Churcholution

Can we do better?

2011-06-10T08:52:00.001-04:00

Here's my friend, John Southwick's look at the diversity of the United Methodist Church in his "Background Data for Mission" newsletter. Can we do better? How? What could you and your church do to make a difference?

Market Share Progress, or Not, Part II

The March issue of this newsletter highlighted annual conference growth (or decline) rates since 2000, and compared those with the corresponding population changes within their borders over the same period. This issue will again compare demographics of the general population in each conference with The United Methodist Church statistics, this time with respect to race and Hispanic/Latino presence. In the previous newsletter, with no exceptions, The UMC failed to keep up with the population growth. In this case, the gaps were even greater, on average, where there were significant racial and/or Hispanic populations present. However, some individual exceptions are notable.

In broadest numbers, The UMC in the US reports membership for people of color at 8.4% of the total, while the general population is at 33%. Of all the jurisdictions, the Western Jurisdiction has the highest percentage of members of color (17.3%), with the highest percentage of the general population (43.5%) being people of color. The North Central Jurisdiction was lowest in both categories with UMC membership at 3.68% and population at 20.3%. New Mexico Conference has the highest percentage of people of color in the population at 64.4%, with their membership far behind at 9.7%. The California-Pacific conference has the highest UMC membership of color at 34.9%, compared to the population at 61.1%. West Virginia is lowest in population numbers at 5.1% (1% of members) while Wyoming came in lowest with UMC members at 0.7% (population at 7.7%).

With regard to particular categories, Hispanic/Latinos comprise the largest non-Anglo category, with over 15% of the total US population. Hispanic/Latino UMC members stand at only 0.9% however. This group is most prevalent in the Western Jurisdiction in terms of percentages, at 27.5% (with UMC members at 1.9%). This group is least present in the North Central at 6.5% (0.3% of members). Southwest Texas leads all conferences in both population, at 57%, and membership, at 5.1%. New Mexico is not far behind with 55% of the population and 4.1% of members. Rio Grande Conference is not mentioned because its boundaries are not clearly defined, making population matching difficult, and overlaps other conferences. Its 13,494 Hispanic members are captured in the denominational totals.

Of United Methodist people of color, African Americans comprise the largest percentage (5.85%) out of a total population of 12.4%. This group makes up 21% of the Southeast Jurisdiction and comprises 7.2% of members. Their presence is lowest in the West at 4.9% of the population. Notably, however, this jurisdiction has church membership at very near this level, with 4.5% of members. Both California conferences actually have membership figures higher than their population figures. Bravo. Five conferences have populations over 30% African American, with Mississippi leading at 37.3% (and 19.2% of members). Baltimore-Washington has the highest percent of members, at 22.3% (32% of the population).

Asians form the next-largest racial category with 4.4% of the population and 1.1% of UMC members. The West has the highest Asian presence with 8.9% of the population. Again it is notable that the UMC membership is very close in this case, at 8.5%. Three other jurisdictions have populations with around 2.5% Asian and membership percentages below 0.8%. California-Pacific wins the prize of actually having a much higher Asian membership level, at 19.1%, than the population, which is at 12.6%. California-Nevada is home to the highest percentage of Asians, at 13.6%, and nearly matches that level with its 13.3% membership, the highest in the US.

Native Americans and Pacific Islanders make up 1.1% of the US population and 0.5% of UMC membership. Native Americans are most present in the Dakotas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Alaska. Pacific Islanders are most present in California and Alaska (percentage). Interestingly, nearly 6% of Alaska Missionary Conference’s members are Pacific Islanders, while this group comprises less than 1% of the population. Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference is not mentioned because its boundaries are not clearly defined and overlap other conferences. Its 5,671 Native American members are reflected in the totals.

Although there are exceptions in a few locations, it is clear that UMC membership greatly trails the percentage of peoples of color. This is well known, of course, and many annual conferences are highly committed to addressing this. While exact statistics are elusive, we can say with some confidence that 40% or so of all new church starts target non-Anglo populations. Still, much work remains. Just as local churches are encouraged to have membership that more closely resembles their community demographics, the denomination should do the same.

