When Do We Stop?
I strongly encourage you to follow this link to a video posted by the Rev. LeeAnne Watkins, Rector of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in St. Paul, MN. I found it honest, poignant, painful, and in its own way beautiful because of the courage it took to share. Thank you, LeeAnne. It’s 6 minutes long, and well worth your time.
It raises a number of important questions for me, two of which I want to pose to you. The first is not addressed to the clergy who may be reading this post. 🙂 Sorry, but I just don’t think we’re in a position to say. Instead, I’m asking it of our people, the folks who come to church but rarely to adult education. So if you’re one who sits in the pews, please answer candidly. We really need to know. And if you’re one usually sitting up front to preach and preside or the one teaching Adult Ed., please pass this on to someone you know. Okay, so here it is, as simple as it is challenging: What would make Adult Education worth your while? What would induce you to stay on Sunday for an extra hour or even come out at another time during the week. Anything? Nothing? Lots of things? What? And, if I may be so bold, if Adult Ed. isn’t working at the church, what would work? Video, web-based, something in people’s homes? Thanks for your candor.
The second question comes from a slightly different angle and is for all: When do we stop…stop trying to do things that clearly aren’t working just because we’ve always done it this way? When do we stop and let programs die even though it hurts our pride, or even our sense of call, to do so? When do we stop giving our time to failed or failing efforts so that we can devote our time, energy, and creativity to developing new ministries, new relationships, new projects that prove more effective and, in this sense, more faithful?
Along these lines, I found the following “reply” to the video helpful:
The first step is: STOP doing it the way we always did it when it stops working. Wait. Look for where God is already active (because God IS active….we just fail to see that because we’re looking in that classroom, small group, program, etc.). I don’t know where that is in your church/community but I am positive that God is alive and well and busy drawing people to God’s self. So do what we as Christians have always done. Let it die. Go out into the wilderness….into the unknown and look with fresh eyes. Pray. Wait. Look. Listen. And when you see that spark of the Spirit, however small it may be, go there and worship. Learn from it. Add some small scrap to that spark. Then a twig. A branch. And a log until you’ve built a bonfire that, like the warmth and light of all fires, will draw people.
This is important stuff, as more and more of us – clergy and everyday Christian alike – realize that we are trying to do ministry, to be the Church, in ways that no longer seem suited to the world we live in. So share this question, get folks you know into the conversation. And please let me know what you think. These are questions we need to take up, even if they’re a little scary.
Note: I hope to take up questions about how we “do church” under the category “church matters” (yes, double entendre intended 🙂 ). If you’ve got a question about how we do worship, education, faith formation, confirmation, outreach, preaching, or any of a host of other things that matter, post it here and I’ll try to collect them and make them available to the larger community to address. Thanks!
I think we stop when we get it through our heads that “adult education” is not about us- as pastors, lay leaders or long time attenders. As someone once said, “When the horse is dead, dismount…”
We’re having an on-going conversation at Bethlehem about how to determine what the value is, or what the benefits are, for the folks who are part of our community in participating in on-going formation. The number, and percentage of folks who regularly participate in “Spiritual Formation” is paltry compared to our baptized membership and attendance.
It may sound like a marketing issue, and I would argue that it is. Christians not willing or interested in growing in their faith are by definition, “immature.” And “immature” Christians are consumers. We are called to meet them where they are, just as Jesus would, and then help them grow. Establishing that value and benefit can only happen through deep listening to those we want to reach. Then our task is finding a format that is responsive to what we have heard.
We’re not there yet- not even close. As we learn, we will share. And we are eager to hear what you all are learning, too. Maybe together (or “Only together”) will we begin to figure this out.
I appreciate your candor, Chris, about both naming the consumerist instinct in our culture and therefore our people, but also, and even more, naming that it is not about us. It is so, so hard to not do what we’ve always been trained to do because venturing into unknown territory – where we indeed have to listen and learn from others (about what we’re supposed to be good at!) – can be scary. I appreciate the example you’re setting of precisely recognizing that “we’re not there yet – not even close” but being willing to continue down the path anyway.
