Ask Thank Tell - Here is a year end Ask

Here is a Giving Opportunity - Consider the Ask. Put it in your end of year newsletter or bulletin or e-news.

– News about Special Tax-Free IRA Gifts for 2015! 

For those aged 70½ or older, it is once again possible to make tax-favored charitable gifts from traditional and Roth IRA accounts. 

On December 18 Congress passed legislation retroactively extending the charitable IRA rollover for 2015 and makes this provision permanent for future years. A total of up to $100,000 can be transferred directly from traditional or Roth IRAs to one or more qualified charities such as -(enter name of your church)- free from federal income tax each year. There may also be state income tax savings. Amounts given in this way count toward required IRA minimum withdrawal amounts for the year of the gift.

To make such gifts, it is important to not withdraw funds prior to a gift, but have the gift amount distributed directly from an IRA to one or more qualified charities. For those with check writing privileges on their accounts, this may be the most efficient way to make gifts directly from an IRA. Check with us, your IRA administrator or your tax advisor for more information.

A Top Seven list for 2015

It's the end of another year, and everywhere I look I see people making Top Ten lists, Top 100 lists, Top lists lists.  Here is my top seven list of things that just seem like they should get some attention. Sorry, only seven, couldn't come up with a tenth.

1. Most influential book.  Chris Crowley's Younger Next Year and Thinner This Year are hands down the most influential books in the past year for me.  The newest edition, Younger Next Year: The Exercise program came out on December 15.  The books changed my life, helped me get with the program of exercising 6 days a week (okay so sometimes my schedule makes it more like 5 days a week) and stop eating crap (you know fried food, red meat, refined sugar & flour)  I lost 35 pounds, an inch around my neck and two inches in the waist, and got off all my cholesterol meds.

2. Favorite Album of the Year.  This had a lot of competition.  But, if I use my iTunes catalogue as a measure of what I've listened to the most, I've gotta go with Over the Rhine's newest release Barn Raising. It's a 2 CD live concert, that's a great collection of their most recent music. Over the Rhine is one of the most profoundly spiritual groups I've come to know.  But, they are subtle about it.  Perhaps a reflection of their Quaker College roots.

3. Best Movie - So here is the deal, I don't get out much to see movies.  I don't know why.  When I go, I enjoy it, but it just doesn't happen much.  So, I'm going to go with a movie I haven't seen yet, Macbeth. Why?  Cause, you just can't go wrong with Shakespeare.  Someone once said, if you've seen Shakespeare, you've seen everything.  

4. Best TV - They say it's the golden age of TV with all these shows like Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, etc.  I liked the first two seasons of House, and Lillyhammer, but by season three the storylines seemed to go into the realm of fanciful, and I lost interest.  Best drama in a Televised event, how's that for a category?  The answer for me would be last February's Super Bowl.  You can't beat that game for drama.

5. Most Significant Religious Event - The Huffington Post has their own list here.  I'm going with two events that happened on the same day.  One is a tragedy and the other is an opportunity.  On June 17th, nine people were killed in a mass shooting terrorist event in Charleston, SC.  This tragedy occured on the same day that Pope Francis released On Care for our Common Home.  His writings on Climate Change.   Both of these events connect to two big issues in our world, racism and global climate change. 

6. Biggest Surprise of the Year.  Well, it's hard to write this, but when I'm honest, I have to say, Donald Trump.  I continue to be surprised that he is leading all these polls, and getting all this free media - as if he is a legitimate candidate for President.  I never thought he'd last this long.  Maybe it's not Trump I should be surprised at, but the unrest that is in a portion of our country that would find such a candidate appealing.

7. Best Event of 2015 - Hands down.  Gotta be, the birth of my grandson.  In the words of the poet Carl Sandburg, "The birth of a child is God's opinion that the world should go on."

Photography and Ministry

8 Photography Tips to Help Tell Your Church’s Story

 As a former professional photographer, I agree with this article.  Republished from www.unseminary.com

The church has the most important message to communicate: Everyone is unfathomably loved by God. The church needs the best communication tools to convey that message. Capturing great photos is one way to achieve this goal. Through incredible storytelling, photos can pull a viewer in and showcase powerful moments. Below are some practical steps to help you tell those stories.

