RIP LSM

The Lay Ministry Support Group of the Methodist Church of New Zealand - Te Haahi Weteriana O Aotearoa - will hardly be expecting my congratulations on their offering which arrived this week.
The Group seems to be keen to be invited to do local training of lay people. They suggest a list of twenty topics for workshops they could present.
Lost somewhere among the twenty is "exploring Local Shared Ministry and Team Ministries". Well, I guess I should be pleased to see it at all. But alongside such offerings as Story-telling and Retreat Days and Tools for Decision-Making, I cannot judge if LSM is being damned with faint praises or praised with faint damns.
LSM was never about lay people learning a few new skills to help them make more of a contribution to their local church. LSM is about a completely new way of "being church". It's about the local people wresting control and management of their small congregation from the clutches of stipendiary ministry before their communal life is extinguished through sheer economics.

Of course there are still a few decent size churches where the luxury of paid ministry can be afforded. Let them indulge in any number of workshops that may or may not be of interest and relevance to their people - and may or may not fit into the strategies of the local clergy concerned. And of course there are many Pasifika and Asian congregations who are doing just fine in their understanding of the dynamics and strategies of local church.
However, most of the denomination's papalagi (non-Polynesian) congregations are small and tending to dwindle. They are all too easily persuaded to give up the struggle to meet the costs of ministry. In centre after centre for five decades, Methodism has abandoned a local witness because it could not see beyond paid ministry and expansive properties.
By contrast, LSM is a way forward for such congregations. It's an opportunity for local members to completely re-think and re-strategise their way of "being church in our community".
Oops, beg pardon, I see there's a workshop about "Visioning for your Future". Oh, well, that could be a second really useful item on the list of twenty if anyone in the Group actually has a hopeful vision for such congregations...

(I have nicked the cartoon from Tim Norwood... I would have nicked it earlier if I'd seen it earlier.)

We've just had four days in the Bay of Islands, taking with us a couple of special friends.

Happily, after two years, it's not "back home" any more. But it was wonderful to renew contact with old friends and re-visit some of the sights and places that were so much of our lives for a couple of decades. In exchange for our accommodation in the Parish's Totara House, David and I took the Sunday morning service. Although many regulars were absent there was a very respectable number of people of all ages present and we had a stimulating time together.

It was also stimulating to realise that next year the local ministry team concept will have been in place for 25 years. I would guess that probably two dozen or more members have been called to this special ministry team of four to six people at various times over the years.

The parish these days doesn't require any ministry from an ordained person, yet its care for its members and its mission of hospitality continue. A number of people have joined the congregation in recent years.

Of course, nothing remains the same - especially in small, ageing congregations. There is occasionally a little sense of vulnerability as another member family or two find they must move away as we did two years ago. But the passion to maintain ministry and mission within local resources continues. And the ministry strategy is essentially the same as it was when we tentatively embarked on it in June 1992.

At the end of the first year, we produced a video REPORT FROM THE BAY for the Methodist Conference. It explained our motivation and how we moved from dependency on a stipendiary minister to taking responsibility for our own ministry. That video has been all round the world. I have long since lost count of the number of copies we made in response to wide interest. Twenty-five years later, I can't think of anything much in it that I would like to change. The long-term experience of this parish certainly seems to affirm its general principles.

End of the Road for Small Congregations?

The word came to me today that the Methodist Church is moving away from Local Shared Ministry. They have a new word for whatever it is that they are going to put in place. It seems to be ministry teams of lay people. But it doesn’t seem to pick up the simple essentials of Local Shared Ministry.

In a sense, this is no surprise. My denomination’s commitment to LSM has never run much deeper than putting some provisions into the law book a few years ago. Dedicated leadership in implementing the policy hasn’t been given. The revitalisation of dwindling papalagi congregations has not had high priority in a church with multi-ethnic responsibilities.

Now, after decades of being ignored, small congregations are learning that all Methodist buildings be closed unless they meet twice the level of earthquake security that the government requires. It must seem as if the denomination is deliberately planning their demise.

Perhaps it is. Who knows?

New Super-Highway or just a better road?

The proposed deviation of State Highway One from Puhoi north is a ticklish political and economic issue for our small country.

As a Northlander, I guess I respond to the official view that the development of our part of the country would be greatly enhanced by an easier road north. Some of us have experienced huge delays on vital trips through this congested area at certain times. Somewhat naively, we would like the choice of paying a toll for the sake of a smoother trip.

But an interesting new argument for the tollway was presented recently. We were told that the by-pass would speed the passage of vacationing Auckland to their beaches by a matter of some thirteen minutes.

