Fasting For Church Transformation

[Terry Tieman]

Let me know what you think about the attached article and whether you would be interested in joining me and others in "fasting for church transformation."

God's blessings on your journey!

[Penney Winiarski]

Terry,
I would be very interested in joining. This is something I began doing for my own congregation a few months ago. Have you set any dates?

[David J. Born]

A number of people started their 40 days of fasting at different times, and we encourage this as an ongoing practice. You can start whenever you are ready, and let us know on this blog how the Lord is blessing you and the work in your area.

[Kevin Wilson]

I like the fact that this is both a clear and practical call to fasting. The only question that arised as I went through a second time is whether a fourth point should be added to the prayer topics: Pray that God would either keep my personally focused on the lost or reorient me toward the lost. However, I also see the downside of having too many emphasis for prayer and fasting as well as moving from corporate focus to individual focus. Maybe someone else can clarify my "thoughts on the fence."

[Terry Tieman]

Kevin:

I think that your fourth point, to pray that God would keep us personally focused on the lost, is simply an extension of the first point I mentioned, viz., that the LCMS would be a church on fire, beginning with us. That starting point is that each of us, personally, would love lost people, as Jesus did, and then be intentional about sharing God's love with them. Certainly, "the church" includes us as individuals!

[Penney Winiarski]

I'll be starting a 3 consecutive day fast this week for 40days. Personally I think I need this more than anything. Kevin makes some good points about focusing on the lost but also the down side of becoming to individualistic. Not quite sure if this is where he is going but in looking at how to create momentum I'm finding a horrible frustration in that many ideas and resources are not being fully utilized.

While I understand we need an internal (congregational/evangelism) the obstacles and barriors to accountability, prayer, study of God's word, dependency on the Holy Spirit, and vision sometimes make me wonder if I'm being a thorn in the side or just a pain in the butt. Simply because I'm not getting what I believe we need.

My pastor was to take the coaching, we were going to do a vision statement, and I had hoped to introduce Triads. None of which is going to happen now. However, on the positive side I've begun Triads out in the community(working well), our facilitators have agreed to meet once a month and pray for the lost. I've also used grill outs in my backyard to get members together who do not speak but have worshiped together for many years. I cried when I saw 2 couples begin to share what was going on in their lives, especially since the men have known each other for close to 20years and had never done more than nod at one another.

The other thing that we did was my small group(mostly women other than my husband), decided to begin getting together in a round robin fashion with grill outs. This is building momentum for a couples group in January, because our spouses are getting to know one another. The other important thing is that some of the women in our group have neighbors that will not go to church or my house(they feel like hypocrites, no relationship with Christ), so now they have an environment to slowly become aquainted with other christians before hand by simply going to their neighbors house for a prayer and a meal.

Most of this has come from the Groups Ablaze series and the revitalization reading list.

[Penney Winiarski]

Just read my post and wanted to clarify my second paragraph. That I'm losing sight of the Holy Spirit's work in the church and outreach can easily become a promotional all about me agenda.

[Terry Tieman]

Penny:

God's richest blessings on your fasting. It sounds like you are already doing some wonderful things to connect with lost and unchurched people in your community, as well as helping to equip congregational members to do the same.

I know it can be discouraging, when not everyone jumps on board right away. However, keep doing the right things and good things will happen. As you say, it is the Holy Spirit's work in the church, and we know that the Spirit will blow wherever it will; but we also know that the Spirit works through the means of grace. So keep using those tools--Word and Sacrament--that the Spirit makes available to you.

Looking forward to hearing what God does through your fasting experience.

[Penney Winiarski]

Terry,
One of the things that I'm finding helpful is the Samuel Fast. I used Daniel Chapter 9 as a kind of format. Confessing the loss of God's presence in our Synod, pastors, individual churches, and in myself. By joining myself into this confession, accepting responsiblity for my own choices, not that I was sorry, but that I was wrong, helped me to see my own defensive nature, especially when it comes to understanding what it truley means to be Lutheran. This is significant because most times what I hear and have been taught is kind of a "Isn't it wonderful we can sin, go back to church, and be forgiven." It reminds me of a pac-man pill that get's us through the week vs. a realization that we have made a choice to turn from God. Saying I was wrong was tough, but it makes a difference vs. I'm sorry. I'm sorry in the church may mean something, but it dosen't in the world. We are a sorry nation riddled with wars, division, abuse, founded upon God, and just look at our defense budget.

The challenge with language for instance "We believe, teach, and confess....we reject and condemn." Rejection and condemnation were the 2 things I always felt as someone who never grew up in the church. I learned about the generational curse in Sunday School when taught the creation story at the age of 5. My parents were going through a divorce, most of my extended family were Lutherans, being taught the Lord's Prayer I wanted to learn more about "Our Father". This went to heart of trying to find my own identity. I also think it is important when trying to communicate the gospel story, to both young and old. The story was communicated and focused on our miserable sinful nature. We are bad children deserving of death for breaking the commandments, like not obeying mom and dad. This get's us booted out of the garden. It's almost funny because even at that age it caused rebellion. It created a defensive nature where I started looking for loop holes in the bible and I stopped going to church. It put the fear of God into me. This is where many confessionals say the truth is suppose to hurt us, the world is going to hate and reject us. I find this breach, the world does not know how to love, it's how we love one another and His love for the world that crucified Christ.

Reading the gospels from the scriptures, especially the Triads, opens doors of communication. I've actually used this technique with 1st and 2nd graders in my former church. It was awesome because we were not just learning the proper response the kids were applying it to their everyday lives. They also began working together. One child was always late because of her parents. They were faithful but just had a hard time getting up in the morning. We had a day at the park coming up the next Sunday and couldn't be late when leaving. The children decided to go as a group and speak to this young girls parents. It was very humbling for the parents, empowering for the children, and after this I had just as many parents as I did children on our next events.

