Heavy Breathing

I can remember when my 11 year-old boy, Joey, finished his first 5k race. He was out of breath. Not only was he out of breath, but he was so out of breath that he wanted nothing to do with me. He ripped the water bottle out of my hand and walked about 100 yards away to simply focus on breathing.

This past Sunday was another such occasion. People were emotionally out of breath. This is the case nearly every year, the Sunday after Christmas. It is more apparent when Christmas Eve lands one or two days before Sunday. The result is that attendance goes down and many of those who do come to worship almost seem to drag themselves into the sanctuary.

How we deal with this annual trend is critical to how the month of January goes for the church. Yes, Joey was tired and needed to recover (wouldn't you?). But what came next was the difference between regression and progression. His first words to me, once he had enough oxygen, were 'That was awesome!'. He immediately wanted to know when the next race would happen.

As a Christian community, we always need to look ahead, even as we are tired from the past. It is the difference between a church that regresses to what use to be and a church that progresses toward what God wants it to be. When we ask, 'what is next', we open the door to a January that is full of hope and dreams instead of a January that is gloomy and gray.

At Emmanuel, you will have plenty encouragement to look ahead. But ultimately it will need to be you to open your mind to the possibilities. I hope you find that your January is even more exciting than your December. May God fill you with hopes and dreams.

Avoiding Burnout

As 2010 comes upon us, one change at Emmanuel is glaring: more intentional ministry! More ministry means more people, more time, more commitments, more resources, more energy. As Emmanuel changes how ministry is dreamed, planned, implemented and evaluated, it will be necessary for some of you to adjust to the changes. I'm specifically speaking to those of you who are use to being active in more than one ministry. Some of you have historically been involved in nearly everything. I'm going to be bold here. Ready? Those days are over.

Burnout is a huge issue in churches that live out God's Call. This is because such churches are super busy and branch out in multiple ways. The danger in this is what we call 'burnout'. Burnout is when you expend so much energy and time for such a long time in multiple ways that you simply run out of steam. A person who experiences burnout throws up their hands and suddenly says, 'I can't do this anymore'. Burned out people become tired, frustrated, cranky and irritated. The church doesn't need those kinds of people. The world has enough of them already.

As your pastor, I have some degree of responsibility to seeing to your spiritual health, especially as it relates to the church. You need to have a balance of being fed and feeding others just as I do. I will be encouraging you to consider the following guidelines to help you meet this balance:

1. Attending worship is necessary as it gives one a sense of community, purpose and inspiration.

2. Clearly Churches have found over the generations that a good, nurturing Small Group does wonders for ministry (just ask John Wesley). It fills your gas tank up and keeps you motivated, supported and encouraged.

3. If you are one more than one of the following ministry teams, then please pick one for 2010. These teams will be the busiest and being on more than one of these teams will test your endurance:

Faith Forming Relationships
Radical Hospitality
Risk-Taking Outreach
Passionate Worship
Trustees
Missions

4. If you are on one of the above teams, you may serve on one of the following teams, but not more than one. If you are not on one of the above teams, you may be able to serve on any 2 of the following:

Staff-Parish Relations
Finance
Compassionate Care
Multi-Media
Lay Ministries (nominations)

5. Emmanuel has a VERY active UMW. If you are heavily involved with UMW, please be aware that any team you are serving on is going to also need your time. Commit accordingly.

6. While some serve on teams, I realize that many of you do not. However, many of you have been willing to help out with the programs associated with the teams. Those who are not on teams can burnout as well if they are helping out with everything under the sun. Find out what God has called you to and go for it. And, no, God hasn't called you to be everything for everybody.

7. While pastors and churches appreciate your willingness to serve, we would prefer to have you as a servant on a long-term basis. Please keep tabs on your spiritual health. We are running a marathon, not a sprint.

I feel that I must add a footnote here. Servanthood is a natural response to God's grace. One serves because they are inspired by God who reaches out to them, embraces them, inspires them and teaches them. Finding a way to serve in the church is a great way to give back to God. If you are not serving in some area, you are encouraged to find a way. Everyone can be a part of expanding God's Kingdom one person at a time.

