Editor’s Note: This piece was written by a Luther Seminary student earlier this spring.

I can’t tell you what spring is like in places beyond the Midwest — I’m sure they have it but it certainly pales in comparison to the spring that we enjoy in Minnesota. Saint Anthony Park and the ever-creaky Bockman Hall were covered in snow one day this week and basked in warm sun the next. Through open windows a new breeze blows in and with it the promise of a new age. A new age not held by the chains of ice and cold but one dominated by the warmth of the sun.

It is on to this odd state of transition that I cannot help but project my own faith. We as believers live in a time of transition. We have felt the warmth of the Son but are all too familiar with the cold and death of sin. Yet just like those experiencing spring in Minnesota, we know that the days of sin are numbered. We may not know for certain what that number is but that God has assigned it.

There is a moment in early March (and yes, I am a hardy one) when we first feel the warmth that God has given us. It is a feeling unlike anything else as it brings us to the end of our reality and then on to the next. That first warm day in March announces that winter is ending and summer is soon to follow. It is a sweet promise but one that loses its meaning if we spend the rest of the season behind closed windows and in a dorm. There, away from the sun, the promise becomes stale.

I remember the moment when I first felt the warmth of Christ. It brought me to the end of my reality and onto the next. Yet it is a warmth unappreciated when it is followed by distance and silence; by greeting the new breeze with closed windows and walls. Like students in spring, we as believers must live into the warmth and not merely observe its effect through a double-paned window. We will never replace the experience of when the Son first broke the cold but we can continue to live into the promise of that which the Son brings.

How do we live in the sun in a time when winter looms so close? I really couldn’t say but certainly we must first step from our dorms and houses and into where that light shines. We know darkness because we have seen light; cold because we have felt warmth. There is wisdom in that simple pairing — now that we have known, we should know.

The snow on my window’s ledge is gone but, without any regard of my own attitudes, it may return tomorrow. Spring is a time of transition, one that aims to break us of winter and usher in a period where we need not worry about snow. Until that time, I will have to wait and celebrate the warmth as it is given — that is the reassurance that allows us to hope for summer even when winter surprises us again.

A. Nestenprest

I have a soft spot in my heart for small congregations, congregations of any size in transition, and churches whose isolation and resources make it difficult to field an “emergency fill-in” pastor, much less an interim or called pastor. That’s one reason I compile hymn suggestions and write intercessory prayers, even though they are widely used by congregations of all sizes and staffing. Churches without a regular pastoral presence have enough to do without crafting prayers, selecting hymns to go with the appointed tests… or figuring out how the Word will be faithfully preached every week. That’s what I want to talk about now.

Yes, there are sermon resources online. They’re hit and miss. They may have great illustrations but lack theological “meat”. They may be unorthodox, at odds with classic Lutheran doctrine, or overly pedantic. The Board of Lutheran CORE hopes to provide a data base of solid, biblically faithful, and doctrinally orthodox sermons for congregations to download when the need arises. Maybe they’re house churches or are facing a long vacancy with few prospects for interim pastoral leadership. Don Brandt and his brilliant Congregations in Transition (CiT) initiative helps address some of the challenges such churches face. Or maybe the pastor took ill on a Saturday night and a supply preacher isn’t available. It’d be a blessing for them to have one place to search for good sermons to use: by Scripture, day in the church year, or topic.

So this is a call for pastors to help out congregations in such situations. I want your sermons! Please email them to cammlung@gmail.com.