Note that annual conference charts with more data are attached. Church data is 2009 official statistics from the General Council on Finance and Administration. Demographics are 2009 Census updates from Neilsen Claritas. For additional details and analysis of this data, you are encouraged to go to the report, “Reaching More Diverse People in the United Methodist Church” prepared by the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary at www.churchleadership.com. The Research Office and Lewis Center worked cooperatively with the data reporting.
Rev. Dr. John H. Southwick, editor

Director of Research
Research Office
General Board of Global Ministries
475 Riverside Dr. Rm 308
New York, NY 10115

http://research.gbgm-umc.org

New Ministries

2011-04-28T15:27:00.000-04:00

I wanted to let you know about my new ministry and new mission field. Beginning in July, I'll be serving as the Director of Faith Community Development in the Pacific Northwest Conference of the United Methodist Church. I'll be based out of the Seattle area, serving churches and communities in Washington and northern Idaho. As part of the PNWUMC Team, I'll be helping to develop strategies and resources to strengthen existing United Methodist congregations and establish new faith communities.

Meredith is hoping to be appointed to an area congregation, and we're thrilled with these new adventures and opportunities. The girls are looking forward to new beaches to visit, new zoos to explore, new trails to hike, and new mountains to climb. Obviously, all of us are feeling a little sad to be leaving the wonderful friends and colleagues we have here in New England, but we are confident in God's call and are putting our trust in God's grace to lead us into new relationships with new blessings.

Changing My Ministry

2011-01-25T11:34:00.002-05:00

We're announcing today that I'll be leaving my current ministry as Director of Congregational Development for the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church. Meredith and I have been deep in prayer about this, and we continue to be committed to our work in transforming lives, churches and the world through the United Methodist movement. After conversation with other Conference leaders, we feel it's time for a change. With this in mind, I have requested a new appointment.

I've throughly enjoyed my work on the NEUMC staff. Meredith has often said that this has been good work for me because it involves three things that I really like: driving around, drinking coffee, and telling people what to do. I have been deeply blessed by the lay and clergy leaders who have opened up their hearts to me by sharing in their church's journey. I am deeply humbled by their trust and prayers over the last five and a half years. We have done much together, and I am thankful for those blessings. I am also aware that we have not always succeeded in all of our efforts, and I am sorry for the times when I have encouraged people to trust in me too much, rather than putting their whole trust in God. I hope and pray for your forgiveness for my errors, and I give thanks for your blessings. I have seen God doing mighty and wonderful things in our midst, and I am sure that God will continue to bless our churches, our leaders and our ministries.

As we learn more about my future assignment by the Bishop and Cabinet, I will let you know what opportunities God has in mind for us.

New Church Video

2010-10-28T15:41:00.000-04:00

I made this funny little video to explain our 20 for 2012 Plan for New Churches in New England.

New England School of Congregational Development

2010-09-08T12:10:00.000-04:00

Here's a wordle for this year's New England School of Congregational Development RE.
www.newenglandschool.org

Clergy Couple Housing Policy at NEUMC - Renewed!

2010-06-19T09:09:00.000-04:00

so we voted to extend this policy for another year at the New England UMC meeting today. Shall we encourage it's use this year, and maybe help make it stronger for next year?