  • photo-story-3Take candid — not posed — photos. // Posed photos focus on how the subject looks. Candid photos focus on what the subject is doing. Prevent the comments section on your social media platforms from digressing into a back-and-forth of who looks more adorable.
  • Remember to get establishing and concluding shots. // What did it look like when people showed up? What did it look like when they left? These shots frame the event within a storyline. Without these shots, it feels like you came to the party late or left early.
  • The most natural storyline is straightforward. // It has a beginning, middle and end. This chronological approach might feel formulaic, but it works. If you can find a better structure to the three-act story, great. If not, use it.
  • Capture a range of compositions: close-up, medium and wide. Use composition to your advantage. // Take the wide shot when you have a group of deadpan teenagers clustered together on their phones. Wait for someone in that cluster to look up from his or her phone and show some emotion before zooming in for the close-up.

photo-story-2

  • Capture a range of people. // Don’t just shoot your friends or the photogenic people at an event. Capture the widest range of those present. I can often tell who my college photographers have a crush on when I review their photos. (If you’re gonna use the camera as a flirtation device, try to be subtle!)
  • Capture a range of perspectives — get under, over, behind, beside and close to your subject. // If the subject seems boring from your current perspective, change your position to make it more dynamic.
  • photo-story-4Be observant for key moments that are “loaded” with emotion, meaning, significance, surprise, etc. // Better yet, anticipate moments that are about to happen so you can position yourself well to capture them. This anticipation means you’re thinking through your upcoming shots even as you deal with your current shot. It’s a skill that can take a while to master.
  • Shoot for emotions. // Most of the photos will be used to demonstrate the life-changing power of Christ. Try to capture that power photographically. If you want to capture joy, take photos of baptisms. If you want to capture peace, take photos of a candlelight service. If you want to capture boredom, take photos of the annual church meeting.

photo-story-6

Three Ways to Show Generosity at Christmas

This post is adapted from a similar post on egiving.com


This time of year, we’re all susceptible to getting caught up in the hubbub of church events, get-togethers with family and friends, shopping, cooking, and countless other tasks. In our busyness, it’s far too easy to neglect to show the people around us what we’re celebrating in the first place: Emmanuel, God with us. So, as Advent begins, why not be intentional about sharing God’s character through acts of kindness and generosity?

After all, Christmas is the season of giving, and there’s no better place to put generosity into action than right in your own church and community. As the Apostle Paul reminds us, we should be “rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others” (1 Tim. 6:18), so let’s look a few practical ways to do that this Christmas.

1. Bless Staff with an End-of-Year Bonus

If you’re a church leader, you know that it takes a lot of dedicated people behind the scenes to keep things running smoothly—and that service often goes unacknowledged. Showing staff members that their hard work is an important part of the life of the church with a small bonus (or even something like a gift card) accompanied by a thank-you note will remind them that their work is valued and appreciated.

I've seen churches do this in a number of ways.  Yes, it can be a formal decision by the church council, where people make donations for a staff gift.  But, it's also possible for individuals in the congregation to simply give gifts directly to staff.  Gene Olson, a member of my first congregation in Brooklyn, NY, used to give me a card with $100 bill every December.  It's a nice way to practice generosity and thank your staff.

2. Set Up a Giving Tree

Help the whole congregation embrace a spirit of generosity and spread some Christmas cheer by setting up a giving tree. You can partner with a local nonprofit or community organization that will connect you with families and individuals who need food, winter clothing, or financial help. Congregation members pick a recipient to donate to off of the giving tree, and your church as a whole has the opportunity to make a difference in your community this holiday season.

3. Be Neighborly

Sometimes it’s the people we’re around the most that are easiest to overlook—that family down the street, the co-worker in the next cubicle, that cashier or barista who you see every week. This season, make an effort to show love and generosity to some of those people, and encourage others to do the same. That might look like inviting a neighbor to an event at church, asking a co-worker over for dinner, or making a plate of Christmas cookies for someone you appreciate.

Sometimes it’s the practical, tangible expressions of kindness and generosity, however small—Christ’s love extended—that do the most to soften hearts and change lives. This Christmas, let’s be givers…not only will you be blessing others, but you also might just find your own outlook becoming a little more joyful.

