Church growth: Better trumps bigger

Village Church in South Sudan
Photo by Ernst Ulz

Many churches embark upon "growth" campaigns without clearly identifying just what that growth means to them.

In an article for The Huff Post Religion Blog, Derek Penwell points out that church growth is not just a numbers game, but also a maturity gain.  However, maturity is much harder to nail down than either membership or financial statistics.

Penwell discusses the usual claims about how many new members have joined the church this year, and then compares them with this other (all too rare) type of assessment: "We've had to grapple with some pretty tough issues lately.  Some have even left our church because of it.  However, those who remained have experienced a deepening of their faith commitment."

He emphasizes that growth is not necessarily about "bigness."  Nor is it necessarily about anything that can be easily seen or quantified.  Just as we (hopefully) don't judge all children, frogs, or stones in the same manner - neither should we assume that all church growth should be about outward expansion.

Resources

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/derek-penwell/church-growth_b_3782813.html?utm_hp_ref=religion

Yogic tale: Alexander the Great Slave

Alexander Mosaic, Pompeii
Public Domain

It is well known that Alexander the Great had been hoping to conquer far more of the Indian subcontinent than he actually did.

H. E. Marshall explained that after Alexander fought many bitter battles within the Punjab region, he was "eager to reach the holy river Ganges and conquer the people there."  His men, however, were just as eager to bid adieu to India's elephants and climatic extremes.  They therefore begged the king to go no farther, and he very reluctantly agreed.

Alexander allegedly remained fascinated by stories he had heard about yogis.  IndiaDivine.org tells us that when he was about to leave the subcontinent, Alexander "remembered that his people had asked him to bring to them an Indian yogi" in order to receive blessings.

After meeting such a yogi, Alexander asked him to come to Greece.  After the yogi politely declined, the king was enraged.  No one had ever dared to refuse such a "majestic" request.  He then bellowed, "I am the great king Alexander.  If you will not listen to me, I shall kill you - cut you into pieces!"

The yogi replied: You cannot kill me!  You can only kill my body...  You say you are a king.  May I tell you who you are?  You are a slave of my slave!  He then told Alexander:  Anger is my slave...  You are a slave of anger, and therefore a slave of my slave!

Resources

http://www.indiadivine.org/audarya/hinduism-forum/272183-alexander-great-yogi.html

http://hinduism.about.com/od/history/a/alexander.htm

Church attire: What would Jesus wear?

Changing Fashion
Public Domain

In modern-day Western societies, the amount of clothing is inversely proportional to the outside temperature.  As the heat scales up, the clothing scales down.

Although this might (greatly) please bikini fans, it might not bode as well for church attendees.  That is why some churches have taken to posting signs like this one from Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Bethesda, Maryland: Dignity & Decorum: Please try not to wear beach shorts, tank tops, and flip-flops to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  Thank you.

Michelle Boorstein of The Washington Post points out that casual is superseding formal on airplanes, in offices, and pretty much everywhere.  The last outposts of formal wear have (somewhat) been churches.

There has even been a movement called "Modest is Hottest" among Evangelical Christian women.  But younger females have been challenging this slogan, contending that a woman's heretofore private parts "all proclaim the glory of the Lord."  Some also interpret "Modest" to refer only to "the depth of one's spirit, not their neckline."  In other words, modesty is "an orientation of the heart" which "begins with putting God first."

Judging people in their entirety is something that Jesus was clear about, and clearly against.  Therefore, is judging people by what they wear (or don't wear) to church holy, or is it merely holier than thou?

Resources

http://wwm.org/articles/40267/?place=united-states

Airport chaplains: Fly the spiritual skies

Photo by Quintin Soloviev

Whether for pleasure or necessity, air travel often indicates a break in the regular routine.

Breaks like these can zap a person out of ordinary awareness and into a whole new state of consciousness.  Such shifts have a way of bringing spirituality to the forefront.

That is a major reason why more and more airports are not only providing chapels, but also chaplains.  These chaplains represent numerous faiths and denominations.  Although scheduled worship services are held, most airport chaplaincy occurs on the fly.

