You might say we are beginning to witness the proverbial straw that is about to break the camel’s back.  The camel, in this case, is the Protestant ordained ministry.  (Including, of course, Lutheran pastors.)  The straw is the current pandemic, and all the ways it is contributing to the work-related stress of pastors in this already infamous year of our Lord, 2020.

And yet the “straw” metaphor doesn’t do Covid-19 justice.  This pandemic and its consequences would have been hard to even imagine just ten months ago.  Yet here we are.

 I retired from parish ministry less than two years ago.  Apparently just in time.  And while I am currently coaching numerous not-yet-retired Lutheran pastors, I have been personally insulated from the “new normal” full-time pastors are dealing with in this pandemic era.  So I was surprised to come across Pastor Thom Rainer’s latest article just posted on August 31^st.  The title alone gained my complete attention: “Six Reasons Your Pastor Is About to Quit”.

Who is Thom Rainer?  He is the former CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources, and currently leads the coaching ministry Church Answers.  And while Thom is Southern Baptist background, I’m convinced his insights apply to mainline Protestant pastors in general—including Lutheran clergy.

 Early in his article Thom writes this: “The vast majority of pastors with whom our (coaching) team communicates are saying they are considering quitting their churches.  It’s a trend I have not seen in my lifetime.”  (Keep in mind Pastor Rainer has been in ministry for almost forty years.)  Here are the six reasons, as described by Thom Rainer, why many pastors are “about to quit.”

1. “Pastors are weary from the pandemic just like everyone else.”  No surprise here.
2. “Pastors are greatly discouraged about the fighting taking place among church members about the post-quarantine church.  Gather in person or wait?  Masks or no masks?  Social distancing or not?”  Rainer also mentions the added stress when these conflicts have been politicized.
3. “Pastors are discouraged about losing members and attendance.”  Pastors I have been coaching are, this summer, seeing in-person attendance that is only 30 to 50% of pre-Covid levels.  And Rainer adds this: “Pastors have already heard directly or indirectly from around one-fourth of the members that they do not plan to return at all.”
4. “Pastors don’t know if their churches will be able to financially support congregational ministries in the future.”  And while giving might be healthy up to this point there is apparently mounting anxiety about whether this will continue to be the case in 2021.
5. “Criticisms against pastors have increased significantly.”
6. “The workload for pastors has increased greatly. … They are trying to serve the congregation the way they have in the past, but now they have the added responsibilities that have come with the digital world.  And as expected, pastoral care needs among members have increased during the pandemic as well.”

This pandemic has, in my view, created something of a “perfect storm” when it comes to the matter of clergy supply.  Even pre-Covid we were seeing the reality of many more pastors retiring than new pastors being ordained.  Now that trend will undoubtedly be accelerating, due in part to many pastors retiring sooner rather than later.

 Lutheran CORE’s Congregations in Transition (CiT) ministry coaches are available to help confessing Lutheran congregations who are or soon will be dealing with a pastoral vacancy in these uncertain and unnerving times.  If you are a congregational lay leader at a church that already has—or soon will have—a vacancy, or you are a pastor who will be retiring in the next one to two years, we can help.  Our coaching assistance, while at a distance, is comprehensive, and is customized to address your congregation’s unique ministry challenges.  If you want to know more, contact me, Don Brandt, either by email (pastordonbrandt@gmail.com) or phone (503-559-2034).

 And for every lay person reading this, do what you can to thank and encourage your pastor!

Dr. Don Brandt

Director, Congregations in Transition

Consider the contrasting good news and not-so-good news ministry challenges that are confronting many of our congregations in 2024:

Good News: Many local churches have now been blessed by the return of members to in-person worship services now that the pandemic is over.

Not-so-good News: A great many of our congregations have nevertheless experienced a significant decrease in overall weekly in-person worship attendance when compared to 2019; i.e., before the pandemic.

Good News: Many smaller congregations are in good financial shape; benefiting from the generosity of  the active Boomers who make up a majority of their membership.

Not-so-good News: These aging Boomers will not remain active indefinitely.  And there are very few Gen X, Millennial, and Gen Z members to take their place; whether as generous givers or volunteers.

Good News: Both the LCMC and NALC are continuing to attract new congregations.  The NALC now has a total of 500 congregations, and the LCMC is now made up of almost 1,000 churches.  (75 of these churches belong to both the NALC and LCMC.)

Not-so-good News: A significant percentage of these new congregations have been dealing with extended pastoral vacancies.  Some of them are joining, in part, in the unrealistic expectation that they will now have an easier time finding and calling their next pastor.    

Good News: Most LCMC and NALC congregations are aware of how important it is for them to prioritize and pursue the Great Commission.  As a result, their congregational leaders are both aware of the importance of reaching out to the unchurched, and are motivated to take action.

Not-so-good news: Effective congregational outreach and evangelism is actually more challenging now than in the past.  The reasons include…

1. The on-going and increasing secularization of American culture; a process that has only accelerated with the advent and ubiquitousness of social media.

2. The politicization of so many American congregations in a time of unprecedented levels of divisive and partisan political conflict.  Many congregations have been dealing with controversial political and social conflicts that have directly led to significant internal conflict.  Of pastors who admit to considering leaving the ministry, 38% said that “current political divisions” were one important factor.

3. The growing percentage of Americans who claim they have no religious affiliation.  Gallup has asked about religious affiliation going all the way back to 1950, when more than 90% of respondents identified as Christian.  In 2012 it was 77%.  In 2023 it was 68%.

     However, I would like to conclude with some extra good news as you and your congregation plan for the immediate future.

