Review: Signals at the Crossroads

Only now during my sabbatical have I had time to read and review Gilbert Stafford's Signals at the Crossroads, a new compilation of his previously released Church of God at the Crossroads and Vision for Church of God at the Crossroads, plus a small amount of new material from a book that was unfinished due to his death three years ago.

I wanted to read this since the first two books had created considerable discussion when first released eleven and nine years ago, respectively. I had read them previously, but in light of our ongoing identity crisis felt it would be valuable to re-visit them and to see whether any new insights could be gleaned. In addition, this book was given to participants of the recent Strategic Planning Conference and is again part of our dialogue.

When I first read the original two books I was less than enthused over Stafford's solution to the challenges we faced, despite his brilliance and respect within our movement. Ten years ago I had the opportunity to dialogue with him briefly over some of these issues, and while he has many valuable insights and contributions to make to this discussion I remain convinced that these writings do not really provide the path forward for us.

By his own admission, Stafford's focus is about "Church of God culture", that is, "the way we live together, our values,and the language of our faith. It is the way we go about being the church." (p. 6). His concern is that increasingly we are fractured in our self-understanding and practices. In his first two books he identified some of the challenges we face as a movement, and outlined a number of practical suggestions as to how we could re-frame ourselves as the Church of God.

Most people who have read these Crossroads books would tend to affirm Stafford's diagnosis. We are a diverse group of congregations who seem to have less and less in common. And, some of his ideas are right on target. For example, his lengthy discussion on how we could bolster the credentialing process are very sound.

My concern, however, is that Stafford deals with the symptoms of what ails us as a movement without really ever getting down to the core condition. Culture is reflective of the much deeper beliefs, values and attitudes that we carry; and working to change our culture would  not necessarily change who we are. He hints at this in a few places,  but it is easily missed amidst his proclaimed focus. For example, he acknowledges that "the sense of being part of a unified Church of God with common mission is missing" (page 17), but this is the last sentence of one of the chapters, and it is not picked up on again. In my thinking, this is at the core of what is missing among us, and until we deal with issues of this magnitude our culture will remain anemic.

While I remain ultimately disappointed with what I find in Signals at the Crossroads, it is still a book that is worth reading, even if to share in some discussions that may be taking place right now by those who have read the book and are grappling with its implications.

Berlin

Two weeks ago I was able to spend a few days in Berlin, Germany during my Europe trip, which constituted part of my sabbatical. My interest in Berlin, specifically, is because of XZ Berlin, a unique missions project co-sponsored by Global Missions and the Church of God in Germany. XZ Berlin is highly significant as it represents a new frontier in our mission efforts. Berlin has become one of the most dynamic cities in Europe and is marked by a very diverse and robust culture that reflects the influences of post-modernism and a rapidly growing detachment from its Christian roots. In the midst of this a team of Germans and Americans have immersed themselves for the purpose of bringing Christ. This includes U.S. missionaries Kelly and Rhonda Phillips, and Aaron and Nicole Varner. Regional Coordinators for Europe, Patrick and Jamie Nachtigall are also centered in Berlin.

This is no typical missions project. Instead of starting a typical church service and inviting people to it, the group is setting out to network within central Berlin, building relationships and extending their witness wherever they can. Their methodology is simple, but what is really needed in this context. In some ways, the manner in which they live and function is reminiscent of the Church of God mission homes of a bygone era.

There is much we can learn from XZ Berlin as they continue this important outreach and experiment with various forms of ministry. Culturally, Europe tends to be a trend-setter, and there is good evidence that North America is also moving down this path of post-modernism, where the current approaches of the church are becoming largely ineffective. Some of our cites (such as Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Vancouver and Toronto) may already be suitable locations for similar efforts. Unfortunately, however, most U.S. Christians are not aware of the cultural shifts happening around them, and in denial about the need for new models and approaches.

This is a definite bright-spot in our movement that we need to be learning from; and watching, supporting and praying for.

Initial reports

Today the Strategic Planning Council wrapped up in Nashville. I wasn’t there, and I have not yet been briefed by the delegates from our district, but I have heard from a few individuals who were in attendance. Obviously we need to get a full report, but from what I have picked up from some who there the reviews are mixed at best.

Apparently, they had some excellent speakers who challenged the delegates, and the opportunities for fellowship are always enriching. But, I also heard concerns about the whole process, which did not really address some of the real, pressing issues that we face (including some of the ones I mentioned). Some were just plain frustrated with the breakout sessions and how the discussions were handled and ultimately processed. In any case, it sounds like there were some important affirmations regarding leadership development, and some emphases on evangelism.

While I truly pray that this gathering will bring positive results for the Church of God I have some serious concerns about the process itself. I really question whether it is possible to bring together a wide range of people from across the continent for less than 48 hours and expect to accomplish serious, effective strategic planning that is going to facilitate Kingdom expansion? Brainstorming and dreaming, yes. But, strategic planning that will shape our direction?

Anyone who was there want to comment or provide us more information?

My wish list

Tuesday the Strategic Planning Council begins in Nashville. As I mentioned in my previous post, I won’t be at that this one due my sabbatical. I have heard some interesting ideas expressed in the past few weeks from others concerned about what could result at this gathering. For example, on Twitter last week @epfry responded to my call post with the following provocative list of key issues for our movement to address: “We pay lip service to females but refuse them leadership … We've confused berating our youth as discipleship … We reverted to the past instead of building upon tradition … We dared call ourselves a peace church yet refuse to be prophetic … We are at best reactionary to a postmodern society”

Here are some of the key outcomes that I hope will emerge this week:

•  A call for the Church of God to recover its role as a movement within and for the sake of the larger, universal church.
•  A serious commitment to begin church-wide dialogue on restating our message of holiness and unity for this age.
•  A plan for meaningfully connecting our churches and leaders despite our broad geographic, cultural and theological diversity.