I am among those who feel that the improvement of the existing highway at a few key points would bring a substantial benefit for a fraction of the cost of the super-highway. But then, as a proponent of Local Shared Ministry, it comes naturally to me to look for the simple, efficient, economic solutions, whether in national roading or small church strategy...

Heavy weather ahead!

We’ve had a clutch of rain and wind warnings lately as unseasonal cyclones have sneaked down from the tropics bringing threats of the worst weather we ever get up here. And that usually means power outages.

So Bev’s got out the candles and had them standing ready. Some of them look like they should be on the dining table with a fine meal. None of them looks like the utilitarian candle our great-grandparents used to take up the stairs to bed at night. If we’d been reaching for these in the dark we’d probably have tipped them over. And after a few minutes alight they’d have been dropping wax everywhere…

In the event, we didn’t have to use them. We had only about 40mm of rain and the wind was hardly noticeable. There was certainly no damage.

Local Shared Ministry often comes about in response to predictions of doom for the traditional strategy of paid ministry. But the response must be practical and realistic. It’s not a time for prettying up our church image. It's a time for getting on with the job. And it may be quite hard work...

The Yotel and Local Shared Ministry

We tried out the Yotel at Heathrow. It’s not a room or a suite --- they call it a cabin. Usually, you don’t need to register at a desk, you just dial in your internet booking number at a docking station where you’re given your magnetic-striped key. Once there, if there is something you need, you can phone “Mission Control” and they’re most obliging with free hot drinks and other stuff.

I wouldn’t be promoting them especially - the smaller unit is definitely for very “good friends” and we’d recommend the premium unit for people of our age and build. But obviously I could hardly fail to draw a comparison with the small church.

Here was everything we needed for a short overnight: a complete bathroom in less than two square metres, table, case rack, hanger (just one…), and the cutest cubby hole with a very comfortable bed for two (very good!) friends. There was even a large TV at the end of the bed and wifi was available. Furthermore the whole thing was just across from the entrance where the bus dropped us and only one floor from our check-in desk. Only the Hilton could have been more convenient…

The parallels with the small church are inescapable. The Yotel provided everything we needed with the minimum of bells and whistles. It offered full facilities without charging an arm and a leg. The friendly young staff responded to requests with alacrity but probably didn’t have degrees in hotel management.

The Yotel and its friendly people epitomised the Local Shared Ministry team in the small church. Both groups are chosen for their specific skills. Both provide a service that relates to their situation. Both provide an unconventional approach that is relevant in a changing world. Both should have more use.

Hedgerows

Now that’s not a word we’d use in NZ. But on the third Open-Top bus tour of the New Forest yesterday we were reminded how little of the countryside you can see when driving in England. Quite often, all you can see are the dense bushes that lines the roads and the meadows. Hedgerows.

Great stuff, of course, because, as we have been discovering in the last two or three decades in Australia and NZ, the paddocks are actually more productive if not cultivated right to the very edges. In all our countries these days there are dedicated efforts to restoring bush and forest margins to protect moisture and provide environments for insect, bird and animal life.

It’s all very praiseworthy, but outside our bungalow in Ringwood it has all gone mad. Here, carefully protected from gnawing animals, is a line of what were cute little saplings just a year or two ago. Planted less than a foot apart, they were presumably intended to build up a hedge. But besides hawthorns and holly which might grow only a few metres high there are big trees such as oaks, alders and willows.

I suppose 95% of them will never survive. At best, they will make not hedge but a fence of thin sticks. If any survive into maturity there will probably be a law forbidding their removal and they will completely shut the sun out of this pleasant little property. It seems as though a very good idea has been taken up with enthusiasm but has somehow lost some vital concepts along the way.

I wonder how often that happens with changes in church strategy. Could Local Shared Ministry become another really good idea that turns bad because of doctrinaire and mindless, application?

Sunset thoughts on ministry

While away from home I pride myself on knowing my orientation, well more or less. Sitting having an al fresco meal the other night, the setting sun was getting in my eyes. So I shifted my chair slightly so that a nearby hedge to the left would shield my eyes as the sun slide sideways down to the horizon.

But it didn’t work. The sun in the northern hemisphere goes down in the west all right, just like it does where we live. But it slants to the north instead of the south. Simple and obvious. I was not completely oriented and I suffered a bit more inconvenience with the sun in my eyes.

Local Shared Ministry is a distinctively different way of being church. It’s not just a matter of replacing one expert upfront with a few well-meaning enthusiasts. It’s to do with a whole re-orientation of thinking about what can bring light and life to the small church.

