Clearer and Deeper

St. Paul writes, “Do not be conformed to this world,

but be transformed by the renewing of your minds,

so that you may discern what is the will of God—

what is good and acceptable and perfect…” Romans 12:2

Dear Friends,

If you have been around the church for a while, you have probably heard of some congregations closing. If we’re honest, the membership of the Lutheran Church in Canada has been declining for a few decades. There are lots of explanations for this: changing demographics, a more transient society, the breakdown of communities in general, a 24/7 culture, technological change, and the distrust of organized religion... in particular, the Church. No matter which one of these one wants to “blame,” the end result is that it takes something different to be Church right now… The established practices and planning that seemed to work in the past don’t seem to work now.

The theologians and sociologists who are studying these challenges (along with the challenges that businesses are dealing with in the face of rapidly changing technologies) point to the distinction between technological problems and adaptive challenges. A technological problem is one that has a clear, established solution. A flat tire is a technological problem. A broken computer is a technological problem. There are fixes to these. Technological problems can draw on established solutions so all that needs to be done is to identify and apply the proper “fix.”

Adaptive challenges are a different beast. When circumstances have changed and are changing dramatically, there is no set answer. The “established” solutions which worked in the past, are not suited to this new time and context. Even trying something that other churches are doing that seems to work is not the solution because each congregation has its own particular culture, practices, gifts and contexts. In order to thrive in our ever-changing world and context is to have every congregation get back to the basics of claiming the core values God has instilled in them and the core purpose which God has called them to. Equipped with these, a congregation can say YES to the things that are aligned with these and NO to those that are not.

A couple of years ago at our AGM, we did a Values Card exercise with the congregation. The results from this exercise were used by the council to identify our Core Values: Uplifting, Connecting, Inviting and Dynamic. I think these have served us well in naming who we are. In a similar vein, the FLC Council will have a retreat this weekend where they will take the results of the work the congregation did at the AGM in 2025 on our core ministries and practice. The goal is to discern our core purpose. It’s not as easy as deciding on some wording. The real work is sitting with our core values, the input from the congregation and Holy Scripture and praying for God to help us get clear on what it is that God wants us fundamentally to be about in this particular time and place. With clarity of purpose, it helps us to focus our plans and resources.

I invite you to add the FLC council to your prayers: Brent, Kevin, Kerri, Leane, Marty and myself. Pray that we will leave room for the Holy Spirit to guide us so that our plans and efforts are in line with God’s will. In essence, the part of the Lord’s Prayer where we pray: Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Peace,

Pastor Phil