Worship and Discipleship at Holy Cross

Word and Sacrament

Clowning Ministry

Contemporary Ensemble

Alpha

A Short Version of the Last Eight Years  

When I was called to serve Holy Cross Lutheran Church as pastor in 1996 it was a typical ELCA congregation. It was formed in 1960; grew to an average worship attendance of about 100, and with moderate variation up and down, got stuck there. The congregation had generally been served by pastors of short tenure; never had enough financial resources; balked at open talk about money; had a very effective property committee; combined evangelism, stewardship and social ministry into one inactive committee; had limited worship and music resources who worked very hard to do a credible job; always used LBW Setting 1; thought cutting edge technology was an answering machine. The folks were wonderful, kind, caring and friendly. They were largely made up of a few families who had ties going back to the congregation’s mission phase. Though they took loving care of each other and generously allowed the church facilities to be used by community groups… evangelism (if it was thought of at all) could be defined as ”getting married, bringing your spouse to the church, followed by having babies.” The pastor’s task was to serve as chaplain: baptize little ones, preach short sermons, teach confirmation classes, officiate at weddings, hold their hand in crisis, visit the sick and shut-ins and conduct funerals. There was little if any vision or desire for the congregation to be different from what it was. It was ”their” church… and while they recognized some problems, generally folks liked it that way!  This was not the fault of the Holy Cross faithful… they were living out the membership model which was the only one they had ever known!

Perhaps I exaggerate a little and have offended a few long-time members with these observations… but the honest folks will admit that this evaluation is not too far from reality. The vision of Christ’s body which God has laid upon my heart was and is a bit different. I believe we live in a modern version of the world reported in the Bible book entitled “The Acts of the Apostles.” For the first time since Emperor Constantine the western world lives predominantly outside of a saving and healing  relationship with Jesus and His church! Our primary mission field is not overseas… but next door, in the next office at work and even within our own homes. We need to quit seeking members and began growing disciples! We must return to the earliest church model: discipleship! Of course this vision is not original to me, and is now acknowledged and shared by many leaders in the Christian church. But while we agree on this new world view and the need of the church to change… there is little agreement on how to accomplish the task.