THE FUTURE OF THE METRO NEW YORK SYNOD-A “TALE OF TWO SYNODS”

BISHOP OLSON'S WEEKLY WORD (from the June 17 MNYS E-Letter):

MNYS in the Future—Bishop Olson's Weekly Word

What will the MNYS look like in the future?

If the present trend continues, in 10 years we may have as few as 175 congregations and a membership below 70,000 baptized.  We will be sustained by closings and investments but not by stewardship if the next generation is not taught as we were.

We will have reinvested to renew many transition congregations and thus look more like the New York population, but older.  The future of suburban congregations started in the 50's and 60's is uncertain: will they be the transition congregations of the 2020's or welcome the next generation to their pews and councils?

The economic trends seem likely to make suburban MNYS more distant from the boroughs and the steady flow of immigrants.  The synod is 2/3 dependent on grants and endowments now.  How long can we depend on the sales of our grandparents' houses of worship to sustain synod ministry?

These assessments are rather grim.  Is this what God has in store for us?  How can we envision or begin to predict our future apart from our past and present?  Here are some clues that give me hope.

After years of focus on public issues (read 9-11, urban transitions, same-sex acceptance, etc.), the synod could re-focus on the ministry and mission of our congregations.  Target the next generation and families wherever they live.  Create a synod youth ministry with staff.  Recapture the interest of early retirees for mission.  Innovate in welcoming post-modern, post-Christian "seekers." Revitalize worship, preaching and education—especially Bible study.  Make a difference in enough New York neighborhoods to attract attention.

We have come through a long period of turning outward from our Lutheran quietism to be a more public church.  Now it is time to re-focus on our constituents and the 200+ "local Lutheran mission centers," our congregations.

We can't do everything.  We had better do what we have done well.  Will the church arise in this age as the old social Gospel hymn predicts so confidently?  I believe we will. J

"The church of Christ, in every age beset by change, but Spirit led,
Must claim and test its heritage and keep on rising from the dead."

 

 

 

My Response on the MNYS.org Forum

As you know, I have spent a great deal of time thinking and working on the future of the MNYS. What you say is probably the likely scenario, but I have a different view about what we could do, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I would love to see the Commission for Evangelical Outreach and the new Bishop and staff take very seriously the future of the congregations of our synod and use the next year or so to start a thorough assessment of and conversation with the leaders of our local congregations in groups based on local realities (proximity, size, historical relationships, pastoral ability and insightfulness, etc.) to see how the churches could be intentionally and missionally linked with each other.

In such conversations there would have to be a hopeful attitude rather than the "grim reaper" approach that was articulated at the Synod Assembly last month.

In other words, rather than saying "When the music stops, one of you will be eliminated," why couldn't we begin instead with the attitude: "God has given us a tremendous host of resources for God's mission, and we are all in this together, so let's prayerfully work together to find a way to use these resources in new ways to expand rather than contract the work of God in this local area"?

Specifically this might mean that the bishop might ask five congregations located in adjacent conferences but very near one another to work with him to form a serious coalition for mission that would bring together the ordained and other rostered leaders as well as gifted key lay leaders to create a single ministry leadership team that would work with the existing churches to creatively collaborate to develop new outposts for mission-- something they could not and would not even have even thought of doing without the bishop's strong insistent leadership. Now they would do many more things because they would now have a "critical mass" of leaders, people, and money that would free them up to work together.

After working, praying, and worshiping together, they might decide to adjust the worship times in the participating churches so staff members could be available in different locations on the same day (perhaps even more than one per location), and they might offer educational offerings in selected locations so people could come together in large enough numbers to make a positive environment for spiritual growth possible.

Activities that they do separately now could be combined or worked out together (a common newsletter, a common bulletin or bulletins, shared secretarial staff, and eventually even a common Council).

The key would be to have shared ministry rather than perpetuating isolated survivalist ministries.

We would have to retrain our clergy and our key leaders and make a commitment to plan mission and ministry together. We might even decide that our corporate efforts could be more effective if one or more facilities were converted to other uses or even sold with the income being designated for local mission.

I realize that as Lutherans we probably don't have the faith and the courage we would need to make this sort of realignment a reality, but in other countries and other faith traditions this is what has been going on for a decade or more. As Lutherans we think we know better than others, and we want to keep clergy employed and laity from getting too powerful, but if we could humble ourselves and listen to the Spirit, we could get back to doing God's mission work and stop retreating from the tremendous mission opportunity God is handing us.

