{"id":3208,"date":"2024-01-21T13:52:49","date_gmt":"2024-01-21T21:52:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/?p=3208"},"modified":"2024-01-21T13:52:49","modified_gmt":"2024-01-21T21:52:49","slug":"the-work-of-a-church-is-to-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/?p=3208","title":{"rendered":"The Work of a Church is to Be"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Because a congregation is a voluntary association of free individuals, with different needs and passions, living in diverse contexts, with varied skills and resources, the mission of a church must be broad. Our core mission, then is not to do any one particular thing, but rather to be an institution equipped to do many things for many people.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

            We\u2019re talking about Mission and Vision for these Winter months, now through the end of March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Mission is the spiritual question, \u201cWhat should I do?\u201d  Vision is the goal that mission works to reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Maybe you have a personal mission statement.  The beginning of a new year is a good time to think about why you\u2019re here.  Your purpose.  The work you can do, and maybe only you can do, to contribute to the health and joy of the world:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            To care<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            To teach<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            To add beauty<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            To heal division<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            To make right<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            To expand human knowledge <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            To strengthen the weak<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            To amplify the good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Mission is about action, about work, about focused activity toward some goal.  Vision is the goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            This church is currently in an interim period between one settled ministry and hopefully soon, another.  I\u2019ve been working with you for a year and half now as an interim, with another year and half to come.  Later this spring we will elect a search committee.  Next year, the search committee will do their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My role as an interim minister is to help you all make a successful transition, to move away from the previous ministry and into the next.  We\u2019ve worked together to address issues coming out of the previous ministry.  We\u2019re working to strengthen the current church so that healthy systems and structures are in place to support the church longterm.  And we\u2019re doing the interior reflective work to find clarity about who you are and what you want for yourselves, and from your next professional leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Our mission for this Interim period is to do what\u2019s necessary to make the church healthy and strong, attractive to the best possible candidate ministers, equipped to do the challenging and subtle work of discerning among the applicants the one minister who is the best match for this church, and preparing the church to welcome your eventual choice with enthusiasm.  That\u2019s our Mission for this interim.  Our interim Vision being a new minister, successful, for a long time, in this community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            But what about once the interim is finished?  When we\u2019ve met that short-term vision, what are we here to do?  Where are we headed?  That\u2019s our question for the next few months and the marching orders for the search committee once they start their work.  What work do you need a settled minister to help you accomplish?  Where will you want to go, and what kind of minister will you want walking beside you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Corporations and non-profit organizations have mission statements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Some of them can be quite specific.  We build widgets!  Or we help women get elected to public office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Other mission statements are more general:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Jet Blue:  \u201cWe inspire humanity\u2014both in the air and on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Tesla:  \u201cTo accelerate the world\u2019s transition to sustainable energy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            The mission statement for TED, the organization that does the TED Talks, is just two words:  \u201cSpread ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Some Mission statements are so specific you might be able to name the company just by hearing their Mission statements;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cTo be Earth\u2019s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            That\u2019s Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            How about:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo connect the world\u2019s professionals to make them more productive and successful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            That\u2019s LinkedIn<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Here\u2019s another:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo build the web\u2019s most convenient, secure, cost-effective payment solution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            That\u2019s PayPal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Here\u2019s Nike:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.*  And then there\u2019s an asterisk that explains, *If you have a body, you are an athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            And listen to the Mission Statement of the outdoor-clothing company Patagonia:  \u201cBuild the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            What should be the mission statement for our church?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Well we have one.  You might know it:  \u201cOurs is an inclusive religious community that inspires personal and spiritual growth.  We care for one another.  We strive for social justice, a healthy environment, and a peaceful world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does that describe what we do here?  I think it does.  We inspire personal and spiritual growth.  We care for one another.  We strive for social justice, a healthy environment, and a peaceful world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      We have another kind of a mission statement in the covenant that we say together every Sunday at the beginning of worship:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cTo dwell together in peace,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            to seek knowledge in freedom,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            to serve humanity in fellowship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our hymnal is full of Mission Statements.  Here\u2019s a kind of mission statement from the hymn we sang as our opening hymn:  \u201cWith heart and mind and voice and hand may we this time and place transcend to make our purpose understood:  a mortal search for mortal good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            What\u2019s our purpose?  \u201ca mortal search for mortal good.\u201d  That\u2019s a pretty good mission statement for a church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Or here\u2019s another from the third verse.  \u201cwhere we can grow, and each one’s gift is sanctified, and spirits lift, where every door is open wide for all who choose to step inside.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      As I planned our worship for the next three months, I went through the hymnal and choose hymns and readings that sound like mission statements.  You\u2019ll hear a lot of those in the weeks to come, starting with the long-winded one from the twentieth century Unitarian theologian James Luther Adams that was our Call to Worship this morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            How\u2019s this for a mission statement?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I call that church free which enters into covenant with the ultimate source of existence, which brings individuals into a caring, trusting fellowship, that protects and nourishes their integrity and spiritual freedom; that yearns to belong to the church universal;  a pilgrim church, a servant church, on an adventure of the spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Or here is a Vision statement from the same reading:  \u201cThe goal is the prophethood and priesthood of all believers\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            That all sounds good, right?  