  Here are some basic criteria:

1. When you submit a sermon, make a note at the beginning as to the main Scripture(s) referenced; the day in the church year/lectionary for which it is appropriate; and, if applicable, the general topic. That way we can cross reference sermons so they can be searched in several ways.
2. Select sermons that you’d entrust to a layperson in your own congregation to preach if you couldn’t be there.
3. No “First-person” sermons. They’re too unique to you.
4. Similarly, be careful about mentioning situations or people that may be specific to your own congregation and difficult to modify to be of more general use. If a person’s situation, however, may be more universally shared, please change names to protect the innocent!
5. Avoid using sermons that feature time-sensitive topics or express specific personal political beliefs. They don’t transport (or age) well.
6. Sermons should be full manuscripts, not notes, lists, or talking points. Please check for, and correct, errors in grammar and spelling!
7. If possible, sermons should take under 15 minutes to preach. Someone else will be using your words, style, and thoughts. That’s harder (mentally and physically), than using their own.
8. I will edit very lightly: Grammar, spelling, factual errors, or the stray name of a parishioner (for privacy’s sake). If I think any other edits need to be made, I will ask your permission.
9. Please don’t have your feelings hurt if a sermon doesn’t appear online. It may be a time factor and it’ll show up later. If I think a sermon is simply not suitable for use as per the criteria I’ve listed, I may ask you to either modify it or withdraw it. It does not mean I think it’s a bad sermon or you’re a bad preacher!

This is going to take some time to compile, organize, and put online. You can be selecting and submitting topical sermons immediately, as well as sermons from later in Cycle B (2^nd half of Pentecost, year of Mark). But also start setting aside, editing, and submitting sermons that can be used in Cycle C (Year of Luke). I will try to give folks a heads-up when more contributions are needed. Again, please send stuff as Word documents to cammlung@gmail.com.

Thank you!

Congregations in Transition (CiT) coaching has always, from its beginning, been available as an expenses-only, volunteer coaching ministry. But CiT can now provide assistance even when a church finds the cost of an on-site visit by the coach to be an obstacle to its participation. This means that even small and geographically more isolated churches can now afford the services of a trained CiT coach. In fact, the only cost to a church taking advantage of this new online, distance-coaching version of CiT is the initial registration fee of $150 paid to Lutheran CORE.

This means months of coaching guidance—at virtually no cost—to help your congregational leaders navigate through what can be an extremely challenging time in the life of your church. And, in the case of LCMC churches, your CiT coach can advise you not only in the initial period following your pastor’s departure, but also in your search for your next pastor.

            So how can distance, online coaching make a difference for your church? Let me answer that question based on what I have discovered in working with congregations over this last year. I have found that effective coaching of transition teams can take place with conference phone calls, individual phone conversations, and through regular, on-going email communications. And I should not have been surprised. The professional coaching industry—whether church-related or secular—is based, in large part, on the model of online and phone communication, not face-to-face meetings. And unlike forty years ago, long-distance phone calls are free, and on-going written communication can be by email or text, not snail-mail.

            The primary key to making this kind of distance coaching effective is that individual phone calls, conference phone calls, and video conference meetings are based on written answers, from church leaders, to questions that have been provided by the coach in advance of each meeting. Then the answers to these questions are emailed back to the coach, and set the agenda for the subsequent meeting.

            But how does the coach become personally acquainted with transition team members when there is no on-site visit? Through an individual phone conversation with each team member. (Conversations—you guessed it—based on each team member’s responses to questions he/she has received in advance of that phone call.) Then, after these individual phone conversations, the first meeting of the entire team with the coach is by video conference. (Subsequent team sessions can be by conference phone call.)

            Through this kind of ministry your lay leaders can learn—from the coach—about the collective experiences of churches that have successfully addressed the challenges inherent in a period of transition. Additional information about Congregations in Transition can be found on the Lutheran CORE website.

            How can you inquire—before formally signing up—as to whether CiT can help your congregation? Simple. Contact me, CiT Director Don Brandt, either by phone or email. I hope to hear from you.

Dr. Don Brandt
503-559-2034
pastordonbrandt@gmail.com

Note: Recommendations and references are available from congregations working with CiT. Click here for more information on CiT.

Three
Scenarios

Perhaps one of these three scenarios applies to you or your congregation.