As we now have a strong Vision in place for 'making disciples of Jesus Christ', let's turn our attention to considering what is the most crucial Vision component for Emmanuel to improve upon. Certainly there may be many different opinions on this matter, but as I have prayed about this much, one component kept coming back to me.....

Radical Hospitality - what steps can we take to encourage others to feel welcomed and prepare them to encounter God?

As we have started a second service, now we can freely invite, invite and invite without the fear of running out of parking or feeling too crowded. The potential to have a warm, friendly environment is enormous. Emmanuel is already filled with friendly people, but the sacred space of the church is waiting to reflect that friendliness. The Hospitality Team will soon be working on ways to decorate the bare walls of the lobby with an Emmanuel-like theme.

Also, informal conversation has started about finding worship banners for the blank walls of the sanctuary. There are worship banner patterns available for anyone wanting to get involved with this. Not only will banners warm up the sacred space, but it will also help with sound acoustics.

Another aspect of Radical Hospitality is being more intentional about welcoming visitors. Within the next couple of weeks we hope to have a program implented so that every visitor knows they were welcomed and feels as though the church is there for them.

Finally, the challenge of cleaning the church building remains a challenge. So far, the volunteerism looks like this:

W.O.W. has volunteered to keep the upstairs cleaned for the entire year...woohooo!
Joe and Wilma Gamel have volunteered to clean the bathrooms....woohooo!
The Sunday morning Small Group (Kim Royer's group) has volunteered for February..woohoo!
Kathy Bolton has volunteered to help fill in when needed (including December)...woohoo!

As you see, we are making progress, but we are still needing help. What we need is the following:

March-December - groups to commit to one month of cleaning sanctuary and basement levels at least twice during the month.

While the other components of the Vision are equally important, it is my honest opinion the deepest untapped potential of Emmanuel is the Hospitality component. If you feel called or gifted to helping Emmanuel be a more welcoming place, please consider being part of the team and contact Pastor Joe. You can make a serious impact on the Vision that Emmanuel has for the future.

As we start a new season at Emmanuel we are also engaging a rather large challenge: a second worship service. There are many dynamics that are affected by adding a worship service. There are also myths, attitudes and approaches that can either hinder or help such a new ministry. Let me briefly go through a few dangerous attitudes as well as some helpful attitudes. Let me start with the positive because I'm in an optimistic mood this morning:

Helpful Attitude #1: 'Wow! We have an awesome opportunity here!'

With a second service, there will be more sacred space to be filled. The parking lot will be more empty and the sanctuary will be more empty. Think of all the space we have to fill with new people. And the more people who come, the more who can be connected to Jesus to start the circle of disciple-making.

Helpful Attitude #2: 'Invite, Invite, Invite'

Switch your gears. Think more about invitational opportunities. Think about your trusted friends who have no church home. Find ways to invite them. Don't give up. Pick them up on Sunday morning if need be. Be persistent, but not over-bearing. If you are excited about Emmanuel and it is relevant and authentic and pursuing excellence, then why wouldn't you be inviting others? We've got space to fill. The worst that could happen is that people would tell you 'no'.

Dangerous Attitude #1: 'I want to see everybody and know what is going on all the time and everywhere in my church'.

This attitude has so many theological flaws it makes me nautious just reading it. First, worship isn't about you. Worship is about giving people who want to worship God an opportunity to worship God.

Secondly, this attitude is pervasive in small churches that want to stay small. There are instances in which small churches are a strength and needed in the world. But when you are church in the growing East side of Cincinnati that wants to 'make disciples of Jesus Christ', the attitude of wanting to stay small works against the opportunities and the purpose of the church. If you want more people to connect with Jesus at Emmanuel, the reality is that it might get so big that you can't see and know everyone and everything all the time.

