The Melheimian Sabbatiblog

Home is a Church is a Home

Debbie Streicher just emailed me an insight:

"If we are arguing that the home is a church, we might also argue that the church is a home."

Play with that.

Holy Innocents and Martyrs

Yesterday was our 31st Wedding Anniversary. It's also the day of "Holy Innocents and Martyrs" on the Catholic calendar.

We're still trying to figure out which of us is which.

Yesterday was also a great day with my best friend, Arlen Nordhagen, from Denver. Arlen's a philanthropist, a Christian businessman, the VP of finance for our Faith Inkubators Foundation, and the guy who's helped keep FINK afloat during lean times. We're looking back on 2009 and trying to figure out how to be good stewards of our many blessings for 2010. The big questions for the year:

1. How do we care for the many new churches who joined in the FAITH 5 due to the 79 city tour?

2. How do we best care for the "old FINKs" who have been with us all along and use their gifts, insights, passion, stories and experience to help the new FINKs?

3. How do we grow the ministry beyond our little mainline ghetto?

4. How do we have a blast doing it?

One new piece for 2010 will be some video blogging of stories. Another will be better care of my health. Those are the only two New Years resolutions I have the hopes to make. How about you?

RICH (PS, here's a little something I'm helping He Qi do with the local food shelf)

This Christmas Morning

Here's a little Christmas present you might enjoy from me to you. It started as a stage play the moment I heard Robin Cain sing her original song in worship. I saw the whole play flash before my eyes: A woman's "Martha Stewartish" mom died on Thanksgiving, and exactly a month later she's supposed to put on perfect Christmas for her grumpy dad and fighting kids. I wrote and produced the play... in 1992.

And since some things take a little longer to gestate than others, here it is in paperback. It's a little comedy of Christmas tragedies called "This Christmas Morning."

Enjoy Robin's song, download the screenplay, read the PDF order the book. My little Christmas present to you.

I'm also experimenting with publishing at lulu.com, in case you'd like to see how they print, ship and manage things and like a paperback for your reading pleasure. Try Lulu's version  "This Christmas Morning."

I dedicated it to my mom Kathryn and my best friend Arlen's mom Marie. Christmas isn't quite the same without them.

For now, let me know what you think of it. And, if you'd like to perform the stage play next Advent as a fun fund raiser, let me know. I did it as dinner theaters with 30 people and made enough to pay for my youth worker's salary in three weeks... once upon a time.

For now, enjoy the last mad rush and don't Choke on the Tinsel!

Design Weekend

I logged 30 hours of design work in the last three days. Yesterday was 5 am to 10 pm with a break for absolutely gorgeous music at Trinity yesterday. Trying to finish the H2H update look and feel, and apply it to the future of all FINK design. Oh yeah, I still have a naked tree waiting for lights and dropping needles like an Amsterdam Aristocrat.

Blooper

I'm was working late last night on the update of Head to the Heart, and while typing a headline called:

The Gospel Overview...

I made a typo which I caught this morning.

One little letter off makes all the difference. It was an "s" where a "w" should have been.

The Gospel Overies.

Now there's a sermon title for Christmas.

Here's a shot of one of the last "FAITH 5" murals I did this fall and a note from the owner, Scot Ness in Grove City, OH:

Rich: The vision is spreading.  But I'm also coming to the realization that it is tough to be a Fink Thinker in a Funk World.  We've got families excited--doing the faith five every night and real communication and faith incubation happening.  And we've got people who don't get, don't understand it, and don't see that the current reality is bad.  (I know this isn't new--we've been fighting it for years/decades)  The good news is that the fire has started and it is going to turn into a blaze!

As for the beautiful mural: I've got our resident wood worker making a frame!  

As for the wonderful picture of a dad holding his 2 month old: There wasn't a dry eye in the room as Rich interviewed him asking of his hopes and dreams for his little girl--He and his wife have been doing the faith five for a couple of weeks now and they play the game of sharing what Brooklyn's highs and lows are (the two month old).  It helps them to stay a daily part of her life as one or the other is at work each day.

As for the picture of a family signing Joshua 1:9.  Is there anything cooler than seeing Mom and Dad as well as grandma living the Bible for their kids!

And I had to throw in a picture of my dad holding my youngest--he's the guy in red--she is the most beautiful girl you've ever seen! :)


anyway, I pray for you all often and hope your ministry is blessed!  I'm looking forward to our continued conversation as we share what is working and what isn't.  (I'm thinking I'm going to challenge our traditional service into sharing and praying for highs and lows this Sunday--Let's hope I don't get fired!

Blessings and Peace,
Scott

Quote overheard in Colorado…

  

Here's a favorite shot from the road fall road tour, plus a compilation of the best quotes overheard this fall on our Aspen FINKtanks:

Are you saved?  I’ll be damned if I’m not…

Don’t come to worship—Come! Worship!

Step back from the cliff.  Every stepping stone, every faith experience, every effort in youth doing ministry is a step back from the cliff into the forest of faith.

Christians are lucky. We have a savior.  If we mess up we won’t come back as a cricket.

