Treatment Options (Missional Cancer, Part 3)

The treatment for my thyroid cancer was done before I even knew I had the disease.  The thyroid and all the cancer was surgically removed from my body.  I need to take thyroid hormones for the rest of my life, but I’m well.  If the cancer had been bigger or not as contained, I would have required more treatment (with radioactive iodine).  Whenever one is faced with cancer, there are choices.  In my case, the choices were relatively easy to make, but they weren’t without risk.

After returning from a “Turn-around Church” conference with Bill Easum near his home in Port Aransas, TX, I gave my session a report — the results of a massive assessment of the congregation including the prognosis of  a “healthy” turn-around in both discipleship and mission.  ”It’s just like we’ve been to the doctor, the diagnosis is in, and the test shows we have cancer,” I told them.  ”Now we have a choice to make about what kind of treatment, if any, we want to choose.”

All of the possible treatments, I believe, fall into one of three basic paths: 1) radical treatment with the possibility of a cure; 2) treatment that may or may not cure the illness, but will prolong life for a time; 3) palliative care that makes the inevitable death as comfortable and “faithful” as possible.  And, of course, there’s always the option of doing nothing.  Depending on the type of cancer or illness, one or more of the paths may not be an option.

It’s important that we realize any of the available options can be “faithful” options.  For a congregation, it’s up to the congregation to decide when faced with the reality, which treatment option is best for them.  It should be done prayerfully, and considering the advice and leadership of the pastor and the presbytery.  But it is the responsibility of the congregation to discern, to pray, and to live faithfully into the new future story they choose.

1) Radical Treatment

Radical Treatment in the church is sometimes called “congregational transformation.”  It requires a great deal of energy, a willingness to take risks and to make life altering changes; and the “cure” may, in fact, kill us.  Radical treatment of cancer may require every penny we have, an amputation, or a total change in lifestyle.  These are radical changes.  In the church it may mean selling a building and moving to a new location, and that would require all of the energy and missional conviction of starting a new church.  It may mean inviting immigrant faith communities into the fellowship of the congregation and transforming from a racially homogeneous congregation to a multi-cultural church.  It will undoubtedly mean having to give up something that many of your members hold dear, often the building, an style of music, etc.  Congregations choosing this option need to realize that transformation isn’t only about the congregation’s building or structure, but it effects every member and participant in the community.  Congregational transformation begins with personal transformation, so it requires individual commitments to grow spiritually, to change habits, to take on new responsibilities, etc.  But, if willing, the congregation could experience a resurrection that is beyond their imagination.

Radical treatment like this is a viable option when the patient has the financial resources, the mental stamina and hope, and is otherwise relatively healthy.  For a congregation transformation is a faithful option when there is a spiritual readiness to surrender personal preferences for the well-being of the kingdom, significant financial resources from the congregation, highly committed and dedicated leaders ready to devote a great deal of energy and time to the transformation of the congregation, and an otherwise healthy congregational system (not a high-conflict congregation for instance).  It’s also important to note that a decision to proceed with this kind of radical treatment does not guarantee a cure.  As much as we have anecdotes of congregations successfully turning around or transforming … we cannot “plan” it or even “do” it.  God is the “cure” giver and God is the one who brings new life.  We can only prepare the soil and surrender ourselves to God’s Spirit and see what God will do with us.

2) Treatment to Prolong Life

There are times when the diagnosis or the health of the patient calls for a treatment that probably won’t “cure” the cancer, but it will significantly increase both the length and quality of life.  In the Future Story Project that my colleague, Mary Marcotte, and I developed in the Presbytery of New Covenant, we described this option as the “Path to Faithful Renewal.”  This treatment option allows the congregation to develop a “new normal” so to speak.  Instead of working to become a congregation of  300 members with a full Sunday School and youth group, for instance, it may mean coming to a new understanding of what a healthy and vital small church looks like.  How do the 55 members of the congregation who are here be a  spiritually alive missional faith community?