There is lots of food for thought & the video shared says much. I have done adult education one at my church (the Alpha class) as I was interested in the topic and it fit my schedule. I am a graduate of our synod’s Lay Ministry School. Because I was personally asked to consider attending, I did & made the commitment to do it.
I don’t do adult education on Sundays for a couple of reasons. 1) When I think of the demographic of people attending, I don’t see myself fitting in (they are much older); 2) I often teach Sunday School which is at the same time; 3) I am not always clear on what the class is offering and if people can come at any time – do I have to make an ongoing commitment or can I came one week here & one week there.
Our church also has a Thursday morning Bible Study, but once again, I’m not sure if I’m welcomed & if it will fit my work schedule.
I have taught confirmation the past 8 years and this year realize there is lots I don’t know & want to find out more about. For example, at the end of confirmation we watched “Prince of Egypt” & I realized that I know Moses as a baby in the basket and Moses as an adult, but I don’t know the Bible stories of the years in between.
I agree that sometimes adults may be too busy to make the time or commitment to adult education, but is there also a sense of 1) as a confirmed church member, I know everything that I need to know or 2) I’m scared to find out more as it may knock down the faith foundation that I was raised on instead of building it stronger?
Lots to consider…..
Also lots to consider with question 2 – when do you let programs/initiatives die? For the church to continue to evolve, some things need to be let go. Everyone – clergy (especially clergy) and the laity – there is only so much capacity to do God’s work. Yes, we should strive to do it in ALL that we do and it should be the center of what we do, but we can’t do it all & do it well. Yes, it’s painful to let things go or to change things, but we keep evolving & will continue to do so.
I think the harder part, that I heard Rev. Watkins struggle with, is when do you let go of things that you know people need, even though they aren’t willing to do those things. She knows people need education, but when they “vote with their feet”, the message is pretty clear. I’d say keep the door open for future opportunities and maybe “sprinkle” it in when the moments are there as well.
I do not struggle so much with letting things go. My struggle is trying to find something that works. In a sort of backwards way I find some encouragement to know that we are not the only ones who are wrestling with this issue. And we too have very few answers.
One thing we are seeing at Faith is that growth is sparked in people when they step into serving others. For so many years we have focused on faith as proposition, a set of beliefs and concepts to be known, thought about and celebrated. We are beginning to rediscover faith as relationship – learning to love God and love our neighbor – as a way of life. And often we enter into that rediscovery through service.
We are still really wondering what that means for how we do church. And you are right – it is hardest to decide what to stop doing. Thanks for asking the question. I hope that it begins a more open conversation within our community about what might work.
I think the difference you name, Peter, between faith as cognitive assent and faith as a way of being and acting in the world is absolutely crucial. What we crave in the media-saturated age of information, I think, is not more information but an authentic experience of grace which, as you point out, is often found in serving others. (I think in this week’s reading Jesus actually says something about losing your life to find it. 🙂 ).
Naming the desire for an encounter with God’s grace, I think, names what people are deeply hungry for; this may be why so many at Rev. Watkins church do want to serve at the loca soup kitchen ir other ministries. Offering periodic minis-retreats and space for debriefing might support such already vibrant ministries while closing the loop in terms of theological significance and teaching.
My fear, admittedly as clergy, is that we sometimes let things die too soon. We take low numbers to mean that no one is interested, but do we stop to ask those who are participating why they are? Is this something that they need? I know that, at times, I have been tempted to stop doing adult education, because my ego is bruised by the low numbers attending, and then suddenly, one or two people who participated in a small class get some great idea, and the next class that they lead or help promote is huge (by our standards). It is hard to judge sometimes.
I have realized that, as a pastor, I have to stop defining the value of what I am doing by the numbers I have in a class and start defining the value by what I see coming out of the class in the growth and spirituality of the people I am leading. I also have realized that often, I am not the best one to lead the adult faith formation classes. I have faithful leaders who have great ideas and can draw people in better than I can sometimes, and I love to turn over these opportunities to them. Right now, we have two options on Sunday morning and not a pastor in sight (since I teach high school) — and that is a good thing.
The final observation that I am making is that going back to the basics is what is drawing people. We often get so concerned about going deeper that we forget that some people barely have the basics, and going deeper simply frightens them. We chose to do an overview of the Bible this spring on Sunday morning, and we have more people in that class than we have had in a long time because they don’t feel they need to know anything before they arrive.