Most of you belong to church bodies—like the LCMC and NALC—which adhere to and advocate for basing our Christian identity on the centrality of Scripture.  As a result, your pastors and congregational leaders don’t need to make apologies for being part of a national church body that has based its primary identity more on secular causes than on the Great Commission.

While our culture has indeed become increasingly secular, and fewer people identify as Christians, many unchurched Americans are in almost desperate need of the kind of supportive and loving community that the local church—your church—can provide.  The need of many unchurched Americans to be a part of a caring community is now greater than ever.  The pandemic became a profound reminder, to millions of Americans, that they have been living lives characterized by loneliness and social isolation.  This presents an amazing opportunity for local churches to incarnate the love of Jesus Christ for the isolated and hurting people living in their local communities. 

So consider challenging yourself and the individual members of your congregation to pursue these three simple steps:

A. To each think of an unchurched friend (or acquaintance) living in your local community.  Begin to meet regularly with this person; walking alongside him/her as he/she faces the challenges of life.  This is primarily a listening ministry, and learning to ask the right questions as a way of bonding over time.

B. When the time is right, invite your friend to visit your congregation on a Sunday.  Offer to pick your friend up on that first Sunday.  And give two or three of your church friends (and the pastor) a “heads-up”, letting them know you are bringing a first-time visitor.

C. In this role you will essentially become your congregation’s ambassador for Christ to this new friend (and now visitor).  You will be the one to not only assure your friend’s welcome on that first Sunday; you will also increase the odds that he/she will be assimilated and discipled by the members of your congregation.

D. One more thing: Even if the new friend is unwilling to visit, do not end the relationship.  Keep getting together, even if this becomes a solo ministry on your part.  Ultimately it’s not necessarily about membership; it’s about discipleship.

Pastor Don Brandt

Congregations in Transition

The Congregational Lay-leadership Initiative

This article is written especially for smaller congregations that are either 1) already experiencing a pastoral vacancy, or 2) know that their solo pastor will be retiring within the next one or two years. If your congregation fits this description it is essential that you understand the full scope of the challenges you will face, or already are facing, when it comes to finding and calling your next pastor.

You might be hesitating to read further.  After all, you might be convinced that the “right” pastor is out there, and the Holy Spirit will undoubtedly lead him or her to your congregation.  But know this: The current shortage of Lutheran pastors is unprecedented.  Moreover, this shortage is unprecedented in my lifetime…and I was born in 1951!

However, if you keep reading you will learn of a congregational ministry strategy that provides you with a viable “Plan B” if and when you decide that it is highly unlikely that your congregation will—in the near future—be able to identify and call the “right” pastor.  And please note: Lutheran CORE is ready to come alongside your congregation to help you address this ministry challenge.  Now back to the matter of “unprecedented in my lifetime.”

About the only advantage to being 72 is all the recent history I have witnessed.  And in my lifetime I have witnessed phenomenal and dramatic changes in the mainline Protestant church in general, and the Lutheran church in particular.

First there is my family history.  I am a third-generation Lutheran pastor.  My parents were missionaries in China when, in 1949, they and my older sister had to be evacuated when the Communists took over the country.  My father—Les Brandt—subsequently had parish ministry calls in Minnesota and North Dakota; i.e., “Luther-land”.  In 1958 my father was called to start a new congregation in Orange County, California.  This was when Southern California was experiencing a significant migration of Midwestern Lutherans to that part of the country.  (In fact, Orange County, in the 1950’s, experienced a 278% growth in its total population!)

Now for what I personally experienced as a member of the Baby Boom generation.  In that rapidly-growing Orange County congregation I was surrounded by the children of my generation; children whose parents expected them to attend church and Sunday school.  Not surprisingly, my experience growing up in the church was profoundly impacted by being a part of what was then the largest generation in American history.  This included being a part of active church youth groups, and working for Lutheran Student Movement in the early 1970’s.  When I started Luther seminary in 1974 all the dorm rooms were occupied and the student body was close to 600 students.  (And there were then seven other Lutheran seminaries I could have attended.)  When I graduated (from Wartburg Seminary) there were only three students out of a class of 60 who had a call by the time of graduation.  Fact was there were far more graduates than there were available calls. 

Then, on a less personal note, there is the matter of the milestones in American church history I have witnessed.  The year 1960 was the year when 63% of Americans were members of Christian congregations.  In 2020 it was 47%.  In 1960 two-thirds of Americans identified as Protestants; mostly belonging to mainline churches.  Today less than 15% of Americans are part of mainline denominations.  As recently as the 1980’s and 1990’s a great many Lutheran congregations were benefiting from the phenomenon of nesting-stage Boomers who were returning to church because they decided that church would be “good for the kids”.  In one article about Boomer parents returning to church the weekly magazine of the Los Angeles Times quoted a parent who said, “I was pretty wild as a teen and young adult.  But now I am a father and I want my kids to have some values.”

So much for nostalgia.  In 2024 the picture is far more bleak.  And one of the dramatic examples of this—in addition to only 15% of Americans currently being a part of mainline Protestant churches—is the crisis when it comes to too few pastors available for too many pastoral vacancies.  The easiest way to explain this clergy supply shortage is to understand two current realities:

1. Too many Boomer pastors are retiring.  And the youngest Boomer pastors will not reach the age of 65 until 2029.  This means that, for at least the next five years, the number of vacancies will only increase.

2. There are far too few men and women pursuing a seminary education.  And many of these students will graduate at an older age than used to be the case; meaning that their time as active parish pastors will be relatively short.