1) We focused on God's promises - Our scripture verse, "For all creation waits in eager expectation for the Sons of God to be revealed." Our acts of disobedience were not the root of sinfulness, not depending, trusting, and turning to God was the root, especially when we are tested, which we will be.

2) Using verses and not the entire story I believe leads to depending on our own interpretation of meaning. Like in the "God For Us" adult class. It treats people as though they are ignorant when infact the Holy Spirit teaches and anoints us. Even the title God For Us gives an image that it's all about me. It's individualistic because Jesus comes to serve and bless me, now as an empty vessel I must go out and save the world vs. Jesus working in me and through me. It's dependent upon Him and I go out into the world joining Him in the work He is already doing. Difference in language is that the world is consumeristic, unintentionally I think our language helps feed this. What can we do for you.....how can we serve you.....our challenge where I worship is to be attractional without being promotional, "What can Jesus do for you?" vs. "What did Jesus do for us?"

3) It can root our identity in Christ, which I'm finding also roots us in the Lutheran faith. Even in my job the first thing I listen for is where is a person's identity? Who are they, where do they come from? I have an ex-gang banger...Jesus as leader was a beginning, leads to loyalty, speaks of betrayl, ect. ... I had a man who almost committed suicide and has 2 children, he was failing by comparing himself to his father....God as Father, strength, protection, (both have confessed Jesus as Lord and been saved)

4) The vision we cast and our intent I've found to be deeply connected. Intent goes to vision, vision goes to intent. I love how the transforming net work states it's not about membership or saving the church. In trying to sift through our language and confessions I was really struggling with our doctrine. We have doctrine that states, "Excommunication means loss of salvation" and we have the authority to not give absolution if another is not truley repentant. (This is an interpretation from one of my district leaders) This created complete fear, especially when combined with an explanation on our Synod's stand for capital punishment, the final statement, "So infact the death penalty is pro-life." When reading this it created fear, confusion, conflict in Christ who brings life, and a reverance for God, because if I confess this as a member I hold the same views. It was my mothers interpretation (recovering alcoholic 2 years clean and saved) that said, "God wants us to forgive, but when we forgive we still keep out fences up, we just make them go through the front gate." We are doing triads and had been reading the gospel of John. Suddenly I understood what was meant by our theology. Terry, this was the first time my mother ever read the gospel story. I was amazed.

5) In doing the fast and confession I've come to recognize how small I am. I've also come to recognize that everything we do as individuals has a bearing and reflection on us all. Leadership and accountability in that area is critical and is what I love about the church transformation process. It's also taught me about varying degrees of authority. When we talk about positions in the church to often it's a job or a board. If I lose my job, big deal, I'll go get another one, or I don't get paid for this, your lucky I'm helping anyway. It creates a lethargic and complacent attitude among leaders, they are accountable to the pastor or board, not to Jesus. Servant language makes a huge difference. Right after writting out my confession for the Fast, my husband and I recieved individuals letters from our church. It was a calling to serve in our Sunday School, an opportunity to inspire and be creative in inspiring our young people to learn the scriptures and that we were being held accountable to teaching Word & Sacrament. I cried because I've wanted to teach in our church for 3 years. Doing this with my husband is important because children between the ages of 4-7 years are not only impressionable but looking for their identity. (How cool to be vessel's that will model our committment to God and each other). The language in the letter was one of honor, it was offensive vs. defensive, and it wasn't individualistic. It spoke of recognizing that we had a gift God could use in our church.

Well Terry, God does give us more than we can ask for and you got it. These are examples of what I've seen and the majority of the people I know are unchurched. I do not have many relationships whether short or long term where it is not known, I am in my own words "A Jesus Freak". I do not share that to boast, simply that I believe because my identity was firmly established in Christ and the scriptures(Holy Spirit teaches), it has shown me my own humanity, He leads because He has made the claim on my whole life. Until I began to grow in knowledge and doctrine I never knew there was a difference between church and the secular. In my profession I am a production supervisor, but a servant first because I work for God. When I join God in His work vs. simply recieving His blessing, it means everyone is above me. The words submission, surrender, and obedience are words that I hold dear. I surrender to my leaders in truth and can learn about Jesus from a child. To me it is biblical language. One final thought......sometimes I think we are over protective. For good reason, yet, in looking at myself and many in my life, most are very uneducated. I myself have never gone to high school. I was challenged in reading scriptures creatively, I was taught the apochyrpha, have read many of the ancient church fathers(Clement, James, ect.), portions of Josephus, Sheperd of Hermas, ect. The thing that made the difference, my teachers did not put their hope in me and my ability, it was in the Holy Spirit, they also didn't make me feel like an idiot because I didn't give the proper response. Whether intentional or not, our defensive nature does make many new comers feel especially stupid, so than you just try to memorize the proper response. I've seen this because my uncle is a member of the Lutheran Church and has been since he married my aunt 35years ago. He dosen't really know Jesus, has a high school diploma, can not read or write. He worked for the church for 20years, his boss the pastor, didn't know this either. I shared this with his pastor and the response was, "How did he get a high school diploma?" Wrong question Terry, I wanted to know how he became a member in the Lutheran Church?

[Terry Tieman]

Penney:

I am very impressed by your spirituality and sincerity. I also enjoy listening to your story. I want to encourage you to continue learning, serving, and sharing.

God's richest blessings!

Terry