing. The journey includes the elements I mentioned earlier: defining the challenge, exploration, disappointment and so forth. If the first dimension is about capacity, this second dimension is a learning journey. It is the passageway the learning takes.
Say a congregation is trying to initiate a new adult ministry, for both its members and the larger community. One of the things that happens in a congregation that effectively pulls off a ministry like this is they clearly define the challenge.
Then they go on an exploration, like a survey of the landscape. This often involves engaging an outside resource -- a book, talking to another congregation.
Often along the way, the congregation will experience disappointment. They may find out, for instance, that they don’t have enough volunteers to do the initiative like they want to do it. They might find that they had hoped to partner with some nursing facilities but they haven’t been able to find the right one. Even in the most successful congregational achievement, there is the presence of disappointment.
But there is a moment of discovery -- a revelation, an epiphany -- that helps solidify the idea and make apparent the way in which implementation should go.
When it comes to implementation, there is both a taking on and almost always a letting go of something else in a congregation. So this congregation pursuing the older adult ministry may find they are going to reduce the number of Advent activities for one season while they ramp up the older adult programming.
Along this journey, there are experiences of affirmation that this is the right thing to do. Some of these moments of validation happen naturally, like receiving a thank-you note. Or some of it is planned, like a celebration.
And then inevitably, there is always going to be a next challenge.
This is the journey congregations go on, whether they are aware of it or not. It shows up in so many narratives, with almost every imaginable issue. All of these things are happening, because congregations are learning how to define their questions, explore, bear disappointment, let go, and validate what they are learning.
Q: What is the final dynamic you observed?
The third dynamic involves the behaviors that move a congregation along in the learning journey. Some of the behaviors include getting the timing right -- moving slowly at the right time, and then, once the way clears, being prepared to move more quickly.
Another behavior has to do with the relationship between clergy and laity. The more there is mutual learning between the clergy and laity, the odds are the more effective the outcome is going to be. The energy in the mutual learning builds mutual affection. Or maybe it is the other way around. The apostle Paul identifies this in Romans 12:10: “Love one another with mutual affection.” This is very powerful, not unlike the way a high school student may fall in love with chemistry because he or she has a fantastic teacher, and there is a strong relationship between the student and the teacher.
So there are certain behaviors that enhance a congregation’s ability to do new things. The behaviors include getting the timing right, strengthening the quality of relationships, attending to rites of passage and theological clarity, and using an outside resource that extends the congregation’s capacity in relationship to the challenge.
Q: Do you think today’s world puts a particular demand on a congregation understanding itself as a learning community?
I don’t know if contemporary life puts more demand on a congregation compared with another era, but I think the particular demands of today do make it necessary for a congregation to be a place of learning regarding life practice, religious life and organizational life. The primary factor in the decline of a congregation that is occurring in some, but not all, settings is best viewed through the frame of capacity in relationship to demands, not other various sociological reasons. In other words, there is nothing inherently wrong with your congregation. The current demands are an opportunity for learning.
Q: What is one thing that congregations typically don’t do well when taking on a new project?
Congregations that are effective in a new initiative are very careful and clear about what they are trying to do. Their description of a challenge simplifies the complex. When a congregation is not as effective, you can almost always see that the description is too nebulous or too general.
Q: What other resources do you recommend for congregations beginning something new?
One resource that is really helpful is a book called “Projects That Matter(link is external),” by Kathleen Cahalan. The book is clear, helpful and full of well-thought-out ideas. It helps a congregation think more strategically about evaluating results and impact.
Part of what drew me to the ordained ministry was a particular image of that calling: the minister as a field-based teacher and scholar. It is in many ways a rabbinic model. Rabbi means “teacher.” Rabbis were teachers who were based not primarily in the school, university, or academy but in the community—in congregations and in the public square. Their task was to teach and to interpret a way of life for the people and community in which they lived. How does the faith of our people and tradition relate to this concern or that question of the day? How do the stories of our faith speak to a challenge in someone’s life? How are the pastors and teachers of the church like the scribes of the kingdom of which Jesus spoke when he said, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old” (Matt. 13:52)? Such scribes brought the old wisdom and ancient stories to new times and places. As a young man, I found such an understanding of ministry both compelling and challenging.
