Re: Last Gasp of a Church Bent on Suicide,
letter to the editor, Feb. 3. National Post
Finally, I've found a kindred spirit in the United Church of Canada! My only consolation from B.K. Anderson's angry letter is that I've seen the effect of church leadership from the inside. Clergy do not dominate the leadership of the church but that is a common perception of the average pew-sitter. The real issue is not over the death of congregations but whether the church is training prospective ministers for churches that have not yet emerged.
Leaders in our congregations today are facing an unpredictable future. John 13 tells us that the hour has come. The key to leadership as Doug Goodwin has suggested in the Post's Letters on Feb. 6 is the acute sensitivity to events of our neighbours as they are unfolding. Leaders of the churches in the future will have to move from "controlling" to "coping", otherwise it will continue to be all just crisis management.
The old institutional securities are not emerging in our world of changing global contexts and politics. Leaders of local congregations cannot form long range plans for an unpredictable future. Accountable, servant-hearted leaders will have to be absolutely clear in what we are called to do in the present.
Congregations don't care where you graduated from. Young people especially want to know that you've experienced lately, what music you like, or irrational stories of the supernatural. They need to learn how to cope with the changing scenarios around them without having the ground cut from under their feet.
Effective, visionary leadership is not what you know. It's the ability to carry the churc beyond the diverse talent that a team of people has brought to the congregation. It's the prayer that we may continue to be learners together and that much of what we have learned is still negotiable.
The biggest challenge for theological colleges may not be learning new things but unlearning old things. A new generation of leaders will have a low profile, will not expect security from the institution, and lead by linking together different cultures. The real leadership skill will be more concerned with ministry by the church than ministry in the church.
Rev. Dr. Scott Boughner
Minister,
St. Stephen's United Church
Oshawa.
Scott, I admit to being a fish out of water here. I obviously know about the decline in the size of congregations, and about the speculation surrounding why that may be so. Also, I didn't read the National Post article, nor the letter to the editor (Feb 3 or Feb 6?).
ReplyDeleteHowever, I loved your turn of phrase, e.g., servant-hearted. And, I think what you're commenting on is the effects of our economic climate, and the stresses that we're under because of it, and how a religious organization can help people deal with it all.
I admit I never gave it a moment's thought - 'til now. Thanks.