RS – 216 – NEGOTIATING COMPENSATION AND HOUSING WITH CLERGY COUPLES
(submitted by Barbara Cann)
(adopted Monday Morning June 16, 2003)
WHEREAS it is understood in the New England Conference that to provide for a full time pastor means that a local church will provide the pastor compensation of at least minimum salary, adequate housing (a parsonage or housing allowance adequate to provide housing in the community), health insurance, a reimbursable account for business expenses, and pay 100% of Ministerial Support and other Mission Shares, and
WHEREAS the 2000 Discipline, Par. 251.4e [Par. 256.3(f) 1984 Discipline] in part states, “Housing shall not be considered as part of compensation or remuneration”, and
WHEREAS Judicial Decision 588 (October 1987) rules that “P.5.25, Point B.1 of Wisconsin Annual Conference Guidelines for Housing which states: “All pastors serving full-time in local churches, and all conference staff members and district superintendents shall be provided either a parsonage or housing allowance” is not out of order and not in contradiction to Discipline Par. 256.3(f) 1984 Discipline” [Par. 251.4e, 2000 Discipline], and
WHEREAS the minimum salary for full time clergy is especially low when the provision of housing is not considered and as such makes finances a common stress factor for clergy families, and
WHEREAS there are many costs connected with living in a church owned parsonage including 15% self employment tax on the fair rental value of the parsonage plus all utilities; “renters insurance” and other expenses often allocated as “Furnishings Allowance”, and
WHEREAS for pension and Social Security purposes housing and/or housing allowances are credited as income (i.e. compensation) to the minister, and
WHEREAS Judicial Council Decision 547 (October 1984) states, “The Judicial Council reaffirms the statement in it Decision No. 317 that clergy cannot be denied benefits on the basis of marital status”, and
WHEREAS Judicial Council Decision 562 (April 1986) declared, “An annual conference may not adopt legislation which would permit contravention of the provisions of Par.256.3(f) 1984 Discipline by making it compulsory to provide each member of the clergy with individual housing as a matter of right whether or not the spouse was also being provided housing”, and
WHEREAS the compensation for a non-clergy spouse would remain constant when he or she moved into a parsonage provided for his or her clergy spouse even though prior to the move his or her compensation had been providing for their housing elsewhere, and
WHEREAS a “one clergy person family” would not be denied use of a parsonage or a housing allowance if he or she already had adequate housing for his or her family within a reasonable distance, and
WHEREAS unequal allocation of housing benefits to a clergy couple is beneficial to one or both of the local churches involved at the expense of the pastor’s family, and
WHEREAS unequal allocation of housing benefits to a clergy couple could cause future problems in making an appointment to a local church that was not providing a housing benefit or additional salary to a pastor who had been living in his or her spouse’s parsonage, and
WHEREAS Judicial Council Decision 547 states, “there is nothing to indicate that ministers may not negotiate for more compensation if they are not going to use the housing”, and
WHEREAS Judicial Decision 588 which states, with regard to clergy couple housing, “Additional housing allowance, unless provided as additional compensation after negotiation...” implies that additional housing allowance is legal and reasonable as long as it is provided as additional compensation after negotiation.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the New England Annual Conference will adopt and abide by the following policy:
“When a clergy couple is appointed to two full-time positions, the Bishop and Cabinet will,
1. make the local church(s) and both clergy aware that it is legal and reasonable to negotiate additional compensation for the clergy person who is residing in housing provided by his or her spouse’s appointed charge, and
2. will assist the church(es) and pastors in the negotiation process, using the value of a housing benefit as a guide in negotiating additional compensation.”

Quoting Karl Barth?

2010-02-25T11:23:00.002-05:00

My ongoing differences with Karl Barth and reformed theology is pretty well known, but Alan Hirsch shared this quote from the back of The Forgotten Ways. I think it is a wonderful affirmation for us to remember today:

No, the church’s existence does not always have to possess the same form in the future that it possessed in the past as though this were the only possible pattern.

No, the continuance and victory of the cause of God which the Christian Church is to serve with her witness, is not unconditionally linked with the forms of existence which it has had until now.

Yes, the hour may strike, and perhaps has already struck when God, to our discomfiture, but to his glory and for the salvation of mankind, will put an end to this mode of existence because it lacks integrity.

Yes, it could be our duty to free ourselves inwardly from our dependency on that mode of existence even while it still lasts. Indeed, on the assumption that it may one day entirely disappear, we should look about us for new ventures in new directions.

