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Note #8089 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

Transformation doesn't come easy
04044
January 26, 2004

Transformation doesn't come easy

Fixing a broken congregation takes patience, energy and tools

by David M. Hawbecker
Field Staff, Congregational Transformation
Reprinted from Good News

Editor's note: These reflections by the Rev. David Hawbecker, an acknowledged
leader in the field of congregational transformation, were consistently
reaffirmed by participants in the 2004 Churchwide Transformation Conference,
Jan. 22-25 in Charlotte. - Jerry L. Van Marter

CONCORD, CA - For the second time, I am serving a congregation undergoing
what formerly was known as "redevelopment," but now is called
"transformation." I've found this form of ministry to be rewarding and
challenging.

To keep it "fun," I try to view it as a game involving vision and strategy.
In playing this game, I have encountered a number of realities that I believe
will be familiar to many others involved in similar ministries.

Time often is a crucial issue, to the congregation as well as to governing
bodies. The usual assumption is that, with an infusion of money and a new
pastor, a turnaround should take no more than a few years. What people forget
is that we don't begin with a clean slate; there is a congregation in place
when we arrive. The members may be few, and those few may lack vision and be
out of touch with their neighborhood, but they are still a force. When growth
and financial stability fail to come in the first few years, the doubts,
questions and blame begin to fly.

In reality, real transformation, a changing of the culture of a congregation,
a re-engaging of the community, can take 10 years or more.

Members of the remnant congregation, those who have stayed through the period
of decline, often are discouraged and depressed and have poor self-esteem.
They may feel personally responsible for the losses. I have seen remnant
members in tears when someone who has left returns for a funeral or other
special event.

We live in a culture that worships success. When congregants see fellow
members and friends leave, and attendance wane, it affects their attitudes
about their church and themselves. In such an atmosphere, the pastor often
must become a "cheerleader" - a role that quickly drains one's energy and can
dampen one's spirit.

Any congregation that looks back over its history sees that there have been
good times and some that were not so good. It is important to celebrate the
good times. It is also important to come to terms with the not-so-good. In
the congregation I now serve, the leadership wanted to avoid dealing with the
congregation's recent history because it was painful. I gave in to this
corporate denial - and three years later, aspects of the past continue
haunting us. Unless we confront some of the ghosts of the past, they will at
best slow us down, and at worst stand in the way of our efforts to move into
the future.

Leaders are few in a congregation that has gone through years of decline.
Many people inclined to be leaders, if not most, will have sought out
churches with more energy and more active programs. For that reason, the
pastor may have to assume more up-front leadership at the start of the
transformation process than he or she would like.

Even though long-time members are good people, and have been important to the
church through the years, pastors tend to cater to them in a way that hinders
the process of change. A congregation I work with now holds a second service
for fewer than 20 "older" members, because the primary service is scheduled
too early. This is a serious drain on the staff, and may be a sign of poor
prioritizing.

Transformation ministry is especially draining, physically and emotionally.
Urgency to keep the process moving and to keep energy levels high is a
critical dynamic in successful transformation, but it's one that ebbs and
flows. It's essential to anticipate these cycles and to try to catch the
downward spirals before they hit rock-bottom.

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