20 minute read
IDENTIFYING YOUR CHURCH’S VALUES AND USING THEM TO PLAN
By Rev. Laura Stephens-Reed
I recently interviewed several pastors about their experiences leading congregations during the pandemic. Specifically, I wanted to know how they handled the initial turn to online worship and the million mini-ministry pivots they’ve had to make in the two years since. Unsurprisingly, all these pastors are exhausted. But not all are discouraged. A significant difference between the ministers who are hopeful and the ones who are not is that the former group serves congregations that were clear about their values pre-pandemic.
Core values are those aspects of your church on which you would never compromise. They could include principles like “welcoming children’s joyful noises,” “inclusion of all people,” “being prayerful in all circumstances,” “being innovative in the ways we serve our city,” “feeding our community’s bodies and souls,” or “focusing on making the world a more just place.”
Though the ways your congregation lives into these values might change over time, the values themselves stay constant. That’s why they are, in my estimation, more helpful than vision or mission statements that need to be revisited regularly.
Why is an understanding of these values so important?
In a church that has consensus on its values, everyone starts from the same place. We might have different ideas about what it looks like to embody our principles, but we have commonly-held commitments and a shared language for discussing all the options.
A church that fully owns its values has trust among its members. We can assume positive intent in one another because we are bound to the same ideals. If there are disagreements, we can give one another grace because we hold similar values, and
these tenets in turn serve as touchstones to reset the relationship between the involved parties.
And a church that has done the work to define its values knows what it is about. It doesn’t have to try to be all things to all people. It lives its beliefs, and those whose priorities align with those of the congregation become part of or partner to the church.
Congregations that didn’t have this baseline, this trust, this sense of identity, have struggled the past two years. The pandemic kept (and in many ways, continues to keep) us from being in close proximity to one another in familiar ways. That reality has made it difficult for us to have complex conversations. So, when leaders had to make quick or hard decisions, on what values were they basing them? Where did the trust come from that all the options were explored and that choices were made based on the fullest expression of the congregation’s values and the best available information? What kept pastors and churches from overextending themselves by trying to do all the things to reach all the people?
I invite you to mull what you consider your congregation’s top three values, then check them out with others in your church. If you’re surprised by the discrepancies, don’t panic! It is not too late for you and your fellow congregants to do the good work of naming these touchstones.
Here are some questions to start the conversation:
What brought me to this church, and what keeps me here? Try to think beyond such realities as “My family goes here” or “This is the closest church to my house.” Consider when you feel most engaged with your faith or with other congregants. What bubbles up might not necessarily be values that everyone shares, but this exercise can start to get you thinking in the right direction.
What does our history reveal to be important to who we are as a congregation? What doesn’t make this list, and what surprises you about that? Values, even if we haven’t named them, tend to be running themes through most of a church’s history. Making a timeline of key moments, such as pastor tenures, physical plant changes, major conflicts, the beginning and/or end of significant ministries, and responses to world events can make these runners more apparent.
Who are the church people, now gone on to the cloud of witnesses, whose legacies shape us the most? What did they ingrain in us? How did they invest in us? What is essential for us to carry forward? Focus on lessons from the departed could tie in well with dates in the liturgical calendar, such as All Saints’ Day, Lent or the Anna and Simeon Scripture text at Christmas.
To what are we most committed as a church? What’s important to us about these commitments? Here, you’re not really looking for stances on political or theological issues, but you can dig underneath those to get at the values that provide the scaffolding for those stances.
What can we not imagine stopping? By contrast, what is something we can never imagine doing? Our strong reactions point to values that underpin our doing or not doing.
What do we offer our community, defined as both those who attend our church and those we minister alongside in a broader sense? You don’t have to be a larger, well-resourced church to show the love of Christ in impactful ways. So, what do you provide that others would miss if your church disappeared tomorrow? The responses might get at value more than values, but they can also give clues about what your congregation is doing when it is most authentically and faithfully itself.
Wrestling with these questions can be an energizing exercise for your church. They are also a great way to get back on the same page with fellow church members after long spans apart and to jumpstart your ministry in this new season. Have fun with them, and watch what God will do.
Laura Stephens-Reed is a clergy and congregational coach based in Alabama.
RESOURCE
What’s Normal Now?
Discerning Next Steps for Your Church’s Future
Born out of the experience of Second Baptist Church, Memphis, Tenn., What’s Normal Now is a six-session resource for congregational leaders as they navigate questions arising from the pandemic.
www.cbf.net/whats-normal-now
DEEP WIDE&
Since 2001, Second Baptist has engaged with families in Bridger, South Dakota, and built trust though long-term relationships and respect for the Lakota culture.