If your children don’t come to you about nothing, they won’t come to you about everything.

Scott: “It’s hard to keep Rich’s friends straight.”
Rich: “Most of my friends are straight”
Scott: “The struggle is keeping them that way”

I’m only scarred of heights in the mountains
        Well, you shouldn’t be scarred of heights in the plains…

Doubt is not the opposite of faith, certainty is.

Do you want to spend your time or invest it?

(Regarding sharing the FAITH 5) The act of sharing our family secrets shifts family from been driven by our secrets to driving our family.

(For committees who do the FAITH 5 each meeting) Before you do the work of the church—do the work of the church!

Even though the disciples didn’t get it, they got after it.

I get to put the peanut butter of my low on the chocolate of God’s High.

(In referring to the blessing of children at the communion altar and the people standing behind the child receiving the blessing) “Ahhh, you got a blessing and all I get is this freakin’ wafer!”

(Sharing FAITH 5 every night) It’s not what we do; it is who we are…

If the people will lead, the leaders will follow.

You can’t go back to a place you’ve never been 

Recruiting Young Parents

Recruiting young parents from an "I'll-not-commit-in-case-there's-something-better-to-do-at-the-last-minute" generation is no easy task. An great old FINK church in Indiana is struggling and needing advice. I'll show you their note, my response, and invite you to post your ideas of what's working for you in this department:

The QUESTION

Rich,

We currently subscribe to Faith Stepping Stones.  We offer Stone 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 & 7.  (We did use Stone 8, but have gone a little different direction with our High School graduates -- Stone 8 sent us in that direction.)

Here is our dilemma.  Every parent (except 1) who has attended one of these courses has praised the value of the information and in many cases has reported they are practicing blessing their, child(ren), praying with their child(ren) etc.

Our current problem (began last year and accelerated this year) is getting parents to come to the classes.  We hold courses on Sunday mornings when a full Sunday School is available for the children (age 3 to grade 4 Sunday School -- grades 5-8 confirmation, grades 9-12 High School Bible study) and a nursery is available for children under 3.  In three cases (stone 1, 2, & 3), we had 1 parent or none at all.  We talked to parents informally, mailed a letter to all parents of children in that age range, publicized this in print media of the congregation and announced it during worship announcements.  We have solid instructors (all professional teachers in our Lutheran school teaching and use the full technological version.

I am stumped at why we have failed to attract mom's & dad's to better learn how to help their children grow in faith.

I intend to do a series of informal interviews with a sampling of parents from these lower age groups to see if I can surface the underlying dynamics.

Right now, as I look toward next year, if we cannot figure it our, I may only subscribe to stone 4, 6 & 7 where we do get participation.

I have two questions after all that set-up:
   1) Got any ideas as to what needs to happen to get parents engaged?
   2) Is it permissible under our covenant to highlight the faith practices from Faith Stepping Stones in some other way, such as: bulletin inserts, home-made video of the practices in action, etc. as means to:
      a) encourage parents to do these things, &
      b) learn more by attending the courses.

 Paul in Indiana

My Response: Hey Paul,

Quite a dilemma. You can't help them much if their seats aren't in the chairs.

It sounds like you've done a great job of assembling a leadership team, doing a lot of advertising, and making the courses (once people come) valuable. Now, it might be time to change tactics and make these more of an expectation - and less than an option. You could try it for three years and I'm guessing you'll have much better results.

To do that, you may wish to consider a couple of strategic moves:

STEPPING STONE !: I'd offer this one twice a year and make it THE baptism instruction for everyone who's had a baptism in the last three months and everyone who is planning a baptism in the next three months. When a couple comes to you with a baby to baptize, consider telling them "Great! I'd love to baptize your child. At our church we do our instruction in groups, and I need you to commit to this..." Once they enjoy the three sessions, I'd invite them to help YOU TEACH it next time, bonding the groups and getting them into ministry together. Then, when it's time for STEPPING STONE 2, you'll have a more cohesive core for the stone.
STEPPING STONE 2: If you have a good core from SS1, I'd ask them to do the recruiting for this. I'd also invite SPECIFIC people with kids that age to help you LEAD it. Some to be greaters. Some to be table hosts. Some to bring treats or, if you go all out, to help with the brunch. Personal invitations with a small request for help beats everything you can put in the bulletin, announce from the pulpit, or put in the mail. (Although personal notes are a nice touch).
STEPPING STONE 3: I'd do this on the first three weeks of your KINDIE Sunday School, and make it a big deal - and an EXPECTATIO: "Families wishing to have their children enter our Sunday School must come to the first three sessions in order to enroll your children..."

I'll blog this and see what others think.

Hang in there! It's worth it in the long run.

Rich

(So... your advice for Paul?)

Broke

I'd rather be broke when I die

and have my kids walk from my grave

rich in memories

Than be rich when I die

and have my kids walk away with

money in the bank

and a poverty of memories

What do you want for the ones you love

Who are left behind:

More money or more memories?

Invest in what you want them to have.

Today.