Does such an image of the office and calling of the ordained clergy have any meaning or relevance today? Or is it hopelessly romantic and outdated? Can the ordained function as field-based and community-based teachers and theologians, or have other more pressing or culturally appealing or relevant roles rendered this one either passé or simply way down the list of priorities? Ministers, pastors, priests, and rabbis can do so many things. There are so many possible understandings of our role and responsibility. How can one take pride in the calling?
Another way to ask these questions is to frame them in terms of congregations. Can congregations be teaching and learning communities? Or is that asking too much or too little? Are congregations to be something more or something different from this? Again, the possible and appropriate understandings of the purpose of congregations are many. Congregations may be centers of personal healing and spiritual growth, communities for activism and social change, centers of family life and nurture, institutions that offer an array of programs to meet varied human needs, or communities of worship.
While pastors and congregations must make choices among the array of possible priorities before them, my argument is not so much that the pastoral role of teacher and theologian and the congregational one of a teaching and learning community are to be preferred to others. Rather, my argument is that such an understanding gives order and coherence to the many functions and activities of clergy and congregations. We are in the business, or so it seems to me, of teaching and embodying a way of life, a particular way of being human in relationship to God. In all that we do, both as religious leaders and as congregations, we teach. Sometimes the lessons we teach are not consistent with the faith and values we profess, but right or wrong, faithful or derelict, we teach, we model, we form, and we inform.
The great truths of Christian faith, our core convictions, are saving truths. They make a difference. They make a difference by forming humans who are humane and truthful. They make a difference by pointing the way when we have lost our way and the way. They make a difference by shaping congregations and communities to become more vital. These saving truths create and sustain congregations. Those who seek and find such congregations discover a healthy community in which to grow, struggle, be changed, and be sustained. In the midst of the many forces that regularly distort and diminish life as God has created it to be, these saving truths create God’s intended community. Most of all, these truths save by bringing us into relationship with the true and living God.
I envision pastors and congregations teaching these saving truths not only in formal ways through classes and study, but also, and perhaps even more important, in the informal ways that communities always teach: through role models and mentors, by interpreting shared convictions in times of crisis and loss, and by giving shape to those convictions in our daily ways of living. To be sure, this is not an easy endeavor, nor is it even one that will be completed in a person’s lifetime. But those caveats make this calling, at least for me, more compelling. To be one among others who conveys and interprets the faith once received in fresh and lively ways and to be a community of learning and teaching (what organizational consultant Peter Senge has called a “learning organization” in his book The Fifth Discipline) seem to me to be tasks worthy of a lifetime.
That I draw inspiration for this understanding of both ministry and congregations from the Jewish faith is perhaps revealing. The Jews have long known what it is to struggle to sustain a particular faith and way of life amid societies that were not necessarily friendly to them. This, it seems to me, is increasingly the situation of Christians. We live in a society that is officially secular, is religiously pluralistic, and in values and lifestyles offers more a smorgasbord than a set menu. For the most part, I do not regret these realities. I am not among those who believe a Christian way of life can or ought to be legislated and mandated for all citizens. Faith is not a political ideology or agenda. While it should speak to political and social issues, faith that is captured in a political ideology or agenda has become something other than the faith and way of Jesus Christ, who came not to lord it over others, but to serve (Mark 10:42-43).
But the secularization and pluralism of North American society give a new priority to teaching and formation, to the minister as teacher and practical theologian, and to the congregation as a teaching and learning community. Neither ordained ministers nor congregations can assume, as we once did, that most people who come of age in North America have learned the basics of faith simply by growing up here. By basics, I mean the core convictions, biblical stories, hymns, and practices that constitute the way of life of believers. While counting on the culture to form Christians was probably never a very good idea, there may once have been a time when clergy and congregations could rely more on the culture at large to do so. That is no longer true. These changes in our culture and in the place of the church bring the pastoral role as teacher and theologian and the congregational role as teaching and learning community into higher relief.
Vital congregations in this new time will look more Jewish in the sense that they will be more intentional about teaching and embodying a way of life, about doing Christian formation. Not long ago, the pollster George Gallup Jr. set out to determine what those who seek a church today most want from that experience. He noted three things in particular: sermons that are instructive and believable, opportunities to deepen one’s own spiritual life, and a church that helps people to have a better understanding of the faith.
