Learning Two Things…or Even Three (2010 Church Conference Report)

I learned two things this past year as pastor of First United Methodist Church. There perhaps should have been more, but I am pleased with the two that I learned.

The first is that the tenth year of ministry in one place is actually the starting point for what can be genuinely accomplished. This is something that I learned from a church consultant named Israel Galindo, who wrote an article for the Alban Institute entitled “Staying Put: A Look at the First Ten Years of Ministry.” The article concludes:

If you have lasted up to the tenth year and have invested well in your tenure of ministry, you and your congregation share a mutual relationship of trust, a shared corporate identity, and a common vision of ministry. Your relationship with the congregation can provide the resources to begin working on whom you can become. Because your pastoral leadership function will take on new directions, now is the time to quit recycling sermons. More important, now is the time to begin thinking about the life of this congregation two or three generations into the future.

Now is the time for my ministry in this place really to begin! I had never thought of it this way. I had always measured how long I had been here as the primary means of assessing how I was doing (or how we were doing). And there have always been areas of shortcoming, disappointment, or a lack of significant measurable results.

Generally speaking, I  feel that we have developed “a mutual relationship of trust, a shared corporate identity, and a common vision for ministry.” These are not always articulated as clearly as they might be, but I believe that they are there.

There are those, of course, who contend vigorously that I cannot be trusted, that I do not understand the congregation or its needs, and that I have failed to provide adequate leadership. Certainly people are entitled to their opinions, and several have not been afraid to express themselves—usually in connection with their departure from active participation in the life of this church.

Still, in my tenth year as pastor of First United Methodist Church, there seem to be some genuine stirrings of the spirit, and I look forward to seeing what God has yet in store for us here on the corner of First and Walnut!

The second thing I have learned this year is my realization this fall that every pastor in the United Methodist system is an interim pastor, unless we happen to be the founding pastor or the pastor in place when a congregation comes to the end of its organizational life.

I had implicitly expected myself to be the “turn-around pastor” or the “come back pastor.” I envisioned myself as the one whose pastoral tenure would be the time in which long years (even decades) of decline would be reversed. I had an internal timeline for when that would take place, and I became increasingly frustrated when things didn’t turn out as I had expected.

I no longer have the self-imposed pressure of being the “turn-around pastor” or the “come back pastor” or whatever other terminology might be used. I am just an interim pastor, seeking to build on what has been done by so many before my arrival and striving to leave things hopefully in better condition to my eventual successor.

As an interim pastor, I have intentionally tried more this year to “come alongside people.” My visual image for this is a two-person porch swing. One of the realities of a porch swing is that, generally speaking, both people tend to see the same things at more or less the same time. It is an opportunity to visit without getting in each other’s face. You find a mutual rhythm and pattern in your time together. You don’t want to speed things up too dramatically, nor do you just want to sit as if you were in adjacent chairs!

There is actually a third thing that I have learned this year—the words [and the “moves!”] to the praise and worship song entitled “Days of Elijah.” The first verse is:

These are the days of Elijah
Declaring the Word of the Lord
And these are the days of his servant, Moses
Righteousness being restored

And these are the days of great trial
Of famine and darkness and sword
So we are the voice in the desert crying
Prepare ye the way of the Lord

Robin Marks, the writer, says about this song, that it is intended to “express the sense that these might be days, not of failure and submission, but of the sort of resilient, declaring, even arrogant trust and hope that Elijah had in his God.” Perhaps that is just the sort of confident hope in God that is needed at this time and this place here at First United Methodist Church!

And there are “moves” that go along at least with the chorus of “Days of Elijah!” I have my own distinctive style, which may be unlike exactly what is intended, but I enjoy the opportunity to celebrate in motion the words:

Behold he comes
Riding on a cloud
Shining like the sun
At the trumpet’s call
Lift your voice
It’s the year of jubilee
Out of Zion’s hill salvation comes

All in all, it’s been a good year—to have learned two things . . . and even a third! I continue to be grateful for the opportunity to serve as pastor of First United Methodist Church.

Grace and Peace,
Mark Conard

An In Between Time

2009 Church Conference Pastor’s Report (December 1, 2009)

There are currently enough encouraging things happening at First United Methodist Church to make me believe that we are on the edge of a breakthrough and that a long hoped-for turn around is just around the corner. There are enough discouraging things occurring at First United Methodist Church to make me believe that the congregation would best be served by a change in pastoral appointments.

The encouraging things include:

• Work of the Re-Vision Team. This group of fifteen persons met regularly over a six month period to work through the book, You Only Have to Die: Leading Your Congregation to New Life, written by Jim Harnish. I wrote a chapter-by-chapter assessment of our situation in “Re-Vision News and Notes.” We had good participation, but this work did not result in any specific or far-reaching changes. The primary accomplishment was renewal of our commitment to “You Are Welcome Here” as a signpost for our life as a congregation.
• Strategic Planning Session. One of the outcomes of the work of the Re-Vision Team was a “Strategic Planning Session,” led in August by Barry Dundas, pastor at Trinity United Methodist Church in Salina. Out of that work came these goals for 2010:

Sponsor at least one DISCIPLE Bible Study group.