“The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” – Proverbs 11:25 NLT

 

- See more at: http://blog.echurchgiving.com/3-ways-to-show-generosity-in-your-church-this-christmas/?utm_source=Another%20Website&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=Sent120815&utm_content=week28&utm_campaign=Advert-LeadNet-TeachYourChurch#sthash.pgO3RX95.dpuf

Clarifications regarding the Experiment & Mission Support

OPn Feb 1, 2016, the new England Synod, along with 4 other ELCA Synods will begin a three year experiment in Mission Funding. What follows is an outline of some clarfifications about this experiment that I reviewed with our Synod Council last week.

The following is a series of statements designed to clarify, in as brief a form as possible, some understandings around the three year experiment in retaining a portion of the New England Synod financial mission support, along with related matters pertaining to Mission Development in New England.

  1.      The Experiment proposed by the Presiding Bishop’s Task Force on Mission Support and approved by the NES Synod Assembly, the Conference of Bishop and the ELCA church council.  It is a three year experiment beginning Feb 1, 2016
  2.      It is NOT  intended to be either/or experiment.  In other words, it is not a proposal that we will vote on for a permanent approach to Mission support or not.  It is designed to test ideas, learn from successes and failures.  Most likely after three years, there will be adjustments to the approach based on what we learn.
  3.      What is the experiment briefly?  For three years the New England Synod will retain $400,000 in Mission Support that it previously passed along to the ELCA churchwide.  That amount is equivalent to the amount the NES had received in the form of grants.  Therefore, there is no reduction or change to the total amount of funding.  It should be noted that the total amount has already been allocated to our 15 mission starts, so it should not be perceived that we now have an extra $400k to distribute. What is different is: who manages it?  The basic thesis we are testing is : If the funds are managed by the synod, can there be greater efficiencies, a stronger sense of ownership by NES congregations, an increase in financial support as well as improved success rates on new starts?
  4.      How does the Mission Development Fund (MDF) work?  The MDF is a fund owned and operated by the NES for the purpose of starting new congregations.  Since all new starts in the ELCA are a funding partnership of both the synod and the churchwide organization, the MDF serves as the funding source for the New England portion.  For a new ministry to be eligible for ELCA funding, the synod must provide some portion of funding.  The MDF has been and remains the only  source of that funding.
  5.      What is the current status of the MDF?  Based on calculations done by our treasurer, the MDF is expending funds at an annual rate of $280,000 per year for the 15 new mission starts.  At the current rate of expenditure, it is estimated the fund will be exhausted in three years.
  6.      Is the fact that we are participating in the experiment the cause for the MDF to be exhausted?  No, the reason the fund is on its rate of expenditure is based on actions that were approved before the experiment was approved.  In other words, this would be happening regardless of our participation in the experiment.
  7.     Can additional new starts be considered for funding by the MDF at this time?  Several factors contribute to answering this question:  A.  If we were to fund any additional new starts, it would mean that the rate of expenditure from the MDF would increase thus shortening the life of the fund for all 15 current new starts.  B.  Since the NES already receives more funds from the churchwide expression of the ELCA than 85% of all ELCA synods, we currently believe that as a fairness issue to other synods, we have a responsibility to be careful stewards.  i.e. Not greedy.  C.  We have among the most total number of new starts of any synods across the ELCA.  The current focus is on insuring that these new starts have the resources to become long term sustainable ministries. 
  8.     If the synod had not approved the experiment, would anything in # 7 change?  No.  This was going to be the case regardless of our participation in the experiment.   The simple reality of a maximum number of starts, combined with decreasing funds in the MDF would have the same result.  In fact, the trajectory of the MDF’s funding trend has been pointed out in numerous synod council meetings over the past several years.
  9.     How can the MDF of the New England Synod be increased?  In the past, the primary source of the funds has been from the sale of church buildings, which congregations made legacy gifts to the MDF for the purpose of planting new congregations.  Additional sources of donations have been gifts from congregations and individuals.  The fund is open to receive donations/legacy gifts from congregations or individuals.

10.  Is there a point in the future when additional new starts will be considered?  Yes, but stating a specific date is difficult to answer.  This question assumes that there is only one way to start a new mission, and that is through funding by the MDF and the ELCA.  Could not an existing church or cluster of churches and dedicated individuals come together to launch a new ministry? 

