Meanwhile, a woman minister will be installed, as an experiment.
Their version.
I realize that reminding people of an old concept will create immediate resistance. Trained by Church Growth experts for decades, I know that using the word experiment will accomplish the same thing.
The experiment is very simple:
1. Make do.
2. Do without.
3. Pay cash.
Overpaid consultants tell gullible congregational leaders that they will thrive if they spend a small fortune on a new building. Magic is the art of misdirecting the eyes. If they get busy spending millions on a parish hall, they will stop thinking about faithfulness to the Scriptures and the efficacy of the Means of Grace.
Parish Consultants study the local congregation in great detail and always come up with the same answers:
1. Contemporary music.
2. Women ministers.
3. Taj Mahal building plans.
They even have boiler-plate pages in their reports, which are funny and revealing, such as "when the bells stop ringing for the service..." That is a hoot when published for a WEF.
The Experiment
This costs next to nothing, so it will not be popular with those who live from grants, subsidies, and synodical life-support.
A. Rely on the historic, liturgical service, which glorifies God rather than the personality of the minister.
B. Teach the next generation to love the music and the content of the great hymns of the Christian faith.
C. Study the Word and the Confessions with material generated by the pastor rather than outsiders. This ensures that he will be renewed in his studies while providing an example for all the men in the congregation - to be spiritual leaders in their homes.
D. Limit pastoral duties to preaching, teaching, and visitation. Social activies should be managed by the laity. If they cannot generate interest - good - because social activities are not the mission of the true Church.
We had some building plans once, at another church. The members did not want to give up their 6% mortgage, so they decided to build for cash. Nothing was built until the cash was in the account. First we had a shell with windows. No money - no lights. We did not do electrical until the cash was raised, so classes were held in the debris, near the windows. Lights and electrical cost a lot, but we did without for a period of time. Once we had them installed, we waited to pay for the carpeting. The end result was a small addition which cost half the square foot amount estimated by an expert. And there was no debt load.
Robert Schuller was the founder of Church Growth and he crowed about his building plans, but nothing more has been added to his Crystal Cathedral in decades. In fact, his empire is shrinking fast. He fired his son from the airwaves, and his son quit the congregation as its pastor. Likewise, many other mega-churches have proved to be One Hit Wonders, unable to outlast their founders. Some of the worst foreclosures are coming due now - on congregations which borrowed on the pastors' ego instead of the member's ability and willingness to pay.
"Build it and they will come" is a sad perversion of the Means of Grace. Magicians call it misdirection of the eyes. With a sleight of hand, they pull a rabbit out of a hat.
