JOHN MARK MINISTRIES

Seminars, counseling & consulting services for pastors, ex-pastors, & church leaders

Director: Rowland Croucher

Email: [email protected]   Website:  http://jmm.org.au/  

This report was commissioned by St. Martin ¢â‚¬â„¢s Church, Collingwood, Melbourne. Here’s an amended version of the congregational report (amended for public consumption without some of the  ¢â‚¬Ëœloving criticisms ¢â‚¬â„¢ I ¢â‚¬â„¢ve put in the original, which more appropriately belong  ¢â‚¬Ëœin house ¢â‚¬â„¢).

ST MARTINS December 2012: a Pot-Pourri of Responses and Suggestions.

It ¢â‚¬â„¢s 3.30 am. It ¢â‚¬â„¢s very quiet here (except for the hoot of my owl-friend) at Tarrawarra Abbey ¢â‚¬â„¢s retreat-cottage ( ¢â‚¬ ¦in the beautiful green pastures between Yarra Glen and Healesville 50 km outside  ¢â‚¬Ëœthe world ¢â‚¬â„¢s most liveable city ¢â‚¬â„¢, Melbourne).   I have the luxury of choosing to be awake this early. But I ¢â‚¬â„¢m aware that for some of my St Martins friends right now it ¢â‚¬â„¢s a  ¢â‚¬ËœGod-forsaken ¢â‚¬â„¢ hour, as they battle demons of ill-health (physical and/or mental/emotional), loneliness, relationships issues, poverty (add your own adjective),  ¢â‚¬Ëœprincipalities and powers ¢â‚¬â„¢, you-name-it.

The past seven months as a  ¢â‚¬Ëœparticipant observer ¢â‚¬â„¢ at St Martins Collingwood have been a very rich experience. I ¢â‚¬â„¢m aware that it ¢â‚¬â„¢s all-too-short a time to get a handle on some of the community ¢â‚¬â„¢s complexities. No other church (of the 700 or so I ¢â‚¬â„¢ve visited over 50+ years) is quite like it. Feel free to talk back to me about these observations/suggestions (email, not phone please: [email protected]). They are the product of prayerful discernment after

• 100+ hours of focussed confidential listening to 55+ St Martins leaders and others, individuals and couples
• reading about 750 pages of paper (including John Smith ¢â‚¬â„¢s dissertation – more about that later  ¢â‚¬“ and a 42-page Constitution. That  ¢â‚¬Ëœ42 ¢â‚¬â„¢ is not a misprint!)
• attendance at most Sunday worship services, and
• a dozen or so meetings with pastors, elders, deacons and other groups.

Again, please note; there ¢â‚¬â„¢s an  ¢â‚¬Ëœinterim ¢â‚¬â„¢ flavor to all this. It ¢â‚¬â„¢s nowhere near the last word.

This report is for general circulation. I ¢â‚¬â„¢ve added some extra paragraphs for Elders/ Deacons/Pastors ¢â‚¬â„¢ eyes only; and also two pages of confidential stuff for John and Glena: they can share that with whoever they wish. (The latter two sections are not included here, for obvious reasons).

The following is offered with my deep love and esteem for you all, and especially Shirley, Cath, John and Glena, as an attempt to understand the dynamics of St Martins’ leadership situation generally, together with a few tentative suggestions for a way forward. (My brief is limited to St Martins Collingwood, though I ¢â‚¬â„¢ve really enjoyed some interactions with Marshall Smith and the Lilydale mob, God ¢â‚¬â„¢s Squad members, pastors from Truth and Liberation Concern, Bayswater, and some from Concern Australia).  

(The owl has stopped hooting, and his place has been taken by the magpies ¢â‚¬â„¢ chorus).     

ETHOS                                                       How do people describe St Martins?

• From my notes:  ¢â‚¬Ëœchaotic ¢â‚¬â„¢,  ¢â‚¬Ëœinclusive ¢â‚¬â„¢,  ¢â‚¬Ëœmulti-cultural ¢â‚¬â„¢;  ¢â‚¬Ëœdiverse ¢â‚¬â„¢ on just about every spectrum: socio-economic (from  ¢â‚¬Ëœsleeping rough ¢â‚¬â„¢ to a few with million-dollar  homes), theological (all the way from conservative to radical), DSG (diverse sexuality/             gender: I can name 20-plus LGBT ¢â‚¬â„¢s), academic (some can ¢â‚¬â„¢t read; a few have doctorates), partnerships – including married/divorced/single/remarried etc.

