OPEN OUR EYES, LORD:

CHANGING FROM MEMBERSHIP TO

DISCIPLESHIP

Rev. Dr. Rick Rouse

A MIRACLE OF SIGHT: JOHN 9

CHANGE AND TRANSFORMATION

“If any one is in Christ, they are a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” --2 Cor. 5:17-18

“Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” --Romans 12:2

CHANGE OR DIE?Average lifespan of a congregation

is 20 years. If a congregation does not re-invent itself—and renew its sense of mission and purpose—it will begin to die.

MOSES: CHOOSE LIFE OR DEATHDEUTERONOMY 30:19

A TALE OF TWO CHURCHES

16%

34%

34%

16%

DIFFERENT RESPONSES TO CHANGE

2.5% Innovators & 13.5% Early Adapters

Early Majority

Late Majority

13.5% Laggards & 2.5% antagonists

TABLE REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. Why do you think change is so hard for many of us and our congregations?

2. As you think about the story of two churches, which one do you think is most like your congregation?

3. What do you think about the different responses to change? Is there a way to keep the 16% on either side of the continuum?

ELCA IS AN AGING CHURCH Average Age is 56+ (US average 38) 20% fewer confirmations in past 10

yrs 65% Builders and 35% Baby Boomers

attend a house of worship* Yet only 18% Gen Xers and 4%

Millennials attend**Denominational Average (George Gallup)

IMPRESSIONS OF UNDER 40 CROWD:

1. The church is an organized religion with a political agenda.

2. The church is judgmental and negative.

3. The church is dominated by males and oppressive to females.

4. The church is homophobic.5. The church arrogantly claims all

other religions are wrong.6. The church is full of

fundamentalists who take whole Bible literally.

PEW: “Portrait of Generation Next”

BELIEFS OF UNAFFILIATED (NONES) Religious people are hypocritical,

judgmental and insincere. Religions are partly true, but none are

completely true. Religious organizations are too focused on

rules, not spirituality. Religious leaders want money and power. Religious people are anti-science.

Kenneth W. Inskeep, Research and Evaluation, ELCA, 2012.

12

RELIGIOUSNESS DESCRIPTION BY GROUP OF GENERAL POPULATION

Source: General Social Survey, National Opinion Research Center, 2008.Prepared by Research and Evaluation, ELCA.

40%

34%

21%

5%

44%

9%

59%

5%7% 6%

47%

41%41%

23%

12%

29%

19%

13%

23% 24%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

I follow a religion and considermyself to be a spiritual personinterested in the sacred and

the supernatural

I follow a religion but don'tconsider myself to be a

spiritual person interested inthe sacred and the

supernatural

I don't follow a religion butconsider myself to be a

spiritual person interested inthe sacred and the

supernatural

I don't follow a religion anddon't consider myself to be aspiritual person interested in

the sacred and thesupernatural

CatholicMainline

Conservative EvangelicalNone

General Population

WHAT PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR

1. A sense of community (belonging).2. Having a meta story that anchors

their lives.3. Service: want to make a difference

in their community. (Gallup)

THREE KEY LISTENINGS

1. Listen to God: Where is God opening doors for your church?

2. Listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying through your members.

3. Listen to the cries of your neighborhood.

LUTHER, GRACE, AND DISCIPLESHIP

“We are not saved by

good works, but in order to do good works. In response to God’s grace in Christ, we are compelled to care for our neighbor in need.”

AMAZING GRACE LUTHERAN: A TURN-AROUND CHURCH

CLAIMING A CONGREGATION’S MISSIONAL FUTURE

1. Develop a vision for mission. 2. Build ownership for the vision. 3. Teach Biblical stewardship as

one of the spiritual disciplines. 4. Move congregation from a

theology of scarcity to a theology of abundance.

5. Help congregation release the bounty of their resources for ministry.

THE GREAT RUMMAGE SALE

•A new, more vital form of Christianity does begin to emerge.•The organized expression of Christianity which up to now has been the dominate one is reconstituted into a more pure, less fossilized expression of its former self.•Every time established Christianity has broken open, faith has spread dramatically into new geographic & demographic areas.

THE CHURCH WE WANT TO BE We want to be a church that belongs to Christ

with a place for everyone. We want to be a church whose unity is in Jesus,

who gathers us around word and water, wine and bread.

We want to be a church that believes Jesus is God’s “yes” to us and that our lives can be a “yes” to others.

We want to be a church that believes God is calling us into the world--together a church that rolls up its sleeves and gets to work (restoring and reconciling communities).

Kenneth W. Inskeep, Research and Evaluation, ELCA, 2012.

THE CHURCH WE WANT TO BE (CONT.)

We want to be a church that is a catalyst, convener and bridge builder.

We want to be a church that is energized by lively engagement in our faith and life (continually striving for a deeper understanding of what the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ means for the world.)

We want to be a church that is deeply rooted and always being made new.

Kenneth W. Inskeep, Research and Evaluation, ELCA, 2012.

JEREMIAH 29:11 “The plans I have for you,” says the Lord, “are not for your harm but well-being. To give you a future with hope.”