Missouri church honored for ‘mission excellence’
By Meg Lacy Vega
of us remember singing the MANY refrain of the hymn “Deep and Wide” at the top of our kid-sized lungs, in Sunday school or at Vacation Bible School. The 20th century hymn by Sidney Cox is about living water that flows from the wounds of Christ, becoming “a fountain flowing deep and wide, deep and wide!” But these words could also be used to describe the mission efforts of Second Baptist Church in Liberty, Missouri. The church’s commitment to sharing God’s love with the world is both intensely relational and strategically vast—it is deep, and it is wide, a fountain of God’s liberating love flowing through the world.
Top: Second Baptist’s annual Missions Market features booths from missions partners, including the Karen Grace Baptist Church. Bottom: Members of Second Baptist talk with CBF field personnel Rick Burnette on a mission trip to the Upland Holistic Development Project (UHDP) in Thailand. Second Baptist Church was a 2021 recipient of CBF’s Mission Excellence Award. Watch a video at www.cbf.net/missions-excellence.
THE MINISTRY OF PRESENCE IN BRIDGER, SOUTH DAKOTA
“Our church’s mission statement begins with a commitment to foster meaningful Christ-centered community,” said pastor Jason Edwards. “That is not just community within the walls of the church. It is very much our approach to mission as well.”
Nothing demonstrates this more clearly than the long-term relationships Second Baptist has built with the people of Bridger, South Dakota. This partnership began in 2001 as a part of CBF’s Together for Hope initiative, to serve the financially poorest counties in the nation. In 2021, Second Baptist celebrated 20 years of faithful ministry with the people of Bridger and recommitted to an additional five years.
Mike Lassiter was the associate pastor at Second Baptist when the partnership began, and he was among the first group of church members that traveled to Bridger to meet with a group of local Lakota ministers. “Even that meeting was a huge step,” Mike recalled, “because of the complex history of white Christian missionaries among native communities. These pastors took a chance on us, a chance to trust again.”
One pastor they met that day was Byron Buffalo, and his wife Toni. Byron and Toni were receptive to the members of Second Baptist and a ministry friendship began to form. Second Baptist started sending church groups each summer to serve alongside Pastor Byron’s ministry of “church outdoors” in which he worked with youth and young adults on the reservation, teaching life skills and the love of Jesus through horseback riding.
Through these trips, Second Baptist learned of other needs, and a number of community development initiatives took shape, including construction projects, rummage sales, teaching assistant roles at the local school, and helping to furnish a community center. But to hear the members of Second Baptist tell it, the most significant impact of their ministry in Bridger is the friendships they have built which have transformed both communities.
“We’ve learned a ton over the years,” Lassiter said. “We didn’t always know exactly what we would do when we visited; so we learned to slow down, submit ourselves to the culture, and surrender to their process and needs. We realized we needed be good listeners and to accept the give-and-take that is a part of the Lakota culture. Anytime we did something for them, they would find a way to do something for us.”
These experiences, along with reflection and study, eventually grew into what the Second Baptist calls the “Four Rs” of mission: Relationship, Reciprocity, Respect and Reconciliation. The congregation has learned that it is only through a deep commitment to relationships marked by respect and reciprocity that reconciliation can occur.
Over two decades of ministry together, the relationships formed in this place have changed both the people of Bridger and the people of Second Baptist. As church members have gained trust with the Lakota, they have been invited into sacred tribal moments: talking circles and pow-wows, sweat lodge ceremonies and intentional advocacy for the land and its people.
“There is a deep well of spirituality in Bridger,” Lassiter explained. “And it has enlarged the spiritual practices of Second Baptist.” He recalled a “Wiping the Tears” ceremony Pastor Byron performed for a visiting church group from Georgia, having just lost a beloved church member. It was a sacred moment of blessing and healing for all involved—and a powerful symbol of how relationships of reciprocity and respect can contribute to the ongoing work of reconciliation among us.
IN JERUSALEM…AND TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH
The remarkable length of Second Baptist’s partnership with Bridger may be unique, but the church’s commitment to relationallyfocused, long-term ministry is not. Karen Rogers, a decades-long member of Second Baptist and interim missions coordinator, described the church’s process of discernment as thoughtful and intentional.
“We prayerfully pay attention to where people are investing their time and resources, and we have a path for missional partnerships to follow,” Rogers said.