• The CCCCC Constitution ¢â‚¬â„¢s  ¢â‚¬ËœSchedule 1 ¢â‚¬â„¢ has xviii   idealized  ¢â‚¬Ëœdescriptors ¢â‚¬â„¢ ranging from Evangelical, Evangelistic, Incarnational, Prophetic, Ecumenical, Radical ¢â‚¬ ¦through to Social, Multicultural, Family Church ¢â‚¬ ¦

• The Collingwood pastors are exceptional people. I ¢â‚¬â„¢m in awe of Shirley ¢â‚¬â„¢s pastoral-care-at-all-hours empathy, Cath ¢â‚¬â„¢s intellect, John and Glena ¢â‚¬â„¢s passion ¢â‚¬ ¦  

• There’s a core of very faithful people ( ¢â‚¬Ëœchampions ¢â‚¬â„¢) who serve tirelessly, eg. as Sunday School teachers, organizers of this and that (like our beautiful Elizabeth), etc.     Do you know who sets up the seating, prepares the communion elements, coffee, refreshments etc.?

• The Sunday morning services are refreshing  ¢â‚¬“ sometimes unpredictable, but informed by the wisdom-of-the-ages in terms of liturgy, lectionary, eucharist etc.  

• The preaching is of a high standard  ¢â‚¬“ whether it ¢â‚¬â„¢s by Cath or Shirley or John, Brother Patrick or Keith Dyer, Anne or Jess, a couple of gifted poets, and others ¢â‚¬ ¦   There ¢â‚¬â„¢s wisdom in healthy churches providing  ¢â‚¬Ëœpreaching opportunities ¢â‚¬â„¢ for its members outside the Sunday services before offering the pulpit ¢â‚¬ ¦             Interviewing people who tell us what God is doing in their lives is another form of  ¢â‚¬Ëœpreaching ¢â‚¬â„¢ ¢â‚¬ ¦

• The music is brilliant: with a unique flavour brought by each of the half-dozen talented groups  ¢â‚¬“ spirituals, pop, contemplative, gospel ¢â‚¬ ¦   There ¢â‚¬â„¢s value in paying someone for half a day (or more as churches grow) to coordinate all this.  There ¢â‚¬â„¢s also value in having quality  ¢â‚¬Ëœmusical worship ¢â‚¬â„¢ from outside individuals and groups ¢â‚¬ ¦

(Speaking of music, I ¢â‚¬â„¢m now listening to couple of blue fairy wrens)  

•  ¢â‚¬ËœWe come from many postcodes, our Sunday attendance is sometimes erratic, and except for the Church Camp we don ¢â‚¬â„¢t often picnic/play together, which is a pity ¢â‚¬â„¢.

Developing a sense of community is important, when we don ¢â‚¬â„¢t meet apart from church services.   How about a couple of church picnics each year in addition to the church camp? BTW The Constitution (p. 4, twice) says a  ¢â‚¬Ëœmember ¢â‚¬â„¢ is expected to be a 75% attender!                                                                       What would a Venn diagram of our regulars ¢â‚¬â„¢ meaningful interactions with others look like?

• Community ministries  ¢â‚¬“ too many to name  ¢â‚¬“ reach out every day (and sometimes nights) to  ¢â‚¬Ëœthe least, the last and the lost ¢â‚¬â„¢, to the marginalized, the bereaved, the hurting, of all faiths or none ¢â‚¬ ¦ Livewires, to name just one, is brilliant ¢â‚¬ ¦

• What else? Perhaps you/your group could add some others ¢â‚¬ ¦

OK. They ¢â‚¬â„¢re some of the strengths: what about weaknesses/ challenges?  

As a church health consultant/diagnostician, I could list 50 items.   My role in all this is not to  ¢â‚¬Ëœweep or laugh or blame ¢â‚¬â„¢ but to understand. The following are offered in the spirit of the apostolic admonition to  ¢â‚¬Ëœspeak the truth with love ¢â‚¬â„¢. They ¢â‚¬â„¢re not in any particular order.

