The Pastor's Study -- An Update on Mission Statments

Jay, I'm glad your church council came out with a statement for common mission. From my angle, I don't see the statement as the main product of the conversations that led to it, nor as THE definitive guide to your future, though it is likely to be valuable in both of these ways as well. The more important products of your conversations were the conversations themselves, the bonding that has already taken place because of those, the commitment to living in a certain way with one another embodied in the process that has carried you so far. The statement retains its value pretty much exactly as the council and you have decided it will-- as the conversations and commitment you have expressed in the Council begin to be lived out and spread across the congregation. So I guess I'd think about trying to change the conversation about your next steps from "buy-in" or "ownership" to something more like "working a little leaven into the loaf" or "planting kudzu seeds" or even "spreading the contagion" of what these conversations have been, what they've enabled you to see, and the kind of direction and priorities you find God leading you to embrace both now and going forward as a result of the conversations you've had. The language of buy-in and ownership reduces the next parts of the conversation to being about sales, marketing, politics, and finances, rather than about life together in the name and under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The conversations so far have been about that life-- so however you frame the next steps, think about them from the angle of how life becomes more expansive, not so much about either how people are convinced to do what you want them to do or other sorts of mechanistic systems. Peace in Christ, Taylor Burton-Edwards

We too are struggling with this issue. Our biggest issue has been having hope that God has a purpose for us in our community. I serve an older congregation, most of which are burned out on church work. I am seeing some hope sparking among the faithful. Are you going to believe it? That is do you own the mission statement? I do not claim to be perfect and have my doubts often as to whether we even own the mission that Christ gave us, but I have found that I have to own it to even hope that others will own. I know you know this, I am just venting my frustration with the process. I will pray for yall, if you will pray for us. David Lay Saint John's UMC