Indeed, as Jesus said in last Sunday's Gospel, "the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few . . ." Some Christians hear those words as a challenge from our Lord, but sadly, many of us Lutherans hear those words and respond "You're right, Jesus, that's a real shame, isn't it?"

We can do better than that. God certainly wants us to.

THE SPEECH I NEVER GOT TO GIVE

My 5 Minute Speech
Hi, I’m Pastor Richard Hill, and I come from a church named Hope.
That fact is very significant for me because I believe that is the most important gift God has given me as I think about serving as bishop of the MNYS. When people have asked me “Why would you want to be bishop of Metro New York?” the best answer I can come up with is because I have hope for the future of our synod.
To me, it’s not a matter of “wanting” the job of bishop. Instead I ask “What would I have to give to this synod if I were bishop here?”
First, let me tell you who I am, and then I’d like to share with you what I think I would have to offer if I were bishop of this great synod.
I am a native Long Islander, born and raised in Nassau County, educated on Staten Island and Manhattan before going to seminary in Minnesota, and I’ve serve the last 25 years in Suffolk County.
In my 35 years as a pastor I’ve served only two churches, both of them named “Hope,” one a mission church in Massachusetts and the other in Selden, 60 miles east of the city.
While serving here in Long Island, I’ve seen God grow our church from about 300 members to slightly more than 1,600. We’ve been through 8 or 9 building projects and 4 major funds drives, and I’ve learned a lot about how to lead a church.
But more importantly, I’ve been privileged to welcome literally thousands of people into God’s church, but I’m still amazed at everything God has done and is doing among His people.
I care about our synod, and I’ve been actively involved in serving the synod for many years, both before and after the formation of the ELCA. I’ve served on the Synod Council and the Region 7 Coordinating Committee. I’m serving my fourth term as Dean of the Peconic Conference (a total of 10 years so far) and I am the chairperson of the Synod’s Mission Planning Team. I helped create our Synod’s Commission for Evangelical Outreach, and I serve as the chair of the CEO and as one of three coordinators.
My Doctor of Ministry degree at Andover Newton focused on leadership in the church. Over the years I’ve taken many Continuing Ed courses and I’ve read extensively about leadership.



What kind of leader am I?
1. I believe that a bishop must be first and foremost a “servant” of the people of God. I realize that the office of bishop is respected and honored by many, especially in the church, but the real power a bishop has is the power to serve God’s people. That’s how Jesus understood leadership. You recall that Jesus said: “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant,” and then went on to say, “the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

2. I believe that a bishop must be a “Team-player,” one who coaches others, but also shares in the work of ministry as well. The bishop stands alongside the synod staff, pastors, leaders, and all the baptized members of the synod and leads the church by using his gifts to equip, encourage and support God’s people in being the church. As bishop, I would continue to offer the kind of leadership that builds up the church and empowers God’s people.

3. I believe that the qualities and characteristics of a bishop that we identified during our synod audit process go far beyond what any single individual could provide. What we really need is a bishop who is able to bring together a diverse and talented team of people who share a common love for Jesus Christ and a common commitment to fulfilling God’s mission in the world. They need not agree on everything. What matters most is that they are willing serve God faithfully together.

4. And there are at least five things a bishop must be willing to do:

· First, a bishop must take time to really LISTEN to the insights, the feelings, the anxieties, and the hopes of others. The people of Metro New York are our greatest asset, God’s Spirit will work through them if we are willing to pay attention to what they have to say.

· Second, a bishop must spend time OBSERVING firsthand the needs and opportunities for ministry that really exist among God’s people. We all can learn from each other, and we can all become servants of one another. The bishop is the one who creates the opportunity for us to work collaboratively.

· Third, a bishop must SPEAK the truth of God (both Law and Gospel). The bishop must challenge destructive false beliefs and attitudes among God’s people but also encourage them to move beyond their comfort zones by taking risks and by making bold efforts on behalf of the gospel.

· Fourth, a bishop must also PRAY both in public services and in private settings for the diverse ministries God gives to us. God’s Spirit uses such actions to build up the church so that God’s Kingdom may come on earth as it is in heaven.

· But most importantly, a bishop must always bring HOPE to God’s people, as Peter wrote: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for by his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” A bishop gives living hope to all who believe.

· The next bishop to serve this synod will have to be a navigator, someone who can steer a course through some very perilous and challenging waters. Our synod faces a serious crisis right now, and in the years ahead we will need to draw together all of the tremendous resources God has placed at our disposal.