I urge all of us to pray as our leaders meet.

Our future

Next week Church of God leaders from across North America will convene in Nashville, Tennessee for the Strategic Planning Conference. This event usually takes place every five years or so and is an opportunity for direction setting for Church of God Ministries and our national efforts.

Due to my sabbatical, I will not be attending this year. Nevertheless, I will certainly be praying for the event and watching with keen interest what emerges out of it. As with many of you, I have a deep love for the Church of God and deeply desire to see our message flourish and take hold.

I am particularly interested in this year's conference because I am convinced that we are at a critical juncture in the story of our movement. In the coming weeks I will comment on some of the issues that we are confronting, but for now let me say that I believe we have lost our soul and are struggling to find it. In the process, we have fractured into various directions which threaten to significantly change who we are and our effectiveness in carrying out God's work.

Along with delegates to the conference, I am reading Gilbert Stafford's book, Signals at the Crossroads, an up-dated edition of his previous two Crossroads books and the inclusion of some new material that was never completed before his death. I will provide a more detailed book review here soon, but for now I can say that I am still not convinced that Stafford provides the solution.

Will you be attending the Strategic Planning Conference? If so, what will you be looking for? If not, what do you believe are some of the critical issues that we face at this time?

I look forward to this conversation as it unfolds.

Sabbatical

Today I begin a sabbatical from my normal routines as part of a regional pastor and overseer. I am deeply appreciative of the opportunity that the Pacific Northwest Association has built into my employment agreement to make this happen. I am also encouraged that increasingly, across the Church of God, churches are recognizing the value of providing a sabbatical for their pastors.

I have several realistic objectives planned for my two months of respite. A minor one is to get back into a regular pattern of blogging. This past year has seen a dramatic increase in my workload and expressing my ideas and reflections in writing has taken a back seat. While I have no intention of making this an obsession, I look forward to occasions when I can share some of the thoughts I am having about our movement. This seems timely, especially with the Strategic Planning Conference coming up in a few weeks.

Hopefully, a few of you are still following this blog and will engage in some of the issues I raise.

Heading to NAC

It's hard to believe we're in late June again, which means time to head to Anderson for the North American Convention of the Church of God. As our primary national gathering this is an important event that both reflects and speaks into the life of our movement.

For the past several years I hare reported my own experiences and reflections from NAC. I will do that again this year, but with a twist. I will post on this blog, but not necessarily with daily posts as I have done in the past. Instead I will highlight significant observations during the event. In tandem with this I will be tweeting frequently on the smaller, more instantaneous moments and to interact with others. I encourage you to follow me @chogblog. (For others tweeting during NAC please use the #nacchog hashtag for easy sharing).

This is a critical time in the life of the Church of God (something I hope to blog on more in the coming weeks). I will be watching and praying for what happens in Anderson over the coming days.

Truth Matters

Blogging has taken a backseat in my life the past couple of months due to a full life complicated most recently by a move to a new house. Nevertheless, there are several issues brewing in my mind, many of which I want to develop into blog posts.

The recent announcement of the launch of Truth Matters has prompted me to get back into the fray.  A little over one week ago those of us listed as ministers should have received an email detailing the launch of the new periodical that appears to be replacing Reformation Witness, the voice of Pastors' Fellowship through Reformation Publishers. But, TM is more than just another paper magazine. In an attempt to gain wider distribution and to minimize costs it is now sent out as a PDF. On the surface TM appears to be an effort of Pastors' Fellowship to update its mission for the 21st century. But this also fulfills the desire of a small, but vocal constituency for a more doctrinally-oriented publication that they do not believe is reflected in the new Communion together newsletter/magazine produced by Church of God Ministries.
 
Probably the most significant aspect of TM is that Jeannette Flynn is its editor. Jeannette is a highly respected figure in our movement and brings a higher level of credibility to this publication.  Her influence is already reflected in the first issue where a wider range of writers is presented.

I do, however, have a couple of concerns.  First, I was thoroughly disappointed with the depth of the writing. Most of the articles were far too short and shallow in their discussion. If truth matters (and it does!) it is critical for us to have a much higher level of theological engagement. Unfortunately, I suspect we are often more content to present ideas on a surface level, which reflects the organizational navel-gazing of a movement that has lost some of its fire.

My other frustration is related to the overall presentation of the magazine.  The design and layout still look like a trip back to the 70's, which is hardly going to reach a wider and younger audience. Likewise, the dissemination of this in a PDF format may be a big step forward technologically, but only to the late 90's at best.  Far more effective would be a web-based format cross-promoted from email links, social networking, RSS feeds, etc.

In any case, Truth Matters is an interesting development as we seek to find ourselves as a movement.

Evolving structures

Last week I was in Houston, Texas at the annual gathering of Regional Pastors and Overseers.

Confused yet?

"Regional Pastors and Overseers" is the new phrase our association came up with to better describe our current roles within the North American Church of God. This will replace the meaningless "Area Administrator" moniker that we have used for several decades and provides a more accurate reflection of the type of work we do within our respective regions. Certainly, individual RPO's will still use their official titles as designated by their state or district, but this new designation is a intended to be a general description that can used to describe us as a group.

The real issue here, however, is not the titles we use. The bigger shift that is occurring across our movement concerns the role that regional organizations have alongside individual congregations and Church of God Ministries. This was an important part of our discussions last week, and will continue both among districts, RPO's and across the North American church as a whole.

The reality is that our structures our still evolving. For a movement that largely treats organization with suspicion, if not contempt, we are still trying to figure what the optimal structure looks like. We're not there yet, but I am at least encouraged that we are willing to explore this issue with an openness to continually make changes as necessary to serve better the common ministry that we share.