Here’s an idea for church leaders:
When it’s time to evaluate what’s working and what’s not, and what might need to change in your ministry…
Instead of asking which programs are “working” (which typically means the ones that are well-attended), try asking this instead: What practices are forming us into a community that can pay attention to and participate in God’s mission?
The difference between thinking in terms of “programs” and “practices” is more than semantic.
- We offer programs for people to consume (usually by simply “showing up”), but
- With practices, we invite people to, well, practice them!
A program is just something we can only really attend or support, and it doesn’t have much formative power. A practice is something we do together that shapes and forms us as a community.
What if every ministry at your church needed to be filtered through this lens of “practices that form us to pay attention to and participate in God’s kingdom”? If the ministry or church activity doesn’t lead us into that, we stop dong it.
It might change a lot of what you do. It could also change a lot about how you do what you do.
Ben, this goes along with a thought that has been rolling through my mind a lot lately. The primary prefix of our culture is ‘PRO-‘ as in program, project, progress. The most efficient way to make PROgress on a PROject is to find a PRO to offer a PROgram. It’s all about moving from here to there as efficiently as possible. The primary prefix of the Kingdom of God is ‘RE-‘ as in RElationship, REvisit, REmember, REcommit, REspond. In the Kingdom of God life is about circling back around staying connected to God, and each other. Spiritual practices are about circling back regularly to reconnect with God and each other. Thanks for your insight! I really appreciate you and the work you are doing.
That’s a great insight, Steve. Reminds me to of a thought I saw recently: we aren’t called to “build” or “expand” the kingdom. We are called to receive it, enter it. It’s always a response… consenting rather than controlling.
Ben, the congregation I attend was formed just over 20 years ago. I heard recently from a founding member that, in the early days, everyone was inviting others to join them, but now that person is embarrassed to invite others. When I asked why, they replied that in the early days, they KNEW they hadn’t figured everything out yet, that things were rough around the edges, but they invited others to join them to be part of making it something more. Today, after 20 years, that person thinks we should have everything running smoothly now, and is embarrassed that they aren’t, so no inviting.
Your article reminded me of this story. Somewhere along the way, we switched to believing that Programs had to be well-executed for people to join, but in early days, when people really WERE joining, it’s because they were invited into the brokenness, to transform and be transformed by it.
Spot on, Ben. Love your discernment.
Thanks for sharing that, Chris – I think you’re on to something there: the shame of “not having it together” when we think we should.
I think the reason this is difficult is because our imagination has been dominated by a programatic response for decades. If I were sitting in a meeting trying to steer the conversation to a practice direction, what kinds of things do you think would be helpful to discuss? Bonus points if it could help with student ministry?
Ha! Great question, Cameron. I might start by asking questions about what we’re really ultimately trying to DO here… a programmatic mindset makes us content with program attendance, but it’s worth asking the question further down the line… which is “What are we hoping this program will DO?” and then, “Is it actually doing that?” and then perhaps… “What if we tried something different instead?”
Hi Ben, thanks for a very thought-provoking, erm… thought! It’s a *very* different way of thinking about doing church, and one that I think is closer to what Jesus was doing. The program (if any) is subservient to the practice, which is subservient to the ultimate goal: loving God, loving people.
However, having being provoked into the thought, I’m finding it difficult to figure out some tangible next steps. Curious if there are any practices you, erm … practice, at The Table that you would share as examples?
thanks
Yes! Great idea – here are a few of our practices: https://www.thetableindy.org/practices/