Now for the unique challenges when it comes to smaller congregations identifying and calling the “right” pastor.  The current reality is that smaller congregations are at a distinct disadvantage even when they are able to provide an adequate salary package.  With too many calls for too few candidates, pastors today have multiple call options.  And most of them are applying for call opportunities at mid-sized and larger churches. 

Finally, the good news.  Lutheran CORE is offering coaching assistance for smaller Lutheran congregations who are already looking for a pastor, or who soon will be.  This ministry is the Congregational Lay-leadership Initiative, or CLI.  One important key to this particular ministry is to tap into the growing number of active, retired Boomer Lutheran pastors.  Some of these pastors are ready to coach a church, like yours, as you address the current clergy supply crisis.  (This would be online coaching, not in-person.)  With CLI your congregational leaders would be mentored by a capable pastor as you enlist and train a few members of your congregation to take on the role of lay ministers. 

Details about the Congregational Lay-leadership Initiative can be found here on the Lutheran CORE website.  Also, click here to read  a previous article which provides one possible, detailed scenario regarding how a congregation can launch this type of ministry.  And then, if you still have questions and want to communicate with a human being, contact me directly.  I would welcome the opportunity to connect with you; either by email or phone.

Pastor Don Brandt

Congregational Lay-leadership Initiative (CLI)

pastordonbrandt@gmail.com

503-559-2034

I recently attended a traditional worship service where the emotional and spiritual highlight for me was the opening and closing hymns.  This was not because the sermon message was subpar (far from it), but because of the quality of congregational singing.  The opening hymn that Sunday was “When Peace Like a River”, and the closing hymn “Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus”.

I hesitate to bring up the importance of congregational singing, because this particular worship ministry challenge can present something of an “uneven playing field”, especially for smaller churches. So full disclosure: In the above worship service I was one of about 150 worshipers.  So you could argue that my positive worship “experience” would not have been so memorable if I had been one of only 35 or 40.  In fact, in that scenario I might have only heard my own voice during these hymns. (Heaven forbid!)

However, I am absolutely convinced that the following worship music principle is true for congregations of virtually any size, not just mid-sized or large churches.   The principle is this: For any church worship service that includes hymns (or contemporary songs), the quality of congregational singing will usually depend on two factors: The familiarity and popularity (among worshipers) of a given hymn.  And this principle is just as true for a worshiping community of 50 or fewer as it is for a worship gathering of 150 or more.  In fact, the fewer people present at a worship service the more awkward it is for worshipers to feel comfortable and motivated to sing aloud when the hymn is not familiar and not a “favorite”.

Here are some questions that might have already come to mind for some of you:

1. “How am I to determine my congregation’s “favorites”?”  If you don’t trust your own judgment on this matter, a congregational survey might be in order.  This can be done during announcements on a well-attended Sunday.  Those worshipers who need more time can be invited to take the survey home and return it the following Sunday.
2. “What about when we want to introduce a new, less familiar hymn?”  Unless you have an above-average vocal song leadership team to help, do not introduce unfamiliar compositions at the beginning or end of a worship service.  You don’t want the first or last impressions of worshipers on that Sunday to be based on trying to sing unfamiliar and potentially difficult hymns.  Instead, “teach” and lead an unfamiliar hymn toward the middle of your service; perhaps after the sermon.  And please, let them learn this hymn sitting down.
3. “What about when we have a particular yet unfamiliar hymn we want to introduce based on the lyrics alone?”  Trust me on this: If your worshipers can’t sing it, it is unlikely they will appreciate the lyrics.  A suggestion: Have the lyrics printed out in the bulletin (or projected), and play an audio or video recording of this composition.

There is one additional reason for selecting familiar “favorites” for your opening and closing hymns: Quality congregational singing goes a long way toward encouraging members to worship in-person rather than online.  Why?  Because quality online vocal worship music is, more often than not, a oxymoron.  When watching online worship the viewer typically only hears the amplified voices of song leaders; or the two or three worshipers that happen to be closest to the microphone.  In fact, I later watched the very same service I mentioned above online.  The sermon message was just as good, but not the hymns.  All I heard during the hymns was the voices of two song leaders.  I could not hear the congregation at all.

So if you suspect that the quality of your congregation’s singing can be improved, I have a suggestion.  If you currently draw from a list of over one hundred different compositions for your opening and closing hymns, consider this challenge: Shorten your list to the fifty hymns and songs you deem—or discern to be, through a survey—your congregation’s familiar “favorites”.  Then for at least three months, only select your opening and closing hymns from this list.  (Just one caveat: If your worship attendance averages less than about fifty, avoid compositions—no matter how familiar—that are beyond the vocal range of most of your worshipers.)  My conviction is that, over this three-month trial period, you will be pleasantly surprised by what you hear.

Pastor Don Brandt

Congregations in Transition

The Congregational Lay-leadership Initiative

We are very grateful for all of the ways in which retired NALC pastor Don Brandt enhances the ministry of Lutheran CORE.  He has an article in every issue of our bi-monthly newsletter.  In these articles he draws on his decades of ministry experience – both serving as pastor of a congregation and consulting with congregations – as well as his many years of research and writing.  We want Lutheran CORE to be a Network for Confessing Lutherans as well as a Voice for Biblical Truth.  We want to provide resources for pastors, lay people, church leaders, and congregations in addition to our work of alerting people to ways in which the historic, Biblical, confessional Christian faith is at risk. 