· This is not a time for Christian to be pitted against Christian because of differences dividing us.

· This is not a time to adopt a “survival of the fittest,” mentality that sacrifices weaker congregations for the sake of stronger ones.

· This is not a time to retreat from the challenges of living in a growing multi-ethnic, multi-national, multi-cultural society. Rather, we must embrace them.

· This is not a time to focus resources on urban communities at the expense of rural ones.

· This is not a time to water down the message of God’s New Creation breaking in upon us so we can accommodate the fashions of politically correct elitists.

· This is the time for all of God’s people to come together around a single mission—to disciple all nations, by baptizing, teaching, and welcoming them into the kingdom of God.

· And this is the time to challenge every member of God’s Lutheran community to take up Christ’s cross and put ourselves on the line because we believe that Jesus Christ is Lord over all.

· It‘s an awesome task, but it’s also an exciting moment for us. No bishop can do it alone. That’s why God gave us each other--rich and poor; black, white, Asian, Latino; urban, rural, and suburban; straight and gay; Met fans and Yankees fans. We’re all in this together!

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.

The Elephant

Last week when I gave my February Pastor's Report to the Congregation Council, I ended the list of items with the words "The Elephant."

I'm not sure anyone really noticed the item until I reached it as I went down the list. No one asked me what it meant, and no one knew what it meant either.

What I was referring to was the informal discussion that has been going on between members of the Council and even among staff members about my future as pastor of Hope. What caused the discussion to arise is the fact that this spring, at our Metro NY Synod Assembly, we will elect a new bishop for our synod after having Steve Bouman serve in that office for nearly twelve years, the longest term of any bishop of our synod since the 1988 merger that formed the ELCA.

Why were church members talking about me? Those who know me best know that I have been very active in leadership roles over the 25 years I've served as pastor at Hope. I was Conference President for the Long Island Conference of the Eastern District of the ALC prior to the merger. I was also active in the work of the Lutherans Cooperating in Metro New York Evangelism Committee for several years, in which role I organized several large scale evangelism events for the churches of Long Island and offered evangelism workshops as well.

Then as the ELCA was being formed, I was drawn into the work of the "Transition Team" that formed the Metro New York Synod. I was eventually chosen to serve on the Synod Council for several years, and that was followed by an appointment to serve as the Metro NY Synod representative to the Region 7 Coordinating Council for a four-year term that lasted five years.

Along the way I also served for two 2-year terms as Dean of the Peconic Conference after which I was selected to serve for two years as chair of the Synod Re-organization Task Force. Now I am serving the second half of my second 4-year term as Dean of the conference (a total so far of ten years as Dean), and I am a Coordinator for and chair of the Commission for Evangelical Outreach and chair of the synod's Mission Planning Team.

All these things have been uncompensated volunteer responsibilities (except for a small stipend I receive as one of the three coordinators for the Commission for Evangelical Outreach.)

So again, why are members talking about me? I think it's because when they look at this synod resume, they think my name will be on the list of potential candidates for the office of bishop.

It's flattering to be thought so highly of by members of our congregation and staff. I am honored just by the thought that I could serve in such an important role in the church. But I think that with respect to our synod, I have probably reached my "peak" of responsibility. We have a very liberal synod, even for the ELCA, and from the very beginning our synod's bias has been clearly focused on the urban character of this great Metropolis in which we live. I am a native Long Islander who is still impressed by the huge buildings in Manhattan and goes into the city mainly for meetings. I am used to spending hours on the LIE and the LIRR just to get places, and I still think of everything beyond the bridges as "upstate."

The reason I put this item on the list for the Pastor's Report is that the discussion that was going on made me realize that as a congregation we all need to be thinking about what the future holds for us. Now that I am getting to the age when people start asking, "Are you thinking about retirement?" I realize that I need to be thinking about what our future as a church should be.

What does our future have in store for us at Hope? What should we be striving towards during the next six or seven years before I reach the traditional "retirement age?" How am I going to continue to provide helpful and useful leadership for Hope during the remaining years God gives me to serve here?

As important as these questions are to me personally, I know that I cannot answer them on my own. We need to be asking these questions together and working to develop a strategic plan for the foreseeable future. That's why I proposed to the Council that this spring we should select people who have the gifts we need to provide leadership in planning our church's future. Who should be on this team? I think that 4 or 5 really gifted people are enough to get the ball rolling if we empower them to do so. If we organize our efforts carefully, a small group can stimulate a response from many of our members. That way the end product will be the result of a large-scale collaborative effort rather than just a collection of the exotic ideas of a select few.