Over a series of years, partnerships move from the initial phases of “listening” and “blessing” to the more advanced stages of “missions funding” and “ongoing support.” One example is the church’s partnership in Haiti. Second Baptist first sent a team to Haiti to help with relief efforts and medical needs in various locations across the island nation in the years following the 2010 earthquake. Some years later, after the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship commissioned field personnel Jenny Jenkins to serve in the country long-term, Second Baptist began working closely with her on special projects and occasional trips, and the partnership began moving through the stages of discernment.
In 2017, the church’s commitment to Haiti was formalized as a partnership with “ongoing support.” While visits have been impossible during the pandemic, Second Baptist is walking alongside Jenkins in the creation of the Magandou Medical Clinic, which will serve remote villages that currently have little access to medical care.
Rogers also speaks to the breadth of Second Baptist’s partnerships: “As a church, we seek to reflect the diversity of mission present in Acts 1:8.” In this verse, Jesus tells the disciples, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” For Second Baptist, this means a commitment to their local context, in Liberty, Mo., and Greater Kansas City (Jerusalem), their partnership in Bridger, S.D. (Judea), and two international partnerships, one in Haiti (Samaria) and the other with the Upland Holistic Development Project in Thailand (ends of the earth). Many of these partnerships have looked different during the pandemic, but the church has worked hard to keep members connected through blogs and video updates from partners near and far.
Second Baptist works to make local connections which complement each of its international partnerships. For years in the past, the church has shared some activities with the people of the Haitian Baptist Church of Kansas City, and with the Karen Grace Baptist Church, most of whose members came to the U.S. as emigres from Thailand and Myanmar. Although the pandemic has prevented recent travel to Haiti and Thailand and has made local connection with other churches more difficult, Second Baptist still looks for opportunities to renew and expand these connections.
During summer 2021, the congregation gathered for a picnic called “Haiti at the Lake,” an opportunity to learn about Haitian culture through games and play. The church’s annual Christmas Store, a major local event, shifted to a drive-through approach to keep everyone safe. And the Many Hands Fair Trade store, which Second Baptist opened in 2016, continues to sell goods from artisans around the world to the local community in Liberty, even expanding their hours this year with the recent purchase of an HVAC unit for the store.
It is clear that “missions” is not something Second Baptist does— it is a way of life for the congregation. The church’s commitment to long-term, sustainable investment allows their impact to have both depth and breadth. It is centered in transformational relationships, and expands around the globe, as they embody the love of Christ, “to the ends of the earth,” like a fountain flowing…deep and wide.
Left: Former missions minister Mike Lassiter (left) is still involved with the work in Bridger, maintaining contact with tribal leaders throughout the pandemic. Right: The four Rs of relationship, reciprocity, respect and reconciliation are central to all of Second Baptist’s mission efforts.
Christine was appointed to serve as CBF field personnel at the 2020 General Assembly as part of the Africa/Middle East Team. She was appointed to social work ministry, trauma therapy and capacity building with refugee and migrant populations in Lebanon.
When a Place Is So Much More
By Melody Harrell
is a must-see TED Talk, captivatingly presented by Chimamande Ngozi Adichie of Nigeria. In her talk, she describes the trap we all fall into of making assumptions about people we haven’t met and places we haven’t been—limited thinking that shrinks our own world rather than nurturing an aptitude for curiosity, openheartedness and real relationship.
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel all around the world are wellschooled in not making judgments too soon. They recognize they are guests in any given country and that serving others in the name of Christ requires complex cultural understanding, humble admissions when they get things wrong, and a deep commitment to the time it takes to find acceptance among those they serve.
When Christine moved to Lebanon in June 2021 to begin her service as CBF field personnel, she already knew some things about it. She had previously lived in Lebanon during an assignment with CBF’s student missions program, Student.Go, but now was coming to serve permanently. She has learned along the way the value of receptivity and, with her first task being language acquisition, took on a posture of learner right from the start.
“Learning Arabic is like being back in preschool,” Christine told me. “It’s all such a big overwhelm. You start out by learning the dialect phonetically, word by word. The teacher uses materials specifically created for teaching foreigners how to speak. The alphabet is a non-Latin-based alphabet with some sounds not found in other languages. It’s a little humiliating but then, before you know it, you’re speaking some Arabic!”
With differences in dialect from Syria to Lebanon to Palestine to Jordan, the challenge of proficiency is real and it is unlikely one would master all the variations. A local acquaintance of Christine’s recently went around the table at a meal, citing where each person had learned their Arabic and even identifying the ethnicity of the teachers each had learned from. They all shared a laugh that their accents were such dead giveaways.
