Tearing Down to Build Up

 

I was raised in a large and growing church. I have been an associate minister at two different, larger growing churches. In each one of these experiences, I observed multiple large-scale building projects and how they were conducted.

We all love to live under narratives about our motives, ambitions, and values. Often, when it comes to the spending of a lot of money in the church, these narratives are at the forefront. We are called to discern the good and evil in regards to the truth about these narratives. It is much easier to ignore this task, however, especially if we have no desire to grow in discerning ourselves and the true spiritual struggles we all face. It is much easier to just rely on shallow forms of pragmatism and plow forward.

I believe with every fiber of my being, that the role of the clergy at these important times is not first of all to guide an institution to a successful and effective end regarding a monetary project or initiative. It is to shepherd, guide, and even correct those who are unwilling to discern with Gospel and Kingdom of God values. However, these callings, clearly reflected in Holy Scripture and coming from the very character of our God, are often ignored by clergy who are enmeshed in the Kingdom of this World and her power structures. Production is what matters not the needed pain of holding firm to what is essential for the change and eternal growth that the Lord Jesus Christ is most interested in. We do this because we love our people, not because we want to bring them needless conflict.

God does not need our help or our money. He has called us as his stewards to manage what he has given us for the Kingdom of God. True and lasting growth in the church has an enduring quality, but we sow the seeds of our future decline (as is evident in our National Church statistics) if we refuse to lay our idols and false hopes aside. We fertilize, water, and protect our future when we choose to seek and obey our God whether we meet our temporary and monetary goals as defined by the Kingdom of this World.

For those leading the institutional American Church in any tradition, there is a definition of crazy that is apropos: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. We don’t need more money, programs, initiatives, and training for fundraising. We need to start listening and obeying the tough teachings of the beatitudes for where we put our hope.

Whoever is engaging in a large monetary project across this nation or across the world, lay aside your need for success, your desire for prestige, your need to control, and your impatient, intolerant engagement with others who you are working beside. Instead? Open your hearts to the opportunity given to you for your continuing redemption and transformation. In years to come, we don’t need any further dwindling congregations worshipping in unused, expensive, and impressive structures. As you build and spend, believe, live, and engage the eternal first.

The article below was recently published in our church Newsletter.

Fr. Tom

This past Wednesday at our vestry meeting, we received some thoughtful and concrete recommendations from our Building and Grounds Committee regarding the repair and restoration needs of our Rectory/Community Center.

At their request, the committee has now been tasked with putting together a priority list that will aid us over the next few years as we initiate any projects needed. When a general "timeline" has been approved by the Vestry, we will at this point begin the process of informing and listening to the congregation regarding our initial projects.

Once the initial project or projects have been decided on, we will then begin discussion regarding how we want to fund these projects. In contrast with a “campaign” approach, we will take projects that are deemed "compatible" with one another and fund them per project over multiple years.

Please pray for your Priest, Building and Grounds, and Vestry as we continue to make decisions together and work to communicate and engage with our parish (and vice versa).  I would like to quote a section from one of my published works regarding the use of significant resources (here related to the hiring of a new priest):

"What I am suggesting is that a clergy search process is one of the best indicators for seeing what truly matters to American congregants, clergy, and denominational leadership. When pressed to make a large monetary investment involving our beloved institution, we tend to reveal who we are as a parish. Because we have a vested interest in the future of our church (and the clergy in the future of their vocation), we want the spending of our money to be in line with our highest values." (WJE, pg. 146).

 Similar to the statement above, the reliance on and use of money tends to bring out the true values, beliefs, and fears of most human beings. In my experience, it has been rare to see people in the church who seem any different (may this not be said of us when this process is done!)

 I Timothy 6:

7 for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; 8 but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. 9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.

 Is it God that we trust? Honesty and trust are centerpieces of healthy relationships – including the need for honesty with ourselves. Can we trust (read here – “work with”) others who handle and do things differently? Are we willing to be honest with our own anxieties and struggles when they reveal themselves and can we learn from them? We will learn nothing if we are given over to fear, control, and dishonesty.

 One of the good results of the above challenges are the opportunities they give us to grow in Christ, address our unseen duplicity, and continue to seek Christ and HIS Kingdom above all things. But this process can be messy and scary. That said, with perseverance and a shared accountability to God’s Divine Revelation, the authority Christ has ordained in the church, and our brothers and sisters in Christ, we can be a stronger and more mature church as we move forward in this process. But as scripture repeatedly teaches us, there will be no strength, endurance, or spiritual growth without walking into and accepting the pain:

James 1:
2 My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; 4 and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.