Dear Church:
When it’s all said and done, there may be only three kinds of churches. Congregations, regardless of denominational affiliation will self-select into one of three categories. First, there are “memorial churches.” Memorial churches generally believe that their best days as a church were in the past. Memorial churches likely used to be bigger, multi-generational, and today see to it that they maintain the finances and facilities of previous generations of generosity with care and with an eye toward conservation.
A second form of church could be labeled as, “maintenance churches.” These churches believe that things right now are as good as it gets, and so preserving what is becomes the mission-critical nature of being the church. Maintenance churches strive to keep members happy. Programs involve rehearsing Christian values. Worship is a production. Service in the neighborhood is a means to feel good about the congregation.
Memorial and maintenance churches are transactional churches. If you will but pray (and pay), then the church staff will provide you with a positive experience.
There are likely times and seasons for each congregation to refocus on memorializing what has been, or maintaining what is.
For Blooming Glen, on this Pentecost weekend, now is not that time.
Our pastoral search committee, congregational leadership board, and elders have reached a new consensus. Maybe without recognizing fully what they signed on for, our church leadership: search committee, CLB, and elders, have cast our collective lot with reanimating Blooming Glen as a “movement church.” The leadership believes the best days are yet to come. The leadership invites us toward a new passion for the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. Our leadership has staked a claim in being on the lookout for new and creative ways to live out the mission of God, across the street and around the world. Our leadership is banking on new footholds for ministry within the culture to sharpen our focus on Jesus, depolarize our partisan politics, and find new wisdom in this strange new world. Our leadership has declared that church is likely going to become uncomfortable, and not very safe or simple for the foreseeable future. Blooming Glen is seeking to turn the clock back 270 years, and once again live as pioneers in new place.
In short, leadership at Blooming Glen has chosen to double down on the transformational character of Pentecost, and that the Holy Spirit will move in our midst over the next number of years in at least three ways:
To draw us into an embrace of spiritual habits and practices that fuel new core ministries that curate deep worship, that call us to thriving community care, and that guide us into truly missional service.
To expect our ministry staff to reimagine their work from program managers who facilitate religious transactions to a vital team of Jesus-led, Spirit-filled coaches who are led to build trust, character, and capacity so that the church at Blooming Glen is constantly reforming itself into an intergenerational and intercultural missionary community.
To become permanently vigilant, on the lookout for new leadership (mostly home-grown) to capably guide the church into what’s next.
This is not a two-year process. It may not even be a ten- or twenty-year process. But, seriously, isn’t the quest for transformation more appealing than the transactional ways of being church?
Our core ministries, our leadership systems, our elders, and our staff are all in agreement that, 1) we don’t know for sure where a transformational emphasis on being a movement church will ultimately take us; and 2) we sure do want to find out.
Welcome to Pentecost 2024,
Pastor Jeff
P.S. I’m back from outer space (aka, England, and California). Coffee and Conversations resume at the Broad Street Grind on Friday, May 17 at 3:30pm-4:45pm. Oatmeal, Omelettes, and Observations resume at the A&N Diner on Monday, May 20, at 7:30am-8:45am. These are your times to ask questions, challenge assumptions, and make your voice heard in the dialogue. If you can’t make those times, come see me about other times that might work for you to be heard. Thanks!