Remarks to Annual Meeting 2000

SouthEastern Regional Minister Kent Siladi

Kent Siladi, Regional Minister

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your minds, so that you may discern the will of God - what is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2

Or as the J.B. Phillips paraphrase puts it: "Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold."

• Plate spinner
• Tightrope walker
• Middle judicatory representative (talk about real excitement!)
• A bishop without any power (some have tried to kiss my ring)
• A bridge between the local and wider church
• And perhaps most directly relevant to what I want to talk about today: Fire Extinguisher.

That image is exercised in my ministry at least once a week, sometimes even three or four times a day. The phone rings, there is a crisis in one of the churches in the SouthEastern Region and there is an expectation on the other end of the line that I will be able to give some amazing wisdom that will put the fire out or at least have some approach to the problem that this individual or the leadership of the church has not yet considered. One call is from a Moderator who has shared that people are mad at the pastor for doing something wrong. Another call is from a pastor who has had a particularly difficult exchange with a parishioner and wants to know how to maintain appropriate boundaries. Yet another call comes and it is a person who tells me that they represent a group that thinks that the pastor should be fired no later than this coming Friday. The final call (I'm not answering the phone again..just kidding!) is from a family member of a pastor who is concerned about the health and well being of their loved one due to the stress and strain of the ministry.

One of the observations made among colleagues who are engaged in Conference Ministry is that a lot of our time is spent in "reactive" situations. We are called into difficult situations to put out fires, often with unrealistic expectations and too often much later than we would prefer. The phone rings, we kick into our triage mode and we are off and running.

• Management (meetings, phone time, email, placement)
• Pastoral Care
• Trainer/Delegator/Equipper
• Embodiment of the Tradition (preaching, symbolic representation)
• And (yes you guessed it)
• Transformation

The bias of those who were leading this workshop was that 40% of our ministry should be spent in doing transformative work. That work was defined as: Leadership development; Being a catalyst for change; Providing vision; revitalizing congregations; mission starts; challenging clergy and fund raising.

I thought to myself, "O.K. sounds good. Now you tell that to the people who call me."

Yet in keeping with the theme of our Annual Meeting, "The eyes of my heart have been enlightened" from my reflection on so-called "reactive" ministry. It is through these experiences of crisis and conflict that true transformation can take place! Some of the greatest moments of teaching and growth can take place in challenge and conflict. Rather than begrudging the fact that there is conflict in a church in my Region I have come to understand it as an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to be at work and for change to be possible among a people who for the most part resist change as much as they possibly can. Many of us know that our strongest growth occurs from our broken places. The witness of the Cross and the hope of the Resurrection undergirds this truth.

Now while I have been enlightened around the issues of reactive ministry I have another passion that I would like share with you. That passion is around what makes for what Denise Goodman in her brand new book calls "Congregational Fitness". In other words, what makes for healthy pastors and healthy congregations? When conflict and crisis hit these faith communities how have they built themselves up in such a way that they deal with these issues in a positive, faithful and healthy way? I would observe that a major factor in "fit" congregations is an understanding of the mission and ministry of that congregation. In other words there is a vision present that everyone is excited about and keeps focus on along the way.

Who are we as a people of God? What is our purpose as a community of faith in the community we are in and to the wider world? How can we allow our minds to be transformed to discern God's will for us? Kirk Hadaway, Minister for Research of the national setting of the church at the General Association meeting in 1999 offered what I think are relevant reflections on this question.

He observed that the purpose of the church is to change people. Transformation is the "product" that the church is to manifest in its life as the Body of Christ. Unfortunately, many church's purpose is to "satisfy". This image of the church sees the church as a "producer" - producing good worship, good Christian Education, good music - the church is seen as producing products that people can consume. Hadaway maintains that "our product is changed lives; giving people the capacity to deal with their own lives and problems with a new vision of what God intends for them and for the community and world in which we live."

In contrast to being conformed which so frequently means being fragmented and blown apart, transformed means being healed and bring brought together as a whole. When congregations are transformed to the mind of Christ there is a sense of purpose and vitality that always is engaged in mission and outreach and evidenced by an inclusive community.

As I continue to serve among you as a Regional Minister, it is my sincere hope and prayer that we might together be a transformed people who in a variety of diverse ways offer hope and healing and love to one another and to the world in which we live.