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EPISCOPAL ADDRESS
Greetings in the name of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ! It is Jesus who brings us together and makes us one – the church of which he is the head. It is he who makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. I pray that will be our experience as the part of the body we know as the Evangelical Congregational Church gathers together for National Conference 2016.
I write this Episcopal Address as I approach the end of my first term as Bishop and approach the beginning of a second term. I went back and re-read my “Vision for the Future of the EC Church” which I submitted to the Episcopal Nominating Committee back in 2011. There isn’t one word about re-structuring the denomination. I did not come into this position thinking that we needed to re-envision our structure and re-write the Rules of Conference. I did say that our denomination could not effectively minister in the 21st Century with a 20th Century mindset; that we must continually discover how we can bring a relevant Christ to a contemporary world. We need healthy congregations, incarnational ministry; developing a physical, emotional, and spiritual presence in our communities that goes far beyond the church walls. We must become a transformational church finding way to disciple young and old; allowing the Holy Spirit to transform our hearts and minds, our lives. Nothing about rules and structure; but they are not mutually exclusive.
I believe that the Evangelical Congregational Church is making huge strides forward in those things and more. I see church plants and missional ministries; I see congregations large and small reaching out to help their neighbors; individuals and groups focusing on discipleship; people getting excited about missions; qualified pastoral candidates who did not grow up EC but see something good happening in our denomination and want to be a part of it; churches creatively using what they have to make a difference for Jesus. We are getting closer to being the “movement of God” we have prayed for and worked for. We are not there yet, but we are making progress and for that I am very thankful! I stand here amazed at the progress we have made as a denomination. I am filled with thanksgiving to the Lord who has performed wonders in and through his church! Somebody better say “Amen!”
Last year we gathered together under the theme COMMUNITY. We live in a fragmented and frenzied world; there is so much to do, too many choices, everyone crying out for our attention at the same time. How do we deal with it all? Following Jesus means not only joining with him in faith but committing to each other as followers of Jesus. It’s no accident that “unity” is found in “community.” As believers we are ONE.
Being one is a countercultural position. There isn’t much real harmony in our world or in our country. I read this interesting statement in a USA Today article on how our culture deals with women’s weight issues: “In America, we live and breathe and die by invented divides” (Alia E. Dastagir in USAToday.)
But when Jesus prayed for us in the Garden of Gethsemane he said, “I pray that they may be one, just as you and I are one – as you are in me Father, and I am in you” (John 17:21). Jesus was not praying for uniformity, since he and the Father are distinct from each other. The unity is one of nature; for the Father and the Son are distinguishable in person, yet are one being. The challenge for us is developing unity out of diversity. Unity in the Trinity is easy – think about it, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; they’re all perfect. Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write, “God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Ephesians 3:10-11). Oneness is the plan, but we all understand that unity in congregations and denominations is challenging. Unity within the community of faith is a challenge because (here’s a shocker) we aren’t the same and we aren’t perfect. Did you ever notice when you read the Bible how messed up the people are? One day Gloria and I were talking about some of the Old Testament people and families and I said, “Sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll.” There are some really messed up individuals and families in there, and they were God’s chosen people. So what does that say about the church; the family of God? When you spend a lot of time with people, like your church family there is a level of intimacy not found in other relationships. That means that when we spend that much time with other people we soon discover their ‘issues’. We mistrust people, we lie, we get jealous, our tongues are cruel and hurtful; some of us need to control our temper. When we get to know each other as we should, we also get to know each other’s idiosyncrasies. Have you seen the book, Everybody’s Normal Till You Get To Know Them? It’s a book about how imperfect people can pursue community with other imperfect people. Perhaps we all need a tag we might see at one of the outlets, “slightly irregular.” The truth is we’re all slightly irregular, just slightly irregular in different ways.
One commentator noted that we do not have unity between groups, within groups, or in local congregations. Even within the groups we have insiders and outsiders. Some might ask how unity can be established. But, according to the Bible, it’s not our job to establish it because it already exists, it is given by God. What we need to do, but too often have not done, is to value and maintain it. We aren’t the same but we are to be together.
I think one of the keys to maintaining unity is found in the “one anothers” spread through the New Testament. The “one anothers” of the epistles are not just meant for individual Christians in a local church, but are just as valid between local congregations in the one church. The Bible reminds us that even though we are different from each other, come from different regions of the country, and represent over 130 different congregations and ministries, as disciples of Jesus we all have the same God as Father. We drive different kinds of cars, we don’t all dress alike, we don’t think alike, but we work at living together in harmony for the good of the family of God. I am reminded of a story of a church that had to make the difficult decision about cutting down a big shade tree in the parking lot. One older man argued long that they should preserve the tree, but the decision went the other way. On the day they cut it down he was the first one to show up. Someone said, “I thought you didn’t want that tree cut down. He said, “I don’t, but WE decided to cut it down, so I’m here to help.” That is working at being united. There’s power when we work together. That is a really important piece as we think about moving into our new denominational structure.