Yes, as the Church of God we may depend on it that if only we are attentive, God will show us such new ways as we can hardly anticipate now. And as the people who are bound to God, we may even now claim unconquerably security for ourselves through him. For his name is above all names…

[Letter to a Pastor in the German Democratic Republic, in How to Serve God in a Marxist Land (New York: Association Press, 1959) pp.45-80]

Praying to the Lord of the Harvest

2009-09-30T12:33:00.004-04:00

I'm convinced that God has a great vision in mind for New England United Methodists to reach thousands of new people across our region. In addition to strengthening our existing churches, I know that we’ll need dozens of new churches reaching these new people in new ways. The next step for us in living into this great vision is to pray to the Lord of Harvest.

In the first weeks of October, I'm traveling around New England and inviting people into our three foci of prayer:

Thanking God for our existing churches
Invoking God’s blessings for our communities, regions & neighborhoods
Asking God to raise up leaders who can reach new people in new ways

If you can’t be with us in person, please join us in your personal prayers. On Oct 13, I’ll post an on-line prayer experience that can help resource and guide your Harvest prayers.

Join in a Harvest Prayer event near you:

Oct. 5 10:00 am - noon
First UMC of Laconia-Gilford NH

Oct. 6 10:00 am - noon
Good Shepherd UMC, Haverhill MA

Oct. 6 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Grace UMC, Hopkinton MA

Oct. 7 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Crawford Mem. UMC, Winchester MA

Oct. 8 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Camp Mechuwana, Winthrop ME
part of Mid-ME District Clergy Day

Oct. 9 10:00 am - noon
Plymouth UMC, Plymouth MA

Oct. 14 10:00 am - noon
Old Town UMC, Old Town ME

Oct. 15 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Trinity UMC, Springfield MA

vist www.neumc.org/churches for directions & addresses for any New England UMC.

Bart Campolo Video

2009-09-21T14:37:00.001-04:00

Bart is coming as one of the keynote speakers to this year's New England School of Congregational Development. Check out his recent video from www.recycleyourfaith.com.

Christianity® from Recycle Your Faith on Vimeo.

2009-06-05T17:01:00.001-04:00

Hey, I'm doing a charity bike ride for Emmaus House housing services in Haverhill MA.
Click here to see my on-line giving page.

Where are we heading?

2009-03-23T13:27:00.002-04:00

I recently submitted this update as my annual report. I have some reservations about putting it out there in an official capacity for the "Conference Journal," but it's nothing I haven't said before.

Report of Director of Congregational Development
Office of Congregational Development, New England United Methodist Church
Curtis Brown

Being concerned with the organizational and missional health of all of our congregations throughout New England sometimes causes me to ask odd questions. Each week I’m in contact with the hundreds of United Methodists involved in our ministries of Natural Church Development, Urban Ministries, Town & Country, Local Church Transformation, New Church Development, New England School of Congregational Development, District Congregational Development Teams, and local congregation revitalization. Most of the time we’re discussing the immediate and urgent topics on our agenda, but recently I’ve stumbled into conversations that keep forcing me to ask this question:

Where are we heading?

United Methodist churches have been in decline in New England for over a generation. We’ve seen decreases in participation, leadership, resources and, most troubling, in ministry impact on our communities, region and the world. Of course, we’ve seen some wonderful new churches planted and some exceptional churches grow during this time. (Our Natural Church Development process is designed to help all of our churches learn from these healthy exceptions to the rule.) As a whole, however, we’ve been stepping back instead of stepping up.

So, where is this all going? I know that it’s impossible to predict the future, especially when God’s involved in pouring out unexpected blessings, but I do believe, as Jesus suggests in Matthew 16:3, we can look to the skies and get a pretty good guess at the weather. So here is my understanding of the signs of the times:

1. We will see a profound change to our methods of funding ministry.
For years we have relied on the active participants in our congregations to fund our ministries through their charitable contributions. Increasingly, this has led to fewer people giving more per-person with an overall decrease in funds available for ministry. With spiraling costs for health insurance, pensions, building maintenance and staff, many churches have ceased funding local and global missions through their budgets. In the future we will need to look for more church-community partnerships and grants to directly fund local missions. We will need to see our churches develop more and deeper disciples that will tithe sacrificially to God’s work through their church. Evangelism and discipleship will not be seen as ministries to be funded by churches; rather, they will be the way churches raise funds for their services of compassion and justice in the world.