In my mind THAT'S the elephant we need to talk about. Let's pray and think together about how God can carry out His mission here through us in the years we still have together. I am confident that if we get started on that now, the future will be full of exciting outcomes and miraculous results.

GREETINGS METRO NY SYNOD “CYBER-FRIENDS”

Today, when I went to the church , I discovered that the shipment of the Christmas Lutheran New Yorker had arrived. I was eager to see it because I was interviewed a few weeks ago by Wendy Healy, and she told me that the article would come out in this issue.

Right in the middle of the issue is the article she wrote. Three pastors are highlighted—Pastor Many Derr from St. Peter's in Manhattan (Citicorp), Paul Milholland from St. John's Lindenhurst, and me.

    The article was written to encourage pastors and congregations to make a serious effort to use the internet as a means for contacting the "outside world," as well as keeping in touch with church members and supporters. Perhaps you are one of those who read the article and are reading this as a way of figuring out what is possible for you to accomplish.

    I give credit to Pastor Derr for the idea of publishing the ANCHOR NOTES weekly (more-or-less) electronic newsletter. Pastor Derr shared with the internship cluster (pastors and seminary interns) last spring about what he was doing. I looked at Microsoft Publisher and found templates for publishing e-mail newsletters and used the mailing list I had accumulated in my Microsoft Outlook program as a starting point. ANCHOR NOTES goes out to those who request it, as a form of e-mail, but it can be viewed by interested people on our church's website (www.hopeluth.com) where it is displayed as a pdf file each week. Its name is derived from the monthly newsletter we publish at Hope, the "ANCHOR" and from the weekly 4-page newsletter we hand out on weekends called "ANCHOR LINES." All of these have the goal of keeping people connected (anchored) to their church.

    The blog came about as a result of signing up on blogspot.com. They provide the basic elements of putting a Blog together. I recently added a new one for our Peconic Conference called "Peconic Postings," (www.peconic.blogspot.com). Our goal is to open up a channel for pastors and laity to share information about their churches and the activities and programs that may be of interest to others. Now since our conference is very large, it is not likely that there will be many who will travel to another parish for a local event, but the principle is sound. Conferences that are more geographically compact should discuss how they could use this means of communication to advance their mission.

    As for websites, there are many ways to get started. Often an Internet Service Provider will offer free website space and provide templates to get going with. Verizon does that and others do too. I use Go-Daddy because they are a bit outlandish in their approach to the internet. And they're cheap. They also provide templates for a small fee. The Total ministry concept is at the heart of the site: www.totalministry.net. On that site I am able to add photos and papers I've written as well as resources from others. Another site I am working on is for the Commission for Evangelical Outreach, www.mnysceo.net .

    Anyway, I don't spend a lot of time of this work, but I've been very encouraged when people visit our church and tell me that they checked out our church website before coming. Thanks to Art Stahl, who is a retired Math teacher, we have been able to keep the site up to date and make improvements to the site as we learn more and more about what we can do online. Nearly every new family that has come to Hope in the past couple of years checked us out on the internet first.

    If you have any comments, you can add them on this blog site or you can mail them directly to me at rohill@optonline.net. If you have questions, I'd be happy to answer them or point you in the right direction. Happy surfing.

BISHOP BOUMAN ACCEPTS NEW CALL

BISHOP BOUMAN TO LEAD ELCA EVANGELICAL OUTREACH AND CONGREGATIONAL MISSION

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Stephen P. Bouman, bishop of the Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was elected Nov. 11 by the ELCA Church Council to a four-year appointment as executive director of ELCA Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission (EOCM) beginning Jan. 1, 2008. The Church Council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as the legislative authority of the church between churchwide assemblies. The council met here Nov. 9-11. Assemblies are held every other year; the next is Aug. 17-23, 2009, in Minneapolis.

"Saying good-bye is so incredibly difficult. I have shared so much of my life with the wonderful lives of the people of this synod and this metropolis. We went through Ground Zero together. We buried our dead and re-imagined the church in the wake of that tragedy," Bouman said. "We have planted so many new ministries among people who are 'the road not taken' by traditional Lutheranism."

"In some ways mission and ministry in the Metropolitan New York Synod has been 'going to school' on what mission and ministry are going to be like all across our country in the coming decades," Bouman said. "I've learned some things, and I'm looking forward to sharing them with the wider church," he said. "We have a lot to learn from each other, and it will be my joy to advocate and agitate for the missional heart of this church as the director of EOCM. I look forward to getting on the road with my many new colleagues who will share with me the ministries to which God has called them," Bouman said.

