EPIPHANY & BAPTISM OF OUR LORD & ANNUAL MEETING

January 9, 2011

WHAT DOES GOD WANT FOR ST. CHRISTOPHER’S ????

St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church

High Point, NC 27262

the Rev. Ken Kroohs

Today is a triple header – first we celebrate Epiphany. Usually that is featured in the coming of the wise men. “We three kings of orient are” — well except they were not kings, probably more like astrologers. And we don’t know where they came from except it was east of Israel. And we don’t know if there were three – it says there were three types of presents but never says how many brought the presents.

Second, we remember Jesus’ baptism and thereby are reminded of our baptismal promises ... the vows we made to God about how we will live of lives.

And third, possibly most important, today we have our Annual Church meeting. I say that may be most important because it is when we ask ourselves how we, as a congregation, as a group of people have lived up to our vows ... how we have lived up to God’s expectations of us as a community.

Tonight you will elect the people who will serve as your vestry over the next year. The Episcopal Church functions on‘representative’ government’ model rather than true “democracy’. Hence the congregation votes for the Vestry members who then make the decisions on budget, contracts, etc. I know some congregations vote on the budget or other matters but that is totally wrong under out rules. Whether it should be or not is a different question.

Every year the annual meeting causes me to review and reflect on what has been happening, and what I believe God wants to happen .... a ‘vision for the future’. A vision is very different from a plan just as an artist’s rendering is from construction drawings. Although a vision can, and sometimes should include details it is a more general understanding.

Another difference, and one I think is critical, is that a vision begins by asking where we should be in the future. More specifically, where does God want us to be ... what does God want us to look like .... what does God want us to be doing say 5 years from now. A vision begins with the destination and then discovers how to reach that destination. I spent over 20 years in planning professions so know that developing a plan usually begins from where you are today ... which too often limits thinking.

I will attempt to use words like “congregation” and “people” because the word ‘church’ tends to bring to mind first the institution, and second the building. Neither of those are important in the long term. What matters is the people and how you live out God’s mission. The institution (including the budget) and the buildings are simply here to support the ministries of the people.

We need a vision, a direction to guide us. Three entities are involved in discovering that vision. Staff leadership is important, and God should be most important. But honestly, the only entity that matters is the people ... the congregation ... YOU. If the people, if you are not moving with the vision than nothing happens. That does not mean everyone needs to be able to recite a written vision statement. Rather it means that the people, you, are participating in the movement whether you are actively thinking along those lines or not.

Five years ago a committee developed, made available for congregational review, and then the Vestry adopted a five year vision. Normally that would have been re-considered last year or even the year before. However the economic situation was so unstable that I felt it was not possible to look ahead with any confidence.

When that vision was done, and again today, I stress that I as your priest, have thoughts and ideas. And I freely acknowledge that the vision affects me more directly than most people. I try to listen carefully to what I think God is saying. But I am extremely aware that I may not be hearing God properly, and that your acceptance of the vision is more important than my discernment. Back then there were parts I did not agree with, although most felt ‘right on’. I am sure when the new one is discovered there will be surprises for me, and even disagreements. That’s good. That’s what discerning God’s will is all about.

Generally that vision has been lived out. Tonight you will hear more about one of the most important steps which has finally been accomplished, to have a Deacon assigned to St. Christopher’s. As a point of clarity, a Deacon is an unpaid, ordained position in the Episcopal Church parallel to but different from the priest. The deacon’s focus is on outreach, the world beyond the church walls. An Episcopal deacon is very different from a Baptist deacon.

I do not believe the next 5 year vision will be much different from the current one in broad terms . One place I have changed some, is a deepening in my belief that the church’s primary ministry ---- and here I mean the staff, the institution, and the people --- is to help people grow closer to God. That means people currently attending the church, and possibly even more, people not currently attending a church.

I believe that as people grow closer to God they are more excited about and willing to serve God’s children .... what scripture calls “the least of these” and therefore the spiritual growth is of primary importance.

The primary place the Vision was not completed concerns the budget. There was a relatively small deficit the beginning year. We had received the large gift which constitutes the bulk of the savings account. That in fact was one of the reasons for asking where God wanted us to go.

Make no mistake about it .... I believe God provided the money. Furthermore I believe it is God’s money, not our’s. Some people have suggested we think of the budget as our own money but I believe that is wrong. Although the intention is to be very careful with it, a stricter standard is to understand it is God’s money ... which makes us even more careful. I may spend some of my money on non-essential things but never God’s money. There may be disagreement over what is essential — that’s normal. But there should not be disagreement over the intention.

When the original Vision was written it was not clear enough about the savings. I thought it was clear but as I re-read it I realize there were conversations and discussions, and the conclusions or goals were clear, but the reasoning was not spelled out.

The written document reflects the intention to use the money God gave us to grow the mission and ministry of St. Christopher’s. Not to grow for the sake of good statistics, but to grow because IF we serve God we will grow. Let me repeat that, the goal is not numbers for the sake of numbers. The goal is to serve God and if we do that the numeric growth is almost inevitable.

