Dear Blooming Glen Friends,
“RECRUIT.” It is apparently the word that has some of us up in arms. I’m sorry for the agitation that has caused. In the Blooming Glen congregational system, which seems to be equally comfortable with both living by and fighting about our historic, top-down, bureaucratic, and administrative approach to doing church, “recruit” seems to be interpreted by some as the ultimate command and control phrase.
Nope. Not by a long shot.
When I came to Blooming Glen, I tried to warn you that I would be active in attempting to transform the role of church staff from principal program administrators to local missionaries. I tried to let you know from the outset that I would work to lead the staff from being the primary actors who receive a stipend to keep the ever-declining status quo spinning week to week to instead becoming the people who have been called by God and you, the congregation, to a vocation of taking the metaphorical ingredients of the Kingdom of God: salt, yeast, and light, and stirring vigorously. Such a transformation has at least two implications: First, the staff’s role shifts from a focus on how they perpetuate the programs the church has always done, and instead perpetually ask, “What has God called us to be and do at Blooming Glen in our current and constantly changing cultural context?” Second, the staff’s role shifts from being the arm twisters for event management or the heirs of congregational fatigue which still insist on maintaining certain expectations by expecting the staff to fulfill the quota of bricks with less and less straw. Instead, I have tried to lead the church staff to become the frontline of a missionary movement of folks (that include many of you) who are on the lookout for what God is calling us to be and do and help to match that God-breathed call with people who have the character, calling, and capacity to enter what God is up to right now.
“Recruit,” then, does not mean finding people to do stuff that the staff don’t want to do. It means seeking people with an appetite to discern and respond to the call of God in their lives, and find ways, through the agency of the church, to transparently, faithfully, and effectively, live into that calling.
So, our pastoral and program staff are trying to recruit – to be on the lookout for God’s call on our church, and to be on the lookout for people (some of whom may not yet be attending here at Blooming Glen) who God is calling to serve His kingdom priorities through our church.
Our pastoral and program staff are trying to equip – to provide both on-going spiritual leadership and organizational backing. The spiritual support is found in reliance on the scriptures, in the development of peaceful, Jesus-centered spiritual practices, in the commitment to radical candor – caring for one another deeply and challenging one another directly, and in holding fast to our confessional traditions of nonconforming discipleship, loving community, and bold peacemaking. The organizational support is found in the development of a clear process for ministry in response to God’s calling. A process which has clear purpose, a commitment to communication, a leadership that has a balance of responsibility and authority, and which has examined the costs – in terms of finances, facility use, and volunteer commitment.
Our pastoral and program staff are trying to deploy – to give an ongoing sense of commission, encouragement, evaluation, blessing, and continued affirmation, even when things don’t go according to plan.
Finally, our pastoral and program staff are trying to support – to continue to be alongside people answering God’s call, and assist them as they need, both spiritually and organizationally to navigate the constant sea of change ministry efforts will encounter.
It is also important to say that our administrative staff are also part of the REDS strategy by taking on more responsibility for the process of what is needed for us to do church so that our pastors and program staff can be more attentive to the process of what is needed for us to be church.
Has this strategy been full implemented? Nope. Not by a long shot. We are confronted by the need to fly this plane even as we try to build it, so this REDS strategy is slow to adapt to the soil of this church community. But a church committed to the mission of God has a long-haul mentality. The full embrace of REDS as a paradigm for our church missionary team is a way off, but it is the barometer of how Blooming Glen navigates the strange new world of our cultural inheritance, formed by the post-Christendom loss of privileges, the chronic anxieties of global COVID, and the digital Babylon which divides information and wisdom.
Recruit – be on the lookout for God’s call. Equip – attend to the spiritual and organization needs of God’s call. Deploy – give agency to those who hear the call of God. Support – come alongside those who want to respond to God’s call.
Can’t you just start doing something for Jesus at Blooming Glen, and not be saddled with this process? Of course. Church is the ultimate voluntary society. But I’m certain you will not find the path of striking out on your own to be spiritually or organizationally sustainable or sustaining. REDS is the strategy which the church staff is learning to employ to assist in launching and sustaining viable, on-going experiments in Kingdom ministries through Blooming Glen.
Here’s hoping that if you have a burr in your saddle about REDS you will come and have a coffee with me, share your concerns, and enter a dialogue.
Love you, Church,
Pastor Jeff
jeff@bgmc.net
PS – a good time for conversation about the REDS strategy (or anything else on your hearts and minds) is Monday mornings, 7:30-8:45 am at the A&N Diner in Sellersville, or Friday afternoons, 3:30-4:45 pm at the Broad Street Grind in Souderton