11.  How long does it take for a new start to reach the point where it is sustainable?  This depends on the kind of ministry you are talking about.  Ministries in certain communities may take longer than others.  Some recent examples will give you an idea.  Sanctuary in Marshfield, MA became a congregation of the ELCA in May 2015.  It’s Pastor Developer Mark Huber, began in 2009.  That’s six years, and the church benefited from a partnership with the Methodist church.  This should be considered the minimum time line it takes to establish a traditional congregation.  In addition, prior to the 2009 start, five congregations had planning conversations for at least five years.  That brings the total length of time to 11 years.  Just for perspective.  This timeline, and the total investment of dollars raises an important question about this model for church planting.  Part of the experiment will be a time to explore new approaches to initiating new ministries.

 

Written by Bishop James Hazelwood, with Synod staff

Received by the New England Synod Council, November 21, 2015

Linus

We said goodbye to our 13 year old energetic puppy dog today. I'm never sure how he got the name Linus. I think I wanted to call him Hoover, cause he was such a vacuum cleaner - eat anything. He was full of energy, and often got into lots of trouble. Sad to say goodbye. Here is a video from a couple years ago.

Guest Blog Post by Carey Nieuwhof

10 Very Possible Reasons Your Church Isn’t Growing by Carey Nieuwhof

So with that in mind, here’s a list of ten things that might be holding your church back from realizing the potential of its mission. We’re often the last to see what so many others see, and once we see it, we can deal with it. Progress often ensues.

Here are ten very possible reasons your church isn’t growing:

1. You’re in Conflict

Ever been in someone’s home as a guest only to have your hosts start to argue with each other? It doesn’t happen that often, but the few times it’s happened when I’ve been around have made me want to run out the door.

Why would church be any different? If you’re constantly bickering and arguing, why would any new people stay? It’s not that Christians shouldn’t have conflict, but we should be the best in the world at handling it. The New Testament is a virtual manual of conflict resolution, but so many of us prefer gossip, non-confrontation and dealing with anyone but the party involved.

Growing churches handle conflict biblically, humbling and healthily. 

2. You’re more in love with the past than you are with the future.

This can be true of churches that are in love with tradition and churches that are have had some amazing days recently. When leaders become more in love with the past than they are with the future, the end is near.

If your church is a museum to 1950 or even 2012, the likelihood of reaching the next generation diminishes with every passing day.

3. You’re not that awesome to be around.

Fake. Judgmental. Hypocritical. Angry. Narrow. Unthinking. Unkind. Boring.

Those are adjectives often used to describe Christians, and sometimes they have their basis in truth. There are certain people who are energizing to be around. Unfortunately, too many Christians today don’t fit that description. Jesus was mesmerizing. Paul caused conflict for sure, but he had many deep relationships and incredible influence. The early church was known for compassion and generosity.

If people truly don’t want to be around you, don’t let the reason be because you haven’t let Christ reshape your character or social skills.

4. You’re focused on yourself.

Too many churches are focused on their wants, preferences and perceived needs. They are self-focused organizations and self-focused people. It should be no surprise that outsiders never feel welcomed, valued or included.

If you want to reach people, you can’t be self focused. After all, a life devoted to self ultimately leaves you alone.

5. You think culture is the enemy.

If all you ever are is angry at the culture around us, how are you going to reach people in that culture? Christians who consistently expect non-Christians to act like Christians baffle me (I wrote about that here.)

If you treat your unchurched neighbour like an enemy, why would he ever want to be your friend?

6. You’re afraid to risk what is for the sake of what might be.

Let’s face it, at least you’ve got something going for you. You’re paying the bills. You at least have X amount of people.

And if you’ve had any modicum of success recently, you’re going to be hesitant to risk what is for what could be. The greatest enemy of your future success is your current success.

When you’re perpetually afraid to risk what is for the sake of what might be, you might as well cue the funeral music now. 

7. You can’t make a decision.

Governance will become a major issue for future churches. When your decision making is rooted in complex bureaucracy or congregational approval for every major change, it makes decision making difficult and courageous change almost impossible.

