Doing it Differently

    The neighborhood in which I live has what is for me a new fangled way of mail delivery. Instead of each family having a personal mailbox at the end of the driveway, the postal service has provided a group mailbox for a cluster of households.

    All of us in the cluster walk to our common box, place our outgoing mail in the same receptacle, and then get our personal mail out of a private container that has been designated for our household. No house is more than four lots from the box. It is a few extra steps, but it means we don't have to worry about maintaining our own box, and we don't have to worry about those late Saturday night visitors who enjoy smashing them. We have traded one convenience for another.

    I was wondering why the postal service had decided to provide such boxes for us until one day I saw the mail carrier stop at our group box. He opened the front of the container to expose our private boxes, and in a matter of seconds he was able to gather our combined outgoing mail and deliver our incoming mail without getting out of or even moving his vehicle.

    Wow! What had once taken the mail carrier 15-20 minutes now took only 1 or 2 minutes to complete. No wonder the postal service was willing to provide the boxes for us! Imagine, though, what it was like for the mail carriers when they first heard their number of daily deliveries was being multiplied 10-fold. It couldn't have made sense until they could visualize the plan.

    I hope that story is a metaphor for what is happening in the Pony Express and Heartland North Districts, beginning July 1. Most have probably heard by now that I will be serving as superintendent of both districts. The normal responses to me have been that it is too many churches, or too many pastors, or it means that some churches or pastors will be ignored, or that I will be over-worked. All those responses are predicated on an understanding that we are continuing with the same model for superintending.

    However, like the postal service, we are seeking to accomplish our mission by doing things in a different way. We have some ideas about improving the way we do charge conferences, pastoral supervision, and pastor-parish consultations. We will use a few of the resources that we used to spend on the second superintendent to contract with folks who have specialized skills and will perform specialized tasks. I also suspect that we will discover even better methodologies in the year to come. During the summer, we will hold a series of meetings to explain what this all looks like and invite your suggestions.

    In the meantime, let's answer a few basic questions/concerns. First, we will continue to have two distinct districts, with both offices continuing as before. I will work out of both offices, though my real office tends to be in churches and restaurants and wherever else you are gathered. If you need assistance, you will continue to call the same numbers and use the same email addresses.

    Some have worried that the superintendent will ignore the small churches. Actually, large churches tend to be the ones who ask very little from the superintendent. So, who can you expect to get my attention? I plan to continue devoting my attention to congregations that are actively attempting to interact with the community that surrounds them and are looking for assistance in taking the next step. Congregations that are just keeping the doors open until the last person dies do not need my help. Congregations that are already functioning with a high level of clarity do not need my help. It is the ones that are transitioning who can best utilize what I have to offer.

    However, answering the above question probably leads us astray. Our ability to accomplish the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ will not be measured by whether churches get the attention of the superintendent. Having the superintendent simply show up at a worship service or fall sale will not make the Kingdom come into fruition. From the district's perspective, we must ask whether the district is effectively helping congregations develop the financial, spiritual, and leadership resources they need to do what God is calling them to do. It won't matter whether the church is small or large, rural or suburban, or served by a part-time or full-time pastor.

    This will be a great adventure for us, and we will do our best to follow in the direction of God. As always, stay focused on the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ. Seek ways to serve the community that surrounds you. Follow the Wesleyan rules: Do no harm, do good, and stay in love with God.