Dear Pilgrims,

It was during Holy Week some years ago that I sat holding my wifes hand in the waiting room at Childrens Hospital. Our daughter Leslyn was to have some exploratory surgery that was not life threatening in and of itself, but could indicate a life threatening condition.

Like all parents we tried to remain poised and calm, trusting in the expertise of the physicians and staff that were charged with our eight year olds care. Her specialist asked if we might allow several others physicians to be part of the procedure; after all he noted we dont see these kinds of things very often and it would be best to have other minds and opinions in the room; since Childrens is a teaching hospital we naturally consented. It wasnt until we were introduced to the team, just prior to surgery, that our stomachs began to flutter. The team consisted of the chief of hematology, gynecology, oncology and the chief of surgery. Suddenly this exploratory surgery felt more serious, more invasive, more troubling, more ominous; too many chiefs with some pretty specific fields.

The four of them walked down the corridor to the operating room and we watched their backs as they slid behind the doors; we were both speechless. An hour later, the four of them reappeared, walking toward us yet this time their scrubs were blood stained and the look on their faces somber. Melanie gabbed my hand expecting the worse; I simply said It will be OK, no matter what it is, it will be OK Dr. Laufer noted that Leslyn had lost a lot of blood for a child her size but she would be fine. The other physicians gave reports that were positive but hedged pending some blood work and biopsy results. They assured us that she had received the finest care and probably should spend the night to make sure that there was no additional bleeding. As I look at a picture of Leslyn and Steven taken at Fenway Park which is on my desk, her medical concerns have not been life threatening but they have been, in more than one way, life changing and spiritually transforming.

I am uncertain if my comment to Melanie It will be OK, no matter what it is, it will be OK is a affirmation of my faith in God, or as Frederick Beecher noted wishful thinking while whistling in the dark. Whatever it was I believed it, and I still do to this day. It didnt take away the anxiety, or the fear and it didnt heal or change the delivery of the news; but as the words came out and Melanie and I looked into each others eyes, there was, and I can still sense it thirteen years later a sense of peace, of trust that alongside those four doctors also came Jesus.

Holy Week is five days of bad news followed by an empty tomb. If I were a follower of Jesus in ancient days, I would have probably been more focused on the five lousy days, than on the impossible day. Even as a follower today, confident that the empty tomb is more than what it appears to be, confident in a resurrection reality, I can easily slip into living the lousy instead of loving the Lord. I can focus more on holding on than to letting go, into being a failed disciple because I dont believe, trust, pray, know, love, give..whatever.enough; rather than a beloved child of God. To put it a different way, living the lousy doesnt allow us to see the lavish.

I pray the letting go of the things that are binding, so that we might see and experience the Christ among us.

Easter blessings,

Gary

(1) Christian Century; April 7, 2009; Living the Word; John 20:1-18

Did you know that Camp Aldersgate has retreat space for clergy to get away for renewal and re-creation? This space is mostly available on the weekdays and provides a silent time for prayer, reflection and renewal. For more information all Jen Carpenter at 401-568-4350 or jenn@campaldersgate.com.

www.CourageousSpace.com

Dan Smith and Mary Sellon

If youve ever remodeled a house while attempting to live in it, you have a sense of the chaos and complexity of congregational renewal. It will take far longer, cost you more, and prove messier than you ever imagined at the start. People who have worked with both church starts and church renewal will tell you that starting a church is easy compared to renewing one. The difficulty lies in the work itself. Pogos line holds true here: "We have met the enemy and he is us."

The church seeking renewal must look beyond simply improving its programs and its building, though both may ultimately be changed. Pastors and laity leading renewal in their declining congregations are asking people to make fundamental shifts in their perspectives, their attitudes, and their behaviors. The work demands a great deal from a people and a pastor.

Your congregation is what it is today not because of what a bad pastor did to it, or because the neighborhood has changed, or because our culture is going to hell in a hand basket. Although those occurrences and many others have had an impact, your congregation is what it is today because of how it responded, or failed to respond, to the realities it faced. What your congregation will be in the future is up to you and the other members and how you work together to create something new from the realities you face. What you do or dont do now will make the difference. Your actions will either reinforce the patterns that have become established in your congregation, or start to counter and shift them. The leadership provided by your pastor can help or hinder, but it cannot make your congregation succeed or keep it from ultimately achieving the goals you set for yourselves.

Some wonder, "Is it even possible? Can people with little or no experience of their congregations being church in this way create this kind of community?" Weve seen it happen enough times to know that the hope is true and that renewal is possiblenot easy, but possible. The path to renewal looks different for each congregation, but some common elements can be observed. Heres what we know.

Phase I: Renewal has both outer and inner aspects. To move to a new place, a congregation must tend to both. Organizationally, there are three phases of work:

Phase II: Developing readiness: preparing the leaders to lead the congregation in a new direction

Phase III: Surfacing a compelling congregational vision that will guide decision making

Developing and implementing strategies that move the congregation toward the envisioned future

These three fundamental tasks frame the work that ultimately realigns a congregation. Addressed sequentially, they break renewal up into understandable and manageable phases of work. The work of the first two phases culminates in pivotal decisions that prepare the congregation to tackle the final phase of work. Phase one results in leaders' declaring the congregations current trajectory unacceptable and committing to lead in a new direction. Phase two results in a vision of a better future, discerned by the congregation and formally adopted by the congregation's leaders.

While making such decisions might be a simple thing for an individual, it takes a fairly long time for a congregation to make informed and "owned" choices. Whatever the congregation decides must be desired, claimed, and lived into. Its one thing to say you want something; its another to want it enough that you follow through and act on the intention. Phase three focuses on exactly thatcreating the future thats been envisioned.

Each of these three phases demands significant work on the part of the people involved. The real work of renewal, however, is inner work. It is here that the greatest challenge lies. To complete these organizational tasks, the people of the congregation must make inner shifts, making the transition from one way of thinking about the congregation to quite another. During renewal, people let go of what feels right and normal to create a new normal for themselves.

The congregations inner work of transition has multiple steps. It begins with the recognition that something is wrongthat congregational life, while adequate, is missing something. Because a congregation is an outpost of the Christian church, the next step is to become anchored in a biblical and historical understanding of the purpose of church. When that purpose seems clear, the next step is to name and let go of preconceived notions about the form ministry should take. This step leads to a period of genuinely not knowing what to do. Rather than jumping in and filling that void with a quick solution, the challenge is to open ourselves to God and wait. From that place of expectant waiting, Gods leading is sensed and a path forward is chosen. Finally, actions are aligned with intent, and a new way of being and doing church is created. The congregation moves through these steps of transition only as individuals in the congregation are able to move through these shifts.

This inner work is the real work of renewal, and it is a work of the people. Pastors and outside consultants have much to offer, but they cant do the work for the people. It may help to think of renewal as physical therapy for the body of Christ. The body is renewed as the people engage in practices that develop and strengthen the muscles of Christian discipleship and community. It isnt easy work, but its worth it.