We might think of these things as the roots of faith. As any farmer or gardener knows, trees whose roots are not planted in healthy soil and nurtured with water and occasional fertilizer will not long bear fruit. In some measure, the problem of mainline congregations has been that we have gone to the trees decade after decade, asking a great harvest of fruit (programs of service and activism, ministries of outreach and care) without tending the roots. The result is predictable. This is not to say Christian or congregational life is an either-or: either roots and spiritual growth or fruits and ministries of service and care. Root-bound congregations are in as much a danger as fruitless ones. Roots or fruit is not an either-or; it is a both-and, as any healthy apple tree testifies.
Much of the clergy’s teaching will be in the midst of the life of the congregation and its people. This doesn’t mean always having the answers; indeed, it may mean having the question. It does mean putting the little dramas of life in community and of our lives individually into the context of the great story of God’s redeeming and relentless love and purpose. It means making the connections between God’s story and our stories, because in reality they are not two different stories but one story. Tell the story with love. Tell it with confidence. Tell it with joy. Amen!
A Lutheran pastor in Pennsylvania uses social media to engage youth in the ancient teachings of the church, a reflection of his deep belief that God is everywhere, including online.
Twenty-six teenagers dillydally on smartphones, sending instant messages, scrolling through news feeds, liking statuses and posting updates on social media sites Twitter, Facebook and Instagram while intermittently gazing at farmland images beaming from a digital projector. New Age tunes echo through the room courtesy of online music service Spotify.
Despite the tech-rich environment, these youths aren’t meeting at an urban cybercafe or taking a class at an Apple store. They are congregating at the Upper Dublin Lutheran Church fellowship hall in the Rev. Keith Anderson’s weekly catechism class. The day’s focus is on the third commandment: Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.
But Anderson sees no irony in allowing his students to noodle around online as part of a discussion on God’s rules of rest. Indeed, this is their Sabbath.
“When we were planning this class, we debated whether or not we would let them use their smartphones during the 20-minute in-class Sabbath time,” said Anderson, the 39-year-old pastor of Upper Dublin Lutheran, a 1,000-member church family in Ambler, Penn.
“And then we decided, yes we should. This is how they relax. This is what they would do to relax. This is how they experience Sabbath,” he said.
Over the last five years, Anderson has built a national reputation in Christian circles as a social media expert -- especially as the technology relates to teens and tweens. He is best-known for the 192-page paperback “Click 2 Save: The Digital Ministry Bible,” which he co-wrote with Elizabeth Drescher, a professor of religious studies at Santa Clara University.
More than a gimmick to spark the teens’ interest, Anderson says, social media can be used as a tool to convey the ancient teachings of the church in the formation of a new generation of Christians. It can help break down barriers, reach across fractures in teens’ lives and engage teens in the spaces -- digital or otherwise -- where they live.
“How do we equip them to take care of themselves in this space, and be people of faith, if we aren’t in this space?” he said.
In his own church, he is incorporating technology and social media into the everyday life of faith, including youth formation. It’s more than just letting the students text during breaks; as part of the class’s fall Ten Commandments project, Anderson asked his students to Instagram pictures of their ideal forms of Sabbath. They’ve discussed Christlike behavior on the Internet, and what it means to be a “digital disciple.”
“We are all inspired by what we see online in our faith community,” said 18-year-old Will Thornton. “It’s another way for us to learn and connect with other people in our faith, whether we are having good days or bad days.”
God in the Twitterverse
Anderson’s social media philosophy is simple: God is everywhere, even in the Twitterverse. And if the church fails to embrace that, it stands to lose its future members.
“We remember a time before email, before there was social media,” said Anderson, pointing out that even email is an outdated form of communication for today’s teens. “These kids will never know that time.”
“The church is slowly starting to acknowledge that social media is the landscape of communication,” Drescher said. “This is the medium where spiritual growth is happening, so we have to be working in that medium.”
Drescher points to the New York-based liturgical organization Digital Formation as an example of embracing social media for formation. The educational group seeks to help clergy and laypeople in the Episcopal Church use social media through webinars and Twitter.