For several years Don has been providing a consulting service through the Congregations in Transition (CiT) ministry initiative.  Through this ministry he has worked with transition teams – both in situations where the pastor has already retired or resigned to take another call as well as in situations where the pastor has not yet left but soon will be leaving.  He has also worked with call committees in their search for a new pastor.  At this point Pastor Brandt has provided some level of coaching support for twenty-five congregations.  Twenty-one of these congregations are LCMC, three are ELCA, and one is dual-rostered. 

Pastor Brandt has also written powerfully about a dynamic that church leaders and congregational call committees are only too familiar with – the growing shortage of pastors available for call.  This shortage is reaching crisis proportions.

He has written convincingly about the need for many congregations – especially smaller and/or more remote congregations – to take seriously the fact that they might not be able to find another ordained pastor to call.  Instead they may need to transition to a lay-led ministry model in order for the congregation to be able to continue to exist and do God’s work. 

But Pastor Brandt is not just someone who will describe a problem.  He is also someone who will do something about the problem.  And even beyond that, he is someone who will develop a plan so that others also can become involved in doing something about the problem.

Here is a link to the Congregational Lay Leadership Initiative (CLI) page on our website.  Clicking on the link you will find such resources as a description of the concept, including frequently asked questions, as well as a list of steps that a congregation can take to identify, enlist, and train part-time lay ministers.

We are very grateful for the fact that LCMC and the NALC have a similar concern and are taking positive steps so that all congregations can have trained leaders.  It is going to take the best efforts of all of us to address this major concern.  

I frequently hear from congregations that are unable to find a pastor to call or that have found a retired pastor who is able and willing to come one or two times a month but then lay members provide worship leadership on the other Sundays.  We are very grateful to all retired pastors who are willing to serve – even if not every Sunday and even if serving means traveling a considerable distance.  And we thank God for the members of congregations who deeply love their Lord and their church so that they are willing to step up and lead worship and give the message.  I know that some people feel that these lay leaders should receive sufficient training so that they would be ordained.  But I know of situations where I believe that willing and capable lay leaders would be “scared off” if they knew that they would have to be ordained.  Then that congregation might have to close because of a lack of worship leadership. 

Please notice that the Congregational Lay Leadership Initiative (CLI) calls upon retired pastors who would be willing to come alongside of these lay ministers, meeting with them online once a month and providing ongoing counsel and support.  If you would be willing to consider being one of these mentor/coaches please let us know.  We have a document which will tell you more of what would be involved. 

Editor’s note: River’s Edge Ministry (REM), located in Mt. Airy, MD, traveled to Pine Island, FL in January as part of Cross Country Mission (CCM) 2023. Pine Island was devastated by Hurricane Ian in late September 2022. Mary Bates, NALC Disaster Response Coordinator, did the necessary groundwork to find the work sites that matched our team’s skillsets. Lutheran CORE’s board provided funding that enabled REM to reduce the cost of the trip for the crew. Previous articles about Cross Country Mission and City Mission include The Potency of Missional Engagement, Igniting Renewal Through Mission and How City Mission Was Born, Part 1: Katrina, the Unwelcomed Reformer.

As a pastor-mission developer who has served for many decades, I believe we—those who are part of a so-called ‘mainline’ denominational church body—are facing a hard (and potentially devastating) reality: Who will be leading our churches, especially as a significantly large percentage of clergy retire and many others ‘step down’ because of discouragement and sheer exhaustion? AND, where is the ‘next generation’ of pastors and leaders? The intent of this article is not to answer these questions but to simply acknowledge and remember that we, as pastors and leaders of Christ’s Church, are called to grapple with such realities and then present hope in the midst of it all. These times press us to consider other, more general questions: “Lord, what are You saying to us?” and “Lord, how should we respond?” I desire to offer at least a glimmer of hope by sharing a hard lesson in fully ‘releasing’ the next generation into leadership.

This ‘hard lesson’ involved laying aside my leadership, unconditionally, and literally watching from afar as the next generation took the reins and completely oversaw a very challenging disaster relief mission which we had been planning for months through Mary Bates, Coordinator of NALC Disaster Response. Though they did all of the work and I watched from 1100 miles away, it was an unexpected blessing to behold and one from which we, I, learned a great deal. In a nutshell, I was sidelined and could not lead this effort called Cross Country Mission: Pine Island, FL because I developed shingles in my right eye. Just days before the scheduled departure from MD on January 29^th, I was still resolved to be part of this effort. But then my ophthalmologist informed me that if I didn’t stay home and rest, I might lose my eyesight. I listened. I suppose we could’ve cancelled but, instead, we recalibrated our strategy and the next generation stepped fully and willingly into the task before them. Not only did I keep my eyesight but I gained a greater vision of how important it is to equip and mobilize the next generation by fully releasing them into leadership roles.

In this article, I’d like to share a bit, as both father and pastor-mission developer, of how the Lord made a way and used a difficult circumstance for the greater good (cf. Romans 8:28). It’s encouraging to know that there’s well-grounded precedence for such a happening: “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19)

One of the greatest joys in my life has been parenting. As a father for nearly 34 years, it seems that I am still learning the fundamentals of child-rearing. One of them is transitioning from the demanding commitment of rearing and raising little ones to, perhaps, the greater challenge of releasing them into a world beyond the familiarity and comfort of home. It seems that there’s not much difference between our pastoral/shepherding role in ministry and our parenting role. As parents, we are called to eventually release our children into their full potential, giftedness, calling/vocation, and God-ordained destiny, etc. Is ministry any different? As a priest, pastor, shepherd, father/mother of the faith, are we not to release and mobilize our congregants, disciples, etc. into the work of the ministry for the sake of the Kingdom? As I shared in the opening paragraphs of this article, I just experienced this reality, face-to-face, in a very real and practical way, both as a parent and as a pastor; especially in terms of more effectively moving a child (or disciple) from a preparatory season of rearing-raising (or equipping) into a fruitful season of releasing (or mobilizing).  