•  ¢â‚¬ËœThere used to be standing room only at our services. Where have all those people gone? Our church community has been haemorrhaging for years. Do we actually know why we ¢â‚¬â„¢re losing people? ¢â‚¬â„¢ I ¢â‚¬â„¢ve heard that many times  ¢â‚¬“ from some of the  ¢â‚¬Ëœold-timers ¢â‚¬â„¢ especially. One theory says we ¢â‚¬â„¢re a  ¢â‚¬ËœWay-station ¢â‚¬â„¢, sending people out as ambassadors to other places. Perhaps true in some cases, but many have actually left disappointed/ disgruntled, and may not have linked up with a Christian community anywhere ¢â‚¬ ¦

• Another negative:  ¢â‚¬ËœWe ¢â‚¬â„¢re famous for being part of a movement that has an unfortunate history of splits and divisions. ¢â‚¬â„¢ Why is that? Some good insights from John ¢â‚¬â„¢s   dissertation: ‘A discouraging proportion of the Movements [birthed/inspired by the broader Jesus Movement] failed to survive the transfer of leadership power… because of internal conflict over dysfunctional leadership.’ [486] ‘Smith (Calvary Chapel) made maintenance of his leaders a top priority from the earliest days’. [487] ‘Visionaries [who] inspire people movements are not always adept at maintaining them’. [507].   The dissertation has some rich material on Weber’s/Wallace’s expositions of the ‘assets and deficits of charismatic leadership’. [505].

• Discipline/Accountability: There ¢â‚¬â„¢s a marvelously haphazard approach at St Martin ¢â‚¬â„¢s Sundays in terms of when-we-arrive, disciplined financial stewardship, worship-by-wandering-around, vanishing toilet-paper, etc.   What else?

How much do we know about our people ¢â‚¬â„¢s relationship with God? How free are we to talk about our spiritual lives? What sort of accountability/spiritual friendships do we encourage?

• Re financial stewardship: I haven ¢â‚¬â„¢t closely studied the figures, but I ¢â‚¬â„¢m pretty sure that the earning-to-giving ratio for most of us could improve. The pastors are the most poorly-paid I ¢â‚¬â„¢ve come across recently (except for a few church start-ups).  ¢â‚¬ËœPay peanuts and you get monkeys ¢â‚¬â„¢ doesn ¢â‚¬â„¢t apply here, but you get what I mean ¢â‚¬ ¦

• Questions, questions ¢â‚¬ ¦ This was raised at the last Members ¢â‚¬â„¢ meeting. Church services are about the last public events in our society when people listen to a monologue and aren ¢â‚¬â„¢t invited to ask questions. Only a minority of pastors/preachers can handle such interactions well, but, yes, this was how Jesus and the apostles did their teaching/evangelism, and there ¢â‚¬â„¢s good pedagogical value in addressing listeners ¢â‚¬â„¢ issues/ concerns  ¢â‚¬Ëœon the spot ¢â‚¬â„¢. (Our recent UK God ¢â‚¬â„¢s Squad preacher, Graham Dodds, handled a couple of interjections well, I thought). Which leads to ¢â‚¬ ¦

• DSG (Diverse Sexuality/Gender) Issues aren ¢â‚¬â„¢t going away, however uncomfortable the feelings they arouse. It ¢â‚¬â„¢s the world-wide church ¢â‚¬â„¢s current major paradigm-shift (after many others throughout history  ¢â‚¬“ Jews vs. Gentiles, racism, sexism, divorce etc. etc.). How do we deal with it? Simple, I reckon: invite an expert (Keith Dyer ¢â‚¬â„¢s the best around) to open up the subject one Sunday early-afternoon, allowing people to share their stories, their fears, and their questions in a non-adversarial context ¢â‚¬ ¦ A little sermon to help us here:  ¢â‚¬ËœLove is patient ¢â‚¬â„¢ (radicals sometimes have problems with patience);  ¢â‚¬Ëœlove is kind ¢â‚¬â„¢ (often conservatives are insensitive to the feelings of different-others). Love also respectfully affirms diversity: we each relate to the living God differently ¢â‚¬ ¦