1. You are a Boomer pastor approaching retirement.  Like literally hundreds—if not thousands—of
Lutheran pastors, retirement is looking pretty enticing. You’ve faithfully
served as a pastor for thirty or forty years, and it’s time. And when you begin
to waver about this your spouse confirms what you know, in your heart, to be
true, and says, “Honey it is time.” But you’re concerned about what the
future might hold for your congregation. Even in normal times a transition like
this can present significant challenges for churches; especially when their
solo pastor departs. But these are not normal times. There is a developing
clergy shortage among Protestant denominations, and this shortage might soon
become a true crisis. Boomers (like you) are retiring in increasing numbers,
and seminary enrollment is rapidly declining. It’s beginning to look like the
“perfect storm.” So you’re worried about how long it would take for your
congregation to find the “right” pastor.

2. Second scenario: You are a lay leader in a
congregation where your solo pastor has already left. Maybe you are on
the church council, or the recently organized call committee. You are just
beginning to see how difficult this search process will be.  Perhaps you’ve discovered that the minimum
financial package needed for a new pastor could be 25 to 40% more than what
your previous pastor received. (You keep hearing that college student debt has
become a common issue.) Or maybe you sense that available pastors are unlikely
to be interested in living in your local small-town or rural community.  They are more interested in suburban
congregations. In some cases there is the issue of the pastor’s spouse needing
to live where she/he can pursue his/her chosen career.

3. Or the third scenario: You are on a call committee
that has already been meeting and working for many months. You and your
committee are beginning to get discouraged, if not pessimistic. And making
matters worse is an increasing sense of urgency. This prolonged interim is
beginning to impact worship attendance and congregational giving. Some of your
once active members are drifting into inactivity. Perhaps your congregation was
not able to secure the services of an interim pastor; at least not a full-time
one. And this has had a profoundly negative effect on your congregation’s
ministries and morale.

Lutheran
CORE Can Help

Do any of these scenarios apply to your situation?  If so, Lutheran CORE can help, and help in
meaningful, practical ways. We are training a group of recently-retired,
confessional Lutheran pastors to consult with congregations like yours. And
these pastors, by the way, are volunteering their time, so the only cost
to your congregation is the actual travel expenses for one initial visit to
your community, and a nominal sign-up fee ($150) to cover CORE’s administrative
costs. But know this: That initial on-site visit to your community will only be
the beginning of a six to nine-month (or longer) phone and online relationship
with key congregational leaders chosen by your church council. The primary
purpose of all this? To help you address the immediate ministry challenges of
your transition.

Loss
of Momentum

Here is the tragic irony for many congregations in transition: Their
search process can be so prolonged that they lose essential ministry momentum.
This lost momentum then, in turn, jeopardizes their financial ability to find
and call a competent pastor. Just one hypothetical example: After a twelve to
eighteen month search process a congregation’s financial giving suffers and
they find they can no longer afford a full-time pastor’s salary and benefits
package.

This new CORE ministry is called Congregations in Transition (CiT),
and we’d like to help you navigate a transition process often characterized by
challenges that could put your church’s health and future stability at risk.
However, it is not just about minimizing risks, it’s about capitalizing on
ministry opportunities. That’s right, opportunities. Opportunities to
mobilize your lay leaders, renew your church’s spiritual life, and embrace the
full potential of what God has in mind for your congregation and its mission.

Contact
Us

So if any of the above scenarios resonate with what your faith community
is facing, contact Pastor Don Brandt, or CORE Executive Director, Pastor Dennis
Nelson. Coach training is scheduled in early April, but CORE is already signing
up a limited number of congregations. Any and all of our thirty-two written CiT
resources are available to you; at no cost and with no obligation. (Or if
that’s too many, we can email you some samples.) Also, Dennis and Don are
available to answer any questions.

We hope to hear from you. Never underestimate what God can accomplish in
and through your congregation; even in this time of transition.

Please contact either Don Brandt at
pastordonbrandt@gmail.com or Dennis Nelson at dennisdnelsonaz@yahoo.com.