Thirdly, church is by definition a community. It is no one person's church. And the only reason it can be a community is because God allows it to be so. Ownership of a church needs to be approached with humble acknowledgement of God's grace. It can only be 'my church' when God opens the door, lets me in, and gives me the responsibility of expanding His Kingdom. Even then it is ultimately God's church. He's just entrusting it to you.

Dangerous Attitude #2: A second worship service divides the church

When people think of their church, they often picture the worship service. So, naturally, when the worship service is divided, then they think the church has become divided. When church grows (especially when space is limited), it will necessarily need more than one worship service. This should be seen as an expansion of the church, not a division. When Small Groups got started, people didn't see it as a division, it was an expansion. When Children's Sunday School got re-established, people didn't see it as a division, but an expansion. It is the same with a new worship service. It is still one congregation, but now there are two opportunities to worship.

How do you adjust to not seeing everyone every week? See church more wholistically. When you think of church, don't let it be defined only by the worship service you attend. Let your picture of church expand to the Vision it is living out. The church is reaching out, welcoming, inspiring and teaching others to be disciples. Worship service is an important part, but only one part. There are tons of other ministries that happen Monday through Saturday that are doing their part in defining the kind of church that God wants it to be. So get more involved. Join a Small Group. Work on a Team. You'll find that when church becomes more than just worship, God's voice becomes even stronger and your discipleship journey becomes more exciting.

Pastor Joe

Unleashing a Welcoming and Friendly Monster

We have unleashed a monster at Emmaunel. It is called the Radical Hospitality Team. As I have challenged the church to consider what it means to be welcoming to visitors, the team has gone above and beyond what I ever dreamed and have bowled me over with ideas. It is in these situations that I have learned to stay out of the way and let God work in others. Hospitality has only had two meetings, but let me share what they are dreaming:

1. Visitor Follow-Up - Visitors who make their presence known need to know that we were glad they came to worship with us. A plan is to go beyond just a call from the pastor, but to be sure they are informed about the church and all the ministries that go on here. Most important, a very brief visit to the front door of their home will be made to make sure they know the church is here for them.

2. Seasonal Events - Emmanuel also get visitors to the seasonal events (craft shows, santa claus, Christmas Eve, Easter, etc). There will be much more effort made to welcome those visitors as well.

3. Lobby Management - The lobby space is a very big issue for Hospitality. There is a long list of to-do's. Let's name a few:

- One of the first two focus points for the team will be the Welcome Table. This is already set up in the corner of the lobby ONLY for the purpose of welcoming visitors. It will be a table ONLY for information about the church including the newsletter and the bulletin. The team will be intent to keep things off of the table that include non-hospitality items such as sign-up sheets, books, stuffed animals and empty coffee cups.

- The second major focus point is going to be the empty walls, particularly the empty wall that you see when you come through the front door. Plain walls send a message of newness, but also lack the warmth of welcome. The team will be exploring possibilites of various wall hangings to give the space a more comfortable feel.

- once the welcome table and walls are dealt with, many other issues will be discussed. These include:

The table of sign-up sheets: The first thing that visitors see when they come through the door should NOT be a long line of sign-up sheets. It sends a message that the church needs you to serve instead of the message that the church wants to serve you. The goal will be to equip ministry teams to find other ways to recruit which is already happening in some areas. Once visitors make a commitment to serve, then they can be approached in other ways.

Coffee, coffee, coffee: expanding the beverages by quantity and variety is another dream.

Visitors Parking: The very first thing that can tell a visitor that they are welcome is to have for them their very own parking spot. Hospitality will be working with Trustees on this matter.

Pictoral Directory: Very soon there will be an announcement for households to get their picture taken. This will be done internally with talented photographers we have at Emmanuel. No outside company will be used.

Emmanuel is looking for more people to get involved with these dreams. If you think you would be interested in serving on the team, please email pastor Joe at pastorjoe@emmanuel-umc.com.

First, let me get this out of the way.........WOOHOOOO!!!!.......Ok...now on to the blog....

