“From Death to Life”

Present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life.

Romans 6:13

Since April, 2010, I’ve been researching stories about how churches discern a decision to downsize, merge or close when they are losing vitality and sustainability.  My research is supported by a Pastoral Study Project grant from the Louisville Institute.  This site is designed to engage people in conversation about how vulnerable churches faithfully discern their future options.  It will be a more lively discussion if you share ideas and questions in the comment boxes beneath each post.  If you want to receive free notification of new posts, which come about once a week, you can subscribe on the right.  You can also e-mail me privately by clicking on the “Contact” button.

Church Merger: Are You “Better Together”?

Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches, Lahishin, Belarus

If you are part of a small church and you’re thinking about merging with another  church, you may want to pick up a recent publication called “Better Together”  by Jim Tomberlin and Warren Bird (Jossey-Bass, 2012).  This book has some valuable advice about the potential for church mergers that couple a “lead church” with a “joining church”.

It is written primarily to independent, evangelical churches, and most of the examples come from younger, healthy congregations (“lead churches”) that grow their ministry’s effectiveness by joining with smaller churches (“joining churches”).  The mergers often result in one congregation being folded into another, or, in some cases, a multi-site church using two or more buildings.

Some useful nuggets in this book include a chapter on how to determine if your church is a good candidate for a merger, and practical lists of administrative and staffing issues to address in carrying out a merger.  I appreciated the stories about multi-site churches (in which a unified staff leads congregations in several locations).  This is an emerging model for ministry being experimented with.

Here are some reasons the authors believe churches should consider merging:

• To be better together than each church is individually
• To begin a new church life cycle
• To reach more people and make a greater difference for Christ
• To better serve your local community
• To maximize use of church facilities

They also point out that many mergers fail because two desperate churches in decline try working together as a last ditch effort to stay open.  These mergers are “motivated more by survival concerns than by vision.”

If you are from a denominational tradition that values lay-led ministry, some of the merger stories in this book may rub you the wrong way.  The churches cited tend to be strongly pastor-led and free of the encumbrances of denominational oversite. (The authors claim a merger can be completed in a year or less…on which planet, I wonder?).  They also fail to adequately address the unique sense of community that is formed in congregations with deep roots, and how difficult it is for these churches to relinquish their identities.  Nevertheless, Tomberlin and Bird have some practical things to say about why some mergers  have not worked in the past, and how they can work in the future.

I would recommend this book to anyone considering a merger, even if you have to “translate” the guidance offered for your own situation.  Just be sure you keep the most important question in front of you:

Can we accomplish more effective ministry together than we can separately?

*Photo by Y. Yaroshko, licensed by Wikimedia Commons

“Harmless Singly, Savage in Crowds”

Okay, time for a poetry break.

The poet is Wislawa Szymborska of Poland.  She lived through World War II, won the 1996 Nobel Prize in literature and died in 2012.

This particular poem is good for those of you who may walk into worship on Sunday mornings (or work on Monday), a bit apprehensive about who you will find, and what state they will be in.  How do you judge the character of those you share the pews with, or preach to?  And what baggage, what concealed emotional weapons do you suppose they carry with them?  Clutch this poem tightly in your fist next Sunday, scan the crowd, and figure out how to love them all.

A Contribution to Statistics

Out of a hundred people

those who always know better
– fifty-two

doubting every step
– nearly all the rest,

glad to lend a hand
if it doesn’t take too long
– as high as forty-nine,

always good
because they can’t be otherwise
– four, well maybe five,

 able to admire without envy
– eighteen,

 suffering illusions
induced by fleeting youth
– sixty, give or take a few,

 not to be taken lightly
– forty and four,

 living in constant fear

of someone or something
– seventy-seven,

capable of happiness
– twenty-something tops,

harmless singly, savage in crowds
– half at least,

cruel
when forced by circumstances
– better not to know
even ballpark figures,

wise after the fact
– just a couple more
than wise before it,

taking only things from life
– thirty

(I wish I were wrong),

 hunched in pain,
no flashlight in the dark
– eighty-three
sooner or later,

 righteous
– thirty-five, which is a lot,

 righteous
and understanding
– three,

 worthy of compassion
– ninety-nine,

 mortal
– a hundred out of a hundred.

Thus far this figure still remains unchanged.

~ Wislawa Szymborska ~

(Poems: New and Selected, trans. by S. Baranczak and C. Cavanagh)

A Breath of Fresh Dreaming

Recently, I was lucky to sit in on a meeting with a church’s governing board, their interim pastor and a church consultant.  The congregation had planned to seek a settled, full time pastor.  But when they began their search process, they were forced to examine their dwindling financial resources.  It appeared they were going to have to make some tough choices.  They could either do some serious building repairs OR  hire a full time pastor.  Not both.

