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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781426722226 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Abingdon Press |
| Publication date: | 09/01/2010 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 295 KB |
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Christian Education in the Small Membership Church
By Karen B. Tye
Abingdon Press
Copyright © 2008 Abingdon PressAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4267-2222-6
CHAPTER 1
The Lay of the Land
My husband and I enjoy traveling. When we arrive in a new location, one of our first activities is to get out our maps and begin to orient ourselves as to where we are. Our goal is to get the lay of the land. That's an old idiom first used in Britain in the 1700s that referred to the shape of the physical landscape. Figuratively, we use it today to talk about the nature, shape, or sense of a place or thing.
As we begin to think about Christian education in the small membership church, it is important to get the lay of the land. To do this we need to look at two things. First, we need to reflect on the nature of the small membership church in general. What are some characteristics of these churches that shape their congregational lives? We also need to do a brief overview of education—what it is, why we do it, and what some of the essential elements of Christian education are, no matter what size the church. Once we have developed this lay of the land, then we will have a good foundation from which to explore the ministry of Christian education in the small membership church in ways that are meaningful and appropriate to these congregations.
The Small Membership Church
"When is a church small or smaller? The most common criterion is that it has less than one hundred attending worship. By this standard, two-thirds of the Protestant churches in the United States are small churches." Most discussions about the characteristics of small membership churches begin with numbers. The first defining quality of these churches, then, is size.
But size is not the only quality that shapes small membership churches. In years past, location was another factor. We used to think of these churches as primarily rural or small town congregations.
Today, however, we find small churches everywhere and can no longer think of them as just a rural phenomenon. I personally belong to a small membership church located in the heart of a large city. Many of our older city churches have become small membership churches and are struggling to maintain buildings designed for a much larger congregation.
So, while being small in number of members and located in just about every kind of setting, what other qualities shape these congregations? Most especially, what are the qualities of a small membership church that are particularly important when we think about the work of educational ministry? Six qualities stand out for me as an educator: (1) there's a strong sense of community, (2) it is like a family, (3) traditions run deep, (4) there's a high percentage of participation, (5) organizational structure is simplified, and (6) worship is the primary activity.
As we look at these qualities, we need to remember that all small membership churches are not exact carbon copies of one another. Each congregation, though small in size, will manifest the qualities and dynamics highlighted below in its own unique and particular way. Nor are the following qualities necessarily absent in larger churches. But they seem to be particularly evident in small membership churches and often play a crucial role in the ministry of Christian education.
There's a strong sense of community
Small membership churches are marked by a strong sense of community. What matters most are the relationships among the people, not the programs being offered. People are at the heart of the small membership church, and knowing and caring for one another is central to its sense of mission. Larger churches must give intentional thought to creating within their midst the smaller groupings where people can be known and called by name, but this comes much more easily and naturally in the small membership church.
We all need a sense of belonging, a place where, as the theme song for the TV show Cheers proclaimed, everybody knows our name and is always glad we came. David Ray expresses it well when he says, "There is a crying need for community in a society that has grown too big, too complex, too anonymous, and too disconnected. We as individuals and as the church were created for community." In the small membership church, the opportunity to experience and share in community is one of its strengths.
Educationally, this strength of community, of being small enough that people are noticed and known, means we can focus on people-centered education, not program-centered education. We are able to pay attention to particular needs and interests of the congregational members and give careful thought to how we might address those needs and interests.
To do this, however, we must risk giving up our impulse to do it like the larger church, providing education that looks more like public school education with formal classes and programs. As Ray describes it, "The tragedy for small churches was that when they started trying to teach the faith the way larger schools teach ... they stopped doing what they were the right size to do." Building on a strong sense of community, the small membership church can turn to our ancient Jewish ancestors and the early Christian community for images of what education might look like. In a culture that didn't even have a word for school, the ancient Jewish community knew about providing "intimate, contagious settings" where faith is caught as much as taught. We see this described in the book of Deuteronomy. In 6:4-9, Israel is given the heart of her religious teaching, the Great Commandment: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might" (vv. 4-5). Then Israel is told how to educate: "Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates" (vv. 6-9). In other words, surround the people in the daily, intimate settings of their lives with the teachings of their faith, and they will more than likely "catch a serious case of faithfulness."
