Struggle at ChoGtalk

For at least 15 years there has been a vibrant community of individuals from across the Church of God who have shared together in an online discussion group. This group has evolved over the years, beginning with the technology early-adopters who dialed in with their 1200 baud modems long before the Internet became a household word. Since then the listserve group moved around to various online locations, and most recently has been a Yahoo! Group. There are currently over 100 members in the group, representing the broad diversity of the Church of God. I have been part of this discussion (even if just a lurker at times) for almost all of this time.



This week, ChoGtalk (as it is now known) experienced a major crisis. This is not the first time the group has faced a major internal challenge. In fact just a few years ago the previous group moderator shut the group down because of the highly charged discussions that were turning destructive.



The latest crisis came about as a result of a recent discussion concerning women in ministry leadership. In the end some attitudes and words were expressed that were far from helpful and, in fact, precipitated hurt feelings. The group moderator quit, as did some others. The group still exists, but is in a very fragile state.



Why am I sharing this dirty laundry here?



I believe the problems that have confronted ChoGtalk this week illustrate two important issues that confront the larger Church of God Reformation Movement today:



1. We still struggle with women as pastors. As someone who has long been an advocate of women in ministry, this is particular frustrating for me. I have been proud to be part of a movement that has had a much more open view toward women in leadership than what is common in much of conservative Christianity today. I know that chauvinism is still rampant in our society and that it carries over to the church at times, despite the radical inclusivity of the Gospel. But, to see us struggle with this still after 127 years is disheartening. I remain convinced that this is because a large proportion of our movement has bought into the Evangelical worldview, hermeneutics and subculture that have severely distorted the message of Scripture and the heritage from which we come.



2. We find dialogue difficult. Despite our rhetoric on Christian unity, we generally do not practice what we preach. As I posted several months ago, we have tremendous diversity in the Church of God. But, there are large segments within our movement that have trouble accepting these variances among us. Some seem to believe that doctrinal and social conformity supercede our unity in Christ. As a result, open and honest discussion is hindered. Truth itself is, therefore, often a casuality of this rigidity.



The Church of God has, at its roots, a strong foundation, and I remain committed to this movement. I pray that we will continue to strive together in a spirit of love that will allow us to grow and impact the world for Christ. Along the way we must confront those things about us that keep us from being all that God wants us to be.

Church mows city park

Here's a positive story worth highlighting. Too often churches cocoon in their own little world, failing to impact their communities. But, Pauline Avenue Church of God in Muncie, Indiana is committed to move beyond hyper-spiritual rhetoric and toward expressing their love of God and the world in tangible ways. According to a story in the Muncie Star Press, the church responded to a neglected baseball field that the city wasn't looking after. They decided to mow the field so that is could be used by the community.



Spiritual? You bet!



LINK

Conflict and Camp Meeting

I received the May-June issue of Communion today, a publication of Church of God Ministries. The headliner article is written by Merle Strege and is on "Conflict and Camp Meeting". Strege usually reveals some interesting historical tidbits from our history and provides insightful analysis. This article, however, falls flat on its face. And, it's not really about Strege or even the topic.



Everything about this is strange. First of all, upon closer examination, it is evident that this is not an article at all but an excerpt from one of his books. Second, it appears to me to be a highly edited version, lacking a fully developed argument. The result is a writing that barely makes a point.



Where am I going with this?



At a time when the Church of God is struggling to find effective ways to communicate, it is especially disappointing to see this inert, recycled writing take such prominence, only to disappoint.



I pray we find ways to speak with greater clarity and meaning.

Where everyone knows your name

Here's an interesting story that played today on NPR. Rich Leitke is a greeter at First Church of God in Vancouver, Washington and he has memorized everyone's name (i.e. several thousand). Listen HERE.

Updated Church of God website

I discovered this morning that Church of God Ministries has launched a new, updated website (www.chog.org). This was long overdue as the previous one was quite out-dated and difficult to navigate. The new one has a much fresher look, is easier to use, and has some technical enhancements. My biggest disappointment: No RSS feeds.



UPDATE 5/10/07: I just learned that the new website does have RSS feeds! It's just that they haven't implemented the auto detect feature for browsers. Go the News page and click on "Syndicate".

