Change

We've been going through a fair amount of change over here at Lakebay Community Church. A few little things, a few bigger things, but enough that it all adds up. Last year we began a new ministry when we introduced the Alpha Course. At the beginning of this year we moved our church newsletter to an electronic format, and stopped mailing out 250 paper copies every month. Our Maundy Thursday service gave way to a Seder dinner this year. We produced a Stations of the Cross installation. We added a small orchestra to Christmas Eve and Easter.

This last Sunday brought about two large changes. First, we changed our schedule, moving everything up an hour. With Sunday School coming to a close, we decided to take advantage of these long summer day by holding morning worship at 9:30, instead of the usual 10:30. In addition, we stopped taking an offering. Not that we're no longer receiving people's tithes and offerings. We've just placed some donation boxes in the back of the sanctuary (we're calling them "Cheer Boxes," since 'the Lord loves a cheerful giver'), and are asking people to drop their tithes there, rather than passing a plate. And yes, we bit the bullet and are encouraging people to consider giving electronically, either through their own banks, or through www.networkforgood.org.

Change is hard a lot of the time. Even these changes haven't been completely smooth; a few people have been hurt, a few people have been scared, a few are worried that our church today isn't the same church we were a few years ago. Personally, I'm learning some lessons about leading through change, on listening to people who are uncertain, on hurting for people who are left out by new schedules, new technologies, on aching when change causes separation, and yet on leading through disruption, of following God's leading and trusting we're all in his hands. I'm naturally a peace-maker, one who wants to minimize stress and disruption so that all can live in peace and harmony. It's difficult to be one of the agents of stress and disruption causing stress and pain.

And yet I believe God is at work in our church, that he's leading us to days of expanded ministry and presence here on the Key Peninsula. I think we're digging up fallow ground, creating space and energy for new life ahead. I'm convinced God has had his hand on us up to this point, that we've been following faithfully, that these changes have been made with prayer and wise deliberation. And so we move ahead in faith and trust.

And if Sunday morning is any indication, the people of Lakebay have again proven their flexibility, their willingness to try something new, their willingness to follow the decisions of their leaders. Because by 8:45 people were pulling into the parking lot, by 9:30 the sanctuary was filling up, and instead of tired, grouchy faces I saw smiles and laughter and joy. I felt excitement. The singing was full and rich; I couldn't get them to sit down after releasing them for the morning greeting. It was good.

Oh, and for a moment I thought there was an additional blessing, that somebody had donated a $40,000 truck to our ministry. But no, it was simply a stolen truck somebody left in our parking lot Saturday night. Which gave us a wonderful opportunity to do the right thing and call the police, so it could be returned to its rightful owner.

Book Review: Think Orange

Reggie Joiner is rightfully concerned that the Church, in general, isn't doing a very good job at family ministry. At youth ministry. At children's ministy. He's also rightfully concerned that families are struggling like never before, and that, in that struggle, our society is facing turmoil and upheaval at its core. Think Orange, the book and the philosophy, is his response, a challenge to the church to partner with the family in order to raise up generations who know what it is to walk "in the way," and in order to strengthen families in the here and now.

Joiner's primary image is this: The church is called to shine the Light of Christ in the world, illuminating the work of Christ and drawing people to Christ. (Hint: Light is represented by yellow). Families are the heart and soul of society, families are the primary location people learn of love, acceptance, sacrifice, and relationships. (Hint: Love is represented by red (think Valentine's Day)). When you mix red and yellow you get -what? Orange!

This is the heart of Think Orange - mixing red and yellow. The problem, according to Joiner, is that families are struggling to survive, parents are struggling to raise their children, young people are leaving the Church for the world in droves. . .and the Church is over in the corner, running programs that seem to have no effect in helping any of these problems. The Church, it seems, has developed a host of programs and ministries that help the individual groups: children, youth, and adult, but none of these maintain any synchronicity with a larger plan. The childrens' ministry does its thing, youth ministries do their thing, and adults go their way to study the theology of the minor prophets. Then families go home and struggle to make sense of it all in a confused and confusing world. As Joiner laments, "Most churches are characterized by random acts of ministry to the family." Parents have no idea how to impact the spiritual life of their children. Children don't know how to navigate the multiple messages that bombard them day in and out. Youth have no clue how all this 'church stuff' impacts their larger life.

The answer, says Joiner, is for the church and family to combine forces. "What we should really be concerned about is our collective ability to influence a generation to have a stronger, deeper, and more authentic relationship with God." All of this he summarizes with two important points:

1. Kids need parents who will help them advance in their relationship with God.
2. Parents need churches that will help them know how to be spiritual leaders.

Think Orange is not, then, another book on catchy childrens' ministry. It is, instead, a complete reworking of the junction where churches and families come together to disciple, raise, cherish, teach, and lead children and youth in their pursuit of Christ.

A couple of strengths of this book:
1) One of the earlier chapters lays out an impressive theology of family, something sorely lacking in the overall discussion.
2) The book is biblical - while it includes cultural references and sociological research, the ideas and plans are all soundly based within a biblical framework of ministry.
3) The book has lots of pictures and charts.
4) The book recognizes the reality that no family or church is perfect, that setting impossible standards only frustrates people; it is realistic in the goals it sets out, while still setting a high bar in pushing us toward excellence.
5) The book is a great place to even start the discussion. I bought a couple extra copies for a few people in our church, and hope this stimulates us toward new growth and a stronger overall sense of mission.
6) The book comes with a host of resources, and is backed up by Joiner's Orange Leaders website.
7) If anything, the book will challenge and stimulate your own thinking regarding how you go about your family ministry, the assumptions behind it, and why it may or may not be working very well.

A couple things about which I wasn't quite so impressed:
1) Honestly, at times the whole "orange" metaphor seemed a little stretched. By the time the metaphor was presented, I could have done without the multiple examples of Orange showing up in society. Perhaps, to this reader, it came too close to "cutesy" at that point. So what if somebody sells an orange amp? It doesn't seem to matter to the rest of the book.
2) There were other times when it seemed Joiner was writing primarily to large churches with multiple staff and large creativity budgets. The idea of regularly re-painting your children's area to go with that quarter's theme seems fun and exciting, but how many churches have the people and the finances to do that? Of course, the response would be that we all need to read with discerning ears and take away what we can, but I would have enjoyed some examples of how small churches with small budgets and small, over-committed volunteer staffs can bring these ideas to fruition.

Overall, I am glad somebody sent me a copy of Think Orange. I confess I probably wouldn't have picked it up myself, and I wasn't all that eager to dig into it, but once I did (mostly on a flight to Denver last November), I found myself drawn in, challenged, and encouraged by the vision it contains. As I said, I'm hoping it influences the vision and work of our church; I think it would be of value to any and all who are concerned about families and those who minister with and to them.