Such chaplains can find themselves in the front lines during health crises, weather extremes, employee burnout issues, plane crashes, terrorist threats, family tragedies, etc.  When Rev. Dr. Donna Mote served at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson, she observed the following: "There's the world in grief, the world in joy - really the whole world is passing through there."  

And when Rev. Hutz Hertzberg served at Chicago's two main airports, he aptly concluded: "In the 21st century, we need to bring the ministry to where the people are instead of waiting for them to come to our churches." 

Resources

https://chaplaincyinnovation.org/projects/donna-mote-atl

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/airport-chaplains-let-fliers-connect-heavens-080144213.html

Vitamin N: Combating 'Nature Deficiency Disease'

Morning Glory
Public Domain

It turns out that folks like Thoreau and Whitman really had it right when it came to extolling Nature's virtues.

Those (i.e., most "civilized" beings) who are suffering from NDD (Nature Deficiency Disease) often don't know what they're missing.  While scurrying through sealed-in environments, they experience vague symptoms that could likely be relieved with just a little green grass and sunshine.  Blankets of snow with cloud-covered skies would also suffice.  As long as it's Nature with a capital N...

This "prescription" isn't just a poetic flight of fancy.  As reported in the July 2009 edition of the AARP Bulletin, 38 research participants were assigned to take a 50ish-minute walk in either the Ann Arbor Arboretum or in that city's built-up downtown section.  Guess whose attention and memory spans improved by 20 percent?  You got it: the Arboretum group's.

The study's lead author, Marc Berman, explained that a Nature walk has enough stimulation to capture the attention, yet not so much as to overwhelm the thought processes.  This beneficial combination lulls the mind into an "active rest" which "tends to be restorative."

Which resonates well with the following quote from Whitman: A morning glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books.

And with this quote from Thoreau: I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. 

Resources

http://www.aarp.org/health/fitness/info-07-2009/nature_science_shows.html

Heat wave: Sleeping through it

Ahhh...  Relief at last!
Photo by Martin At-Amant

Although many people would probably love to sleep through an entire heat wave, that's generally not possible.  However, there are a number of helpful ways to sleep peacefully through at least some of it.

MSN Healthy Living reported on some of these ways.  First off, drinking cold water shortly before bedtime can lower your core temperature.  Just don't drink so much of it that you'll be waking up for other reasons.  

Water can also cool you down via a bedtime bath or shower.  Yet if the bathroom abuts the bedroom, overall humidity can surely increase.  Cold socks is another - er, innovative - idea.  Simply pop your (hopefully clean) socks in the fridge a few hours beforehand, and voila!  Cold feet will ensue (caution: don't try this on your honeymoon).

Ready for more?  Try sleeping low to the floor where the air is cooler.  Better yet: String up a hammock in the basement.  Your sweat glands will thank you for the break in their overheated routine.

Just a few suggestions to help get you through those sweltering nights...  If all else fails, try visualizing glaciers.

Resources

http://healthyliving.msn.com/health-wellness/sleep/6-ways-to-sleep-when-its-super-hot#1

Clergy: Keeping it all inside

Photo by Timothy Titus

When it comes to anxiety and depression, members of the clergy often have to "stuff it."

Congregational members may expect clergy to be shining examples of mental health.  Parishioners hope to relieve their own burdens and aren't so keen on commiserating with the minister's troubles.  They might also believe that faith in God guarantees a life of serene contentment.

Katherine Bindley of Huffington Post reports that researchers from the Clergy Health Initiative at Duke Divinity School "found that instances of depression [in United Methodist pastors interviewed by phone and via online surveys] were 8.7 percent and 11.1 percent, respectively, compared to the average national rate of 5.5 percent."

Researcher Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell, has several theories about why pastors exhibit "above-average rates of depression."  One is that pastors, more than most others, wonder whether the life they've been living has been pleasing to God.  If they feel that they don't measure up, depression could easily result.

Another theory is that the high expectations of congregations put tremendous amounts of emotional pressure on ministers.  Such pressure is bound to take its toll sooner or later.

The cure?  Steven Scroggin, who has led "a network of pastoral counseling centers based in North Carolina," advised that more be done within seminary education to better prepare pastors for having firmer emotional and psychological boundaries."

Resources

http://wwm.org/articles/40611/?place=united=states