To get a glimpse of the kind of constitutional set up effective churches will need in the future, don’t miss Jeff Brodie’s awesome post on what every church constitution needs. 

8. You talk more than you act.

Most church leaders love to think and love to debate issues.

Effective leaders add one more component. They act.

Most church leaders I know overthink and underact. If you acted on even a few more of your good ideas, you could possible be twice as effective in a very short timeframe.

9. You don’t think there’s anything wrong with your church.

I still run into a surprising amount of leaders and church members who love their church but can’t figure out why anyone else does.

Well, those churches are on their way to soon having not much more than a small club for the already convinced.

10. You’re more focused on growth than you are on God.

Some leaders get so jacked up about growth that they forget it’s about God and his mission. This is just a danger every motivated leader needs to keep in mind.

We’re leading people to Jesus, not to ourselves or our awesome church. Keeping the focus on Christ ensure genuine life-change happens and lasts.

These are 10 things I see holding our churches back.

 

Carey Nieuwhof is a Pastor and blogs at http://careynieuwhof.com

Why the letter with Cardinal Sean O'Malley is a big deal

The Boston Globe is covering it - Click here

WBUR called to do an interview 

Lutheran Bishops around the US and Canada are offering thumbs up on Twitter.

What's the big deal?

For many months, the Lutheran - Roman Catholic Dialogue in New England has been working to find a way to Observe the upcoming 500th anniversary of the Reformation.  Pastor Ted Asta deserves a lot of credited, along with pastor Andrew Heissen.  The desire was to do something beyond the typical, "yippee, look what happened 500 years ago" party and worship service.  While we may do that, and hope to do that, we wanted something more.

Pope Francis has reopened the doors of ecumenical and interfaith dialogue.  That has created an opportunity for Lutherans and Roman Catholics to re-engage.

I am particularly pleased that what is bringing us together is our common interest in our common home - planet earth.  The Pope's encyclical, while it has no authoritative voice for Lutherans, does give tremendous insight from a biblical and theological framework.  I would encourage Lutheran congregations to engage in discussions holding the Pope's book in one hand, and the ELCA statement on Creation in the other.  That would be a fascinating discussion.  Look at our Synod website and it's resources.

I would also hope that some of our congregations engage in actions such as Solar panels for their church buildings, efforts at being more 'green' (can we get rid of the styrafoam cups?) and pressuring elected officials to take action, and encouraging scientists, engineers and inventors to come up with ways to address this phenomenon.

I could and will be saying more about this new reformation.

 

Certain Failure

From author Set Godin

Certain failure

Last night, a comedian tried out some new material, and someone in the front row didn't laugh.

Last week, I put up a post with a new idea in it, and thousands of people who read it didn't retweet or share it.

Last year, someone ran for office and didn't get every single vote cast.

Failure! Certain failure.

Of course your next project isn't going to delight everyone. That's impossible. It's certain that for some people, your project is going to be a failure.

At the same time, it's also quite unlikely that your project will please no one.

So now, we can agree that it's all on a spectrum, and that success and failure are merely localized generalizations.

Once you realize that failure is certain, it's a lot easier to focus on impact instead.

Friends of St. John by the Gas Station

Today, I attended the workshop presented by "Sacred Spaces".  This is a new initiative we in New England are starting in partnership with Partners for Sacred Spaces. The workshop was an initial description of how a nine month planning process for congregations to plan to connect their major asset (the building) with needs in the community, along with how to fund it.  Good stuff.  We;ve got 8 congregations signed up.  If you are interested, let me know ASAP.  You can learn more at this link to learn more about New Dollars/New partners.

But, I want to share with you one small idea.  Start a "Friends of ________".  This could be a group of people who are not members, but value what you do.  An example would be a Friends of you Preschool.  Potential members are all the families who send their kids, or used to send their kids.  You can start a newsletter to them, eventually ask them for support.  If you are a New England Synod congregation, contact me and I can describe how this could work.  

In the meantime, check out the links above.

Complaints about the Minister

As a bishop, one of the concerns I hear about from people in congregations falls into the category of complaints about their pastor.  Oh, I hear complaints about me as well, my decisions, my dress code, my height, my theology, my progressiveness, my conservatism.  But, this colum is about complaints about the minister.  