This option frequently involves new forms of pastoral leadership, possibly including one or more elders seeking to be commissioned as a lay pastor.  It may mean a change in the place of worship: selling the building, sharing space with another congregation, meeting in homes, etc.  It always means focussing on the spiritual development of the members and being attentive to the mission, vision, and call of the congregation.

For congregations who don’t have the spiritual energy or the leadership or financial resources to attempt the radical treatment above, this option allows the congregation to focus on the spiritual health of its members.  In time, a “renewed” congregation may decide the time is right to try something radically different, or that the time is right to change to treatment option 3, palliative care.

3) Paliative Care (or Hospice)

Individuals and families are often faced with making the very difficult decision of choosing hospice care for themselves or a loved one.  Most everyone I know who has chosen the care of a hospice have been blessed by the experience, even though the loss is painful.  There are times when acknowledging an impending death becomes the most courageous thing we can do.  The same is true for a congregation.

When a church lacks the leadership, financial resources, and, most of all, the energy for options 1 or 2, it may be time to make the courageous decision to request dissolution of the congregation.  When done faithfully, the path to dissolution can be one of celebration, close community, healing and reconciliation and a time of great hope.

Every one of these options can be  a huge step of faith.  Every one of them can be a story of resurrection.  Most everyone I know who has been through a struggle with cancer, or some other significant illness, says that coming through it has changed them for the better.  When we face a major obstacle in our lives, we may say we only want to go back to the way it was … but we know that isn’t going to happen.  The cure, no matter what, is going to change us not merely restore us.

If you want help with your congregation in facing reality or making a choice of “paths” or “treatments” please call for help.  No one should make these kinds of decisions on their own.  Your presbytery should have the resources and tools available to help your congregation make a faithful decision about its future.

Your Church May have Cancer if … (Missional Cancer, Part 2)

If you were to give your congregation a quick health screening, what kind of symptoms would you look for?

Here’s my “Your Church May Have Cancer if …” check list:

1. The congregation rarely laughs during worship.
2. The congregation would not be missed by their neighbors if it ceased to exist.
3. Former members of the congregation who have been away more than ten years would find that little or nothing has changed in the Sunday worship experience since they left.
4. The congregation hasn’t received a new member in more than a year.
5. It’s rare to have a first-time visitor to worship who is not related to a member.
6. The congregation hasn’t baptized a baby in more than two years.
7. The congregation hasn’t baptized an adult in more than three years.
8. The congregation hasn’t ordained an elder or deacon to office in more than two years.
9. The nominating committee cannot find willing and able elders/deacons to present a full slate of qualified officers each year.
10. There is no functioning nominating committee.
11. The congregation has trouble paying its bills.
12. The congregation has been unable to pay the pastor’s salary on time at least once in the past year.
13. The congregation has not submitted its annual congregational statistics for more than 2 years.
14. The congregation cannot afford a pastor.
15. 70% or more of the congregation’s yearly budget goes for building expenses and/or salaries.
16. The church building is empty (other than church staff) most of the week.
17. The congregation is not able to maintain insurance on the church building.
18. The congregation has not added new or updated its technology (sound, video, internet, computers, etc.) in the past three years.
19. Most members of the congregation have not asked someone to a church function (including worship) within the past six months.
20. Members of the congregation do not have a strong prayer/devotional life.
21. The congregation stopped having a “Children’s Moment” because there aren’t any/enough children.
22. In order to meet their expenses, the congregation has used not only earnings, but some of the principle, of its endowment during the past year.
23.  “One or two more deaths” could mean financial crisis for the congregation.
24. The demographics of the congregation (age, ethnicity, race, socioeconomic class, etc.) are very different from the neighborhood surrounding the church.
25. The congregation seems more interested in “survival” than it does in mission to the community.

This is no more than a check-list or a screening.  There may be some really good (and healthy) reasons why one or more of these 25 items would be true of your congregation.  The reality is, though, that any one of these items could be a symptom of missional disease in your congregation.  See my next post for things to do if you think your church may have a kind of missional “cancer.”