These organizations “are drawing on the most positive potential of the new media landscape,” Drescher said.
Last fall, Drescher asked students in her Christian tradition course to post images of ideas, themes and people relevant to the history of Christianity on the social media site Pinterest. There are more than 1,000 pins on the resulting “Seeing the Christian Tradition” Pinterest board, ranging from depictions of John the Baptist baptizing Jesus to photographs of Nelson Mandela.
Like Anderson, Drescher sees a parallel with an older form of church teaching.
“Pinterest is a modern-day stained-glass window,” Drescher explained. But unlike the stained-glass windows in a given church, which are accessible only to the people in that region, Pinterest boards are accessible from any computer with Internet access.
Formation for digital natives
A Gen Xer, Anderson dresses in fitted jeans, a cardigan and black-rimmed Buddy Holly-style glasses.
His workspace reflects the merging of old and new. In the church’s front office, white-haired parishioners staple programs. Some are on Facebook to keep up with the grandkids, but for the most part, they say it’s not really for them. On the bookcase in Anderson’s office are round-faced statues of Martin Luther and Luther’s wife, Katharina. On his desk is a silver MacBook Pro -- Twitter screen up and running. The iPhone 5 next to it buzzes every seven minutes or so.
“In some ways, I’m a cultural translator,” Anderson said. “I’m very much aware that I minister to people who are not online as well as people who are online a lot. Part of my role is to tell them that even though the technologies are different, [the people] aren’t that different.”
He was first introduced to Facebook in 2006, when he was assigned to the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Woburn, Mass. Anderson was a little apprehensive of new media but slowly realized how it helped him connect with his congregation.
“I would post things about my life and my runs, and people would ask me how my running is going,” Anderson said. “People really started interacting around the content that was shared. I thought, ‘This is amazing. I’m getting a window into people’s lives, and I get to communicate with them throughout the week.’
“It was slowly becoming a valuable thing, and people were just delighted by it.”
In 2008, the Church of the Redeemer held a retreat during which they decided to bolster communication with the congregation through social media -- then still in its infancy. Anderson began blogging his sermons and podcasting them as well. He also started filming a two-minute Bible series and posting it on YouTube.
“He had an incredible impact,” said Carolyn Rahal, the parish administrator at the Church of the Redeemer, who refers to Anderson as a “rock star.” “He was so innovative. During a time when our community was on lockdown because of robbers in the area, he tweeted prayers.”
In the fall of 2012, Anderson moved to Ambler with his wife, Jennifer, and four children, and his social media presence has continued to expand.
Last June, Anderson completed the 10-mile Tough Mudder Race in Philadelphia. Where did he post his accomplishment? On Facebook, of course. In December, he celebrated his 10-year anniversary as an ordained minister by posting a series of Instagram photos.
And each Sunday morning, Anderson asks congregants to check in on Facebook, telling the world they are at Sunday morning worship. He has also started a Theology Pub series, with Facebook and Twitter accounts and a blog called God on Tap.
“You can try to keep [teens] off Facebook for as long as you want, but this is the world they are living in. They are native to it,” Anderson said. “So instead of saying, ‘It’s the devil; stay away from it,’ I’m here to show them faith has a role in it. God has a role in everything.
First Commandment: I am the Lord your God. Have no other gods before me. Casts are something that I let myself treat as a God #udlc #casts
First Commandment: I am the Lord your God. Have no other gods before me.#udlc
other gods #udlc
Third Commandment: Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy: This is where I find peace in the midst of busyness. #udlc
This is where I find rest and renewal. #UDLC
sabbath--my garden #udlc
Word. #udlc
The Ten Commandments on Instagram
Last fall, Anderson co-taught an online class at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia called “Catechism as Platform: Teaching Catechism in the Digital Age,” which spurred him to think about using social media more in his formation classes with teens.
One day while researching Martin Luther’s 16th-century texts, he started examining the woodcuts used to teach the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostles’ Creed and the Ten Commandments. They reminded him of Instagram pictures of today. To help prepare his students for Confirmation, Anderson kicked off a Ten Commandments project. He started out teaching the mechanics of the medium: how to set up Instagram accounts and post pictures using smartphones. He asked parents to participate, too.
