Second Presbyterian Church

From the Pastor's Study
February 2004

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I have been reading a book written by the Rev. Alice Mann from the Alban Institute. The title of the book is Can This Church Survive? It is generally a study about how a congregation can examine, or assess its life and where it is on the life cycle (a church life cycle is basically birth, development, apex, decline, death). I don't have the time to do a thorough book report here but I would like to share with you what it said about PURPOSE and FORM.

The PURPOSE is that part of the church that has to do with why a congregation was begun in the first place. The purpose must be consistent with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For example, I could state that our purpose is to proclaim the love of God through Jesus Christ. As long as we exist and try to maintain that purpose then we shall remain as healthy as possible, regardless of what forms we use.

FORM is HOW we go about fulfilling the purpose. Do we do it by weekly worship services? Do we do it by caring for one another? Do we do it by having a pipe organ and a choir? Should we have an informal service? All these details, and many, many other details have to do with form.

I found it interesting what the Rev. Mann stated about purpose and form. Congregations tend to grow and thrive when they are clear and very stubborn about what their purpose is, but flexible about the form. In other words when a congregation is clear about what they stand for (purpose), even stubborn about it and when they try different ways to promote their purpose, then they tend to thrive and grow. On the other hand, congregations that are not clear about their purpose tend to become very rigid in form. They usually shrivel and cease to be a viable force in the ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Part of why God has called me here was to challenge us (both you and me) to look at how we are doing. It is time for us to examine our purpose and see how clear or unclear it is. When we have articulated our clarity of purpose, then it is time to examine our forms. Then it will be time to imagine and to experiment with our forms. This is easier to do when we are clear about our purpose. When our purpose is clarified, then the changes in form won't feel quite so discombobulating (e.g. drastic, unnerving).

Change is inevitable. What we must learn to do together is to discern what needs to be changed and what needs to remain. If we lose sight of our purpose and become stubborn about how we always do things, then the future of our congregation (or any congregation for that matter) is grim. If we reexamine, reaffirm and re-clarify our purpose, then Second Presbyterian Church has a future limited only by God's will for us!

Grace and Peace,
The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.
Designated Pastor