Church death threats

With all the recent shock and horror surrounding the Virginia Tech shootings, here is a story that hits a little closer to home. The (Detroit) Daily Tribune reports that a former music director at the Evanswood Church of God in Troy, Michigan was arrested on four terrorism-related charges over e-mail threats directed at church members. This is a frightening story as it reveals how churches are not immune from these types of things. It is even more impactful for me personally since I am familiar with the church as I have family that attend there.



LINK

SHAPE for AA's

Last week I was privileged to spend a few days in Sacramento for the first gathering of Western Area Administrators in a new SHAPE group.

As I've stated before, I am convinced that SHAPE represents a radical change in how we develop and support ministers. It is not just another "program" coming out of Anderson; it represents a complete and thorough paradigm shift. I am fortunate to be in one of the pioneering SHAPE regions.

SHAPE leadership at Church of God Ministries (Arthur Kelly, Jeannette Flynn, and Ryan Chapman) are urging and making it possible for Area Administrators to participate in their own SHAPE clusters. The conviction is that we need it as much as any pastor, and it is critical that we have our own first-hand experience of it if we are to lead our district's SHAPE ministry.

The experience in Sacramento was very positive, and I look forward to upcoming gatherings!

WARM / National Preaching Clinic

I just returned from Mountain View, California, home of this year's Western Area Regional Ministerium, an annual regional event for Church of God ministers. What is unique about this year's WARM is that it hosted the first of a new generation of National Preaching Clinics. These clinics were popular across the Church of God several decades ago, but have been revived by David Grubbs and James Earl Massey.



Preaching is a critical aspect of the church's ministry, and in light of changes happening around us in both the church and world, it is vital that we examine ways to communicate the Gospel as effectively as possible. The clinic involves listening to varied styles, participating in specific workshops, and preaching in a video lab for the sake of critique. (More of my report on this event can be obtained from my new blog for the Pacific Northwest Association).



I didn't know what to expect, never having attended one of these clinics before. But, overall, I was impressed. Obviously, three days is far from adequate for developing the skills necessary to become a better preacher, but an event like this certainly forces one to address key issues related to preaching and hopefully prompt movement out of one's homiletic comfort zone.



Watch for a National Preaching Clinic coming to your area in the next few years. (The next one is in Oklahoma City at Mid-America).

Learning about ourselves

As I have mentioned before, I am in a district that is participating in SHAPE (Sustaining Health and Pastoral Excellence), a ministry initiative between Church of God Ministries and several regions, with funding from the Lilly Endowment.



Annually, Church of God Ministries is required to submit a report of results, discoveries and lessons to Lilly. It is primarily written by an external consultant, Michael Wiese.  In reading through the 2006 report I came across two paragraphs that were particularly insightful and worth sharing here.



In a section entitled "What are we learning?" the report includes the following lessons that are being learned through SHAPE:

• One of the cultural realities of the Church of God (Anderson) is the priority placed on congregational autonomy. This value, when applied to how the pastor functions, produces isolation. Isolation undermines both health and excellence. It can also produce self-delusion about health and excellence. Pastors need to be connected to others who provide opportunity for selfassessment, camaraderie, safe-disclosure, advice, and accountability.
• The need to maintain the perception of “perfection” does not produce health. The Holiness tradition, a major theological stream for the Church of God (Anderson), may be interpreted within the culture as an expectation of perfection. There is evidence that this expectation may undermine the pastor’s freedom to be appropriately transparent, to build a relationship oriented ministry and, in the end, be healthy. (page 7)
  
  

Ouch.



But very true.

Who Are We?

I've referenced Jeffrey Frymire's blog before, but his most recent post is worth pointing out here in CHOGBlog. Jeff asks the question, "Who Are We?" or how do you describe what the Church of God is to someone outside of our circle, especially to those who may not be able to identify with some of the analogies we sometimes use, like "holiness", "Wesleyan" or even "Bill Gaither"?



A great question, not only for the practical purpose of answering the queries of outsiders, but also for simply clarifying our own identity within the larger Body of Christ.



Leave your suggestions on Jeff's blog.

Church of God pastor works for religious peace

According to Journal Chretien (Eng. "Christian Journal") Pastor Ameal Haddad, Pastor of Bellflower Church of God in California, along with another pastor, formed Ambassadors for Peace, a religious rights organization.