• I have been privileged to know John and Glena Smith for 40 years, since our time at Blackburn Baptist Church. In the last couple of years I’ve enjoyed 20+ hours of confidential ‘pastoral conversations’ with them – separately and together. They have exercised an amazing variety of ministries over the years  ¢â‚¬“ evangelistic, inspirational, prophetic  ¢â‚¬“ especially in setting an example of concern for the marginalized. Majoring on hospitality, they ¢â‚¬â„¢ve opened their home to many lost and lonely folks. (And in both John ¢â‚¬â„¢s dissertation and his book On the Side of the Angels he mentions that 35,000 people had their home address!).   There may be a  ¢â‚¬Ëœmismatch of expectations and reality ¢â‚¬â„¢ in terms of their current leadership ministry in St Martins, particularly as they live an hour and a half ¢â‚¬â„¢s drive away. Is  ¢â‚¬ËœSuperintendent Minister ¢â‚¬â„¢ the best title to describe John ¢â‚¬â„¢s role? The Pastors/Elders/Deacons need to look at that question. The Smiths ¢â‚¬â„¢ major gifts and calling, it seems to me, are more  ¢â‚¬Ëœmacroscopic ¢â‚¬â„¢ ( ¢â‚¬Ëœon the road ¢â‚¬â„¢). But, again, while we need to work through all this with love and patience, let us thank God for the wonderful ministries birthed by John and Glena and their associates  ¢â‚¬“ TLC, God ¢â‚¬â„¢s Squad, Concern Australia and others ¢â‚¬ ¦

• Speaking of pastoral roles generally, my strong (loving) criticism of clergy  ¢â‚¬“ in all denominations and most churches  ¢â‚¬“ relates to the evils of  clericalism. The core task of any pastoral leader is to work himself/herself out of a job by empowering others. We mustn’t do what others can do, thereby robbing them of their God-given ministries (see  http://jmm.org.au/articles/8109.htm  ). Note:  ¢â‚¬Ëœminister ¢â‚¬â„¢, singular, is a clericalist term, and should never be used in the singular. Every Christian is a minister; some ministers are pastors/pastoral leaders.   Key question for St Martins: What ¢â‚¬â„¢s the Succession Plan for when John and Glena eventually phase out of leadership? Which leads to this:

• In John U ¢â‚¬â„¢Ren ¢â‚¬â„¢s report he strongly advocated setting up a Training Centre at St Martins, and even suggested a name or two ( ¢â‚¬ËœJubilee School for Transformation and Leadership ¢â‚¬â„¢). Brilliant idea: what happened to it? I haven ¢â‚¬â„¢t seen or heard anything that relates to a serious attempt to train elders for their visionary/pastoral ministries, or training deacons to ¢â‚¬ ¦  ¢â‚¬Ëœdeac ¢â‚¬â„¢,   or equipping the whole church to minister to one another (say, with  ¢â‚¬ËœHow to Help Your Friend ¢â‚¬â„¢ seminars).

• There are some highly intelligent/professional people in the church: are they reading about their faith; sharpening their theological minds with others, meeting regularly for koinonia/prayer?     There is a dearth of in-depth small group interactions at St Martins (though, again, I think this is being addressed).  

• One thoughtful person said:  ¢â‚¬ËœThere ¢â‚¬â„¢s not really a culture of prayer at St. Martins ¢â‚¬â„¢.

(And some happy scrub wrens are twittering a Coda ¢â‚¬ ¦)  

REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY  

[1] Care and Communication Concern Community Churches Constitution (2004) [2] Athol Gill,  ¢â‚¬ËœNo Justice Without Reconciliation: Seventy Times Seven ¢â‚¬â„¢ (a powerful sermon preached both at Truth & Liberation Concern, Bayswater, and at St Martins ¢â‚¬â„¢ Collingwood, June 1989) . [3] Constitution of the General Conference (November 2011). [4] John Smith ¢â‚¬â„¢s Doctor of Missiology dissertation: The Jesus Movement and Revitalization   [5] Rowland Croucher,  ¢â‚¬ËœMinistry as Empowerment ¢â‚¬â„¢    ;  ¢â‚¬Ëœ100 Marks of a Healthy Church ¢â‚¬â„¢  ;     [6] John U ¢â‚¬â„¢Ren,  ¢â‚¬ËœA Report Combining Some Reflections, Observations, and Recommendations relating to St Martins Churches and aspects of Care and Communication Concern ¢â‚¬â„¢ (written when he handed over to John Smith after US. Study-time  ¢â‚¬“ December 1999).  