The 2015 National Conference was historic as 90% of delegates voted to adopt a new denominational structure. Since that time I have been working on how that new structure becomes a reality in the life and ministry of the Evangelical Congregational Church. This has been a huge part of my thoughts and work. During the October 2015 National Ministry Team meeting they affirmed my choices of men to serve in our new leadership positions: Executive Director: Mr. Kevin Henry; Church Health Associate: Rev. Gary Kuehner; Kingdom Extension Associate: Rev. Les Cool; and Ministerial Development Associate: Rev. Jeff Byerly. We started off the New Year together as I led a 24-hour retreat which included a number of team building exercises, which helped the members get to know each other better. They also received an overview of personal spiritual gifts and behavior tests which will strengthen their participation in the team. I also shared my vision for the work of the denomination’s five new communities; noting they are called communities because these groups are made up of people who are engaged with each other on the journey of faith. The Executive Director and Associates are not supervisors but will lead through influence; influence comes through relationship—community. Since that retreat I have met individually with each of these leaders answering questions, casting vision, and working with them as they populate the new communities. I know you have been in prayer for these men and their local congregations.
The next step was the appointment of our District Field Directors. I have told the District Field Directors that, in all of re-structuring, perhaps the key position on which all of this rises and falls is the District Field Director (no pressure). They will serve to encourage stronger relationships between pastors and churches in order to foster a team/family mentality. While the District Field Director does not have the supervisory authority of a Conference Minister, one of his primary roles is to build relationships with pastors and churches. He will be in contact with the pastors and lay leaders to help provide accountability, encouragement, help and resources. That means that your District Field Director will be in communication with the congregations and their leadership. He will then be in ongoing communication with the Bishop and the Conference Network Team members so we are up-to-date and aware of each of the congregations on the district. I see this as building even greater connectivity not only between pastors and congregations, but with the denomination. I am thankful for all these men who have stepped forward, and for each congregation who has willingly offered to share some of their pastor’s time for the good and the growth of the denomination. That is a positive and powerful message. Thank you!
The Bishop, Executive Director, Associates, and District Field Directors help us all live out the “one anothers” of the New Testament; that’s really what we’re doing in local congregations, in districts, and across the denomination. We’re seeking to creatively carryout the “one anothers” – to “do life,” do ministry, together.
We want to encourage and resource local congregations because that’s where the action is. I realize there are some who are concerned we will lose the sense of unity in our new denominational structure; but I take the opposite view in that we now emphasize that we are all in this together. We are responsible for one another. We are connectional; understanding that the local church cannot carry out the Great Commission alone, we surrender self-sufficiency and autonomy to join together in love. We must understand and put into practice the truth that we are one and we carry with us the privilege and duty that as the church we are responsible for one another. Pastors are similarly connected to each other and responsible to and for each other. There are three key phrases in our statement found in the Discipline. Congregations are “Empowered to be unique”; please remember – being one, experiencing unity, does not mean uniformity. Uniformity is not the goal; together – not the same. Congregations “own[ing] the responsibility to be healthy.” The denomination cannot make a local congregation healthy. I believe we can help by providing resources and guidance, but we cannot do it for you. Lastly, local churches intentionally, actively and collectively pursue God’s mission. The role of the National Conference, of the Bishop, Executive Director, Associates, Communities, Teams, and Committees is to resource and encourage each congregation and to strengthen the connectional aspects of their ministries. The connectional aspect is accomplished primarily through the district.
When I think about the future Evangelical Congregational Church, I know that our strength and our weakness is found in relationships. Relationships are vital at every level. I recognize that takes time and effort, but it’s something we must invest ourselves in. One of the goals I have for pastors in districts I’ve talked about in our pre-conference meetings is for pastors in every district to meet regularly to pray for and with each other. One of my guilty pleasures is watching Vikings on the History channel. Vikingsis inspired by thesagasofthe legendary VikingRagnar Lothbrok, his family and crew set around 800 AD. I watch it while I’m on the treadmill. Every Viking has a shield and a sword or axe. One of the strategies they employ when facing the enemy is a “shield wall.” On command they gather together in a tight formation and cover themselves with their shields to deflect the enemy’s attack. Brothers, we are in a spiritual battle and we need to pray for and with each other. We need to know we are not alone. When we gather together for prayer we’re bringing our shields together instead of one person going into spiritual battle alone. We stand together as a wall of prayer warriors, moving forward as we face the enemy.
Reggie McNeal wrote in “Kingdom Come” that every story of Kingdom work – Kingdom breakout – is preceded by a story of pastors regularly meeting to pray together. That means we need to have vulnerable heart conversations. That takes time and huge amounts of trust. We men especially have a more difficult time dealing with emotions, even spiritual emotions and struggles. We deny things because we want to look strong, tough, to our colleagues.