Yes ... your congregation can begin the journey!

Many congregations are already in transformation. Other congregations long to begin their own journey, but the task seems so daunting it's hard to start. Still others look at the array of programs and resources available, but think, "We can't afford something so expensive. Besides we've tried things before, and they didn't work. Others say, "What can we do?" "Where do we begin?" "Is there any Good News for us?  

The short answer to that last question is "Yes!" Beginning the journey of transformation in your congregation does not have to cost anything financially, unless of course you need to buy a Bible. It will cost in terms of faithfulness, commitment, patience, and perseverance. There are no quick fixes, not even from programs or persons who promise to make a huge difference in 40 days or 100 days.

As Alan Roxborough says in his writing, transformation is about changing the hearts of individuals and of our churches. That is no easy task for any of us. While we change surface things all the time, we resist when the change begins to challenge us where we live. In a world where change is not only constant, but often disjointed as well, we want some place or something which does not change … like our church!

Several years ago, some of my colleagues and I took a seminar called "Turn Around Church." Gene Wood who led the class opened by saying to a room full of church leaders from Baptist, Church of God, Episcopal, Methodist, Lutherans, Disciples, and Presbyterians, "Eighty to eighty-five percent of our congregations are in decline. Do any of you disagree?" Our silence answered his question.

The question, with which many of us have lived for years, is how do we turn our churches around. The short answer is, we can't. Our life comes from God. The longer answer is, God isn't going to do it alone.

We are living at a time when there really are no experts, but there are some things many of us have learned along the way.

Lesson No. 1: Since all churches are as unique as each individual, the process of transforming will be unique to each congregation. It isn't possible to go out, buy a program and use it for a few months and have a lively, vital congregation.

Lesson No. 2: Congregational transformation begins with a transformation of hearts, the heart of one person or several who then invite their congregation to join them in a transforming journey. 

The next question is where does one begin? Jane Lawrence, executive vice president, Disciples Home Missions, says she frequently suggests beginning by stopping the busy-ness of our own lives and of the life of the church. It's hard to hear God when we rush from one thing to the next. It's hard to learn new things or to reflect on more effective ways to live when we can barely make it through the week because we have too much to do. Her second suggestion is to take a year and not only learn some spiritual disciplines, but put them into daily practice.            

Transformation requires at least three things:

1. A willingness to make deep changes, not just surface ones,
2. A willingness to listen to where God is calling us,
3. A willingness to persist even when the way seems difficult. 

Personally I like to know what the outcome of something will be before I begin. Transforming journeys don't offer that assurance. We learn as we go and we have to take the risk that something will not turn out as we had hoped or even expected. Ours is a God of surprises.

I have always longed for an experience like Moses' at the burning bush or Paul's on the Road to Damascus or maybe even Pentecost with flaming tongues. Instead God has always seemed to come to me in quieter ways, ways that have transformed and deepened my life over a period of years. Two particularly important pieces slipped in about six or seven years ago. One was a book called Sabbath by Wayne Mueller. I recommend Mueller's book as a great entry point into the world of spiritual transformation. The other was a on a little card about 3" x 8" given to me at a retreat for the Heartland Area regional staffs by an Episcopal priest. On it is outlined a simple process which can be used to transform the prayer life of an individual or a congregation. I have used it regularly ever since.

I frequently have used it at the beginning of congregational meetings and with other groups. I see it as a way a church board or other groups can begin to pull the recognition of God among us into our conscious minds.  While I strongly believe the church needs good practices for bookkeeping or other business aspects of the church, we are to be first and foremost, the church and our business is to be about God's work in the world.

Recently I learned that the original piece was developed by the Native American Ministries of the Episcopal Church* (*If you are interested in finding this for yourself, it is online. Just type in Gospel-Based Disciples.or Episcopal Church, Native American Ministries). As it came to us, it had been somewhat expanded to include a scripture reflection, additional prayers and even the Apostle's Creed. Being a Disciple I have adopted and adapted various parts of this resource.

The key piece, a list of principles for Gospel-Based Disciples, offers a path to transforming the life of a congregation. There are many ways to start using it. It can be a regular feature at board meetings or other meetings such as those of committees or the diaconate or elders or trustees. Depending on the time available it can be made quite brief or become the focus of a longer period of time. It could become the subject for a series of sermons or articles in a newsletter.

One of the characteristics of the transformation movement is the awareness that no experts exist. Even those who say they are cannot guarantee success. There is no way to ensure their methods will work for you or your particular congregation. We live in a time in which we have all become learners and while we can offer each other resources and information about things we've learned, anything and everything seems to need to be adapted to specific persons and groups. Therefore, what is your congregation waiting for? Transformation awaits!

Norma Roberts is coordinator for the planning team for the Continuing Journey on the Good News Road and lives in Bloomington, Ill.