Where is our tipping point?

There comes a time when all organisations have to change tack. Not a gradual gentle turn but a sharp movement, which affects everybody. I recall one tipping point or pivot in a TED Talk by Nancy Lublin some years ago. She spoke of how her company was making a great impact in schools with children and they could continue but…there was so much more they could do, if they pivoted.

Church’s Pivot Moment(s)

The Church has already pivoted: that happened when the Govt instructed them to close their buildings. Covid-19 has taken its toll individually and corporately. But should the Church pivot once again? – this time taking the lead.

Is this a blizzard or an Ice Age?

Episode 4: Community
https://pivot.fireside.fm/4
from https://faithlead.luthersem.edu/resources/podcasts/pivot-podcast/

That initial pivot significantly reduced the relational impact between the members of the church but adversely increased the organisational workload of the ministers.

The mental model of the Church may be considered to be founded upon worship, communion and fellowship. The minister(s) and the congregation are in an entwined dance; however, that ‘contract’ has required to be totally reinvented, re-written – all at the same time. A colleague, Rev Dan Balsdon, has written powerfully about his changing perception of worship.

As the Church looks to re-find its identity, just as Isaiah explains, we may need to:

“not remember the former things or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing…I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert”.

Isaiah 43:18-19 (NRSV)

Are we at a tipping point?

Formats

Our formats for worship have altered considerably in recent months: especially when you look back over the previous decades. We now may include Live Zoom services; recorded or live services on YouTube; introduced smaller groups so we can focus upon discipleship; and still, if possible, the traditional format of 5 hymns and 4 prayers.

Analysis

So what have we lost and found?

That relational aspect can be seen, connected with, in some formats such as with Zoom. This is akin to chatting in church. However, what of that fellowship – the chat over coffee afterwards? Here we may need to really reflect on what we achieve in this instance.

When we meet people today, in this Covid pandemic, we find people yearn for conversation. When possibly “How are you?” may have seen the response “I’m fine“, we may now get more of a lengthier discussion. In such times of trauma, we need that connection, that opportunity to be vulnerable. Being authentic is a human trait, a need. It was John Wesley who spoke so strongly about being authentic in his Christian life (sermon No 4: Scriptural Christianity)

But it is with the organisation capability I feel that there is so much more which can be done. If we pivot.

The focus may have been on returning to church, to the traditional format or to a hybrid version of formats. But the question may not be “Can we return to Church?“. It may be “did we engage with our community – how can we now?”

In the New Testament where we may read ‘community’ the Koine Greek speaks of koinonia. This is about communion, of joint participation, of sharing and intimacy. When we spoke earlier of vulnerability, here is that open area where we can stand alongside each other, and share honestly. But not just with the congregation, but with all.

What’s next?

So where is our tipping point? Have we reached the point where we need to change tack, to pivot?

There’s a unattributed saying relating to “presence in absence is an important aspect of relationships, for otherwise there would be absence in our presence”. We could add “Sometimes our absence will teach what our presence cannot”. In this time of lockdown and closure of churches, in that period of absence, what have we learnt?

Oh, this is the moment that the Church may stop, consider its current path and pivot. Pivot towards a focus upon its communities, not its members; towards extending worship beyond the walls of the building; and allowing discipleship to be a natural way of life. Yes, that may well mean changing the way we worship. Then we may find true koinonia, that dynamic relationship with all whom we meet.

It will be contextual, specific to your community, your location – but not your own history but whomever we relate with. It could also alter the way we see Church.