A six-year vision for the Synod

 

                  I believe the most faithful way to be the Church these days is to take the 4Ds seriously by leaning into any ministry that: creates partnerships, encourages nimble action, reflects authentic diversity, and re-enchants the Church. In fact, as we prepare to elect a Bishop of the New Jersey Synod, I see that as an opportunity for a 6-year experiment for the sake of the wider church; it would be six years intentionally wrestling, taming, and coming to terms with: Disestablishment, Decentralization, Demographic Shift, and Disenchantment.

Closures:

                  One of the places the Synod can make a big difference, and encourage nimble behaviors, is at the point of a congregation’s closure. The Synod would encourage closing congregations to designate a local tithe and a vision tithe to the Synod.

The local tithe would stay within the Cluster or District to encourage grass root ministry exploration. This “walking around money” would empower Cluster Counselors to lead new mission. As it stands, when clusters meet to decide who will be the new Counselor it is a game of “not it!”. If there was some economic power behind the office, the more missional and innovative clergy would rise to the challenge, the title would no longer elicit the gag reflex, but instead a hunger to share the Gospel.

The Vision Tithe would be money that would leave the local context and empower the larger whole. It would be spent based on the Synod Council’s top-down vision.

Staffing:

                  There is a tension in staffing between geography and specialization. As I envision things, when it comes to congregational care staffing would be geographic, but when it comes to specialization Bishop’s Assistants would focus on one of the 4Ds.

                  There would be a Bishop’s Assistant caring for Northeast Jersey, one for Southwest Jersey, and one for the Jersey Core (Yes, Virginia, Central Jersey does exist). District Deans and Cluster Counselors would regularly meet with said staff members to coordinate, plot, and plan—a nimbleness that can make for good trouble.

                  At the same time, these Assistants would also have specializations. I envision these specializations as acts of caring.

The Assistant to the Bishop focused on Demographic Shift would be the A2B who Cares for Our Diversity, the Advocate for our Edges. They would shepherd intergenerational and Multicultural ministries. They would be a collector of Best Practices—not only contemporary but also remembering what came before, both to honor the past and notice when present situations rhyme with the historical.

The Assistant to the Bishop focused on Decentralization would be the A2B who Cares for Relationships, the Experiment Encourager. They would guide the internet ministries of the Synod and assist congregations with their web presence. They would host regular Dinner Churches around the Synod, as well as our fellowship events.

                  The Assistant to the Bishop focused on Disestablishment would be the A2B who Cares for our Partnerships, the Partner Liaison. They would be the Liaison for the Synod with Partners for Sacred Places (or the developer of a similar organization in the state). They would organize Synod wide service events, and be in charge of stewardship grants.

                  The Bishop would focus on Disenchantment. They would care for souls, and shepherd the 4D vision, so it doesn’t get lost in the administrative conflagrations that is: putting out fires, slurries of meetings, and untold amounts of travel. They would organize and lead Bible Study and Prayer meetings throughout the Synod. Additionally, they would listen to hear the indigenous wisdom of this Synod. This would include doing extensive group retirement interviews to glean wisdom from retiring pastors, and in so doing short circuit some retired-pastor bad behavior that often has the flavor of Ecclesiastes sprinkled on it.

                  Speaking of administrative conflagrations, the final piece of the puzzle as I see it is a staff person, or persons, focused on Care of Institutions. A Master Organizer watching over pulpit supply, candidacy, and first call theological education.

 

Synod Wide Focuses for Each Year:

                  Each year the Synod Office would encourage every congregation to take one step together. The steps might seem fairly small, but there is a powerful intentionality behind each one. Each step is either a step that is reflective and internal or an action that is focused on the external. Actions inform reflection and reflection in turn informs future actions. A clear sense of congregational identity allows for healthy cooperation and connection making in the neighborhood and community, which in turn reshapes the congregational identity.

This type of intentional work would, in six years, remake the identity of every congregation in the New Jersey Synod, and just as all the parts and players are different, so too the Synod itself.

 

The Six Years

Year 1 (Reflection):

                  The Bishop would lead the year one step; this would increase their exposure to the less Synod aware members. The Synod would encourage and equip every congregation to clean their rolls and hold internal conversations about the faith.

Year 2 (Action):

                  The Assistant to the Bishop for Our Edges would lead the year two step. The Synod would encourage and equip every congregation to have 135 God Conversations with their neighbors.

Year 3 (Reflection):

                  The Assistant to the Bishop for Partnership would lead the year three step. The Synod would encourage and equip every congregation to write, renew or review their mission statement.

Year 4 (Action):

                  The Assistant to the Bishop for Experimentation would lead the year four step. The Synod would encourage and equip every congregation to perform one Holy Experiment.

Year 5 (Reflection):

                  The Bishop would lead the year five step. The Synod would encourage and equip every congregation to look back on their last five years and share and celebrate the highlights with each other, their community, and the Synod.

Year 6 (Action):

                  The entire Bishop’s staff would work on its final year—it would be an all hands on deck year. The staff would comb through congregational highlights and help to seed and share, repeat and reproduce success stories throughout the Synod.

Roving Synod Events:

                  With the assumption that decentralized gatherings ought to be encouraged, the Synod would regularly host Fellowship Gatherings, Dinner Church, Prayer Gatherings, Bible Studies, and Service Events throughout the state. There would also be a yearly remembrance of Ordination vows.