Haddad is originally from Jordan, and understands first hand the conflicts that have arisen between Christians and Muslims. He believes that working for religious freedom around the world not only will contribute to greater human rights, but potentially could allow Christianity to flourish in countries in which there are currently many restrictions.



Read the article yourself, and please comment on what you think of this effort.



(One point in the article which is probably incorrect is that it says they are endorsed by the "300,000 member Church of God based on Anderson, IN". There is no listing of them in the Yearbook, although their website has an endorsement letter from the area administrator in Southern California).

Digging deeper: Comments

My recent diversity postings have been generating a higher than usual amount of comments. In particular there has been significant discussion on whether there is a need for a prophet to rally us back together around our message and mission. I do appreciate readers taking the time to leave their feedback, both positive and negative. This is part of the power of blogging, and contributes to the conversations we need.

For those of you new to blogs, remember that most blogs have a comment section for each post. If there is a topic that interests you be sure to check out what others are saying, or better yet, take the time to leave your own contribution. If you have a blog of your own you can link to my post and comment on it there and a reference will automatically appear in the "Links to this Post" section of my post.

Also, note that my blog now has the ability for you to subscribe to a particular post's comments through your feed reader. That way you can track specific comment conversations as they develop! (By the way, if you are not using a feed reader to read blogs you are trying to drive down a modern Interstate highway with a Model-T Ford. A while back, I outlined how to get started with a feed reader, so be sure to read that post, although it probably needs updating, as my two favorite aggregators are now Google Reader and Netvibes).

Theological diversity - part 2

It's time to get back to my ongoing (but only occasional!) series on diversity within the Church of God. So far I've examined ethnic and regional diversity, and most recently I began looking at theological diversity.

In my last post on the subject I pointed out that there is an important distinction between doctrine and theology. Doctrinally, the Church of God is quite uniform (more so than many recognize). But, theologically, we exhibit considerable diversity. To be sure, what we believe is important. A solid doctrinal foundation is essential. Nevertheless, how we interpret, express and apply those doctrines will vary from person to person, from culture to culture, and from generation to generation. That's theology.

This understanding actually fits well with the Church of God. As a holiness group that emerged out of Wesleyan pietism we have always held that faith is to be lived, not just believed. In essence, we have valued orthropraxy (i.e correct practice) over orthodoxy (i.e. correct teachings), although we recognize the importance of both. In other words, despite occasional excesses in either direction, we maintained a fairly healthy relationship between doctrine and theology.

Unfortunately, however, the liberal-fundamentalist battles of the early 20th-century influenced us to take our eyes off the ball. In the effort to uphold doctrinal integrity we unknowingly bought into rational modernism, a world-view that ultimately is at the core of both liberals and fundamentalists/evangelicals. Church of God leaders and congregations increasingly got caught up in this debate, and in the process moved away from practical holiness and toward propositional faith (an emphasis more representative of Calvinism). Doctrine quickly began to crowd out theology.

We bought into truth as purely doctrinal, using logic, rational argument and philosophy to convince people to accept correct belief. This goes against our theological DNA, where truth is in Christ and a living experience of God's presence expressed in personal, and even social, holiness. Jerry Hickson, in his 2006 Warner Press book Are You Right? Evangelicals and the Church of God, identified this shift and the resulting theological struggles we face as a movement.

What's my point in all this?

The rigid fixation on doctrine (and the resultant disregard for theological engagement) prevents us from seeing the living, dynamic nature of our faith directed by the Holy Spirit. And, as a result, makes it difficult for us to admit that theological diversity is a reality within our own movement, and in fact, is consistent with the New Testament and something to be desired.

In part 3 I will illustrate where this diversity is expressing itself today within the Church of God.

Viewpoint and "God's Blog"

Just a quick mention that the Church of God radio program, Viewpoint, is currently running a series entitled "God's Blog". In it, Jim Lyon uses the blogging metaphor (i.e. specifically the reverse order entry format) to go through Galatians, starting at the end and working backward through the letter.

I figured all of you blog fans would be interested!

(Sorry, no Viewpoint blog yet. Although, there is good news: Viewpoint is now available via podcast feeds, although it is using a frustrating and cumbersome subscription process).

Blogger: Jeffrey Frymire

From time to time I want to share my recommendations of other Church of God - related blogs. I have an extensive list of every known Church of God blog, blogger, feed and podcast on blogrolls on my own blog site, but those lists are getting so long that it is very difficult for most people to wade through them. 