A while back, I attended a conference regarding what it means to build a discipling culture—an environment to communicate and pass on the faith—within the local church setting. During that time, a clear and concise model was presented on how to create such a culture. It is one that you may be familiar with and is especially apropos to our present conversation. I believe it’s especially helpful and a simple but highly-effective pedagogical tool in raising up the next generation of leaders. For the sake of clarity, we’ll simply refer to this model as a teaching square.

The “P” in our teaching square represents parenting. Our “progression” in teaching our children is essential as we move from P1 to P4, especially knowing that they are—whether we’re aware of it or not—watching and learning from our words and actions. Again, we can bring out the very best in our kids and release them with a self-assured independence, or we can choose not to take the time to parent our children thoughtfully and wait for a different outcome. We could just as easily replace the ‘P’ with a ‘D’ with the emphasis being discipling not parenting. But the teaching square is easier said than done. As pastors and leaders within the Church, one of our great privileges is leading our parishioners into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ while simultaneously equipping and mobilizing them for the work of the ministry … and the Church’s mission. My great confession in this article is that it’s been difficult for me—both as a parent and a pastor—to move around the square fluidly. I find myself stumbling around P4 (or D4), YOU DO—I WATCH! But I know it’s absolutely essential, especially in raising up and fully releasing the next generation. 

I believe you could share a similar story and make a similar confession, but for me it took ‘shingles in the eye’ for my soul to awaken to the gravity of what’s at stake—If our children, the next generation AND/OR our parishioners-disciples are not fully and unconditionally released as missional disciples, then the future of the Church is greatly at risk. Fully releasing means trusting, accepting and expecting that the Lord’s already gone before us, making our paths straight and the rough roads smooth (Psalm 5:8), and causing the necessary infrastructure to be built with new (and different) resources, ideas and relationships, etc. It means that we faithfully lead around the teaching square, but then pause (before we stumble) at P4-D4, take a deep breath … and then completely and unconditionally relinquish our own need to lead and pass the baton into the more-than-competent hands of those we’ve been faithfully shepherding and discipling, especially the next generation! We should then be able to take a seat, rest, rejoice, and then cheer them on with a loud cry, YOU DO-I WATCH! Indeed, it was a joy to watch two of my sons, Jacob and Caleb, and two other young adults enthusiastically take the reins of leadership for Cross Country Mission: Pine Island, FL.

Paralleling many of my own thoughts about leadership in his provocative article, How Your Congregation Can Identify, Enlist and Train Part-time Ministers, Pastor Don Brandt writes, “The current shortage of available pastors in the LCMC and NALC presents a difficult challenge for a great many call committees … In fact, such a scenario can result in nothing less than an existential crisis for their congregations.” This article is very helpful in at least stimulating a much-needed conversation in which all leaders and pastors of every congregation should engage. Though well-intended, addressing such important concerns should not be reserved for just another hierarchically-appointed task force or national staff person. Again, ALL of us should be intensely involved in the discourse because, after all, what happens if we’re not able (or are unwilling) to enlist others to lead when finding or calling an ordained pastor becomes nigh impossible? This question ties in with my opening questions: Who will be leading our churches, especially as a significantly large percentage of clergy retire and many others ‘step down’ because of discouragement and sheer exhaustion? AND, where is the ‘next generation’ of pastors and leaders?

Thank you for taking the time to at least consider how we might more effectively release our parishioners, especially the next generation, into the mission field. Because I wasn’t able to be part of Cross Country Mission: Pine Island, FL, Kim Smith, a missional partner with River’s Edge Ministries and one who did participate, will tell at least part of the rest of the story of how the work of ministry unfolded. Enjoy her article, (Per)Mission to Lead, also published in Lutheran CORE’s  March newsletter. You’ll read about how the team stepped up as she and the other 24 co-laborers from many different churches did the work of the ministry. I stood back and watched … And it was way more than good!

All photographs used in this article were provided by various crew members.

First off, this is not an article about the relative merits of traditional and/or contemporary hymns and songs.  So even if you suspect you might have a “chip on your shoulder” on that particular issue, you can calm down and read on.  This article is about congregational singing regardless of whether your church sings traditional hymns; or contemporary Christian songs; or a blend of both.  I want to focus on what is involved in facilitating quality congregational singing.  In other words, what pastors and congregational leaders can do to encourage a high percentage of your members to actually participate and sing aloud during worship.

Before I get to some practical suggestions for improving congregational singing, it’s important to recognize two primary factors which tend to undermine congregational singing and decrease the percentage of worshipers who join in and actually participate.

A. The number of worshipers in attendance on any given Sunday.  Now if you have more than one weekly service this issue is, obviously, about the number of worshipers attending at a given hour; not your cumulative, total attendance for your two (or more) services combined.  Here’s the general rule related to your attendance at any one service: The more worshipers present the more likely the majority will feel comfortable singing aloud.  Conversely, the fewer worshipers, the more essential it is to facilitate singing when selecting and leading your hymns and songs.  And keep this in mind: It can be physically and mentally exhausting to sing aloud if you are one among a very small number of worshipers.

B. The median age of your worshipers is also an important factor.  If a majority of those in attendance are over 65 to 70 years of age, this is an added challenge that should not be ignored, and one more reason you need to do all you can to facilitate and encourage congregational singing.