Each week, he discussed a different commandment and its practical application. For homework, he asked students to find and post images that helped them understand the commandment. For example, for the commandment to keep the Sabbath, participants posted pictures of piano keys, workplaces and a poppy field.
One of the most meaningful classes in the 10-week series, Anderson said, focused on the eighth commandment: Do not bear false witness against your neighbor.
“We talked about the girl in Florida who had been cyberbullied and committed suicide,” Anderson said, referring to 12-year-old Rebecca Sedwick, who committed suicide in September after more than a year of being harassed on Facebook.
“And they got it. I can see it in their eyes. They really got it in the modern-day context. … These are high stakes,” Anderson said.
Last fall, Anderson also offered his catechumens a two-day “digital disciples” class designed to get them to think about using the Internet as Jesus would. It’s important, Anderson says, that students are mindful of their status updates, likes and friend requests as they define their online identities.
“We engaged the whole class in thinking about these rules,” Anderson said. “How is this an example of Christlike behavior on the Internet?”
The class discussed “Gregory’s iPhone Contract,”(link is external) a poignant letter that Cape Cod mother Janell Burley Hofmann wrote to her 13-year-old son, Gregory, last Christmas when she gave him an iPhone. Hofmann’s heartfelt 18 points of social media rules went viral.
On a recent Sunday morning after the 9 a.m. check-in, a group of teenagers met to talk about how technology has amplified their relationships with God. Nearly all of these students have smartphones, and even if they aren’t checking them, they are fiddling around in their purses and pockets checking for them. Social media is ensconced in their daily lives, like eating breakfast and taking the bus to school, so much so that not sharing their feelings in images and updates would be foreign -- even in their faith lives.
“We try to promote ourselves in positive ways,” said Naomi Krizner, 15, “like when we are doing service projects. It’s a way for our friends [who may not go to church with us] to see our involvement in the faith.”
And probably most importantly, students have learned that when used with kindness and compassion, social media can be a place where they are encouraged in Christ.
“Sometimes things happen during the week that are upsetting,” said 20-year-old Amanda Couch, who sometimes listens to Anderson’s sermons on YouTube. For the busy college student, it’s the only time she may have during the week. “But when I’m on social media and I see people’s positive messages, I remember God always has a reason.”
Questions to consider:
How have you witnessed a changing culture altering the way people practice traditional disciplines, like keeping Sabbath?
How might technology, like Instagram, be a creative platform to invigorate or reinvigorate your ministry?
What resources exist in your institution and beyond to help you utilize technology in new ways?
In your own work and life, how is social media redefining community and connection? How are you responding to these changes?
The Internet gives even small congregations the ability to offer vibrant adult education and formation programs, an Episcopal priest and founder of the online learning website ChurchNext.tv says in this interview. As he watched his own congregation’s worship attendance flatten despite record giving, the Rev. Chris Yaw began to wonder: How do you reach people when they’re not in church yet are in front of smartphones or computer screens? “I had this idea that the church ought to reclaim its place in the community as a teacher, a place where the religiously curious can come and ask questions,” Yaw said. So two years ago, Yaw launched ChurchNext.tv, a Christian learning website that now offers subscribers, both individuals and congregations, more than 100 courses. Such programs enable churches of all sizes to offer vibrant adult formation programs, which are essential for church renewal, Yaw said. “In an age when people are walking around with computers in our pockets, why not listen to a course on an introduction to a Gospel or something like that versus some of the other stuff that’s out there?”
