Beyond the Ordinary

Community Engagement

By Deborah Bruce

We’ll soon be heading to the polls to vote on candidates and issues locally and nationally. A previous post noted that most worshipers vote.  In what other ways do worshipers influence the communities in which they live?

Worshipers give money and food. Three in four worshipers gave money to a charitable organization other than their congregation in the past year. Worshipers support many worthy groups and causes with their time and their money.  And half donated or prepared food for someone outside their family and church. Worshipers might take meals to a neighbor with a newborn child, donate to the local food pantry, or volunteer at a soup kitchen, for example.

Many offer one-on-one assistance. About one in four worshipers loaned money to someone, helped someone find a job, or cared for someone who was sick. These worshipers help improve the lives of others.

Fewer work on community issues. One in five worshipers worked to solve a community problem or contacted an elected official. Participating in the civic life of their neighborhood, town, or city enhances life for many.

The big picture. Only a few worshipers—one in ten—are entirely unengaged, having done none of these seven caring acts. At the other extreme, one in five have engaged with their neighbors and community in four or more of these ways.

Interested in helping your worshipers make a difference in the community? Here are some helpful resources:

Shaping Communities—ideas, links, and worship materials

Going Deeper in Community

Identifying and Mobilizing Worshipers

Women’s Ordination: Support and Opposition

By Joelle Kopacz

Women’s ordination in American denominations is a complex topic.  Some denominations do not allow women to become ordained ministers (for example, the Southern Baptist Convention).  Yet in the past few decades, a number of denominations have begun to ordain women, including the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  Even when denominations allow women’s ordination, some worshipers continue to prefer male pastors.  Because of the predominant hiring of male pastors in its congregations, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has just offered to pay travel and interview costs when congregations interview a woman for a head pastor position.

Yet official denominational positions and worshipers’ opinions about women’s ordination may vary.  How supportive are worshipers of women’s ordination in their denomination and of having a woman pastor at their own congregation?

Mainline Protestant worshipers are most supportive of women’s ordination.  Nearly all mainline Protestant worshipers (93%) say that their denomination should allow women’s ordination either under any circumstance or when certain conditions are met (when women are married or abstinent if single).  Six in ten conservative Protestants support women’s ordination (59%), while 43% of Catholic worshipers do.  Substantial minorities of Catholic and conservative Protestant worshipers do not support women’s ordination (32% and 23%, respectively).  Others express ambiguity, with one in five Catholics (22%) and one in six conservative Protestants (16%) saying they are “not sure” if women should be ordained in their denomination.

Most worshipers would accept a woman pastor in their own congregation.  A majority of mainline Protestants (93%), conservative Protestants (62%), and Catholics (56%) would accept a female minister in their church.  Sizable numbers of Catholic and conservative Protestant worshipers would not be accepting (14% and 9%, respectively) or are not sure (16% and 17%, respectively).

Many worshipers, from a variety of Christian faith traditions, support women’s ordination.  Nonetheless, women continue to be a minority group in pastoral ministry.  The Roman Catholic Church does not ordain women pastors, and neither do some conservative Protestant denominations.  According to The Barna Group, in 2009 only 10% of Protestant senior pastors were women (although this increased from 5% in 1999).  In mainline Protestant congregations, 28% of senior or solo pastors are women.

Yet women who are not ordained clergy also have much to offer.  How can your congregation honor and utilize the ministry gifts and skills of female worshipers and leaders?  If your denomination ordains women to pastoral ministry, what are some ways that you and your congregation can encourage young women to consider a call to ministry?  How can you support the success of female pastors?

Tab Sweep 2

By Deborah Bruce

I’ve got several tabs open on my browser—each with something interesting I’d like to share. Here goes:

Exit Interviews for Churches. “Part of the being the Body of Christ means noticing and caring when a part goes missing,” Thom Shultz says. He gives practical, helpful hints for following up with people who no longer attend your church. Is your congregation brave enough to do that? What might your church do differently if you knew why people left your church?  

Alternatives to Traditional Church. Innovative and exciting approaches to “church,” as we traditionally think of it, are popping up in many places. IWorship has space in a shopping mall. Fathom Theater Church helps congregations get started in movie theaters. Movie Theater Church in Indianapolis even offers a money back guarantee. One church even boasts being the “perfect” church.

Aging Clergy. Additional evidence of the increasing age of clergy comes from the Lewis Center for Church Leadership. Describing the United Methodist Church, the conclusion is: “Older clergy constitute the largest share of clergy in history” (a quote that appears beneath a hopeful photo of young people).

Women in Ministry. The Girlfriends’ Clergy Companion: Surviving and Thriving in Ministry provides lots of helpful information for the increasing numbers of women in ministry. The authors share what they wish they had known when starting out. Read an excerpt.

 

Dealing with Doubt

By Joelle Anderson

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

According to this Bible verse, sureness and certainty coexist with hoping and not seeing for those with faith.  A recent essay by Victor Udoewa, adjunct professor at George Washington University, acknowledges that doubts can persist even in the midst of spiritual growth.  In 2008/2009, the U.S. Congregational Life Survey asked worshipers across the country about their experiences with doubt.

Worshipers Who Often Experience Doubts

 
 
Only a small proportion of worshipers experience persistent religious doubts regarding any of these six specific issues. However, taken together, 28% of worshipers “often” have doubts about at least one of these issues. How does this chronic doubt impact faith?

Worshipers with persistent doubts report less spiritual discipline and growth.  While over half of worshipers without persistent doubts spend time in devotional activities every day or most days (54%), only 42% of worshipers with ongoing doubts do. In addition, 17% of worshipers with chronic doubt say that they did not grow in their faith in the past year, compared to 7% of other worshipers.  Yet these findings also reveal a silver lining:  in spite of their doubt, 83% of doubt-filled worshipers did experience spiritual growth in the past year.

Worshipers with ongoing doubts don’t as readily share their faith with others.  Doubt impacts not only one’s own faith--it also influences whether or not others will come to the faith. Only one in three worshipers with persistent doubts invited a friend or relative to church in the past year (32%); nearly half of worshipers without significant doubts did (44%).

Chronic doubt is most prevalent among the youngest and oldest worshipers.  In many ways, chronic doubt is an equal-opportunity trouble-maker.  Strong doubts exist among both male and female worshipers, those from a variety of educational backgrounds, and people across Christian faith traditions.  However, it is most pervasive among both younger and older worshipers. One in three worshipers age 15 to 24 have consistent doubts (36%), and similar numbers of worshipers age 65 and older experience chronic doubt (34%).  In contrast, around one-quarter of worshipers age 25-44 (26%) and 45-64 (22%) experience persistent doubts. 

As worshipers grow older and are increasingly faced with the reality of death, they may begin to question their beliefs anew.  Younger worshipers have grown up in a pluralist, post-modern culture in which truth is relative and there are a variety of religions to choose from.  In this situation, it’s not surprising that young people are more likely to doubt their faith.  (Read Drew Dyck’s article in Christianity Today for more information on the loss of faith among many young adults.)

As worshipers work through their religious doubts, they can emerge with a stronger faith.  For helpful suggestions about how to deal with religious doubt in a faith-based way, see Gordon Atkinson’s article, Gentle Suggestions for Doubting Christians.