I suspect that, in many smaller and more elderly worshiping communities, the lack of participation in congregational singing is one factor—no doubt among others—directly leading to decreasing worship attendance over time.

So let me address this ministry challenge for a hypothetical Lutheran congregation that has one weekly service.  This church—Grace Lutheran—has a worship attendance average of between 25 and 65.  And the median age of their worshipers is between 55 and 70.  And let’s assume that the acoustics in Grace Lutheran’s sanctuary, though not ideal, are adequate.

Grace Lutheran’s pastor is Rev. Olsen.  Now like most pastors, Rev. Olsen can indeed carry a tune.  (In fact, like many pastors, the best experience Pastor Olsen ever had experiencing quality congregational singing was at seminary chapel services.)  However, though he can indeed “carry a tune”, Rev. Olsen does not have a solo-quality voice and does not consider himself a songleader.  More important, he has always considered hymns to be an integral part of worship; and is painfully aware of the poor quality of congregational singing at Grace.  So Pastor Olsen starts searching online for articles about “Facilitating and Encouraging Congregational Singing in Smaller Churches”.  After exhaustive research, these were among the most helpful and practical suggestions he found for improving congregational singing at Grace.

1. The majority of worship hymns and songs should be familiar “favorites” among your members.  How was he going to discern which compositions fit this description?  A survey, of course. And from the results of this “List Your Favorite Hymns and/or Christian Songs” survey Pastor Olsen came up with a “Top 40 (or 50)” list.  Not that all worship songs on a given Sunday needed to be from this list.  However, more often than not, Rev. Olsen made sure that at least one or two of the hymns at a weekly service was from the list of “favorites”.  And when it came to hymn and song selection in general, Pastor Olsen learned the importance of avoiding hymns where the melody had a range of much more than one octave.  (In other words, seven whole notes.)  This is, he learned, especially important for older worshipers who are discovering that they can’t “reach the high notes” like they used to.

2. The next suggestion pastor Olsen found for improving congregational singing is to provide the best possible music leadership.  Since Grace Lutheran had an organ they could no longer afford to “keep up”, and since they had been unable to find a competent organist after their previous organist retired, Pastor Olsen realized that something needed to be done in this regard.  He decided his best option was to find a competent song leader, accompanied by a competent pianist, to play a high-quality piano. (Which—fortunately—Grace Lutheran already owned.)  He also learned that for this songleader-and-pianist duo to be effective, they needed to lead from the front of the sanctuary, not the back balcony.  But unfortunately, no one among the members at Grace had the necessary confidence to be a solo worship song leader.  However, Rev. Olsen did convince three members with good voices to lead congregational singing as a trio.  And for the pianist?  For that position he needed to find and hire someone from the surrounding community.  Fortunately he found the right person who not only had the necessary keyboard skills, but who was familiar with many Christian hymns and songs.

3. A third suggestion in the articles Pastor Olsen read was that hymn and song lyrics should be projected for worshipers.  This was to serve two particular goals: a) So worshipers would be looking, while singing, in the general direction of the song leaders, and b) so worshipers were not singing with their heads buried in their hymnals or songbooks.  Pastor Olsen initially had some misgivings about this suggestion.  After all, there was the considerable expense of purchasing a projector and screen for the sanctuary, and the fact that it was not feasible (due to limited space on a screen) to include musical notes along with projected lyrics.  But Pastor Olsen was pleasantly surprised by the difference projected lyrics made in the quality and volume of congregational singing.  And to minimize member complaints, the hymn/song lyrics were also printed out each week in the worship bulletin for those who preferred that option.  (Not to mention the fact that the hymn number was also listed in the bulletin for those who wanted to sing from the hymnals still located in the pew racks.)

There were other suggestions Rev. Olsen found in his online research.  For example, the recommendation that unfamiliar songs and hymns should always be taught, and that new hymns or songs should always be a part of the worship service at least two consecutive Sundays.  In the past Grace Lutheran members would often have to struggle through new hymns that were totally unfamiliar; without any instruction or practice of any kind from worship leaders.  Another recommendation: That worshipers should rarely be expected to sing more than four verses of any hymn. 

Suffice it to say that congregational singing at Grace Lutheran Church markedly improved—once these changes were implemented—and improved in a matter of weeks, not months.

Pastor Don Brandt

Congregations in Transition  

Editor’s Note: Jody Ellingson is the former call committee chair and transition team member of American Lutheran Church (LCMC), Long Prairie, Minnesota. She wrote this unsolicited recommendation about the ministry of Lutheran CORE’s Congregation in Transition (CIT) program.

 It was bittersweet reading our pastor’s retirement announcement in the summer of 2019.  Pastor Bill had been the pastor at American Lutheran Church for over ten years and was deeply loved by our congregation.  We were certainly going to miss him!  However, we were also happy for him as he transitioned to the next chapter in his life.  In true Pastor Bill fashion, he set our church up for success as he prepared for his own departure.  Not only did he give our congregation an entire year’s notice before his retirement, he also set us up with CIT.

     When I was asked to join the Transition Team (and eventually the Call Committee), I was excited for the new opportunity, but naive about the process.  Honestly, up until that point in my life, I had never even heard the terms “call process” or “call committee.”  I grew up Catholic and Pastor Bill had been my only pastor since joining American Lutheran Church as an adult.  “What do you mean we have to find our own pastor?  Aren’t we just automatically sent a new one once Pastor Bill retires?”  Nope!  OK, so where do we even begin?  Thankfully, we had our CiT coach, Pastor Don Brandt, to guide us through the process.