Well, you know the old saying:

“When you have two choices, take the third.”

Instead of getting stuck between a rock and a hard place, they asked their Presbytery for help (this particular Presbytery offers 50/50 financial assistance to churches in discernment who work with a qualified consultant–what a great idea!!).  They were wondering: Should we search for a part time pastor?  Should we seek another church to merge with?  Is there another option to help us survive? 

The consultant helped them talk about their history of staffing, programming and membership changes.  They were clearly proud of their ministry, their music program and their church’s progressive theology.  But their concerns were realistic.  Attendance was down.  Giving was down.  They had experience working with part time pastors and were reticent about trying that again.  These people were not desperate to keep the doors open.  But they enjoyed their ministry and wanted to keep doing it.

After some conversation about their options and limits, it was pointed out that, whatever step they chose, they could do it for one of two reasons: they could choose a path that might help them survive for a longer time, or they could choose a path that might strengthen their mission and make carrying it out more fun.  When they began to think about their choices in this way, a change came over the room.  The mood lightened.  They started talking about other churches they might partner with, and a non-profit organization that needed space.

They started to dream.

Can’t you just feel the way that cool, spring breeze washes over your face when you allow yourself to dream?  It feels so different than the winter of worrying!

That church has a long way to go; dreaming is only the first step.  But it’s probably the most important step.

Do you remember the last time your congregation dreamed together?  What did you and God do to help make that happen?  What are you dreaming of now?

Here’s a story about three congregations that are beginning to feel the fresh  breath of the Spirit since they started working together as one merged congregation.

New Uses for Holy Ground

The Water Chapel

I got a LOT of interest in a recent post about whether or not congregations should consider selling their buildings.  I think this is an issue under the surface that church leaders are considering, but reluctant to talk about with their congregations.  Here’s some information about a couple organizations that are thinking creatively about church properties:

Partners for Sacred Places is a non-profit organization that helps congregations team up with their communities to find new uses for their buildings.  Here’s a story about a church in Fort Worth that has become the new home for an eye clinic for the poor.

Sacred Places has also developed a system for assessing the economic value of churches to their communities.  This was originally done for Catholic dioceses when they had to decide which churches to close in consolidations.  Sacred Places actually helped them figure out which churches were generating the most social and economic benefit in their neighborhoods.   (Think Robert Putnam’s “social capital” from his book “Bowling Alone“, only with dollar values attached).

Here’s a story about what they learned in a community called Covington.

And here’s something wierdly fascinating!  www.churchshare.net offers its customers…

“a turnkey church rental package. You can literally move in tomorrow! Not only can you afford it, but you’ll be occupying a real church with room to grow and prosper.”

This Florida business offers church buildings to congregations who want to rent and are willing to share space with other congregations.  Large scale campuses; retreat space; you can even rent the ”Water Chapel” pictured above for that special immersion baptism you are planning  (no anchors, you anchorites!).

If you are interested in reading more about what’s happening with church buildings and closures, check out Episcopal blogger Joe Duggans’  website and accompanying Facebook page Congregational Seasons.  I have him to thank for many of the stories I’ve found.

Tell me what you think of these options!

Can You Sell Your Church Building?

Last week I posed the question of whether a church should sell their building in order to pursue a more sustainable ministry model.  If you still think selling your building might be the right thing to do, the next question I am sometimes asked is: CAN you sell it?

First, find out who owns your church building.  Read your church’s bylaws.  If you are Methodist or  Presbyterian, you may “hold the building in trust for the wider church”.  In other words, you don’t actually own it but the denomination may work with you on selling it and using the proceeds of the sale in a new way.  These denominational bodies will usually not allow you to sell property and use the proceeds for operating expenses.  But they might allow the funds to be used for the purchase of a new building, support of a community mission, or a new church plant.

In congregational type denominations like the UCC, the congregation or its trustees probably hold the deed to your property, and you can sell it by a vote of the congregation.  This action does not mean you are dissolving your church.  You can still be a church without a building.   But the proceeds of the sale must remain in the possession of a non-profit entity, so you can’t just spend the money on candy (or beer, like they did in this story).

You should also work with a lawyer on title issues.  Sometimes the land a church was built on has deed restrictions attached to it, or reverts back to a previous owner if the property ceases to be used by a church.  And don’t forget to check on how your property is zoned.  If the buyer is not a church, the zoning may need to be changed and sometimes that irks the neighbors.

Some churches have been known to “sell” their buildings for $1 to another church or non-profit.  Sometimes an auction is held.  Others sell their buildings at market rates and disperse the proceeds to mission projects they are passionate about.  Still others give the money or the building to their denominational bodies to be used by the wider church.