The early church knew this wisdom too. We hear a description of their educational ministry in these words from Acts: "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.... Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved" (2:42, 46-47). In intimate and contagious settings, like around a table in a home, they "caught" the gospel, and God responded to their faithfulness.
A strong sense of community is a vital quality of many small membership churches. It is a strength to be cherished and nurtured. It provides unique opportunity for rich and creative educational endeavors, some of which we will consider in greater detail in later chapters.
It is like a family
The small membership church not only has a strong sense of community but also the shape of that community often resembles a family, an extended kinship system. I am always amazed at the web of family ties that exists in the small membership churches I have known. New members don't so much join the congregation as they are adopted into the family. They are introduced to the family stories, the family rituals, and the family traditions. And the more able they are to take on these stories, rituals, and traditions as their own, the more easily they become a part of the congregation.
There is often a warmth and acceptance of one another in these family-like churches and a willingness to overlook certain foibles and behaviors. After all, they are family. Lest I paint a too-rosy picture of the family-like quality of the small membership church, however, we need to also remember the complexity of any family system. Just as the small membership church often looks and feels like family, it also has all the problems of family life! There are the secrets everyone knows but no one talks about. There are the conflicts, sometimes from the distant past, that prevent Aunt Sally from sitting on the same side of the sanctuary as Cousin John. There are the matriarchs and patriarchs who rule the family and function as gatekeepers for anything that happens in the church.
As you can see, being like a family can be both a blessing and a curse in the small membership church. But there is a particular advantage in this family image that plays an important role in educational ministry. Families are made up of generations. I have among my family pictures a photograph of four generations of my own family. It is something we celebrate. This coming together of the generations is something the small membership church can celebrate and draw upon in the work of education.
"Our world divides by gender, age, size, race, religion, orientation, ability, and interest." It also divides by generation. We put old folks in retirement homes and children and youth in schools, and seldom do the generations meet. The church is the one institution in our culture where multiple generations regularly come together. They worship, fellowship, learn, and grow together under one roof. Functioning like a multigenerational family allows the small membership church to be a place where the old can teach the young and where the young can guide the old. It is a place where the one teenager in the congregation can see herself as a vital and needed part of the family, the church. You don't need a youth group to do this!
Drawing on its intergenerational nature enables the small membership church to integrate all members into the life of the congregation and to see each and every member as vital to the life of the community of faith. We can attend to individual needs and interests. The children of the congregation are understood as our children, and we all have a responsibility to nurture their growth in faith. Being like a family invites us to think about how families grow and learn and to draw on these insights as we fashion Christian disciples.
Traditions run deep
Small membership churches have deep roots. Such churches celebrate and guard their traditions as faithfully as they seek to live the gospel. Homecoming or the annual sausage supper can be as important an event in the life of a small membership church as celebrating Easter. Long after she has left this earth, members will remember where Aunt Phoebe always sat in the sanctuary. Sometimes there is even an almost reverential avoidance of anyone else sitting in "her place" out of an unspoken deference to a sense of her continued presence. It is tradition.
I've heard it said that the walls have memory, and this is a good thing, to be celebrated and cherished. In a previous book, I talk about continuity in the life of the community of faith as being vital and important. Holding on to our traditions helps us know who we are and provides an anchor in a culture that seems to pride itself on living only in and for the moment. My observation is that small membership churches are tough and tenacious. They do not die easily. One of the reasons for this is the traditions that provide strong roots to nurture those who are there.
A key purpose of Christian education is to provide continuity. It is to pass on the traditions and teachings that form the core of our identity and help us know who and whose we are. With its celebration of tradition, the small membership church already provides a foundation for fulfilling this important purpose of our educational work.
