One day out of forty

         (a poem for Lent) 
                                                             

There are times

I so want to
be bad—
smoke a cigar or pipe,
swear without regret,
another Scotch,
just one hit,
stay in bed till noon,
say exactly what I think
feel
know
doubt
wonder
question,
though it may be
my quickest way to hell.
Didn’t Jesus deign
to descend,
rescue the lost
forgotten ones,
willfully bad or those 
who just stumbled from despair?

Don’t write when
you’re buzzed.
You’ll think
it’s the only way
to unearth yourself,
speak your truth.
In the sober morning
you think
you should throw this away
but you won’t.
Waste just might be
the main course
of redemption.

© Cynthia E. Robinson 2013

Go!

I have been reading church profiles for over a year now.  I go to the UCC website, to the
employment opportunities page, find churches that fit my basic criteria (ONA, geographic location, church size, willingness to do things differently), then request the regional or association office to send my profile to that church's search committee.  I usually receive a reply that my profile has been received and that there will be some communication in the future after my profile has been read by the committee.  If the search committee decides to retain my profile, i.e., they're interested in pursuing a conversation of sorts with me, then I receive the local church's profile usually via email.

A local church profile is very similar to the one that UCC clergy are required to submit.  One thing they have in common is a list of 34 desirable qualities in a local church pastor.  Those who provide a reference for me are asked to choose 12 of those qualities as my primary strengths as a pastor.  I am also required to choose from that list as part of my self-assessment, to see if how I view myself has any congruency with how laypeople and other clergy view me.  Local churches, as part of their profile, also choose from the same list the 12 qualities they desire most in their next settled pastor.

The quality I see most often desired in a pastor is this one:  "Works regularly at bringing new members into the church."  As if I were a salesman with a quota, peddling my wares, like an Amway rep.  New England Congregationalism is often referred to as "herding cats".  Bringing new members into an already contentious or self-focused fold seems dubious at best.  Unless, of course, a church is ready for the change-agents that new members can be rather than workers that need to be assimilated.  Oddly enough, there is no place in a church's profile for them to talk about how the congregation works regularly at bringing new members into the church.  It appears to be the sole responsibility of the pastor to do this.  Nevermind the Holy Spirit.

I am not a Bible scholar, per se, but I do not recall reading Jesus saying something like, "Just stay here, do what you're doing--worship, Sunday School, all kinds of programs and the like--and I'll go get folks for you and bring them here."  What he did say was, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.¹⁹         Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.  And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

The days of attracting new members to local churches is over and has been for quite some time.  Marketing has its place in the world but I can't see Jesus wearing swag or having a tag line, soundbite or quotable tweet.  "God is still speaking" has done wonders for some local churches, but if we the church can't put into being exactly what it is God is speaking to us (or if we aren't listening), after a time it rings rather hollow.  It's not a coincidence that the Church has become irrelevant to many at the same time when churches across the theological spectrum lament "It doesn't seem to matter what programs we offer.  People just don't come here like they used to."  It takes a big risk for a person, a couple, a family to walk in the front door of a church for the first time.  When was the last time the church truly risked itself for the sake of the gospel and for one person, a family, a lost cause?  When was the last time the church was relevant to society, a time when we could point to the church and said, "Yes, there!"?  The civil rights movement?  The United Church of Christ can point to its own accomplishments but can anyone else?  At the present moment, it appears our society has more progressive people than the entire Christian church.

Even if we do go and are faithful to the gospel of peace and justice, there are no guarantees that it will result in new members, a healthy budget and a glorious foreseeable future.  The only thing Jesus promises is that he will be with us always, to the end of the age.  Faithfulness is its own reward, changed lives are the goal, and as a pastor I'm supposed to work myself out of a job. 

Now if I could just be called to a church to work myself out of....