Challenges and Recommendations for Worship Service Transformation
Paul, a pastor in his 4th year, faces resistance as he tries to introduce a contemporary service to reach the unchurched. Mark and Jean consider leaving due to discontent. Key challenges include resistance to change and communicating new worship approaches effectively. Recommendations focus on creating understanding and setting specific goals for traditional and contemporary worship. The SPRC suggests actions to move forward, emphasizing the importance of vision and outreach in music services.
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S P R S T U D IE S S P R C A S E S T U D IE S C A S E
P aul is midway through his 4th year of this pastorate and things have been going well. L ately he has begun to voice his sense that the church s current music and worship patterns are not and will not help the congregation reach the unchurched. F ew complained when he altered some elements of the worship service and made a few changes in the S unday bulletin. T hey did not like the changes but were willing to tolerate them. H is re - arranging the altar furniture did not go over well at all, however. O nly one or two reluctantly say they like it and the dissenters feel there is not much they can do because the pastor is in charge of worship. S till, the grumbling continues.
N ow P aul has begun trying to develop interest in a contemporary service. H e has formed a separate planning team of volunteers. P aul asked for volunteers to serve on the team, but few expressed interest. T he team is looking for a way to offer an additional service either on S unday morning, S aturday night, or a weeknight. T he choir and the D irector of M usic, who prefer the theologically solid, traditional organ music and anthems are insulted and angry. T he W orship C ommittee members feel that they have been circumvented and left out. In addition, they do not see what is wrong with the current music.
M ark and J ean joined the church last year and have just begun to get involved in some important leadership roles. T heir 4 children are ages 5 ,9 ,1 1 , and 1 4. T hey do not understand the objections to trying such a service. O thers dissention and complaints are becoming so annoying that now they are considering going to the new church on the other side of town that has 3 worship services of all types throughout the weekend. in so she can tell P aul to stop fooling around and start doing his job, which is to do what the majority of the congregation wants. (D oing what the congregation wants is not the job of the pastor). S ome of the S P R C members believe it is time to call the D .S .
K ey C hallenges sufficient discussion about why the pastor believes this is necessary. K ey C hallenges:: R esistance to change, and changes made without D issention about the mission S P R C D esired O utcomes C reate an understanding of the value of both traditional and contemporary worship respectful discussion S P R C D esired O utcomes:: P astor consistently communicate changes D efine specific goals for new worship approaches through
S P R C R ecommended A ctions plan of action to move forward. D irector of M usic as it relates to additional services vision and outreach and how 2 1st C entury approaches may be uncomfortable, but needed. S P R C R ecommended A ctions:: R equest W orship C ommittee and P astor meet and work out a S P R C review/ clarify job description and expectations of the S P R C fosters congregational discussion about the church s
P astor B arb comes to serve a congregation where the former pastor has just retired after serving for 3 2 years, the last 9 at this particular church. B oth B arb and the S P R C felt she was a good fit for the profile the committee had developed with the D .S . T he previous pastor was likeable and a fair administrator who did not offer a great deal of leadership, but was an extravert and very attentive, visiting the elderly and shut-ins with great regularity. B arb is somewhat younger than her predecessor, but with a more reserved personality as an introvert. B arb is much more hands-on, and is a visionary who leads the church to try new forms of worship.
N o one complains much about these changes, but an undercurrent of murmuring suggestion that B arb does not visit as much as she ought. W hile everyone agrees that no one could visit like the previous pastor, B arb still should be doing more than she is. M ost concur that she promptly visits the hospitalized or those who have just gotten home from the hospital, but that she is neglecting the shut-ins.
B arb admits that she does not visit the shut-ins as much as they (or she) would like, but she explains that her time is finite and she must put her attention where it will do the church the most good, hence the priority she puts on worship and outreach. F urther, she says that she has offered to train and organize lay visitation teams but no one has expressed interest and some think she is just trying to get out of doing her job.
K ey C hallenges gifts/ passions/ priorities. K ey C hallenges:: U nderstanding and adjusting to different pastors P astoral care and visitation expectations S P R C D esired O utcomes alignment S P R C D esired O utcomes:: F ind ways to bring pastor s and congregation s priorities into
S P R C R ecommended A ctions H ave pastor pick one day / week when shut-ins will be visited, so that all will be seen once/ month S P R C R ecommended A ctions:: N egotiate priorities with pastor. S P R help in developing a visitation team
P astor S ally is in her late 2 0s, and single in her first appointment after seminary. T he parsonage is next to the church in the small town where she serves. W hen she began her ministry there, S ally explained to the P P R C that while she does not have boyfriend, she does have a good friend named S am who she visits occasionally and who will visit her from time to time. S am lives about 5 0 miles away. S ally makes it clear that S am will not spend nights at the parsonage, nor will she spend nights at his apartment.
T hings were fine for awhile, but lately parsonage neighbors have noticed now and then that S am s car is parked in the parsonage driveway quite early in the morning and every so often it is there at night and the next morning. A lso, there are times on S ally s day off that early risers do not see her car all day until the following morning, although they say they do not know at just what time she returns. N on-member neighbors have begun to ask church members what is going on. O ne or two members have talked with S ally about this. S he maintains that she and S am are just friends, and nothing inappropriate is or will be going on, and her personal life is her business. (N ot exactly: S ee C lergy C ovenant)
T om is the church treasurer, and his wife is the A dministrative C ouncil secretary and U M W P resident. T hey have stopped sending their 1 3 year old son and 1 6 year old daughter to youth group because they feel something is not right and S ally is not setting a good moral example. O ther parents are threatening to do the same. W orship attendance has dropped a bit and the weekly offerings have been reduced as well.
K ey C hallenges situation is impacting the church. arise. K ey C hallenges:: L ack of full understanding on P astor S ally s part that this W hen allowed to continue over time, assumptions and rumors B alance of personal and professional life. S P R C D esired O utcomes rumors/ gossip, they do not participate in it and tell whoever is spreading the rumors to stop it. S P R C D esired O utcomes:: C larify the true situation. W hen S P R members and others hear A lleviate congregation s fears through factual information factual information.
S P R C R ecommended A ctions confirm that neither she nor S am are staying overnight at each other s homes. In addition, it needs to be pointed out to S ally (perhaps by the S P R C C hair without the rest of the committee present and the D .S .) that the rumors are negatively affecting the congregation, and planting doubts in the minds of people inside and outside the congregation about S ally s integrity/ character. D evelop a plan of action on what will change, by when, and how those changes will be communicated to the congregation. S P R C R ecommended A ctions:: C all an S P R C meeting without delay to ask S ally to