Establish a task force to organize a Moms’ Day Out, Preschool, or Day Care.

Double the average worship attendance at 3rd service.

• E2 Seminar. Another outcome of the work of the Re-Vision Team is our planned participation in a program called “Equipping Leaders,” sponsored by Pleasant Valley Baptist Church in Liberty, MO. This is a ministry designed to help church leaders develop “an equipping culture that unleashes the exponential power of every believer.” The goal is to “help someone move from being a first-time guest to a fully engaged volunteer reaching his or her God-given potential…”
• Transition in Music Leadership. We were blessed for seventeen years with the  leadership of  Joyce Phillips as Chancel Choir Director, With her resignation  in August, it was critical for us to hire a competent and committed successor. I believe that we have done so with the employment of James Pope, who became our Director of Music Ministries in September. This transition was handled well by everyone.
• Murray Fund Projects. The gift of $50,000 “in memory and honor of Ida Jane White Murray” has been utilized to help upgrade our church facilities and make them more inviting and welcoming. The projects completed to date are: Illuminated Exterior Signs ($6,357.44), Return Steam Pipe ($9,426.00), Video Projector and Screen ($12,197.00), Narthex and Hallway Carpet ($7,423.00), and Third Service Worship ($5,000.00). The last project is an upgrade of the sanctuary sound system.
• Community Involvement. One of the things for which this congregation is known is involvement with the community. We host the Alternative Christmas Market annually, and we have sponsored a “Potato Drop” for several years. We support the Reno County Food Bank, First Call for Help, the Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Center, and New Beginnings. We also assist with the Children’s Emergency Shelter Home and the Christian Soup Kitchen.  We have a supportive relationship with area schools, our various vendors, and the HCC Volleyball Team. The Josephus Fund helps many persons in the community.
• Support for Streamview. Support for our partner congregation–the Streamview United Methodist Church in Mutare, Zimbabwe–has been heartwarming and generous! I was able to take with me more than $1,000 for the church there on my trip last summer. We currently have $1,600 that is ready to be sent. The congregation has also been generous in supporting other projects relating to Africa.
• Committed Laity. This congregation continues to be blessed by the number of lay persons who “show up, pitch in, and help out.” I am especially grateful for those who “go the distance” in what they are doing rather than give in, give out, and give up!
• Capable Staff. I believe that this congregation is thoroughly blessed with the staff that is in place. We work well together and focus on the interests of the church. The staff is conscientious about living within budgetary constraints and saving money as possible without sacrificing the integrity of ministry.

At the same time, there are discouraging things, including:

• Re-Visioning Process. Despite the efforts of the Re-Vision Team, I do not believe that we adequately “discern[ed], discover[ed], and decide[d] . . . [God’s] purpose and direction for us as a congregation,” and we have not restructured how we are organized. There is pressure simply to organize again as we were before taking a break for the Re-Visioning Process.
• Sunday School and Worship Attendance. The attendance patterns have not been significantly changed. In 2001, our average Sunday School attendance through the end of November was 158.96. At the end of November this year, our Sunday School average attendance was 76.98. Worship attendance also shows a decline though not as steep, going from 254.38 through the end of November 2001 to 221.52 through the end of November 2009.
• Financial Challenges. We continue to experience financial challenges. This is the second year in a row that we have operated with an unbalanced budget. The same thing looks likely for 2010. At the end of October 2009, we had  budget giving shortfall of $9,531.34.  A year ago, it was $8,253.10, and we eventually wound up with a deficit of $12,081.13. This simply cannot happen again.
• Mission and Ministry Shortfall. We last paid our “Mission and Ministry” commitment in full in 2006.  In 2007, we paid 76.6% of our commitment of $54,430. In 2008, we paid 67.7% of our “fair share” of $49,457.00. Through the end of October 2009, we have paid $19,130.96 toward our commitment of $53,400.
• Continued Departures. We continue to be affected by a trickle of persons who disengage from their involvement with the congregation. This is always done for reasons that make sense to them. But it is seldom done without a residue of  pain and  continuing resentment, which takes its toll on everyone.
• Tenure and Timing. This is my ninth year to serve as pastor of First United Methodist Church. I am not sure that I ever expected to serve anywhere for that length of time! It may already have been too long. I have four years left until the usual age for retirement. I am not clear about  what would be the most effective use of my time and talents nor about what would be in the best interests of this congregation.

I trust that God will guide and bless all of us as we make our way forward into God’s future—whatever that may be!