Now, all this being said, I agree that we need to let things go when they really aren’t working for anyone. I have been saying that around my congregation a lot this year. We can’t let our ego or our feeling of obligation drive us to continue to push programs that don’t feed anyone just because “we’re supposed to” or “that’s the way we’ve always done it.”
I found the video clip quite powerful and all too familiar. As a pastor I too have decided to halt Adult Ed in the past, but only certain things. A few years back our “younger adults” Sunday School class was dwindling. The original formers of that group were now in their 40s-50s and the younger parents were juggling babies and naptimes. So we let the class die for a year, and it resurrected itself. THEY began clamoring for it. The same people I couldn’t drag in there started saying, “We want a class for us.” So we brought it back. I found that it’s mostly the new young parents coming, but they are learning and building relationships together.
Another thought related to the video: if people are engaged in these social ministry opportunities, why not insert some sort of study or learning into those gatherings? I think often what people want is the connection of the 2 – learning and doing. This could start simply and informally with comments and questions or a devotion before the work begins. Perhaps eventually it might grow into something deeper and/or more formal.
Thanks for the good stuff, David! I will throw some of these questions out to some lay people for feedback too.
Greetings,
I watched the referenced video and read the posts from this blog and the video blog. As a lay person who was also on church staff for 20+ years, I, too, have seen participation in adult education classes decline to the faithful few. A question I have is, are the concerns about adult education, per se, or about faith formation writ large?
A primary place for faith formation, for me at least, happens in hearing fine biblical preaching in the midst of a well planned worship experience that surrounds the preaching efforts and sacraments. That is what I take forth into my world the rest of the week. Sometimes the preaching is a series on a particular subject or a book, perhaps. Most of the time it is on the common or narrative lectionary texts. Sometimes the preacher might put out some comments about the texts to be preached as a means of preparation for Sunday worship.
This hearing of the Word preached oftentimes leads to servanthood. Maybe some focused event or a regular small group. It is within those opportunities that stories can be shared and relationships built; wherever two or more are gathered.
Then there are the myriad of blogs available to read, comment and grow from too. Blogs like this one is also prime for faith formation.
The bottom line is perhaps creating portals of entry where disciples gather, our story is shared, relationships and growing in faith happens. Thanks be to God.
Rev. LeeAnne Watkins said she hoped that while people got engaged enough in community and engaged enough in making the world a better place that by those actions they will come to a deeper spiritual place, a place where they do want to pray, a place where they do want to know who Jesus is.
So I wonder if part of the question might be, “how can we share the underlying “good news” to people WHILE they are engaged in those kinds of actions?”
Also, if I may, even though I am a clergy and therefore not invited to comment, I think you have framed the question well, “What would make Adult Education worth your while?” I have maintained for some time now that all of what the church has to offer these days, be it worship or Christian Education, is viewed in terms of it’s “value,” and all to often that “value” is judged as “what’s in it for me?” We rarely see someone judge something as valuable for somebody else, or for a greater cause. (In other words, if I don’t get anything out of it, I’m not going to put anything into it.) In the past I’ve used money in order to try and prove my point about how people “value” “church stuff.” So for example, if the issue is, “Why don’t people get to worship on time?” I say, offer people $100.00 if they are there 10 minutes early and see if they don’t show. Or why don’t children come to Sunday school (or why don’t their parents bring them???); well give them 500 bucks and see if you don’t get better attendance. Obviously I don’t mean this literally, but you get the point. It is much related to your heart and your treasure being in the same spot (Mt 6:21). And a final thought on “value” in todays material driven society, we may have a struggle “packaging” a life of “sacrifice and service to others” as “value-filled” (outside of the “I feel good when I do it,” which to me is NOT why we should be involved – but that’s another time.)
I wanted to say a few more words about getting peoples’ attention, but it has taken too long to develop. In short, before we can get anyone to see the “value” in a life with Christ, we have to first “get their attention,” which in and of itself is a challenge.
I’ll try to respond faster in the future, the couple of these I’ve read so far are really great! Keep up the good work.