I am SO excited about how the Small Groups are going. While there have been expected bumps here and there, the groups have gone well. Each group is a little different--again, expected--but there has been ample opportunity for the groups to congeal and move toward nurturing relationships within the church. Something I have learned was needed more than I had originally thought.

We will soon be stopping to evaluate the experience as a whole and give people the chance to continue or not, as they wish. Some may want to try a different kind of group which will create the need for a re-launch of Small Groups, giving others who have not been in a Small Group the chance to connect.

As we evaluate and prepare for a re-launch in January, there are bumps to be overcome. The largest bump for strong Small Group ministries is the temptation to form cliques. Having strong cliques in a church is detrimental to church growth and over-all church health. It can divide congregations and create power struggles that impede ministry and minimize the influence of a strong vision. To avoid falling into this trap, Small Groups are encouraged to do the following:

1. Be involved in something other than Small Group. Small Group is not your church. It is only a way in which your spirit can be nurtured and supported through study, prayer and conversation. As you are being nurtured, it is important to be involved in other ministries of the church will help you keep focused on the bigger church vision of 'making disciples of Jesus Christ'.

2. Don't herd with your Small Group. When at larger church events, don't gather with your Small Group exclusively. In fact, you may need to be intentional about interacting with others outside your group. One of the points of larger church events is to welcome others, encouraging them to be a part of the church. Small Groups that 'herd' wherever they go send a message of 'us' and 'them' which can be counter-productive to the Radical Hospitality of the Vision.

3. Encourage the Small Group to do projects together that are reminders of the bigger picture. Sometimes as Small Groups meet over time, they develop blinders to what the church is doing as a whole. Getting the group involved in projects at the church--mixing in with other groups and individuals--not only helps the church in ministry, it keeps the group from unintentionally forgetting why it is a group--to be one step in a journey of being a disciple of Jesus.

I hope this helps. And if you are one who is interested in Small Groups, there will be opportunity to get involved. Not only is Women Of Wellness (W.O.W.) continuing to meet as an open group (anyone can come), there will be a re-launch of Small Groups after the holiday season.

Know-It-Alls

I blogged last week about all the changes. Hopefully it gets communicated well through the many avenues that the church has to convey the information. There is a newsletter available every Sunday. An email version gets sent out every week also. There is the bulletin, the website, the marquis and I blog. Plus I try to send out emails every week to fill in gaps that may have been missed throughout the previous week. Communication is important. So hopefully the word gets out.

Amidst all the changes over the last few months, however, is a large increase in activity. One of the pitfalls of these changes include a mind-set that comes from being use to a small church that says, 'I need to know everything about everything'. Don't get me wrong. It is good to be informed. I would suggest, however, that in it's extreme, this attitude can prohibit the church from expanding and improving ministry. One person can be only involved to a certain degree. Eventually, if a church is doing what it is suppose to be doing, then the church's activity will exceed any person's capability of being involved with everything. This includes the pastor. Even if I try to micromanage every area of ministry, I would be tragically holding back Emmanuel's willingness to live out it's potential.

The danger in this is that stagnation can occur because if a small group of people take on this mindset then another attitude can develop that says, 'well...if I don't know what's going on then it doesn't need to happen'. Put simply, this is a power play that keeps small churches small. When any individual or any group of people becomes more important than the churches purpose of 'making disciples of Jesus', then the purpose takes a back seat to personal agenda. Then you have a church not driven by the Spirit of God, but driven by individuals who want to feel important.

The good news is that I don't see much of this at Emmanuel. One of the reasons we've gone 1,000 mph is that so many people are willing to expand the church's ministry in so many directions. This is exciting, but also scary. As your pastor, I'm working very hard to manage the fast expansion of activity so that we stay focused on the purpose of the church. We must keep our focus! And if we can, we will be structured for some very serious growth....numeric growth AND spiritual growth. The Kingdom of God will expand.

Small groups is already showing wonderful signs of growth in relationships. I'm so pumped about this. In my next blog, I'll share another possible pitfall associated with Small Groups. In the weeks ahead I'll also be sharing about the pluses and minuses of trying a 2nd worship service.