A Post-Modern Dilemma

For Lutherans, especially in the Metro New York area, the gradual demise of Christendom has had a seriously debilitating effect on churches. Lutherans once numbered some 10% of the population in this area, but now the numbers have diminished greatly, resulting in many churches being closed and great anxiety among clergy and parishioners who are stuck in old patterns they once relied upon quite heavily.

 

I just got home from a Ministerium gathering at a beautiful ELCA church located in Times Square. Over 120 clergy of our synod gathered to talk about the impending election of a new bishop to follow one who served eleven years before moving up to our church headquarters in Chicago where he now serves as Director of the Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission unit, a unit that controls 30% of the budget of the ELCA.

 

At the meeting, pastors were lamenting the fact that so many churches are in peril of closing, (roughly 35% of the 210 churches in Metro New York Synod.) Some churches are staying alive with attendance of 4-10 on any given Sunday, supported by endowment funds provided by previous generations. The anxiety level is high, and yet there is great resistance to doing things like evangelism or disciple-making because "Lutherans don't do that sort of thing." Many clergy would prefer to simply continue doing the Lutheran liturgy, "preaching Law and Gospel," being "faithful to the Lutheran Confessions," and "speaking out for social justice." There is very little creative thinking about how churches could do anything to deal with their situations differently, and even less openness to experimenting with new forms and approaches to developing collaborative relationships between nearby churches.

 

At the same time, many lack any understanding about how to even speak to a post-modern society (if there were anyone out there willing to come into the churches to listen to them.) Reaching out intentionally to unchurched people or to a younger-than-70-year-old generation, is something we were not trained for, and something which many show little inclination for.

 

Reading this, I realize how pessimistic this sounds. Perhaps I am just venting a bit from the session we had. But it is not helpful to talk about what kind of bishop we need unless we can talk about what sort of new leadership system we would need in order to begin converting the thinking of clergy and empowering the gifts of laity. Such reluctance seems to me to be simply sticking our heads in the sand.

 

How the changes in society cause by the demise of Christendom and the advent of post-modernism influence the way I do ministry is that I have learned that a different kind of pastoral leadership is needed in the congregation I have served for 25 years. For the past few years, especially since the attack of 9/11, I have been focusing on developing empowering leadership, identifying and using the spiritual gifts of the baptized community, and encouraging the free exchange of ideas and creative new approaches to ministering to the congregation and the community. At Hope we developed what we call "Total Life Caring Ministry," a new way of being church. As a result of this approach to ministry, I have seen many people taking greater responsibility for their ministries in the congregation, and there is a growing sense of empowerment among people in their daily lives, at work, at school, and in their families.

 

On a week-by-week basis, I am seeing more people actually bringing people with them to worship and to other activities of the congregation. They have a greater awareness of and appreciation for the gift they have received in the gospel, and they are growing out of their reluctance to take the risk of inviting others to share in their "experience of church."

 

They sense the impact of the changes taking place in society and they look to their church to help them keep a clear vision of a better world and to enable them to help make that vision happen in whatever way they can.

 

This is not easy. Leaders still need to grow into their roles as leaders, and newcomers need nurturing and support from others in order to find a home in the Christian community. As the only ordained pastor for some 1,600+ people, I find this rather daunting. I rely heavily on the support of gifted lay members and part-time staff members to keep the church growing spiritually and in numbers.