 

I've mentioned Jeffrey Frymire before, as he is the author of Preaching the Story, published last year by Warner Press. I've had the pleasure to work with Jeff as a ministry colleague during my time in Central California when we served together on the Executive Council there. Last summer Jeff left his pastorate in Fresno in order to enroll in Fuller Seminary to obtain a Ph.D. in homiletics. He is a wonderful communicator, and an all around great guy!

 

His blog, The Sabbatical, is self-described as "devotional musings from a pastor making a career change". Not only can you journey with him in his new adventure, but reading his blog will provide some insightful thoughts and reflections. For example, read his latest post, "Things Are Not What They Appear to Be", a second look at our modern world view.

NO Voice - reflections

Now that we've all had some time to reflect on the announcement of the demise of ONEvoice! it's time to make a few personal comments and offer some suggestions for the future.

 

Obviously the demise of ONEvoice! is understandable considering the poor support the church-at-large has demonstrated. All of this is a further sign of how diverse the Church of God really is (I promise I will get back to that topic soon!) in that we cannot find common expression through one publication.

 

And, our world has changed at the same time. Centralized, top-down communications are losing favor everywhere and are being replaced by grass-roots communications like self-publishers, blogs, wikis, social web networks, feed-driven websites, and listserves. Even most of the other Christian periodicals out there are losing ground as well, but aren't showing it yet because they have more critical mass allowing them to survive longer. But, only survive.

 

So, what should Church of God Ministries do in light of these realities?

1. Stop trying to be the one, unified voice for the movement.

2. Recognize, celebrate and promote the diversity within the Church of God.

3. Provide networks for our diverse voices to interact with each other.

4. Harness new technologies, and integrate them well into an overall, consistent communication strategy.

 

What do you think?

 

P.S. - On a side note, I was involved in an interesting conversation last week where we analyzed the evolution of our movement magazine. We began with a clear proclamation (Gospel Trumpet), then changed emphasis to reflect the growing trend toward personal discipleship in American Christianity (Vital Christianity), and most recently we expressed the need for greater unity (ONEvoice!). The future will likely be best stated in a phrase like "Many Voices".

NO Voice

I will offer my reflections in a subsequent post, but here is important, breaking news regarding ONEvoice!

Thanks Joe Allison for sharing the news (originally left as a comment on this blog), and for your contribution toward Church of God communications.

Thanks, Lloyd, for the comments you've made about ONEvoice! in recent months, here and elsewhere. You'll soon be hearing rumors about OV, so I'd like to share an official word.
This is the text of a letter from our General Director, Ronald Duncan, which is being printed and mailed to all Church of God pastors in North America. I'm sharing it on your blog with his permission.

-- Joe Allison, Coordinator
Communications & Publishing
Church of God Ministries

Dear Pastor:
Thank you for participating in ONEvoice! magazine’s Bring It Home! subscription campaign, which ended December 31. You and other members of the General Assembly urged us to launch this magazine. You provided generous funding for it, and you have promoted it for nearly 4 years. We hoped that the subscription campaign would help ONEvoice! turn a corner toward growth.
However, the results were modest and will be offset by expirations that occur after the April-May issue. At that point, paid circulation will fall back to about 2,200 subscribers. So we have decided to end publication of ONEvoice! with the April-May issue.
We are sorry to bring you this disappointing news. However, it’s clear that few Church of God people (only about 1 in 40 households) use ONEvoice! to stay in touch with what the church is doing.
Our Executive Leadership Team and the gifted people who produce our various periodicals are considering how we can better connect with people in the Church of God. Several new communications initiatives may come out of this.
For now, we just want to thank you. Thank you for all you’ve done to support and promote ONEvoice! And pray for us as we seek God’s guidance for the next phase of our communications ministry.
In Christ,
Ronald V. Duncan, General Director

P.S. – Current subscribers to ONEvoice! will receive a refund of the unused portion of their subscriptions. They can expect to receive the refund checks no later than the end of April.

Theological diversity - part 1

Continuing on my discussion concerning diversity within the Church of God...

Previously I have examined the following realities of our diversity: ethnic and regional. Now, I want to tackle the one that is potentially most controversial: Our theological diversity.