We have done that well and for the first 2-3 years even the financial side was good. The Vision called for this year, 2011, to be the year when all the current ministries and programs are supported by current donations and receipts. In other words, no deficit. Darn – we were right on track until the recession hit.

Good stewardship and good financial planning call for careful maintenance of a reserve fund. That’s what was not specifically addressed and I will recommend it be addressed specifically in the future. Most of the material I have studied suggest either a 3 month or 6 month absolute reserve. Not unreasonable although in my opinion a bit extreme. What they mean by ‘absolute reserve’ is that if not a single dollar is received from any source, and there are no reductions in expenditures during that time, the church could operate for 3-6 months exclusively from reserves. I think this is extreme, but a good place to start the discussions. A three month absolute reserve would mean approximately 20-25% of our current savings would not be touched for any other reason.

Another question concerns physical facilities. As I said, the buildings are worthless in themselves. They are only worthwhile as they serve the ministry of the people. So having an empty building is not a good use of God’s money. The irony is that if the savings is used to expand buildings it cannot be used for programs. And if the programs are cut, youth and clergy particularly, to provide money for buildings the number of people will drop and there will be no need for the expanded buildings!

The best option, and the one we expected before the recession would be to expand the congregation .... because of the ministry underway NOT simply to grow ... in such a way that the funds would still be available to kick start a building plan. That may still be possible but certainly more difficult. In fact, one major recommendation in the Vision NOT accomplished was to develop a long range campus plan to begin thinking about what facilities are needed to support the ministries. With the recession that appears to be something which can be put on hold for a while.

The good news is that most of the Vision has been implemented or begun. We are one of the very few Episcopal Churches in the United States which has been growing steadily. Slowly but steadily. Over the 15 years I have reported to you, the average attendance has grown almost 300%. Not exploding but steady. We should not grow to fed our corporate ego but not growing could be a sign we are not doing God’s work. We don’t grow for egotistical reasons ..... BUT, I don’t think there is anything seriously wrong with taking some quiet pride in the fact we are in the ½ of 1% of Episcopal churches which have grown steadily for 5 years or more. 99.9% + have not — which is very, very sad.

Let me address that for a moment because I know growing ... having new people creates stress and is not something everyone enjoys. I have to respectively disagree strongly. I know of no explanation for a church that claims to be following Jesus Christ to sit still. That said please know I emphasize with the feeling. There I many times I wish I was not stretched so thin I cannot be with people as I would like to be. BUT, I still believe Jesus does not want us to sit complacently on our .... pews.

I also know that having three services is something not everyone likes. Believe me I know!! And I know that each of the five different worship styles we use: traditional, formal, informal, healing, Morning Prayer ... each one is absolutely DETESTED by someone! Believe me I know that. And I know that virtually every Sunday someone hates some of the music. I know that.

Please know I understand. If it was all about me there would be things we would not do ---- and things we would do more often. In fact I did drag my feet on adding the formal service – sorry. BUT whether an activity serves any specific person is not really the question. True, we all need to have times of refreshment and renewal. Times we personally grow closer to God.

But we also need to remember that our ultimate call is to be servants to other people. Jesus tells us if we wish to be Christians we must be servants to other people and servants ask what helps the OTHER people ... not what helps us.

If I felt I should, or could, impose my preferences every service would be 90 minutes long or longer with a full series of scripture readings, a sermon, and a full healing service every time. In fact, every service would be 2 hours with 30 minutes of serious Bible study. But it is not about my preference, it is about serving other people.

So whether you enjoy a particular activity or not please be proud that YOUR church, YOUR community is providing that activity for people it does help grow closer to God. Please be proud that YOU, through this community are serving God in that manner. ...... It will put a different perspective on things.

Church history tells us the Episcopal church began with wars over ‘high church’ verses ‘low church’ and that has not changed! Furthermore I know how hard it is for us to understand how anyone could like ‘THAT STUFF’.

But our attitudes and opinions ultimately don’t matter. What matters is what brings them closer to God. So I want you to take a moment and appreciate yourself, and this community because you and your community have sought to offer what others need. You and your community do offer 3 services with a variety of styles. You and your community do offer opportunities for people to serve God and to learn about God. You and your community do offer many programs for youth — just possibly the most important indicator of a congregation’s focus.

My discernment, my understanding of God’s vision for St. Christopher’s, for us is that the pattern will continue and be enhanced. That we will live out our baptismal vows by doing everything around the question of “how does this help someone grow closer to God?” That question should guide the use of all our resources – people, buildings and money. And my discernment, my understanding of God’s dream for St. Christopher’s is that we will continue to grow as a consequence of our ministries and not to feed ego.

I am asking for your prayers. First, prayers of thanksgiving for all St. Christopher’s is and all the ministries this congregation provides. And second prayers for discernment. Ask God to help you, and us understand what God wants ... because ultimately this is more important than what the rest of us want, or anyone else wants. Pray for discernment.