Whenever, I hear about someone complaining about their pastor, I tend to listen to the way they phrase the complaints, as opposed to the content.  For instance, if I get an email, phone call or letter and the language is all about how horrible the pastor is, with no reference to other factors, I wonder if the author has really taken the time to be a thoughtful and helpful participant in resolving differences.  In other words, if it'sall you language, I tend to be suspicious.  On the other hand, if the complaint is rooted in some "I" language, I tend to pay attention.  As an example, "You know, it's been a stressful time for our community, and I believe our pastor really cares about us, it's just that I notice s/he tends to...."   That's a very different form of communication, than "you know Bishop, this pastor has never done anything right in his/her ministry...ever."  My response is typically along the lines of "really, never done anything right?  Ever?"

All this reminds me of a chart from Ed Friedman's classic book on congregational life Generation to Generation.  The chart is below, and I've left it large so you can print it out.  Ed's main point is that all of the complaints that have ever been lodged against the clergy can be found on this chart.  Maybe if someone works hard enough, they could try to find something that is not on the chart.  Rarely is the complaint have anything to do with the content. 99.9999999 times out of 100, it's about unresolved conflicts in either a) the family of the complainer  b) the family of the congregation as a whole.

How many times have I been attacked for something I never said in a sermon?  Let me count the ways.

Now having said that, it's equally important for the parish pastor to recognize that a third and important factor plays into this as well, and that is c) our own unresolved matters from our family of origin.  That's a topic for another post.  

For now, spend some time studying this chart, and then listen to the complaints people say.  I bet it fits on the chart.

Does your church need an Interim Pastor?

Signs Your Church may benefit from an Interim Pastor

Originally by Lavern Brown, (online at pastors.com)  edited for ELCA congregations by Bishop James Hazelwood 

One of the questions I am often asked following the announcement of the departure or retirement by their pastor is as follows:

“Should we rush into finding a new pastor right away or should we have someone come and help us figure out what’s best for us?” 

My answer is “it depends.”  I do believe there are certain situations when I would encourage a congregation to consider a trained intentional interim, especially if the church meets any of these criteria: 

1  The pastor is leaving after a lengthy tenure (experts differ over “lengthy tenure”, with figures from 8 to 25 years).

2  The church churns its pastors (a new one is called every few years).

3  The pastor leaves under duress (forced out) or due to inappropriate behavior or misconduct.

4  The church’s leaders can’t identify or agree on the church’s mission.

5  It has been three years since the last ministry evaluation (everything is reviewed for “mission fit” and amended as needed).

6  It is a “commuter church” (members are very different from those who live near the church).

7  Attendance has plateaued or declining (people coming in offset those who leave).

8  The church faces significant financial challenges. 

Any church entering the transition between permanent pastors should pay careful and prayerful attention to these signs. If not there is a danger the leadership might simply set the congregation of a repeating pattern.  While there are no guarantees in life, except death and taxes, a trained and qualified interim pastor can be a very helpful option for congregations in transition. 

How do we do Evangelism?

Thom Rainer has some ideas in his latest email update.  He writes:

We hear from churches all over the country about how God is working in their churches and how they are seeing people come to new life in Christ. So on today’s episode, we discuss nine relational evangelism ideas that are working in churches.

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

  • The easiest way to connect with a non-Christian is over a meal.
  • I do not understand why we do not pray for evangelistic opportunities more.
  • We have to be intentional about developing relationships with non-Christians.
  • Non-Christians are more open to coming to a Christmas Eve service than any other time of the year.
  • If you’re not doing a Christmas Eve service, you’re missing a great opportunity.
  • Align your church programs to intentionally create evangelistic opportunities.

The nine relational evangelism ideas that work are:

  1. Partner with a Christian student group on a local college campus and host a late night coffee/study session during finals week
  2. Encourage members to have a meal a week with an unchurched family
  3. Frequent the same coffeeshop/restaurant and develop relationships
  4. Go to the same non-Christian barber/stylist
  5. Pray for opportunities each day to develop relationship with non-Christians
  6. Join an organization to connect with non-Christians
  7. Develop meaningful relationships with your non-Christian co-workers
  8. Gift Christmas gifts (like baked goods) to your neighbors
  9. Teach in an ESL class