Show Forth the Glory of Your God which Shines on You Today…

By Rev. Rebecca Sheridan

          Christmas is over, and our attention in most congregations has turned to annual meetings.  Budgets, elections, and resolutions are foremost topics of conversation in most church councils.  The hymn for reflection this month calls us back to remembering why we’re in the “business” of church in the first place.  Budgets, council members, buildings, committees, and all other organizational structures of the church are meant to support ministry so that we can share the life-giving good news that God offers all of us in Jesus Christ.  In baptism, we give the newly baptized (or his or her sponsor if an infant) a candle saying, “Let your light so shine before others so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven,” from Matthew 5:16.  From the beginning of our life in Christ, we are called to let God’s light shine in and through us.  The hymn as well as countless verses in scripture give us some ideas about how we might reflect Christ’s light in our lives:  bringing good tidings to the poor, proclaiming liberty for captives, binding up brokenhearted ones, and comforting those who morn, to name a few.

            Our Synod’s Transformational Ministry process is designed to call congregations back to their original purpose as baptized people of God given the light of Christ to shine into others’ lives.  Too often, churches get bogged down in keeping the institution going so that church councils spend most of their time talking about budgets and buildings rather than about ministry.  A congregation participating in Transformational Ministry establishes a separate Transformational Ministry team that commits to meeting monthly to address three specific priorities:  

  1) Discerning and communicating God’s purpose for the congregation, 

  2) Assisting members to grow spiritually and make disciples, 

  3) And connecting more deeply to the congregation’s surrounding community.  

From years of research in mainline Protestant churches, we know that healthy congregations do four things well: 

  1) People are growing spiritually as individuals, 

  2) There is shared leadership among the laity and with the pastor(s)/PMAs/other assigned leaders,   
  3) Ministry participants know the congregation’s purpose, 

  4) And finally, members are willing to change so that everything they do aligns with that purpose.

            When I am out talking with congregations about Transformational Ministry, I often think that it sounds so simple, so easy, but I know that this is not the case.  Working to bring a congregation to greater health by aligning ministries to God’s purpose is easier said than done.  It takes a congregational commitment to do difficult things and work hard together beyond the 4-7 people on the Transformational Ministry team.  This January, we will be completing the fourth and final part of training for a cohort of congregations who began this work two years ago. It is incredibly rewarding to hear of the fruits of the labor and see how God’s light has been shining in their lives in new ways.  I am also sure that each team will say their work is not yet done, because transformation is ongoing, and this work takes more than two years.

            I am also excited to welcome a new cohort of congregational teams who will be beginning the Transformational Ministry journey on January 26, 2019 in Lincoln.  Please be in contact with me or Rev. Rich Sheridan at evangelism@nebraskasynod.org if you are interested in participating, as soon as possible!  Transformational Ministry teams commit to attending four trainings over the course of two years and to working on their goals, accompanied by a local Synod coach, in between trainings.  It is our hope and prayer that this process might allow your congregation to “show forth the glory of your God which shines on you today!”