A thought experiment: A Local Tithe and a Vision Tithe

 

              If the statisticians are right and the mainline tradition writ large will not be a significant force in America in about a decade, mainly because many congregations will shrink and close, we need to rethink Holy Closure, if for no other reason than there will be a whole lot of them. Luckily, one of the very forces hobbling the church, decentralization, may also assist in setting things right. Now, I know, no shock, one of the last guys defending decentralization in the ELCA, thinks it could be helpful.

              But hear me out. A danger in the coming years is that the Synod will be spending all of their time and effort shepherding congregational closures, instead of equipping the remaining congregation for ministry. A second danger is that a large portion of the proceeds from closures will go straight to the Synod to fund Synodical ministries, which will be fixated on closing churches. These two dynamics pressed together could create a bad feedback loop, where a Synod becomes invested in doing the work of church closure, and church closure in turn funds that work.

              So, what’s the problem with that, you may ask. After all, those who do the work ought to receive the fruits of that work. Yes, and. And millions of dollars leaving local communities for a centralized office, is alienating, especially if that centralized office is so caught up in closures that they have no bandwidth for other ministry and mission. I know there is an implication that folks from closing congregations will join a nearby congregation and renew them, and those who make that move certainly do. But the majority of the members of a closing congregation disappear into the ether, and will only reappear as “anonymous” Lutherans at the funeral home. The pastor of the receiving congregation will go from doing 6-10 funerals a year for people they know, to 10-12 funerals a year, half of them for people they do not know. And again, the shibboleth is that if a Pastor does one or two “anonymous” funerals really well they’ll gain a family… that may have been true when families lived near each other, but rarely happens these days.

              What if both the responsibility and fruits of closure were distributed differently? What if, becoming a District Dean or Cluster Counselor came with more than a vague “Other Duties as Assigned” type of mandate, but instead an understanding that 10% of resources from closing a congregation would go to ministries in the Cluster or District? This would do two things:
1. It might encourage Districts and Clusters to think more “missionally” about who their Deans and Counselors are (I know in Clusters and Districts I’ve been a part of, everyone touches their nose and says “not it” when picking the new Dean or Counselor).
2. It might also spark little local fires until something catches—it might harness the power of Decentralization in such a way that congregational closings will cease to be a sign of death, but instead a sign of resurrection and new life!

              So, one thing to think of, is encouraging every congregation to voluntarily pass a continuing resolution that if they close, they want at least 10% of their assets to go to the Synod and 10% of their assets to go to either their Cluster or District. Give 10% to support the broader vision that the Synod has laid out, the strategic big picture thinking that takes into account demographic shifts and programs that benefit the whole Synod. But also, give 10% to minister to those who remain, to encourage tactical victories that might otherwise become missed opportunities, to fund ground up innovation and empower clusters and districts.

The Kind of Leaders we Need Now

 

              If my suspicions about the 4Ds are true, then they may be calling the Church to new behaviors, new models of leadership and organization even. Imagine a Congregation, or Synod, or Churchwide Office, ordered and staffed to focus on the 4Ds. Imagine Lay and Ordained congregants focused on ministering in a dispersed world; imagine Bishops and Bishop’s Associates focused on finding new models of partnership amongst the wreckage of the old order of the informal establishment of religion. Imagine Churchwide Organizations ordered around doing the things that allow us to believe in God at all and listening to those most on the edges of our society and our church.

              In our Disenchanted world, we need Soul Shepherds. We need leaders who practice what they preach, have encountered the living God, and want to introduce others to Jesus! Leaders who are centered in prayer, are able to listen people into the faith, and can cure congregations of their Lutheran Laryngitis.

              In our Diverse world, we need Wave Riders. We need leaders who come from and advocate for the edges of both church and society. We need leaders who are conversant in multiple vernaculars, who can cross and gather together intergenerational and multicultural cohorts. If we seek to be a young diverse denomination, we need young and diverse leaders, and those who care for them.

              In our Decentralized world, we need Sacred Scientists. We need leaders who encourage small groups of people to embrace holy experiments that magnify their ministries. We need leaders who will act like spy handers, equipping leaders, setting goals, and letting people go and do, because they trust them to get the work done. We need leaders adept at the holy grail of decentralization, the internet—but not because it is cool or fashionable, but because it can make meaningful ministry happen. We need leaders who can gather dispersed people for fun and fellowship, and food—a host adept at dinner church could be just what we need to be church today and into many tomorrows.

              In our Disestablished world, we need Partnership Crafters. We need leaders who can be matchmakers between secular organizations and congregations, who can midwife a new web of connections into existence. We need leaders who can articulate the church’s mission in a way that inspires those who are neither religious nor spiritual to join in common cause with the Church, be it in acts of service or sharing of space.