The Present Future

I’ve found myself referencing Reggie McNeal’s book, The Present Future, quite a bit recently, so I thought I’d highlight a few of the main points of the book here.  Written in 2003, he identifies the six new realities of our changing world and how the church can respond to them.  I wrote a book review for the Presbytery of New Covenant in September 2004 … I’m reprinting it here now … I find it’s all still very appropriate.

The Present Future:  Six Tough Questions for the Church 
By Reggie McNeal

“This book may not be for you.”  These are the opening words of the introduction to the book, The Present Future, by Reggie McNeal.  McNeal acknowledges that some of the things he says in the book will be very difficult to hear.  He doesn’t like deconstructing a whole concept of what church is.  It hurts.  But, the truth is that the world is very different now than it was in the middle of the last century.  The future is coming at us in a hurry; and the church of the modern age is not connecting with the people of this age.  In addition, the North American concept of church has forsaken its missional covenant with God; instead, it has become a clubhouse for religious people.  Basically, McNeal says, if you think church is great the way it is, don’t read this book.  For those who venture the courage to read it, his discussion of six new realities will give the reader a new vision for what church can be.

The first new reality is, “The Collapse of the Church Culture.”  For those who understand the end of the age of Christendom and the beginning of the post-modern or pre-Christian world, this chapter is old hat; for those who have never heard of these concepts, McNeal puts forth the facts in very understandable language and begins to lead us to a new place.  The collapse of the Church culture, he says, “does not mean the death of the church” – just church as we knew it.  McNeal has great hope for where God is leading us.  We have to stop asking the old question, “How do we do church better?”, and begin to challenge ourselves with the tough question:  “How do we deconvert from Churchianity to Christianity?”  We have to give up the old assumptions about church and embrace a missional concept – one that goes beyond supporting individual religious clubs to one that embraces both spiritual growth and kingdom growth.

Kingdom growth concerns itself more with the question, “How do we transform our community?” than “How do we grow big (or even healthy) churches?”  Kingdom growth begins by releasing God’s people to do the mission work for which God has prepared them.  McNeal refers to this as the “new reformation.”  Some churches have embraced the concept of the priesthood of all believers by encouraging every member to be in ministry.  McNeal thinks that is still too institution-serving.  Being released as God’s people means, rather, that every member sees themselves as a missionary to the people with whom they live and work and play.  It’s not about members serving churches, but about churches serving neighborhoods.

In order to release our members as missionaries, the spiritual formation of all believers needs to be taken very seriously.  Instead of trying to develop good church workers, we need to ask the tough question, “How do we develop followers of Jesus?” How many times do we ask new members how they’d like to serve in the church instead of asking them how they would like to grow in their relationship with Christ?  Like the YMCA teaches new members the basics of working out, we also need to be coaching our members in becoming strong in their faith.

The last two realities are “the shift from planning to preparing” and “the rise of apostolic leadership.”  McNeal begins chapter six saying, “God must have had a lot of confidence in you to put you on the planet at just this time.”  Wow!  That puts this into a whole new perspective.  We don’t need to be lamenting about the falling of Christendom, instead we can be rejoicing in the great work God has called us to – to be shapers of the Christian community to come.  And McNeal shares the qualities of leadership that will catapult us into the coming age – he describes these new apostolic leaders as: missional, visionary, entrepreneurial, working in teams, genuinely spiritual and having a core value of cultural relevance.

While The Present Future is easy reading, it may be very difficult to digest because the re-defining of Church can be heart-wrenching.  Yes, but I venture to say it can also be heart-freeing and soul-lifting.  McNeal describes the church of the future as just the kind of church I most want to be a part of and one which most closely resembles walking with Jesus.

Another of Reggie’s books, Missional Renaissance, is also worth reading.  He gives many more concrete examples of ways to change the “scorecard” of the church.   I have just downloaded a third of his books, and most recent, Missional Communities: The Rise of the Post-Congregational Church.  I’ll review it in a few weeks.