Yaw serves as the rector of St. David’s Episcopal Church in Southfield, Michigan, and served previously as associate rector at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Battle Creek, Michigan. He was ordained in the diocese of Los Angeles, where he worked for 15 years as a television journalist. He has an M.Div. and a Th.M. from Fuller Theological Seminary. He spoke recently with Faith & Leadership about ChurchNext.tv and adult formation. The following is an edited transcript. Q: Tell us about ChurchNext.tv. What is it? It’s a website that provides online Christian learning. It started as a video blog featuring long interviews with people who are making a difference in the mainline. You can still see a number of those on our YouTube site(link is external). Out of that, this idea struck me. I’m a priest and a rector at St. David’s Episcopal Church(link is external) in Southfield, Michigan, and I know that people come to church less frequently. At my church, for the second year in a row, we had our best pledge drive ever, we have more money coming in, we get 20 to 40 people joining the church every year, but Sunday attendance is flat and even declining. People are coming, but they come less frequently. So how do we reach them when they are not here, but they are likely in front of a screen? I had this idea that the church ought to reclaim its place in the community as a teacher, a place where the religiously curious can come and ask questions. So we launched ChurchNext(link is external) in August 2013 with 28 courses. These are 45-minute courses that you can take at any time. They are taught by experts in various fields, what we mainliners would describe as middle-of-the-road. We are very clear that we are going after the mainline. We do have Catholic teachers and subscribers, and evangelical teachers and subscribers, but our sweet spot is Episcopalian, Methodist, American Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Disciples of Christ, etc. We launch a new course every week and are now up to a hundred courses, and we’re launching all of them in a “for groups” format. We originally designed our courses for individuals to take on their own but found that many people were taking the courses together, with a group. So we went back and reformatted the content to use on a big screen, on a TV, for group learning. You can actually stream it now and download the facilitator’s guide and the participant’s guide at a fraction of what a DVD would cost. We design online learning experiences. It is not passive; the pedagogy behind it is very interactive, with quizzes and discussions. Q: What’s your assessment of the current state of adult education and formation in churches today? How well are people formed? A friend of mine who runs a company called Forward Movement, an Episcopal publishing imprint, estimates that 80 percent of Episcopal parishes do not have ongoing vibrant adult formation at all. For the priests who look after those parishes -- myself included -- that’s not something we are proud of. We are not called to make converts; we are called to make disciples, and that’s a process and a journey. What ChurchNext does is to make it possible for any church, for $300 a year, to subscribe and have access to hundreds of classes and be able to suggest to us classes that they want. We are trying to make it really easy. The vast majority of churches in America have under a hundred people on a Sunday. Getting a preacher is hard enough, but getting a vibrant formation program is another thing. So this falls right into the category of, “Oh my gosh, for $15 you can buy a class and have everybody in the church watching.” Q: Your biography on your website says that you are “passionate about renewing congregations.” What role does formation play in congregational renewal? I think that’s the key to the renewal of congregations. The more deeply formed and committed people are in their personal faith, the stronger the church. For example, the case for stewardship is not, “Guys, we need money.” The case is, “Look what God has done for you.” We give out of mature faith. In my own experience, I find that those who are most charitable are those who are most deeply formed. Tom Bergler has written a couple of books, “The Juvenilization of American Christianity” and his follow-up book, “From Here to Maturity: Overcoming the Juvenilization of American Christianity.” We have worked with him to create a course called “How to Bring Maturity into Your Congregation.” Our courses generally go along three lines. The first is information for adults and young adults. That’s going to be Bible and theology and church history. The second is courses that will help in terms of crossing thresholds: baptismal preparation, confirmation, weddings, divorce, death. And the third line is leadership training. Those are courses in church marketing, this new course on how to bring maturity into the life of your church, how to run a Vacation Bible School, how to sit on the vestry, how to read a lesson on Sunday morning -- all these kinds of leadership courses. Q: What about just the very basics of church? So many people today didn’t come up in church and so almost need a basic primer on church and faith. Stephen Prothero says that 1 in 10 Americans believe that Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife. And that’s probably not far from true. We have an incredible amount of religious illiteracy. And as clergy, we are constantly overestimating the theological and biblical literacy of our people. ChurchNext is at that place between the seminary and the pew. I know as a pastor of 550 people that maybe three would take an online course from a seminary. I can double or triple that number with my online school. Not everyone is going to sign up, but many would. We’ve used it to prepare people for the sacraments. We did a sermon series in the fall about the Book of Common Prayer, and then as a follow-up, we had an eight-part course called “Opening