Even to suggest that we are anything but theologically uniform can cause shivers to run through some died-in-the-wool Church of God adherents. The prospect of this being even remotely true provides more ammunition for those wanting us to beef up our arsenals with tighter doctrinal stances and explicit statements of beliefs.

Stick with me on this one. I will need a few posts to develop my argument, but hear me out before you send out the heresy police.

First, we must distinguish between doctrine and theology.

I am fairly certain that for the most part we share and express a common doctrinal basis. But, it's in the realm of theology that we really diverge. Is this merely a matter of semantics? I think not.

Doctrine literally means "teaching" and describes the core basic beliefs that we hold. Even though we have resisted (and in my opinion we should continue to resist) sacralizing these biblical convictions into a formal creed, there is a general agreement that runs fairly consistent across our movement.

But, theology builds on doctrine and reflects our interpretations and applications of these beliefs, and our worldviews behind them. It is not merely an ivory-tower, academic preoccupation. We all engage in it as we integrate faith into our lives. And, in the church preaching itself is our most common theological exercise. Certainly there is overlap between theology and doctrine, but it is the confusion of these two disciplines that results in misunderstandings among us, and which is why we do not readily acknowledge our theological diversity. We'll pick up on that in part 2.

Diversity in ONEvoice!

I want to get back to my "mini-series" on diversity in the Church of God. Before tackling my next diversity theme, I must comment on the "Statement of Diversity" under which our magazine, ONEvoice!, operates. Here's the statement as it appears in each issue:

ONEvoice! magazine celebrates the great diversity of the body of Christ as it exists in the Church of God movement. In this, the goal is to go beyond mere tokenism to true representation of the variety of regional, ethnic, international, gender, racial, congregational size, and age differences within the Church of God. The magazine's editorial staff recognizes the limitations inherent in reaching this goal. No single issue can accurately reflect the diversity of the Church of God in scope or proportion. But the goal is that, taken as a whole over time, ONEvoice! magazine will celebrate the broad spectrum of the Church of God.

Well stated.

A few reflections:

This broad spectrum approach may help explain why ONEvoice! has struggled to gain a foothold across our movement. In our highly segmented society the tendency is toward niche targeting in marketing and media. For example, take a look at the literally hundreds of magazine titles on a newsstand, or the plethora of TV channels currently available. Even Christian organizations like Focus on the Family publish a dizzying array of periodicals, each targeted to a specific audience.

The broad stroke approach of ONEvoice! does not appeal to everyone. Some want more doctrine. Others want more church news. And so on. This is one reason why a fringe publication like Reformation Witness has a faithful following.

But, is this narrowcasting tendency in the church healthy? Is it even biblical?

I would be the first acknowledge that there is a place for targeted ministry. Churches, for example, are wise to understand their giftedness and the communities in which they live in order to adjust their ministry accordingly. Reaching people according to age, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural characteristics breaks down communication barriers and is even modeled in Scripture.

But, having said all this, the church is also a new community where there is "neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female" (Galatians 3;27-28). This flies directly in the face of the growing fragmentation in our society, and it is a value and ideal that we as the Body of Christ must demonstrate in our world. Yet, far too often, in our churches we tend to parrot the divided world, keeping even the people in our own congregations from truly living out the vision of the church.

In effect, ONEvoice! is much more than just our official movement publication. It should symbolize and truly reflect the diversity that is our reality and that should be our goal within the Kingdom of God. Despite the struggle to gain acceptance, the current format of ONEvoice! is a worthy reminder of what church should be like.

I know that I have posted frequently on issues surrounding ONEvoice! Be assured that it is not only because I am a current contributor, but because its role and success is truly indicative of some larger matters confronting the Church of God today.

Good looking ONEvoice!

I have commented frequently on ONEvoice!, and not just because I am currently a contributor. I believe in the importance of such a publication, and have offered my perspective on what it will take to make it better.

I just received my Feb/Mar 2007 issue, and I must comment on the new look of the magazine that actually began a few issues ago. In the past I have been critical of the layout and design, but I think they got it right now. The publication now looks very professional and appealing. And, the content is of a high quality too ;)

I know that ONEvoice! is at a very critical stage as far as its viability is concerned. Hopefully, the recent subscription blitz along with the new look will generate greater interest in this vital tool.