2. We will see fewer clergy employed by only one congregation.
Many pastors already serve multiple congregations, work another job for their income, or rely on their savings or spouses for significant financial support. This is a profound change for clergy and congregations, but it is opening wide new doors as our clergy are more deeply connecting with their communities through their other employments. Accepting this change also allows us to re-launch ourselves into ministry with and among the poor and others who can’t afford the full financial cost of employing a pastor.

3. We will see more churches close.
I don’t know which churches will choose to close their doors in the next decade. Some will probably come from our smaller churches, some from our larger ones. Some will be rural, some urban, some suburban. Churches close for a bewildering number of causes and reasons, but most have lost a sense of their spiritual vitality and mission. As we celebrate the past ministries of these churches, our current generation of church leaders has a remarkable responsibility to reinvest the legacy resources of these closing churches into new ministries that reach new people in new ways.

4. We will see increased involvement in missional ministries.
Even as we have fewer members in our churches, I believe we will see more people involved in our ministries of service, compassion and justice. Many churches have already seen their constituency roll grow even as their membership and worship attendance have declined. Several of our churches have dozens of members but serve hundreds of people through their feeding programs or recovery groups. Our strongest congregations will become portals through which all kinds of people can make a positive difference in the world. When these churches are seen as relevant again to the real needs in our communities, new people will once again want to get involved.

5. We will see the greatest growth among our new immigrant communities.
New England demographics are changing more rapidly than any time in the last eighty years, primarily with the arrival of thousands of new immigrants from many new countries and regions. The immigration of people from places where the United Methodist Church is rapidly growing – western Africa, eastern Europe, southeast Asia – is already having an impact on many of our churches. Much of our future growth will come from ministry with our new New Englanders and their children, especially through new congregations.

I’m fully prepared to be wrong on all of these ideas, but I’m also preparing to adapt my understanding of ministry to engage this changed context. I’d invite you to consider how your church’s ministry will change as well. You can join the conversation and get involved through the Congregational Development pages and blogs at www.neumc.org or feel free to send me an e-mail at curtis@neumc.org.

The Glass is Half Full

2009-03-11T09:26:00.004-04:00

My spiritual discipline for this year has been to see the glass half full, rather than half empty. I'm not too proud to confess that I haven't been doing a great job of it. Circumstances have seem to conspire against my quest for greater optimism, but I have greatly appreciated those of you who have been supporting me with your prayers.

Pessimism has disturbing effects within an organization. We've seen the world-wide effects of economic pessimism through the collapse of the the financial markets. This mental attitude is now causing millions to loose jobs, homes, and incomes.

(By the way, if you need some help with loans or financial services, our New England United Methodist Credit Union is still solid and looking to lend.)

In churches, the habit of seeing the glass as half empty leads to a lack of vision, lack of hopefulness, lack of possibility, and eventually a lack of action. We get all bogged down in what we believe we can't do, instead of listening to God's call to get busy with what we can do.

I believe in the power of God to accomplish great things, greater than what we can even imagine. And I believe in churches as a core expression of God's work in the world. For churches, optimism grows out of faith and trust in God's will as lived out in the gifts and ministries of the congregation. For Christians, optimism is the habit of seeing God's good work around us, rather than the short-comings of our human falibility. I readily admit that I'm not always good at this, but I'm working on it. And God is working on me. I know that the spiritual discipline of seeing the glass as half full breeds gratitude, confidence, trust, and vision of God's possibilities. I think that I need more of all these in my life and work. And I know a lot of church leaders that need them too.