Error Messages in LSM #5

     Any difficulties that develop between the members of a Local Shared Ministry unit, or conflicts between the parish council and the Ministry Support Team, must be addressed with urgency.\

     The nature of ministry through a team of individuals is that there is not usually a clearly defined “leader” in the local setting. When differences develop and the Enabler and the normal routines of personal supervision and team-building are not able to deal with them it is time to seek outside assistance.

     In a regular parish the ordained minister would recognise a pastoral responsibility to deal with this kind of situation. If the minister is not able to engage effectively in handling any conflict, it is normal to seek some assistance from beyond the immediate pastoral setting.

     Exactly the same situation applies in the LSM situation. The Enabler should seek advice and assistance from beyond the local setting and these should be readily forthcoming.

     The very worst thing that can happen to developing conflict is nothing. Too often that is what seems to happen. Team members, parish Councillors, and Enablers all need to take great care. And when their concerted efforts are not enough for the task and they call on outside assistance, that must be offered quickly, compassionately but decisively.

LSM Error Messages # 2 WRONG PASSWORD

      Congregations with relatively few business skills can often manage OK when there are no big challenges. Routine matters of organising volunteer rosters, working bees and mowing lawns and so on are no trouble.
     But when there’s a major matter of maintenance and only limited funding available, or a commercial contract to be let for specialist work, or a purchase of a complex item of equipment, it’s important to have competent people on business committees and to see that good business principles are followed in the decision-making and execution. The right people are the password to success.
     Finding them can be a challenge.
· Not all small congregations have people with competence to seek and compare quotations – indeed, some church committees don’t even bother with them for quite large purchases or contracts.
· Many committees don’t have the ability to prioritise different kinds of spending from a modest, fixed budget.
· Some even cannot even understand a simple statement of accounts.
     It’s very important that people with the right skills and knowledge and a sense of Christian stewardship are drawn onto Councils and committees which carry substantial responsibilities. Usually, but not always, the same people will also have vital skills in meeting procedures and rules of debate.
     The point is that a place on the council of a small church is not just a reward to be handed out to faithful members. Nor is it an open forum for everyone to come along and have their two cents’ worth. Sheer goodwill and confidence is not enough. We need to get the right people for the job.

Our Kauri Leader

      Our little kauri tree has definitely repaired itself!

......It lost its central "leader" two years ago. Ever since, it has looked like the five branch stems around it were likely to take over and make a deformed cluster of trunks. It struck me at the time they were rather like a small church opting for Local Shared Ministry instead of a paid minister. Now that was not a metaphor I wanted to emphasise. Nor is it a suitable metaphor for LSM that the central leader has now recovered.

......But it is a fundamental principle of most congregations that they look to one person to be a focus for the essentials. It is normal for just one person to be the final arbiter in times of differences, to offer direction when we are astray, and to be the centre around which most things turn. Every congregation, at heart, wants one person to look to.

......So, how does a small church using LSM manage without the authority figure that is the paid minister? First, there is a shared authority in the fact that every member of the team is called by the parent church. There is a confidential prayer ballot among the members, but the results do not necessarily determine who is called. That step is taken outside the local church membership.

......Second, it is possible that the congregation may call one person to be the Team Leader, to convene meetings and to exercise on occasion the kind of coordinating role that might be provided by a paid minister.

......Third, every LSM unit has a Ministry Enabler appointed by the parent denomination. This person carries the authority of the denomination and provides a focus for the whole of the ministry of the LSM support team and the congregation. This role may not play a major part in day to day life but when it is needed, it must there.

......The tiny, fragile shoot at the top of our wee kauri isn’t a very large part of the tree. It points the way to the skies that the tree will one day pierce. But it is the whole tree that does the growing.

Too old?

     Some time ago, when we were discussing the problems of covering all the duties in the local church, someone said “There were a lot more of us twenty years ago. And we’re all twenty years older now…” She was alluding to the Good Old Days when there seemed to be plenty of people to do what needed to be done.

     Actually, we did a lot less in those days. Our little congregation now punches well above its weight in what it tackles and achieves beyond its own needs, compared with a couple of decades ago.  

     And we weren’t twenty years younger. In the archives I found an attendance record that someone had kept for pastoral purposes in 1991. It showed that the average age then was only about twelve years younger than the average today.

     It also revealed that about half of the attendees made no other contribution to the formal mission of the church. These days every attending member in the congregation has a definable role or responsibility.
    That's how it is in the small church with Local Shared Ministry.