     In the fall of 2019, Pastor Don made a trip to American Lutheran Church.  He spent the weekend setting us up for a successful transition and call process.  We held a meeting open to the congregation where he explained the current pastoral supply situation.  We discussed the future of our congregation, including the potential challenges and opportunities facing us during our transition.  Pastor Don then met with the Transition Team, where we dove deeper into the unique characteristics and needs of our congregation.  Over the next several weeks, the Transition Team held multiple conference calls with Pastor Don.  Together, we made a plan to keep all areas of our church ministry functioning during the transition between pastors.  We discussed CiT’s “Wish List” congregational survey results, which indicated the hopes and concerns of our members moving forward.  We also discussed the next steps to take in the call process.  The Transition Team then compiled all the information we gathered into a detailed report for the Call Committee and Church Council.  Pastor Don also provided specific step by step recommendations for the Call Committee to follow.  With all the background work complete, once the Call Committee was formed, we were able to hit the ground running.  We had already received materials from applicants by the time our Call Committee first met!  Even though, at this point, our scheduled calls with Pastor Don were complete, he still maintained close communication with our Call Committee.  He was available via email to answer any questions and to coach us through the call process.  

     We all remember March of 2020 and the difficulties the country faced as the pandemic brought our lives as we knew them to a halt.  As we were in the interview phase of the call process, the shutdown created a whole unique set of circumstances that we had never before encountered.  Words cannot express my gratitude for Pastor Don’s guidance and patience during this time.  His responses and advice were nothing less than thoughtful, thorough, and timely.  With CiT’s help we were able to overcome hurdles, forge ahead (although there were definitely delays) and find the pastor God already had in mind for our congregation.

     Should your congregation face a time of transition and a search for a new pastor, I cannot recommend enough the Congregations in Transition ministry.  What an amazing gift for taking an overwhelming transition process and breaking it down to specific, simplified steps.  I am so thankful we had CiT to guide us through our transition process!

Note regarding CiT assistance during Covid: As the pandemic is still presenting unique challenges for all of us, the CiT process is now entirely “at a distance.”  This involves Zoom meetings, conference phone calls and on-going email communications with “client” congregations.  The good news is that because of this congregations do not have any coach traveling costs to cover.  As a result, the only cost to your congregation is an initial $175 registration fee paid to Lutheran CORE.

Editor’s note: Congregations using music, videos, and other items downloaded from the internet should check on whether they have copyright permission for streaming them over the internet as part of worship services. CCLI and similar licenses often do not grant such permission. Read carefully in the documentation of your license to learn what you do and do not have permission to stream outside the building, or seek legal advice.

I know: The above title is too long.  But let’s not quibble.  This is too important an issue.  And many of you reading this can do something to address this ministry challenge; hopefully sooner rather than later.

Fundamentally, this is about what is passing for streamed worship services during this pandemic, and how we can do so much better.  Because here is the brutal truth: Worship life post-COVID will not be returning to the “normal” we remember before the year 2020.  Why?  Post-pandemic, in-person worship attendance will, for most congregations, be at least 25% to 40% below what they had in 2019.  Too bleak?  Well, as the saying goes, “Just wait.”  Most congregations — especially those that just launched their online, streamed worship services in 2020 — will find that many of their members have grown too comfortable with the ease and comfort of in-home worship.  And for those members who have largely avoided in-person worship since early 2020, it’s almost like they’ve left their congregational community for a one-year (or longer) deployment.  As a result, many of them will find it’s easier to stay away than it is to return to in-person congregational life and worship.

So what can be done about this?  The biggest initial challenge will be to focus on the mission opportunity that is before us.  Because improving the quality of your online worship ministry can not only retain members; it can reach new people with the Gospel.  However, before going over practical ways to improve your online worship ministry, one caveat: It will take a very intentional and on-going effort to motivate online worshipers to grow in their faith.  More on that later.

Now for practical suggestions for improving the quality of your online, streamed worship services.

Online Worship Music

The first step is to recognize the obvious: That the online worship experience is very different than pre-COVID, in-person worship.  I have watched online services from scores of different Lutheran churches over the last year.  Some have been inspiring; most have been disappointing.  My biggest disappointment has been online worship music; especially in the case of small and mid-sized congregations.  Disappointing in what way?  The lack of quality music.  This has been true in respect to both congregational hymns/songs, and performed music such as anthems and solo performances.

Part of the problem here is that with online worship I find myself becoming even more of a music critic.  With in-person worship not so much; partly because in the case of hymns and songs I am participating.  With “couch potato” worship I tend to be a passive member of an audience of one.  So if I notice the worship vocal team is struggling, or an instrument is slightly out of tune, the music becomes an unfortunate distraction.  This critical appraisal also applies to solos; whether vocal or instrumental.

The solution?  Only select the songs and hymns that can be done well.  Remember that, in the case of online worship, this is essentially a performance for your online audience.  So it needs to not only be easy enough for your musicians to do well; it also needs to be of high enough quality — both musically and lyrically — to do at all.  For some smaller congregations with a limited number of talented musicians and vocalists available, this might mean less worship music than you offer at your in-person service.  So in this case, “less is more.”

However, if you can access Christian music available from the internet for your online service, do so.  This can be an invaluable and inspirational resource.  If your congregation has the necessary technological capability to access online music videos, contact me.  I have specific videos I can recommend.

Worship Liturgies for Online Worship

Move toward a “service of the Word” more than a full musical liturgy.  Again, this is because your online worshipers are unlikely to participate in sung responses.  The one exception to this principle might be if your liturgist has a solo-quality voice.  In that case hearing the chanter sing both call and response portions of the liturgy might still be meaningful to your online worshipers.  However, the overall principle is this: Online worshipers are more likely to participate in spoken liturgical responses than those that are sung.

