Thanks to those of you who engaged in conversation around the theme of being a "church of substance." We went off in some directions I hadn't expected on that topic in particular, but I'm really grateful for what you had to say.
The second theme that seems to me to have been rising to the surface in many of our congregations has to do with being a "church of generations." Especially in our listening groups, I heard lots of people expressing value and appreciation for the diversity of generations active in the life of First Lutheran. In recent years we've referred to this as our desire to be a "cradle to grave" Christian community.
On one hand, this almost seems like a no brainer. There's so much to be gained from the gifts of each generation, and it's a very natural fit to our past and present. On the other hand, this is also a real challenge. I'm sure at least some of my readers will know that quite a bit of current church leadership "wisdom" suggests that churches should pick a specific demographic target audience and try to reach that audience. I can think of churches I know that aim specifically for 30-somethings or younger families or boomers.
Biblically speaking, I think there's every reason in the world for us to strive to develop as a fully multi-generational community, and there are opportunities galore for growth, service and maturity that come with this kind of approach. But we should also probably acknowledge that following this road would (will?) present strategic challenges in areas such as program planning and resource deployment. Perhaps both the greatest challenge and the greatest virtue of growing as this kind of community is that all of us will have to learn to value the needs of others more highly than our own. And now that I say it that way, it sounds like a place I really want to be a part of.
1 comment:
I think the Senior Adult Ministries (S.A.M. :-) ) at FLC are something not be overlooked! What a great place for people to feel they belong at an age where there is so much loss. That group is fantastic and there are so many great age-appropriate activities. I almost wish I was a senior so I could join. :-)
I was recently reading a book, "Rethinking the Successful Church" in which the author talked about churches that try to become innovative and hip, often leaving their faithful, God-fearing seniors in the dust! It talked about how the "traditional" attenders often appear to be an annoyance and obstacle to the vision of the church. That's sad and disrespectful. They have invested so much and been so faithful.
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