It\u2019s lofty.  It\u2019s inspirational.  It\u2019s poetic.  It makes you feel good, and important.  A Mission statement should look nice printed on the company letterhead.  Or if it\u2019s short enough you could memorize it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            But here is what many of these mission statements don\u2019t do:   they don\u2019t actually tell you what to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Nike\u2019s mission statement, \u201cBring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world\u201d doesn\u2019t mention shoes or clothing.  Could you read that Mission statement and know what Nike actually does?  Maybe they print inspirational posters to hang in lockerrooms?  Maybe they compose inspirational fight songs for high school pep rallies?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Jet Blue\u2019s mission statement:  \u201cWe inspire humanity\u2014both in the air and on the ground.\u201d Nothing about airplanes or travel.  Maybe they create firework shows or floats for the Macy\u2019s Thanksgiving parade?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Patagonia\u2019s mission statement says, \u201cBuild the best product\u201d but it says nothing about what products they build.  And then it concludes with lovely language that could be about nearly anything, \u201ccause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cOK,\u201d the new Patagonia CEO might say to his management team, \u201cBut what do we do?  Wind farms?  Solar panels?  Plastic recycling?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUh.  No,\u201d they confess, sheepishly.  We make jackets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Now you might think that I\u2019m pointing out a problem with these lofty, ambitious, far-ranging, but non-specific mission statements.  But actually, I\u2019m pointing out a truth, and a good truth, about mission statements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Mission statements aren\u2019t about doing specific things.  If they were, they could quickly become out-of-date and irrelevant.  The world around us is constantly changing.  New contexts need new solutions.  Technology is changing.  The means by which we met human needs a hundred years ago, or in many cases even ten years ago, no longer apply.  If your company is so narrowly focused on a single \u201cdoing\u201d that fills the needs of today in the way we do today, then you\u2019ll be out of business in ten years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            We need mission statements that define not how<\/em> we fill the need, with this specific act of doing, but statements that define us as being here to meet the need, open to whatever doing is appropriate to the context, to the time, to the people we\u2019re here to serve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Our church mission statement says:  \u201cWe inspire personal and spiritual growth.\u201d  It doesn\u2019t say how.  There\u2019s no list of programs.  It doesn\u2019t mention that we hold worship services on Sunday, and adult religious education classes during the week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our mission statement says, \u201cWe care for one another.\u201d  It doesn\u2019t say we arrange rides to doctor\u2019s appointments. Or we deliver homemade casseroles to people who don\u2019t have the energy to cook for themselves.  Or we listen quietly when people need to unburden their sorrows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe strive for social justice,\u201d but we don\u2019t name particular social problems or say how we address them.  We\u2019re not a non-profit organization devoted to a singular cause.  We strive for a healthy environment, and a peaceful world, and I think we do, and should, but how do we strive, and what do we do exactly?  Well, that depends on the context, and the time, and the people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A church community is filled with dozens of people, with different skills and resources and passions and needs.  Some come longing for a moment of quiet.  Some are eager for connection with the transcendent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For others in our community, the \u201ctranscendent\u201d has no meaning.  They\u2019re here for inspiration, or for beauty. Others are hoping for a provocative idea to stimulate their thinking throughout the week.  Some want a moral education for their children, or maybe just an hour when it\u2019s someone else\u2019s responsibility to keep their children occupied.  Some come because they are lonely and are looking for friends.  Some come because they\u2019re going through a rough time in life and need some comfort.  And others come because they\u2019re most satisfied when they can provide some comfort to others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some are seeking a community where their opinions are shared and they don\u2019t have to be on the defensive all the time.  Others are looking for just the opposite:  a community where their opinions are regularly challenged, which gives them an opportunity to learn and grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just want to sing in the choir,\u201d says one.  \u201cI\u2019m just here for the opportunity to serve my neighbors at the Tuesday Drop-In program\u201d, says another.  \u201cI only come to the book club\u201d, says another.  Or, \u201cFrankly, I\u2019m only here for the coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And all of that is good.  All of those doings of the church are good.  Not just a coffeehouse.  Not just a community choir.  Not just a social service agency.  But all of that:  worship, education, pastoral care, social justice, music, quiet, discussion, peace, children, fun, tolerance, and brunch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A church cannot define itself by a single doing.  We are here to do many different things to fill many different needs for many different people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So that, eventually, is the true mission of our church.  To be here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not to do, but to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simply to be here.  That\u2019s our mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be a container for many doings.  To be a community, where all the varied interests and needs and desires of all the various people who choose to step inside, can do what they choose to do.  Not to offer a single doing, like a non-profit or political organization that asks its members to join a single cause, but a community where we open ourselves to our member\u2019s needs and aspirations, and then offer flexible resources for folks to do what they choose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our mission is not to do one thing but to be a community where members can do many things.  The mission of our community is simply to be a community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A need for community is actually the flexible, expansive, ongoing need that people continue to feel decade after decade.  Offering community and tending to the community is our mission.  Work to keep the community strong and healthy.  Work to keep the roof from leaking, and the floor from sagging, and the heat on, and the staff paid, and the doors open.  Work to offer community to people who need community.  That\u2019s our mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once a person steps inside they can decide what work they want to do with their community:  make music, make friends, say a prayer, lend a hand, fight for justice, teach a child, decorate the altar, make the coffee.  Our church\u2019s mission statement hints at a few general doings that we\u2019re here to do all together:  inspire personal and spiritual growth, care for one another, strive for social justice, a healthy environment, and a peaceful world.  But the most important part of our church\u2019s mission statement is actually the first phrase, not a statement of doing, but of being:  \u201cOurs is an inclusive religious community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s what we offer.  That\u2019s our widget.  That\u2019s our mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be a community \u201cwhere every door is open wide to all who choose to step inside.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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