Sermon Message

I have found sermons, by in large, to be effective and meaningful online.  Suffice it to say that the great majority of recommendations for what constitutes quality preaching in person also apply to online messages.  My one suggestion would be this: For pastors who have the time and energy, you might want to do a video sermon that is specifically crafted for an online audience.  Especially post-COVID, the majority of your online worshipers will be very different than most of your in-person attenders.  And the biggest difference will be the contrast between those with an unchurched vs. churched background.  As an added bonus give different messages for your in-person and online service. You can encourage members to participate in both services on a weekly basis.

Communion Practice

It depends.  If your congregation is more high-church you might want to offer consecrated elements to be picked up at church in advance.  Perhaps you can even offer to deliver the elements to the homes of some members.  If your congregation is more low-church, then invite online worshipers to have the elements ready at home so they can participate during that part of the service.

Online Worship and Technology

One final and obvious challenge in regards to providing meaningful online worship is the matter of the technology involved.  There is no way to address this with detailed, specific recommendations due to the unique challenges faced by each congregation.  But one important and more general recommendation: Whether it be your video streaming or sound system, only offer what you can do well.  In other words, don’t let your creativity in worship planning get ahead of what your “systems” and tech volunteers can handle without major glitches or disruptions to the “flow” of your service.

None of the above recommendations address the significant and often overwhelming challenge of actually discipling online worshipers.  I will address that in the May issue of this newsletter.  (This article is already long enough.)  My next article will cover, in some detail, the following strategies for discipling online worshipers:

1. in-home, “micro” worship gatherings

2. small group Bible studies

3. one-to-one coaching ministries; online, by phone, or in-person

4. organizing discipleship/accountability triads

5. pastoral care and discipleship

Pastor Don Brandt

Director, Congregations in Transition ministry

pastordonbrandt@gmail.com

What an incredibly difficult ten months this has been for so many Americans.  In addition to the struggles many of us had with life in general pre-COVID, a recent national survey indicates that, during this pandemic, we have had a three-fold increase in the number of Americans exhibiting signs of depression! That is a staggering statistic. 

Yet there is still an amazing, under-utilized ministry tool available to us, and which can be used effectively “at a distance”: the telephone.  All of us should be considering whom we need to call; someone we suspect might need human contact during this depressing pandemic when so many are experiencing social isolation.

However, I am not suggesting one of those “Hi,-how-are-you?-Fine” kind of conversations.  I’m thinking of meaningful, thoughtful and repeated conversations where the recipient feels cared for; where you are both a friend and a counselor.

One of my favorite Scripture passages is Ephesians 3:16-19.  “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is that love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”  This text, at least in part, captures a vision of what the fellowship of the Body of Christ can and should be.  And in pre-COVID, more “normal” times I would like to think that my brothers and sisters in Christ who are struggling are being supported and encouraged by their congregation.  Well even if that was the case then, it is far less likely now.  There are so many out there who are feeling cut off from whatever social support system they could once count on from their fellow church members.  And this will be an on-going issue for many months to come.

This ministry challenge — and opportunity — came to mind when I read a November 19^th New York Times column written by David Brooks.  This article focused on some of the keys to having “deeper conversations.”  And the following insights and recommendations from Brooks are by no means limited to face-to-face conversations.  They can just as easily be utilized on the phone.  Here are five of the recommendations David Brooks shares when it comes to facilitating “deeper conversations.”

1. “Ask elevating questions…Some questions, startling as they seem at first, compel us to see ourselves from a higher vantage: What crossroads are you at?…Whom do you feel most grateful to have in your life?  What problem did you once have but now have licked?  In what ways are you sliding backward?”

2. “Ask open-ended questions.”  Instead of questions that tend to limit conversation, “better questions start with ‘What was it like…’ or ‘Tell me about a time…’”  I would add, “What has been the hardest part of this pandemic for you personally?”

3. “Treat (your) attention as all or nothing…In conversation it’s best to act as if attention had an on/off switch with no dimmer.  Total focus.  I have a friend who listens to conversations the way congregants listen to sermons in charismatic churches — with amens, and approbations.  The effect is magnetic.”

4. “Don’t fear the pause.  Most of us stop listening to a comment about halfway through so we can be ready with a response.  In Japan…business people are more likely to hear the whole comment and then pause, sometimes eight seconds, before responding, which is twice as long a silence as American business people conventionally tolerate.”

5. “Keep the gem statement front and center.”  In this time when our culture seems embroiled in partisanship and conflict this is a particularly apt insight from Brooks.  He writes, “In the midst of many difficult conversations, there is what mediator Adar Cohen calls the gem statement.  This is the comment that keeps the relationship together: ‘Even when we can’t agree on Dad’s medical care, I’ve never doubted your good intentions.  I know you want the best for him.’”

One additional quote that Brooks shared in this article is from journalist Amanda Ripley: “Humans need to be heard before they will listen.”

I have some suggestions of my own when it comes to these deeper, more meaningful conversations.  And these apply to both phone and online communication.  One is that for on-going relationships it can be helpful to set up each conversation in advance; preferable agreeing on a next time at the conclusion of the previous conversation.  That way he/she has the assurance that you will continue to be available; that this is not a one-time-only conversation.  And finally, I think that it is helpful if this person knows you will be praying for him/her.  I’m not talking about the judgmental cliché, “I’ll be praying for you.”  Instead, “I want you to know that I am including you in my prayers each and every day.”  And then do it.

Pastor Don Brandt

Congregations in Transition