“It was challenging arriving as new field personnel to a new assignment in the middle of a pandemic. Things were shut down for a while as they were everywhere and moving around was restricted,” she said.
In addition to all the limitations from a global pandemic, Christine has had to assimilate in a new place fraught with political and economic instability. “The government is in a constant state of stalemate and the lack of functioning plays out in the day-to-day lives of local people. Protests occur regularly. When I arrived six months ago, the Lebanese lira was 13,000 to the dollar. Today it is almost 27,000 to one. It has basically doubled in the last six months. When you’re paid in dollars, you can manage. But for the local person, basic commodities are so exorbitant, many are constrained to go without. And this has been going on a very long time.”
Critical fuel shortages this summer forced car owners to wait in line for hours at petrol stations, hoping that once they reached the head of the queue, they wouldn’t be turned away with the end of the
supply. That shortage has since abated for those who can afford the fuel. Electricity is currently rationed by the government, available often for only two to four hours a day. Those who can manage by using private generators. But many constantly navigate irregular supplies and schedules, mastering the nimble dance of doing what can be done when the electricity is on, and giving in to the realities of darkness when it’s not.
“I have become skilled at cooking on my gas stove with a flashlight and even showering in the dark,” laughed Christine. “And just when I start to let the small inconveniences get to me, I learn of a housekeeper who has been going without food at lunch so that her children can eat. Or I hear about doctors riding their bicycles to work at the hospital because that’s the only way to get there. I gain proper perspective of where I am in the scheme of things. It’s hard to imagine what each person is dealing with in their daily lives. And in this context, the trauma people have endured from the fallout of years of conflict is deeply embedded in people’s psyche.”
Still people are brave, creative and resilient. This past summer, as the humid evening fell into darkness with yet another electricity blackout, those living around Christine gathered at the top of the hill in the neighborhood to catch the breeze, talk and share dessert under the stars.
When Christine considers her future ministry, she sees herself participating in work that focuses on bringing about healing and wholeness in the lives of people. She believes everyone deserves support in recovery from the wounds of war and trauma and, with her training in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), she can be a part of helping people who are stuck in traumatic patterns they can’t let go of.
“I want to be a place where people tell their stories and I want to be in the position of responding with hope and healing,” she said. “I want to be a co-creator in the kingdom of God on earth where peace and justice reign and where people realize their dignity and worth.”
Christine relocated to Lebanon in June 2021 to begin her assignment, where she is focusing on language acquisition. “Learning Arabic is like being back in preschool,” she said. As Christine is acclimating to her new home, she navigates the challenges and limitations of the pandemic as well as the political and economic instability in Lebanon.
As Christine sat around a Thanksgiving table last year, joined by Lebanese, Syrians, British and American friends, she felt the gift of a full heart. Some had never experienced an American-type Thanksgiving and were delighted by this practice of gratitude celebrated with delicious food and meaningful fellowship.
“My life here is always so much more than just one thing,” she said. “There is hardship and heartbreak, but also breathtaking beauty and resilience. There is local culture and tradition, but also outside influence and diversity. When I draw near to people, open my heart to the whole of their story, and pay attention to what is mine to do, God’s love flows through me, and I see more clearly the way the world as it’s meant to be.”
Learn more about Christine and her work at www.cbf.net/christine. The CBF Offering for Global Missions makes possible the long-term presence of CBF field personnel like Christine. Visit www.cbf.net/ogm to find resources and make a financial gift.
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APRIL 2022
Becoming Brave: finding the Courage to Pursue Racial Justice Now By Brenda Salter McNeil
Reconciliation is not true reconciliation without justice! Brenda Salter McNeil has come to this conviction as she has led the church in pursuing reconciliation efforts over the past three decades. McNeil calls the church to repair the old reconciliation paradigm by moving beyond individual racism to address systemic injustice, both historical and present. It’s time for the church to go beyond individual reconciliation and “heart change” and to boldly mature in its response to racial division. Becoming Brave offers a distinctly Christian framework for addressing systemic injustice.
MAY 2022
Love is the Way: Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times By Bishop Michael Curry
As the descendant of slaves and the son of a civil rights activist, Bishop Michael Curry’s life illustrates massive changes in our times. Much of the world met Bishop Curry when he delivered his sermon on the redemptive power of love at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle. Here, he expands on his message of hope in an inspirational road map for living the way of love, illuminated with moving lessons from his own life. Through the prism of his faith, ancestry, and personal journey, Love Is the Way shows us how America came this far and, more important, how to go a whole lot further.