What's happened?

2009-03-04T18:58:00.000-05:00

I've been supervising a seminary student in her field education work this year. She's been working really hard to re-launch a once closed United Methodist church in rural New Hampshire. The odds haven't been in her favor, but there've been some wonderful things happening in her ministry.
As we were talking this week, she asked me about what has happened to so many churches. Why do they seem so stuck, hurt and resistant to becoming the world-changing, life-transforming Body of Christ that they were created to be?
Over the past three years as the Director of Congregational Development in the mission-rich but passion-poor New England Conference of the United Methodist Church, I've thought about this question often. For a generation our region has seen a regular decrease in almost every measure of church vitality - from worship attendance to mission giving to leadership involvement. What's happened to get us to this place? And what could we do differently to change the future?
I'm pretty sure that there are as many answers to this question as there are advanced degrees among our pastors. Here's mine.
I think that we've lost our passion for Christ because we've stopped the regular spiritual practices of our Wesleyan method.
This didn't happen overnight, but it has been a gradual movement over the past century or so. In his standard work "The Story of American Methodism," Frederick Norwood suggests that this journey had it's beginning when we began shifting pastoral focus away from lay class leaders to professionalized educated clergy. I think that this was probably only one of 10,000 small steps that we took away from a mission-centered movement into a large and complex institution. Institutionalism is a drive for efficiency and effectiveness, and it has produced amazing things: a global church, life-changing missions, a profound voice for justice, a church in more U.S. counties than have a McDonald's. But it has come at a tragic cost. As organizations mature, they must constantly struggle against the pressure to look inward in admiration at current strengths and past victories. It's often this institutional hubris that leads to organizations taking their eyes off their core mission and values. I think that this is probably what happened in hundreds of United Methodist churches and among our denominational leadership.
John Wesley was pretty clear that he didn't intend to establish a new denomination of Methodists. Rather, he wanted people to be Christian. For Wesley, it was easiest to be Christian when we follow a "method" of spiritual practices in an organized and disciplined way. Wesley's method wasn't innovative at all. Instead he drew on the spiritual disciplines and practices that have formed faithful people for thousands of years. In the end, it was pretty simple:

go to church regularly, and participate in the sacraments of Communion & Baptism
spend time everyday in conversation with God through prayer, Bible study and devotion
meet weekly with a group of other Christian who could challenge and support you in continued spiritual growth and maturity
behave as a Christian in the word by ceasing bad habits and acting in justice and compassion for others (this includes giving money generously)

Wesley speaks of many other Christian spiritual practices, but these seem to me to be the core of the "method" he prescribed. I remember encoutering this method as a teenager when my church began a Covenant Discipleship group for youth. We'd meet at 5:30 am every Thursday before school. It was that group that helped me discern my call into ordained ministry. I was struck by the profound difference these practices made for me and my friends, and how we began to change the way that we were living as a result of growing closer to God.
I'm equally struck by how infrequently these habits are practiced by many United Methodists today. I visit a lot of churches every year, and few of them are centered around these core habits. Through a process called Natural Church Development that we're using to help our churches, we've discovered that the critical need in many of our churches is to increase their spiritual passion. Our churches are declining because they've fallen out of their once-passionate love with Jesus Christ. When I've followed up with these churches, many of them simply aren't spending time with God because they've abandoned basic spiritual practices. Because they aren't very excited about their faith, they have little energy for mission and ministry beyond keeping their organization going and keeping their building open.
What's happened? As we gradually ceased our aerobic exercises of spiritual practices, we've slipped into chronic heart failure. In our churches that have reclaimed these practices or have developed their own spiritual practices, they are developing their heart for Christ again. From there, they are innovating new ways of reaching new generations of people, engaging our cynical society, and reaching into the lives of God's children in need around the world.
Changing churches is hard work, and I don't mean to suggest that these simple practices are the panacea for all that is troubling our U.S. churches. But I do think that they are the right place to begin.