the Prayer Book.” We showed it on a big screen, and people came up afterward and said, “I’m 70 and have been going to church since I was a kid, and I never knew about the prayer book.” Q: The ChurchNext website lists the company’s guiding principles, one of which is “Go deep.” What’s that about? I am convinced that people do want to go deep. Some studies indicate that American Christians prefer an emotionally comforting, self-focused, actually shallow faith. But we don’t go there. We are not here to win a popularity contest but to change lives. And that only happens when you push and promote what’s challenging and genuine. I really think that’s what people deeply want. We are not our best selves when we are self-focused, when we are comforted. The reason Christianity is the biggest religion is because, to do it right, it is challenging, it hurts, it is uncomfortable. When we look back in our lives, the things that were most difficult are the things that we are most proud of -- raising children, making sacrifices, serving our country in the military. So, as much as we are tempted, we don’t dumb down our courses. We try to take advantage of the best teachers we can and present that in a way that’s accessible to people. Q: What have been the most popular categories and courses so far? I think that people have enjoyed those with names that they recognize. David Lose’s courses have done well. A number of Episcopalians have enjoyed Frank Wade’s course on the Episcopal tradition. We occasionally do a free course that we offer to the world, and recently launched one by Becca Stevens called “A Simple Path to a Deeper Spiritual Life.” Last December we had a wonderful course by Cornel West that must have drawn 2,000 comments. Learning is one thing, but engaging people is another. ChurchNext is not just a technology platform; it is an ecosystem. It is where people are making comments and learning and being transformed. We do questionnaires after our classes, and it is surprising how many people will say the class had a major impact on their spiritual life. So there is transformation that happens. We are convinced this is the work of the Spirit. We pray regularly for the folks taking classes, and we ask them to pray as they take classes and open their hearts up to what the Spirit is going to do. Some people say you can’t have any relationship online, but look at Facebook. We can actually have relationships online, just very different from face to face. And we are not all about staying online, either. All of our classes have downloadable discussion questions, and we urge people to take classes and then come together. Q: Do you know who the participants are -- what percentage are taking the classes within a group setting, what percentage are doing it at home on their own? We can tell the number of subscribers that we have in churches versus individuals. But even when a congregation has a subscription, they allow their members to take the classes by themselves. When the congregation subscribes, we don’t really have access to who is in their school, what they are learning, what their email addresses are. So no, we really don’t know. Probably in our third year, we are going to pay somebody to do that kind of research and find out who these people are and what they need and want. They say there are four stages to a startup. The first is, will it work? The second is getting traction. The third is, how do you scale? And fourth is, how big can you get? So a year and a half into this, we are pretty sure it is working, and we are pretty sure we are getting some traction. Once we move into the third stage, which is scaling -- which we have already had to do to a degree, because we have had some modest growth -- we will be able to answer those. Q: How many congregations have subscribed? Probably 250 or so. They are across the mainline, but mostly Episcopalian. Q: And they can customize their own online learning programs. Tell me about that. It is actually pretty exciting. A congregation can subscribe, and we set up an account that allows the pastor and church to have their own school that they brand, an online academy, and the pastor goes to our catalog and chooses the courses that he or she thinks would be germane to the congregation and then launches the school and invites people to take the courses within the context of their own congregation. There are three basic aspects of online learning that make it attractive: cost, expert teaching and convenience. The vast majority of Americans have never taken an online class, but once people take a class, more than 90 percent tell us in our surveys that they are going to take another. So it really is an effective way to learn. We really want every congregation to have an online school. In an age when people are walking around with computers in our pockets, why not listen to a course on an introduction to a Gospel or something like that versus some of the other stuff that’s out there?
Change isn't always easy or intuitive. How Your Congregation Learns introduces churches and leaders-both lay and ordained-to the process of the learning journey. By understanding learning dynamics and working to become a learning community, the congregation will be able to move more purposefully to achieve its goals.
Congregations face many kinds of challenges. Some are mundane: the roof leaks; the parking lot needs repaving; the microphones don't work well. Some tests are transcendent: How should lives be honored? What is God calling the congregation to do and be? How can generosity be taught? Throughout life people face challenges for which they are not prepared-the death of a parent, a new job offer, making a decision about where to live. So it goes that congregational leaders face challenges that are just beyond the grasp of their abilities. This book addresses the just-beyond-the-grasp challenges and shows how real congregations can learn from them.
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