What I learned on sabbatical.

1. The thing missing in every church I visited was a sense of belonging.[1]

2. All pastors/churches do the same sorts of things.[2]

3. Time with family and friends was the best gift of my sabbatical.[3]

4. Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago is a great church![4]

5. Lutheran theology is our greatest gift.[5]

6. I cherish Lutheran liturgy.[6]

7. I am replaceable.[7]

8. Work is a blessing.[8]

9. Grace Lutheran Church is a great congregation![9]

10. God is good and the world is big![10]

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[1] In retrospect this seems obvious, but still it came to me as something of a surprise more than half-way through my sabbatical. There is a big difference between visiting a church and being a member. Nurturing a sense of belonging should be a priority for congregations.

[2] No matter where I went on Sabbatical, from the biggest to the smallest, from the most traditional to the least, all pastors and churches do a handful of very common things: announcements, collect an offering, sing, etc.

[3] The hardest thing about being a pastor is having a schedule that runs contrary to most of the world. So while my family and friends are working primarily Monday through Friday 8-5, I am working many evenings and most weekends and holidays. Conversely the best gift of my sabbatical was time with family and friends.

[4] Trinity is an African-American United Church of Christ congregation located on the south side of Chicago. When I was there I experienced a profound sense of welcome, great music and a delightfully biblical and provocative sermon all packed into a service that was only 2 hours long.

[5] The heart of Lutheran Theology is a belief in “Justification by Grace through Faith.” This belief guides our preaching and teaching. Its presence or absence in a congregation’s life is palpable on Sunday mornings.

[6] While I attended several very nice “praise services,” a worship service without the liturgy just doesn’t feel like church to me. That is, I want and need to hear that my sins are forgiven. I want and need to confess my faith and pray with others. I want and need the gift of his body and blood.

[7] By all accounts, pastors Holmes and Woodley and our congregational leaders did a great job in caring for the people of Grace and their ministry this summer. This congregation survived without me. It is bigger than me. On some level I’ve always suspected that this was true, but it is helpful and humbling to experience it.

[8] By the second week of August, I was excited about getting back to work. In addition to the people of Grace, I missed the rhythm of my work and the sense of purpose that it provides.

[9] I experienced 15 different congregations during my sabbatical. Their settings and size and theology varied quite a bit. In each congregation, I found things to admire and appreciate. Mostly, they made me appreciate and miss my congregation: Grace Lutheran Church.

[10] I enjoyed my time away from home: Adel, Grace, Iowa. My travels reminded me not only how beautiful and big the world is, but also how great my home is. Throughout my life including the summer of 2010, God has blessed me. I am thankful.

FINALLY

7:59 AM CST WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2010

SABBATICAL IS OVER.

HAPPY TO BE BACK AT WORK.

Farming

My plan had been to spend the last full week of my sabbatical at my brother’s cabin in northern Wisconsin. On the way there I was going to spend a day in Algona helping my dad on his farm. I enjoyed that one day so much, that I decided to spend the whole week farming instead of going to Wisconsin.

Let me give you two versions of my farming experience. Version number one goes like this… Dad needed help baling hay: lots of hay, thousands of pounds of hay! It was hot and dusty. It was hard work. And, who did my dad call to help? He didn’t call my brothers. He didn’t call my sister. He called me. Why? Well, I suppose he thought I could handle it. This version is sort of true.

Version number 2 goes like this… While we did make some hay the old-fashioned way (stacking bales on a rack by hand), we made most of the hay the new-fashioned way (big round and square bales moved around from the comfort of an air-conditioned tractor with good radio reception). And I’m pretty sure he called me because he knew I had some extra time on my hands this summer. My brothers and sister were busy. This version is truer than version number one.

My dad’s farm in Kossuth County is great. He has about 50 cows, many of them with calves. The fields and pastures are beautiful. I even saw the jack rabbits that he’s been talking about so much lately.

More than the help, I think my dad mostly enjoys the company. It was fun to spend that time with him, to hear the things he’s excited about and the things he worries about, to see how he spends his days. Even though it involved a little bit of work, it was a lot of fun. I think I should spend some more time on the farm when I can. I’m not sure how to explain it, but I enjoyed the work and the company and the time.

Pastor

Sabbatical by the Numbers

I worshiped with 15 different congregations.

(One congregation twice.)

I read 15 books.

I traveled more than 4,000 miles by car.

Duluth, St Paul, Jackson, MN... Chicago, IL... Van Meter, Whittemore, Des Moines, Nevada, IA

I pedaled more than 500 miles by bicycle.

I enjoyed many hours with my children, parents, grandpa, siblings & friends.

All in all a pretty incredible summer!

August 29, 2010

Last Sunday, which was my last Sunday on sabbatical, I attended St Paul Lutheran Church in Whittemore, Iowa. My dad grew up in this church. This is where he was confirmed. My grandma and great grandparents’ funerals were held in this church.

St. Paul’s is a beautiful old church, which this year is celebrating its 125th Anniversary. The congregation has 201 members and average weekly worship attendance of 65.