The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, announced the council's unanimous election of Bouman here Nov. 13. "Bishop Bouman has exemplified in his parish and synodical ministries leadership that is Christ centered, Spirit gifted, biblically engaged, theologically formed and contextually shaped," Hanson said in a prepared statement. "He has a passion to proclaim Christ, make disciples and build up the church for the sake of the world." "Bishop Bouman developed a Diakonia program with over 800 graduates, some of whom are serving as pastors," Hanson said.

"Under his leadership over 35 new ministries have been initiated. Worship occurs in over 25 languages in the synod," he said. Hanson recalled that Bouman saw the ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod through the challenges of dealing with the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

He listed other "hallmarks" of Bouman's leadership as bishop: "accompanying those who live in poverty, working together for a more just society, extending hospitality to the immigrant, striving to become a multicultural, diverse church while building upon our strong global and ecumenical partnerships."

Bouman will succeed the Rev. Richard A. Magnus, who will retire Dec. 31. EOCM is a program unit of the ELCA. Its 149-member staff facilitates "the efforts of congregations, synods, and related institutions and agencies in reaching out in witness to the gospel to people in all contexts and cultures" across the United States and Caribbean. It works to develop new congregations and ministries, and to renew and equip existing ELCA ministries in evangelical outreach.

Born April 14, 1947, in Melrose Park, Ill., Bouman is a graduate of Concordia Senior College, Fort Wayne, Ind., and Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. He earned a master of sacred theology degree and a doctorate in ministry from New York Theological Seminary, New York. General Theological Seminary, New York, awarded him an honorary doctor of divinity degree in 2001.

Ordained in 1973 by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Bouman served as pastor of Christ and St. Jacobus Lutheran Church, Woodside, Queens, N.Y., and Atonement Lutheran Church, Jackson Heights, Queens, N.Y. His pastoral call was transferred to the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC) in 1977, and he served as pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Bogota, N.J., from 1982 to 1992. The AELC, American Lutheran Church and Lutheran Church in America formed the ELCA in 1988. In 1992 Bouman became an assistant to the bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Metropolitan New York Synod and in 1996 was elected to succeed the Rev. James E. Sudbrock as bishop. The synod elected Bouman to a second six-year term as bishop in 2002.

Bouman is author of several articles, curricula, devotionals and books, including "From the Parish for the Life of the World," published in 2000 by Augsburg Fortress, and "Grace All Around Us," published in 2007 by Augsburg Books. Augsburg Fortress is the publishing ministry of the ELCA. Bouman and his wife Janet are the parents of three adult children.


VISION OF HOPE
“Preparing for a new bishop”

On Monday, November 11, I received the announcement from Synod headquarters that our bishop, Stephen Bouman, accepted the call to serve as executive director of ELCA Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission Unit in Chicago beginning January 1, 2008.

I was not “shocked” by the news, but it has had an effect on my thinking ever since, especially as I reflect on my role in providing leadership for our synod’s Commission for Evangelical Outreach. Over the past five years I have been actively engaged in the task of helping our bishop to make the Metropolitan New York Synod a “Great Commission Synod,” and I have been encouraged by the support given by our bishop to the ambitious agenda we were undertaking. We are seeking to bring about nothing less than a total transformation of our synod, the second oldest synod in what is now the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

We’ve worked hard to change from a synod that has was declining in numbers and spirit into an innovative, forward-looking, missionally-oriented, ground-breaking leader in the overall ministry of the ELCA. Now we face an uncertain future once more.

For Lutherans in the United States, the office of bishop is not a very powerful one. One person recently opined that the main power that a bishop in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has is to approve letters of call issued by congregations seeking a new pastor.

I don’t know if that is really true, but I do believe that a bishop has enormous power that can be exercised in a very significant way if the bishop has the courage to use it. That power is in the area of providing leadership in setting the course for a synod. The bishop can influence many by making a case for moving in a particular direction because there are many who seek that kind of leadership. James MacGregor Burns in his book called Leadership described that sort of power as “transformational power.” Translated into our setting, that kind of power is able to set the course for the entire synod and summon our greatest and most passionate efforts to see the vision become a reality.

While our bishop has been criticized by some for taking politically-charged stands on issues such as the ordination of gay clergy and immigration, I believe he has done a good job at supporting and encouraging all our clergy and laity to focus on the true center of the church’s mission in the world. He has lifted up the challenge to reclaim the Great Commission as the main agenda for our efforts as a synod, and many of us have stepped forward to meet it.