But continuity is not the only purpose of Christian education. Holding on too tightly to traditions can damage a church and lead to stagnation, sometimes death. It is too easy for the state- ment "We've always done it this way" to become the last words of the church. In order to survive and be relevant in new situations, the church also must be able to change, take a different perspective, transform an old way of doing something. Christian education is also about change. As I've often said to my students in seminary, to say I've been educated and I haven't changed is an oxymoron!
Even though traditions run deep and are to be celebrated in the small membership church, we must also embrace change and new life. It doesn't have to be an either-or choice. Jesus modeled this in his own teachings. In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, Jesus tells those gathered, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill" (v. 17). This is about continuity. However, he goes on in verses 21 and 22 to say, "You have heard that it was said ... But I say to you ..." Change is also necessary. The small membership church can celebrate its many and rich traditions. It can also risk the change needed to be faithful disciples in the world today.
There's a high percentage of participation
In our culture, the synonyms for small are seldom affirming. Small is "little, tiny, undersized, slight; meager, scant, modest, not great; inconsequential, insignificant, trivial, superficial, unimportant, lesser, trifling, of no account; mean, petty, narrow, bigoted, provincial; feeble, weak, fragile, faint." We tend to think of something small as being deficient in some way.
In terms of the number of members who actually participate in church activities, however, research shows that the small membership church has a higher percentage of people who actively participate. Fewer people may be on the rolls, but more of them are active in church. This is not inconsequential, insignificant, or trifling! It is something to celebrate!
It is true that there is a smaller pool from which to draw leaders for the various ministries of the church, including education. And we have to be careful about burnout, especially if we create a church structure demanding lots of people to fill lots of positions. But one of the strengths of the small membership church is the way in which people will pitch in to get things done. Recently, my own small membership church undertook a major remodeling of the sanctuary. When it was all over, we were amazed with how many volunteer hours were given to help do some of the work to keep the cost down.
This higher percentage of participation does not guarantee a Sunday school bursting at the seams. When there are only a half dozen children and youth to begin with, a hundred percent participation still does not create a viable education program if we rely on traditional models of age-segregated classes. However, encouraging ourselves to think of an educational ministry that is woven into the life of the congregation and utilizes already existing gatherings and groupings allows us to take advantage of the higher level of participation and involve all the congregation in the call to Christian formation.
Organizational structure is simplified
"It would be unwise, and often counterproductive, to attempt to force large-church ideas, rules, programs, procedures, and models on these smaller congregations. The small church is different! Recognize and affirm those differences." One of those differences is, of course, fewer people and fewer resources. Many small membership churches quickly discover the need for a simplified organizational structure. There are simply not enough people to populate a large number of church committees. Nor do people want to spend their time in committee meetings.
Even though committees may exist, they often operate in an ad hoc manner and meet irregularly. Decision making occurs informally and is done by consensus. A few folks standing around after church will hear of a problem needing to be addressed. Before they get in their cars to drive away, a plan for addressing it will have been formulated and people enlisted. A few phone calls may need to be made, but generally the plan is in motion, and many in the church already know about it before the day is over (communication is generally faster in the small membership church!).
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Christian Education in the Small Membership Church by Karen B. Tye. Copyright © 2008 Abingdon Press. Excerpted by permission of Abingdon Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Table of Contents
Contents
Acknowledgments,Introduction,
Chapter 1: The Lay of the Land,
Chapter 2: Who: It's All about People!,
Chapter 3: Where and When: Sunday School and Beyond,
Chapter 4: How: Clues to Education in the Small Membership Church,
Chapter 5: Resources,
Chapter 6: Guiding Principles,
Postscript,
Appendix 1: Selected Bibliography on Models and Methods for Christian Education,
Appendix 2: Self-evaluation Questionnaire for Curriculum Selection,
Appendix 3: Curriculum Materials Evaluation Checklist,
Appendix 4: Selected Bibliography of Curriculum Resources for the Small Membership Church,
Appendix 5: Selected Bibliography of Children's Literature,
Notes,