Part 2 of these reflections is my attempt to bring together and make some sense out of the specific feedback we've received in part 1, as well as the variety of conversations and other pieces of feedback that I’ve received in my time here in Beaumont.
Areas of Greatest Clarity and Agreement
We are following Jesus Christ. The heart and soul of everything we do and how we do so must be grounded in, reflective of, and/or in witness to our relationship(s) with Jesus.
Relationships are deeply important and all that we do must be born out of our relationships for the sake of growing in relationships - embracing the love God has for us and growing in that kind of love for God, one another, and our neighbors.
We desire to grow - personally and numerically. We spent Nov and Dec acknowledging that change is hard and usually painful, but the change that comes through growth is a challenge we very much desire to work through. It will take patience and humility to open ourselves up to the new relationships that we will make along the way.
We cannot do everything - but we have the resources and facilities to multiply what happens through us if we are willing to think outside the box and imagine new partnerships or relationships through which we can share the workload.
While there is no limit to where God might send us, our location matters. Beaumont is one of the smallest feeling cities I’ve experienced given all the networks and relationships embedded deep within everything. We’ll need to acknowledge and honor our city and our location within that city in the things we prioritize.
Areas That Will Require Deeper Discussion
Each of the received comments below points to a growth area we need to acknowledge, work on, and find ways to discuss over time. There is not one “right” and “wrong” way to incorporate this feedback, but defining and clarifying our mission is necessary if we are to develop a clear and consistent response as a congregation.
1) Comment received: “we should focus more on members than the city”
a) I have never been to the church that didn’t have this thought expressed in some way. There will always be members who struggle, some who are homebound, some who are not visited or called often enough, some whose illnesses or traumas are missed, etc. It is extremely difficult to grow larger than a church of 100 or so in worship and keep track of everyone (much less check in sufficiently). We will need to give ourselves some sort of working definition of what it means to care for each other enough so that we can build systems or programs geared toward ensuring we meet that standard.
There is a dramatic difference between “we should make weekly in person visits” vs “we should make annual phone calls” vs “we need to have ‘sit down’ jobs so more can participate in ministries” vs “we need more events geared toward this or that demographic.” All of these things and many more are ways to do things for and with our members - but if we don’t know the kind of problem we’re trying to address, we can run ourselves ragged without making any progress in addressing the actual need. Perhaps most importantly, we need the people with ideas and a willingness to work who will help us begin to get our heads around what’s really being expressed and creating opportunities to respond.
b) This comment also hints at a vitally important, but rarely addressed question - “what is church membership?” We have some basic commitments built into our membership vows - “I will support the church by my prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness” - but we don’t all share the same conception of the kind of membership entailed in joining a church. Should church membership be more like a club membership - where you get a discount card and behind the scenes access, and in return stay more committed to one church than elsewhere - or more like membership in a handbell choir - where each person is committed to playing their unique notes but supporting each other and learning together is the only way to produce beautiful music - or more like membership at an amusement park - where you need your ticket to get in and ensure your ability to take part in all the experiences the park has to offer?
I have no doubt that there are a lot of other analogies that may hint at certain assumptions people have about what it means to be a part of a church. There, again, isn’t one perfect, correct answer for all times and places, but how we structure membership in our church will speak volumes about our values and priorities to anyone who takes part in things we do. I think about this often when I am asked to do funerals - it is often vitally important to the family that I know the person was a church member. I feel like the assumption is that I wouldn't care enough to do the funeral if they weren't an official member. From my perspective, if you care enough about the church where I'm a pastor, then your official membership status has nothing to do with whether or not I would officiate the service. Knowing and stating what membership truly means to us is vitally important for developing a healthy church culture, especially if we hope to grow our church.
2) A few similar comments received: “are we a place of worship or a mission facility?” - “we must decide if we’re going to be a church or a mission. If a church, we support missions, but not be the mission outreach facility”
a) It is important to acknowledge that words we all use frequently (here at least “church,” “worship,” and “mission”) very often become jargony insider language with very broad definitions. We would undoubtedly have some sense of what we mean when we use the terms, but without clear and specific expectations of how we are each using the words, there is no good way to quickly and easily reply to such concerns. Consider, for instance, the difference between a set of Christian music played in a coffee shop one afternoon versus a Sunday morning service that is even more structured and high liturgical than our own - we might agree that they can be both adequately described as worship, but what they have in common might be entirely missed by a person who accidentally walked in on each without any prior knowledge of what was happening. To know the limits, function, purpose, or effect of ‘worship’ would require a better understanding of our overall mission and the specific role worship plays within it.
b) We will have to wrestle, in the not too distant future, with the reality that our location constrains the kind of ministry that makes sense for our long term health and vitality. Almost any artist would tell you that the constraints of a medium are often an indispensable resource in constructing a finished piece of art. In other words, what someone might find compelling about a downtown church will not be exactly the same as a church outside the city or in a family neighborhood. We can pretend the constraint isn't there and still accomplish some great things; or we can lean into it as a way to shape our preferred future.
To be sure, before we know the kind of picture we're trying to draw, it's impossible to know how to account for any constraints; which is why it will take some time to figure out how and how much to highlight the more missional aspects of our church life. If our goals and priorities are clear and compelling enough, these will provide significant guidance for how to make the more practical and concrete decisions (like whether and how much to blend more worshipful and missional activities). Until that time, please continue to offer concerns and feedback to our leadership so that we can address any urgent or simple matters now.
3) comment: “Content [of the town hall] not what expected; to hear about Board decisions”
a) The structure and priorities of a town hall are very much a work in progress. If there are specific things that would have been very helpful to hear from the board, please let us know. I tend to operate from the assumption that the nuts and bolts of decisions are better left in written reports, unless we are specifically asked about a decision or consideration being made. All board documents can be found at fumcbeaumont.org/board - this includes meeting packets, minutes, and any other publicly available records; and all meetings are open unless we discuss staff or legal negotiations. Some open Q and A time will always be provided, but the top priority, when possible and until the board decides otherwise, will be to invite conversation and discussion on relevant topics.
4) comment: Never seen the “official” mission statement - didn’t think “love the city” is our official statement
a) Prior to the town hall, I had never actually heard the official story of how “Love the city with the heart of Christ” came to be listed on the website as the mission statement of FUMC Beaumont. Everyone seemed to look upon the statement fondly, but no one seemed to know its exact origins. One interesting nugget I discovered when looking back a bit - the Spire newsletter had the tagline “where friends become family” through October 21st, 2012. The next Spire edition is from November 4th, 2012. By then, the tagline was altered to “...in the heart of the city to love the city with the heart of Christ.” I decided to call Rev. Karen Dorris since that was during her tenure as pastor.
She shared with me that there was an ongoing conversation when she arrived regarding what the church would focus on and who God was calling us to be. There was a church council meeting in which the current statement was proposed and affirmed. This statement felt at the time like the best way to capture the spirit of what the church was about and how God was calling us to move forward. When Associate Pastor Silverio Sanchez arrived, that missional tagline was the inspiration for a social media hashtag (#lovebeaumont) and for starting to use lovebeaumont.com as an alternative web address (the URL still works by simply redirecting to our main website).
None of this history dictates exactly what we must do in our current moment, but it is helpful to get a sense of how we arrived where we are now. If you know more of the story (especially if you were on church council at the time) I'd love to hear it!