Sometimes, entire church buildings are moved to new locations by people who want to preserve them as historic buildings.  In other cases, they are dilapidated and need to be demolished.

Here’s an explanation of how United Methodists, in their connectional system, hold church properties in trust.

Here is a forum page (written in realtor language) with some advice for realtors about how to estimate the value of a church building.

And here’s a story about how a Canadian church used the proceeds of its building when it was sold.

Whatever your situation, ask God’s opinion first.  And don’t trust me or anyone else you read on the web for advice on legal and property matters.  Most denominational bodies can help you find the kind of professional advice you need.  And every state has its own property laws, so do your research!

Should We Sell Our Church Building?

I know some of you have a love/hate relationship with your church buildings.  Your church’s floors may have asbestos in them and the roof may leak and the sanctuary is not wheelchair accessible.  Maybe you are secretly hoping for a strategically placed tornado.

Or maybe you should SELL your building?  Wouldn’t that make life easier?

Well, yes and no.  Selling your building might provide you with a big wad of cash to move to a better building or start a creative house church ministry.  Some of the churches I’ve studied did things like that successfully.  But there are other factors to consider:

• Do you have a better idea about where you should meet?  If you’re thinking “coffee house”, consider whether your congregation will ever be able to sing together again.  If you’re thinking “rented store front”, remember that the landlord might kick you out (this once happened to Solomon’s Porch).
• Could your building be put to better use while you are still using it?  For instance, are there non-profit groups or another congregation who could share it with you for a reasonable rate?
• Remember that you have more than a building.  You also have a location.  Why did God put you in your neighborhood in the first place?  What was/is your mission on that particular peice of holy ground?
• Instead of selling it, could you give your building to another church who really needs it?
• If you sell it to the first buyer who comes along, such as a CVS franchise, as in this story, will the community be losing a beloved landmark?

I’m generally pretty hard-nosed about not letting buildings get in the way of ministry.  But I also believe buildings have a function, and I am still on the fence  about the Church cashing out its physical presence in our communities. (Have you ever tried to find a House Church to attend?  I have.  Never found it.)  There is something about church buildings that civilizes our world.  They remind us that humanity is about pursuing more than self-protection, money, sports and Kentucky Fried Chicken.

And the fact is that, except in some juicy locations, many church buildings are not worth nearly as much in dollars as you may think.

It might be time to sell your building and move to a location that better suits your church’s mission.  But first, you may want to read this article about an Episcopal church in Connecticut, where the Diocese is viewing a former church building as an asset, and has invited interested parties into conversation about how it might be used for the benefit of its community.

And in this story from Seattle, another Diocese transferred responsibility for the maintenance of a church building to a sister church, which oversees use of the space for a variety of community non-profit groups.

Church buildings are like congregations: loaded with the power to save your soul or drive you crazy– maybe both on the same day.  Proceed with caution.

First Responders of Last Resort

Whenever something sad or evil happens in the world, I think of the church.  I mean, that particular church on the corner, up the street, where there may be a pastor, weak or strong, and a congregation, weak or strong, a little band of pray-ers and lovers and singers and sinners.

I think of what might happen if you knocked on the door of that church and someone actually opened it, in the middle of the afternoon, when you were alone and scared and maybe even bleeding.  What would you expect, and what would happen?  Would the person inside know what to do for you?

Maybe at least they would let you in and give you a quiet place to sit.  Maybe they would offer a phone to make a call, like the ancient rotary phone one of my churches still had in their kitchen (“How do you use this thing?” the teenagers would ask.)

Someone might give you a ride, or a $15 voucher for gas to get to the next town, like one of my churches offered stranded travelers.  If you were lucky, someone might listen to your story, hold your hand and pray with you.

I like to think there was a time when the Church was full of First Responders who were prepared to offer comfort and band-aids and a warm meal to anyone who asked.  Today, we are more like a Last Resort—the last stop for the desperate who have been turned away at County Social Services because they don’t have a street address or a credible story.  And thank God we are still the Last Resort, because the world needs that.  Thank God for those churches who are still patiently, heroically opening their doors to the lost and broken, often in ways nobody notices.

But I am going to confess something that makes me sad: it seems like, as soon as I leave active church work, I am surprised to enter a world teeming with deeds of kindness.  All these people who wouldn’t be caught dead in a church are living out here, inviting strangers to sleep on their couches; walking into fires to save the elderly; wrapping tourniquets around crushed limbs.

Where did these people come from?  Who made them and showed them how to be so human?

What do they have to teach us church people?

Instead of wondering what we will do when they knock on our doors, maybe we should be knocking on theirs. 

Photo by Aaron Tang/Wikimedia Commons