I hope and I pray that the new bishop we elect next February will be more than just a “maintenance bishop” elected to take over as Captain of the “M.N.Y.S. Titanic.” Our synod may at times have looked a lot like a sinking ship, but I believe that God still has plans for us in Metro New York. I am convinced that our efforts can make an enormous difference not just for the Lutheran churches in Metro New York but throughout the United States. Under Bishop Bouman’s leadership in his new post, we will have a strong ally in our work of making the Great Commission a reality. May God bless him and us through him.

With Love,
Pastor Hill

SHARING OUR GIFTS

On Sunday I gave a brief presentation about a new emphasis we are launching at Hope called "Sharing Our Gifts." This came about as a result of discussion we had in our Natural Church Development Church Health Team in recent weeks.

Our Church Health Team set three goals for our efforts. We will encourage fellow members of Hope to grow in their ability to: (1) Share information; (2) Share ourselves; and (3) Share responsibility. Each of these goals on their own may not sound like much, but when taken together, we believe that they will result in a much richer spiritual life among our members at Hope.

Sharing information is important to the health of our congregation for many reasons. First, we are a large congregation (even though church attendance may appear low to many.) We have over 400 households enrolled as members of Hope, some much more active than others, but they are on the rolls because, as far as we can determine, almost all of them are still living in our community. We don't "write off" families from the church's rolls when they are still living nearby and are not attending another church. In fact, over the past 25 years, I have seen many people come and go and come back into the mainstream of our church's life. I wish they would ALL be active, but that's just not the way things are, so since they're still around, we try to keep some line of communication open to them—the monthly ANCHOR, special mailings, and, if possible, the ANCHOR NOTES e-mail newsletter.

Second, we have four services each weekend, and most people attend a particular service every time they worship. That means that they may not see other members they know for a long time and may be out of touch with them. Add to that the sporadic worship habits of some, and it could be months before members see certain others they are close to.

Third, there are many activities, groups, and programs around the church, and they are constantly coming up with new ideas. Only a few groups like our musical groups, the XYZ Fellowship and the Men's Breakfast have "routine schedules," and even they have special events and information to share from time to time. Keeping people informed can enable people to become more active around the church.

Sharing ourselves is a second goal we are pursuing. It isn't easy, of course, given the nature of our diverse congregational community, to create the opportunities for people to share themselves with each other. One current effort is the creation of some "No Experience Necessary" groups that we hope will get people together in more intimate settings so they can become more comfortable in sharing with each other. Other things we do like the Farewell Party of Josh, the Bowling League, and the Steak Barbeque provide opportunities for people to share themselves beyond the "Hi, how are you?" level. But we still have a long way to go.

The "Sharing Our Gifts" emphasis is related to this particular goal in that it encourages people to look at themselves as "servants of God" with gifts God provides for the work of mission. Through the intimate setting of a personal or small group "interview," people have a chance to share their ideas and insights and fill out a survey of their own gifts that we can draw upon as opportunities arise. In the past, with our "Acquire the Fire" surveys, we collected a lot of detailed and useful information about people. Now, with many newer members and with the inevitable evolution of the Total Life Caring Ministry vision, the Health Team wants to make the interview process a regular part of the way we assimilate new members into our church.

Ultimately, of course, as people become better informed and develop more meaningful relationships with one another, they will be more inclined to share responsibility for the mission God has given us at Hope. Unlike churches in previous generations, Hope's "Lutheran identity" is not linked to any ethnic heritage or immigrant story. Most of our members are "first generation" members of Hope, and many are even first generation Lutherans as well.

When it comes to taking responsibility for ministry, therefore, there is no "Loyalty Button" we can push to get an automatic response to needs or crises that arise from time to time. Our members always respond well to special needs, but that says more about the kind of people that they are than anything else. We are hoping that as members form deeper roots in our congregation and community, they will feel more comfortable about taking responsibility for providing leadership and resources to advance our shared mission.

"Sharing Our Gifts" is being launched now so we can start the process of bringing more people on board for mission and ministry at Hope. As interviews are held and ideas are shared, we will see new things springing up that we can't even imagine right now. That's the way God's Spirit works in our life together.

A recent ELCA advertising emphasis uses a catchy slogan that I like: "God's Mission—Our Hands." I am convinced that "Sharing Our Gifts" is a vehicle that God will bless if we are willing to lend our hands to the effort.