Ah, Nostalgia!

After church on Sunday we celebrated Tui’s 80th birthday and viewed a set of slides she’d put together on her life.

One shot was of her and two of her family on their favourite rock at a remote waterfall. She told us that she went back after 50 years to re-live that moment. The access was much more difficult than she remembered and, while the waterfall was still there, it wasn’t as impressive as it had seemed in memory. Worst of all, the sunny slope where three teens used to meet and share their intimacies was completely covered by a huge overgrown log that had jammed itself in the rocks.

People in small congregations know well that once the decision is made for Local Shared Ministry instead of the luxury of a paid minister, nothing will be exactly the same again. To try to revisit or recapture the past can be a discouraging and pointless exercise.

Three Minute Thesis Whizzes

I was fascinated with the “Three Minute Thesis" competition on Cue TV last night.
Ph D students gave three-minute talks on their theses and were judged on the quality of their communication, comprehension and engagement. The audience was introduced to the most complex concepts with just one slide on the screen and a three minute talk. Clearly, many of the critics “got it” and many of the students found it constructive to distill their findings into a three minute presentation that would catch attention and convey real meaning.
It was exciting to be invited into the minds of these students. They reminded me of the voluntary worship leaders who weekly accept challenging roles in LSM congregations which do not have stipendiary ministers. They also lack some breadth of experience. They are also learners. But many of them show the same passion, the same enthusiasm, the same sincerity, the same belief in what they are doing.

This oldie salutes them all!

Time for a New Freezer?

Our freezer is nearly thirty years old. It still works well but we have been made to feel anxious by claims that modern freezers are so much more economical.

Yesterday I saw exactly what we needed in Farmers' sale. It would fit in the same space and do the same job. It boasted the usual coloured sticker on the front indicating what its power usage would be in a year. Now that was interesting…

Some time ago I blew $25 on a power meter. I’ve had it hooked up to the old freezer for a few days and I’ve found that it actually uses much less electricity than the same size new model.

I expect the difference is because the new one will be frost-free and is more environmentally sympathetic. But on grounds of just doing the job and power usage, the old one will probably stay there for a bit longer.

That’s what Local Shared Ministry is all about in a small congregation - achieving what needs to be done in mission and ministry for an affordable cost in talents and available resources.

Sunday morning we had a feast...

Rosalie, the Methodist District Co-Superintendent presided at the commissioning of our four newly called team members on Sunday. With well-chosen words she saw to it that the Gospel for the Day stirred our consciences and prompted us to renew our commitment. The singing, even in a new and rather difficult hymn, was breathtakingly inspiring.
Hohaia Matthews, of Tai Tokerau and a Uniting Church in Australia minister, enthused us with his impassioned account of the work being done with the Aboriginal and Islander Congress in Port Augusta, SA.
We then had a cuppa and reconvened at 11am for another of our parish’s “forty minute” Annual Meetings. Ann chaired with her usual style and good humour and we listened to crisp reports on every part of the parish’s life. Elections highlighted the willingness of two new associate members to step up as Secretary and Treasurer.
Bev and I then flicked through the slides of our fifty years together and contributed a light “celebration” lunch and cut up another section of the "incredible four-in-one travelling cake". Another couple of dozen people signed the big card.
Vanessa, our new Fellowship Coordinator on the Team, went to a lot of trouble to make this occasion very special for us and for the congregation.
As well as celebrating our Golden Wedding, the lunch was our Thank You to the congregation that has been the spiritual centre of our lives together for the last eighteen years. In blessing Bev and me with its willingess to experiment with Local Shared Ministry, this parish has blessed itself with leadership which has appeared from nowhere. It has called out gifts that - under a more traditional strategy of ministry - might never have been recognised.
Sunday morning we had a feast...

Looking more closely...

We had a quirky little bird as our symbol for the liturgy in church last Sunday. Nobody identified it from the first photo, although it is indigenous to NZ. It looks a lot like many other birds.
But you have to look at it from just the right angle to spot its distinctive feature. It is the only bird that has a beak which curves to the right. The Wrybill Plover circles around stones in a clockwise direction, extracting its food from underneath the edges of the stone and its bill is curved for that purpose.
The stories from Samuel and Nathaniel last Sunday also invited us to look a little deeper, at a different angle, to extract the fullness of their significance for us.

And we realised that our LSM congregations sometimes look pretty much like lots of other small churches. But there is something quite distinctive about them. And it is related to purpose, to our calling to mission, to our very being.