I couldn’t get the statistics from the LCMS webpage to work very well, but clearly this church has declined a lot since my dad was a child more than 50 years ago. He remembers a time when the congregation had more than one service on Sundays and when if you were late for a service you had to sit in the balcony because the main level would be too full. The main level looks like it could easily seat 200-300 people.

So imagine a congregation with seating for 250 people with 50 people scattered in the back half of the pews. There is a great distance between the people and the preacher. The singing is weak. The sense of community suffers. And even with no mortgage, I imagine it’s hard to keep the bills paid: salaries, maintenance on the building, mission and ministry.

The decline of a rural church in Iowa may be sad, but it’s no scandal or surprise. Rural Iowa and its small towns have lost a lot of their population in the last 125 years. Of course their churches have too.

But what should be done with struggling and shrinking congregations? Should they be closed by their denomination or allowed to wither away?

I think the decision finally belongs to the congregation. They can be a congregation as long as they have the will and the means to function. When they no long have the will or the means they will cease to be a congregation.

But while a congregation shrinks in size, they also have an opportunity to adjust their life to accommodate a new smaller reality. It’s like your elderly parents moving into a smaller home or a family getting rid of the minivan when they no longer have small children to transport.

If the sanctuary is too large, remove some of the pews. If a congregation can’t afford a full-time pastor, find a congregation that will share a pastor. If a congregation can no longer fully utilize their building, share the space with someone else: another congregation or a daycare center.

A declining congregation can be a sad place to worship, but congregations like people can find new life even in a time of decline. Plus, 125 years is nothing to sneeze at. I’m thankful for St Paul Lutheran Church.

Pastor

August 22, 2010

Last Saturday I went to the state fair with some friends. Of course it was a lot of fun. We saw the big boar, the butter cow and some draft horses. As always, there was some great people-watching. I especially enjoyed the photo exhibits. It was a hot day and when it was over I was pooped. No, make that POOPED!

And then it was Sunday morning and I wanted to go to church, but where? I was still a little tired from Saturday, so I didn’t really want any heavy lifting. Do you know what I mean? If I picked an unfamiliar place, there would be all the anxiety that goes with not knowing how “they” do things. If I picked a small place, I would have to explain who I was and why I was there and I was a bit too tired to be that social. I wanted an easy morning and a comfortable place to worship.

I went back to Hope for a lot of reasons. I’d been there before, so I knew what to expect. It’s huge, so while I might bump into someone I knew, I could also plan to get lost in the crowd; which I did. And with almost nothing that could be called “liturgy” it was an easy service to be a part of. Hope was the obvious choice and I enjoyed it very much.

If you will re-read the last two paragraphs, you will discover I think an important aspect of Hope’s phenomenal success. Sunday morning at hope can be easy and comforting and anonymous.

And then there was the sermon. I’m not going to try and rehash it, but it was great, both challenging and full of grace.

It was a nice weekend. This coming Sunday, I’m going to St Paul’s Lutheran Church in Whittemore. This is the church in which my dad was raised.

Sunday Morning - August 15

I went to church on Saturday at Memorial Lutheran Church in Nevada, so I was a little surprised when I wanted to go to church again on Sunday morning. But I did, so I did. It’s a habit I guess, a pattern that just feels right. Plus, it was a beautiful cool morning, making it a great day for a short drive with the top down.

A friend of mine (Susan Werner) is a singer-songwriter. Check out her song entitled Sunday Morning on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-7N-aUda3E. If you like it, buy it on itunes. If you really like it, buy the whole cd; it’s great! (No, I’m not getting a commission on sales inspired by this blog… but I should.)

So on Sunday I attended worship at Faith Lutheran Church in Clive. The liturgy was traditional and well-done. The sermon (given by a friend) was helpful. Two things were great: the space and the attendance.

Have you been in this church before? It’s beautiful. With lots of windows, it’s sunny and bright and big. Like our church, the pews are arranged in a half circle around the altar. The font is large and located in the narthex as the entry-point to the sanctuary. The altar and pulpit are slightly elevated in the center of the room. I don’t know who designed it, but it’s really just a lovely worship space.

And then there was the attendance, maybe 200 people. The sanctuary felt full, not packed but full. Ask anyone, preacher or parishioner or musician, there is something about a full sanctuary that makes worship better. Of course the singing is better, but there is something more than that too. People are forced to sit a little closer to each other. There is a certain energy in the room. The sharing of the peace is noisier. The sight of people streaming to the altar for communion is more visually compelling. Everything is just better when the sanctuary is full.

When a disciple decides to attend worship, he or she brings their energy to the gathered community and makes it a better experience for everyone. That means that our attendance is a ministry of sorts. Even if an individual got nothing out of a worship experience (which I don’t think is really possible), he or she is making it a better experience for everyone else!

There is my neighbor! I can hear his voice. We heard the same Word proclaimed. She wished me God’s peace. He heard my prayer. She shared the body and blood of Christ with me.

My point is this… if there comes a day when you feel like skipping worship because you doubt you’ll get anything out of it, maybe you should come because of what your presence will mean for others. It means a lot and you might be surprised by what it means for you.

Peace,

Pastor