Maintenance

I checked out the website of a local Lutheran church, in anticipation of maybe attending on Easter morning. This congregation is in transition. Again.

They recently had to say goodbye to a young, energetic pastor who had the almost inevitable opportunity to move on to greener pastures, but who they would have preferred to hang onto forever. Based on a couple of recently recorded services that I viewed, they are in retreat. Again.

It’s a sad thing to see, but often the way these things go. It might make one think that a vibrant, vital, viable congregation showing signs of life has little to do with the movement of the Spirit. It’s much more about the gifts and energy a person as Pastor brings to the table. When he or she is there, there is life. When he or she leaves, families either leave with him or her, or they look for a different congregation that can “provide what they’re looking for,” whatever that is. And the congregation with a vacancy withers for a while, until another leader comes along. Anymore, they could be waiting a long time for that to happen.

Congregations aren’t self-sustaining. Residual energy and dedicated lay leadership may help them for a while, but, by and large, as the Pastor goes, so goes a congregation.