Ad maiorem Dei gloriam!

Rowland Croucher                   [email protected]                         jmm.org.au                        

December 2012.

~~

For Discussion:

PRECIS: ST MARTINS ¢â‚¬â„¢ COLLINGWOOD: CONSULTANT ¢â‚¬â„¢S REPORT   3/12/2012

ASSUMPTIONS:     AFFIRMING DIVERSITY IS BIBLICAL, AND A SIGN OF CHRISTIAN GRACE/ LOVE/ACCEPTANCE.   Romans 15:7

PASTORAL LEADERS TEACH/TRAIN US TO FOLLOW CHRIST, AND IN THE PROCESS  ¢â‚¬ËœWORK THEMSELVES OUT OF A JOB ¢â‚¬â„¢ (2 Timothy 2:2; Acts 13:1-3). So every Christian is a  ¢â‚¬Ëœminister ¢â‚¬â„¢. Some  ¢â‚¬Ëœministers ¢â‚¬â„¢ are pastoral leaders…

AS A CHURCH WE AIM FOR SPIRITUAL HEALTH; IF NUMERICAL GROWTH RESULTS (AS IT USUALLY DOES), WE CELEBRATE THAT.

WHAT ARE CHURCHES FOR?

1. WORSHIP has 7 meanings/modes in Hebrew/Christian experience  ¢â‚¬“ Temple, Synagogue, Festival, Home Group, Desert/Solitude, Service, All-of-life…

What are St Martins ¢â‚¬â„¢ strengths/weaknesses?  

2. COMMUNITY =  ¢â‚¬Ëœspiritual gifts meeting human needs ¢â‚¬â„¢.

Small groups are best for this. Our rating?

Families-with-children need to meet and  ¢â‚¬Ëœhave fun ¢â‚¬â„¢. How ¢â‚¬â„¢re we doing there?

How are  ¢â‚¬Ëœspiritual gifts ¢â‚¬â„¢ ascertained at St Martins, then channelled into service-to-others?

3. SPIRITUAL FORMATION =  ¢â‚¬Ëœthe Word of God, applied by the Spirit of God, to the heart and mind of the child of God, so that she/he becomes more like the Son of God ¢â‚¬â„¢

This happens best in a process of accountability via another ¢â‚¬â„¢s Spiritual Direction/friendship/ supervision/training

4. MISSION = Ministries of Justice, Compassion/mercy, Evangelism (faith)

 ¢â‚¬â„¢Everyone ¢â‚¬â„¢s on mission ¢â‚¬â„¢. How? How can we better support the Smiths ¢â‚¬â„¢  ¢â‚¬Ëœministries on the road ¢â‚¬â„¢?

5. LEADERSHIP/ADMINISTRY  ¢â‚¬“ helps us all fulfil the above. Pastors ¢â‚¬â„¢ roles/titles? Selection/training/facilitation for Elders/Deacons?  ¢â‚¬ËœExecutive Group ¢â‚¬â„¢?

~~  

ST MARTINS ¢â‚¬â„¢ December 3, 2012: A LITTLE SURVEY

[1]   What do you like about St Martins?

1-1 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

1-2 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

1-3   …………………………………………………………………………………………………….

[2] What would you like to see changed at St Martins?

2-1   …………………………………………………………………………………………………….

2-2   ……………………………………………………………………………………………………

2-3   ……………………………………………………………………………………………………

[3] What impact has St Martins made on your life as a Christian?

3-1   …………………………………………………………………………………………………….

3-2   ……………………………………………………………………………………………………

3-3   ……………………………………………………………………………………………………

[4] Acts 13:1-3: What do these verses suggest in terms of  ¢â‚¬Ëœwhere we are ¢â‚¬â„¢?  ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Name (confidential to Rowland):               ……………………………………………..