Episcopal Church Foundation Vital Practices - Blogs

August 14, 2012

Difficult Decisions

Do you know the spiritually ripe time for your congregation to make its most challenging decisions?

[Editor's note: think buildings or changing any long held 'tradition'....]

The spiritually ripe time is when a congregation is in sync with its primary purpose to "do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8). A congregation's capacity for spiritual freedom contributes to spiritually ripe times to make decisions.

Spiritual freedom occurs when congregations are able to courageously and generously make Spirit led choices that fulfill God's mission. How does a congregation grow in its spiritual freedom?

Ignatius of Loyola taught that all things in creation have been made by God to give glory to God and to fulfill the reign of God. When things in creation are solely used for our purposes of self-interest and for our comfort without regard for God’s reign than these things become “inordinate attachments”. Inordinate attachments act in ways that reduce the clarity of our vision and our generous response to God's mission.

One example of inordinate attachments are sometimes church buildings. Church buildings become inordinate attachments when congregations want to keep them open at any cost including spending down their endowment. Church buildings become inordinate attachments when congregations are willing to drain every ounce of their members' vitality and waste their precious, scarce pledge resources to merely survive.

Spiritually free congregations are spiritually and physically unencumbered. Unencumbered does not mean free of any property or possessions. When a congregation is unencumbered then church properties are used to give glory to God and help realize God’s reign through generous mission.

AND when church properties have ceased to serve God's mission, spiritually free congregations are open to be led in ways that restore their primary purpose (Micah 6:8).

Here are a few preliminary reflection questions to assist you in assessing if your congregation is spiritually free:

What does your congregation value the most: the building or God’s mission?
Does your building serve God’s mission or is it an impediment to mission and vitality?
What percentage of your pledge budget serves the needs of your building versus outreach and ministries to others?
What has grown faster your pledge budget for outreach and ministries or costs to maintain the building?

This post is part 4 of Joe's 5 part series on "Spiritual Health of Congregations: Anxious Decisions or Passionate Urgency."