Transmissions, Toledo & Turf Wars II

I'm on the road in a different city each week for the first quarter of 2007, listening to Christian Educaiton directors across the church. I am finding that the majority are passionate, frustrated, under appreciated and close to burn - out. They know that information is simply a sub-set of faith formation. They know that Christian education is foundational to every other ministry of the church, and that all of the ministries of the church need to be on board if there are to be systemic solutions to the systemic problems in Christian education. (Lack of volunteers, lack of parental support, and - sadly - lack of pastoral support). They know that the solutions to their problems won't come if they aren't allowed to make changes in the rest of the programs of the church. They also have heard, "That's not your area" enough to know that they're fighting a turf war everytime they suggest systemic solutions to the systems' problems.

1.  Just let a Christian Education director approach the worship team and say, "I need to have the children singing and signing their Bible Songs twice a month, and I need their art in the powerpoints during the offering every Sunday."

2. Just let them tell the pastor - "I want children to be doing the children's sermons from now on."

3. Just let the confirmation teacher tell the Sunday School people, "I want the kids to know this, this and this before they enter confirmation and I need you to have them equipped by the time they get to me at this age..."

4. Just let the family ministry director tell the pastor, "These are the messages I need parents to hear twenty times next year... from the pulpit"

5. Just let them tell the pastor, "I need you down in the fellowship hall for ten minutes 30 times next year" and "I need that group of 9 adults who hog the largest teaching space in the church to move to a smaller room so I can use it for the kids who out-number them six to one."

Just let anyone who thinks systemically step out of their role for a moment and say, "We need a unified plan that grows a family from baptism day to graduation day and beyond" and "this plan will integrate and impact all of the key things we do here - worship, education, evangelism, stewardship, music, fellowship and service."

They will be told to go back to the basement, close the door, and stay out of other peoples' areas and turf.

And the Jeep Wrangler build on the Volvo body with the Pinto engine will continue to roll down the line to the next stop, and the next, and the next. And the child who isn't incubated by parents every night will show up at a Sunday School system that doesn't integrate what it's teaching with the home, the the home won't be reinforced and challenged in the pulpit, and the kid will go on down the line to a confirmaiton program that doesn't teach them how to be a living cell in the body of Christ. And the confirmaiton program will give way to a senior high ministry that doesn't call the kids back to teach and role-model the faith to their little brothers and sisters. And the non-integrated church will lose the bulk of their kids at confirmaiton, and finally run out of money and close.

The mainline church has systems problems. We'd better get systemic with our answers.

And for Christ's sake, we'd better start planning and talking and integrating.

For Christ's sake. And for our own.

Comments

[Trogdor]

Dude,

love it.

The more we play at politics in the church the less we actually have time to grow people.

JZ.

p.s. might start refering to your blog alot more on asimplechristian.com. With your permission.