Network Blog

Dear friends,

By now, I'm guessing that most of you have heard about the deep programmatic and staff cuts at the ELCA.  If you haven't you can read the Bishop's release of the information here. 

Much conversation has happened in the blogosphere about these cuts.  The causes...the implications...the statements that may or not be made by these cuts... There will be plenty of time for analysis, and ultimately, it is not our speculation that will count, but rather the actions and directions that the churchwide organization will make in the future.

At this point, we still grieve the loss of positions for 65 people, and for those who work in the ELCA offices.  I was in Chicago for meetings last week, and the sense of sadness in the building was palpable.  Please continue to keep all of these people in your prayers.

I do want to answer one set of questions that I've heard:

• What does this mean for the Network?
• Is the Extravaganza still on for Kansas City?
• What's the future of the Network?
• Can we survive the financial cuts?

I appreciate the questions.  It affirms that people care about this Network and its future. 

While the cuts in Chicago are going to have an impact on the Network, that future is still unclear.  We don't know the implications in terms of budget or financial support yet, and we won't for awhile.  but here's the reality:  The financial support that the Network has received from the ELCA has been diminishing for years.  At one time we received $50,000 in support for the Network and the Extravganza.  This year, the ELCA has committed to $10,000 (before the cuts last week). 

A $10,000 cut would be difficult to absorb; but it is survivable. 

My bigger fear is what these cuts mean to the way our relationship with the ELCA is played out.  the questions we would need to answer include (but aren't limited to):

• What would a financial cut mean about the role and importance of the Network in the life of the denomination?
• What about the role of the ELCA Director of Youth MInistry sitting ex-officio on the Network Board?
• What about the column in the "Connect Journal?"

And on a bigger scale?

• What does the cuts of these youth ministry positions (3 programmatic and 2 support staff) in the ELCA in the last year say about the commitment of the church to youth ministry?

I don't have answers to these questions yet.  It's possible that since the ELCA can "do less" with staff that they might ask synods and the Network to do more.  These are all questions we are asking.  And we are patient, because we know that it's too early to know.  It'll be awhile. 

But I want our members to know 2 things:
1. We are asking these questions.  We are thinking about the future.  And;
2. For the moment, we are stable.  The Extravaganza is "on."  The Connect Journal is in the mail, and new stuff is in the works.  We're moving into the future, secure in the belief that God is calling us into a future that God securely holds.

One more thing: (though it's not a "Network thing")  Some have asked about the future of the ELCA Youth Gathering. 

The word is out that the ELCA Youth Gathering is secure.  While the cuts in the ELCA might mean some shifts for how some parts of the Gathering are staffed, the Gathering itself is "self-funded" by the event registrations.  The Gathering is "on" for 2012.  I just returned from a planning meeting with Gathering managers and team leaders last week, and while more information will be coming out in upcoming months, largely through the Gathering web site and the Gathering Facebook page, I'm really excited about the direction of the event.  It is going to be an amazing gift to our young people and the church!

Blessings,
Todd.

The word came down today of the cuts in the churchwide staff in the ELCA offices.  65 individuals, real people with real lives, real families and real mortgages find themselves out of work.  

This is not a unique situation.  Literally, tens of thousands of those in our congregations have faced the same thing.  But when it happens in our churchwide offices, it causes the pain of our friends, while yanking on the rug upon which we all stand.  

This happens in the church?  In our church?  

Yes, it does.  

There will be time for conversations about whether this is the right thing or not for our church to do.  There will be lots of opportunities to do Monday-morning second-guessing.  And there will be ample opportunity for missional imagination to be sparked, and to think about how the church might be church into the future.

Today, we grieve and mourn for our friends.

More details are coming.  And we will continue to post information here as we have it, specifically regarding how these cuts affect children's youth and young adult ministries.  But in the meantime, please pray for those who have lost their jobs.  Pray for our church.  Pray for ministry with the young.  And pray for all those in our congregations who still seek meaningful work.  

I've tripped over a couple of blogs that have done some nice work analyzing the cuts, that you might want to check out.

They are at:  
Koinonia
Cyber Spirit Cafe


Blessings,
Todd

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  - Hebrews 12:1

Someone recently asked me "How does the network get its work done?"  "Well, what do you mean?"  They went on to wonder about how a completely deployed organization, made up 99.9% of volunteers, over 120 of them, in every region of the church, got all of this stuff coordinated. 

My answer:  The Network lives in the cloud.

The cloud, as in the cloud of software.

Here's how we do things:

• Our primary method of communication is our web site, at www.elcaymnet.org (the one you're looking at right now.)  It is a web-based editing suite with distributed editing rights, which means that different people in different parts of the Network have editing rights of different parts of the site.  To do this, we use the "Compass" editing system hosted by www.infusion.com.
  
• Our e-mail service uses Constant Contact.  Constant contact is the leading e-mail marketing tool in the country right now.  You hear their ads on the radio or on TV.  It too is web based and different people can access and edit the materials in the e-news. (www.constantcontact.com)
  
• We have a ton of different teams that are doing their work.  Everything from the Extravaganza Team to the Connect Journal Team to the Vision 2.0 Team.  Each team has a section in our web-based project management software.  It is put out by a company called 37Signals.  The program we use is called "Basecamp."  It is a simple, easy to use tool that allows us to stay organized and communicate.  (www.basecamphq.com)
• The Network Database is also hosted on the web, and can be accessed by any number of people who have user-rights.  We use TrackVia for this.  Our mailing lists, membership, donors, Extravaganza registration, etc is all hosted on TrackVia.  (www.trackvia.com)

None of this stuff is hosted on any one single computer.  It all lives on the web.  It is all dispersed...accessible...usable...  In an organization such as ours, that's the most efficient way for us to do our work. 

I think it's also an apt metaphor for what the Network is.  The Network is non-hierarchical.  The Network isn't "based" really anywhere (the mailing address is my house, but that's just because we need a mailing address).  There are primary points of contact, but no one person or organization can "claim" the Network as its own.  It doesn't belong to any single resource provider, to the churchwide organization or any one church, synod or region.  It is possible to draw the Network's org structure out on a whiteboard.  But if you then looked at the board, you'd have to realize that really, the Network "lives" in the space between the boxes. 

The Network belongs to its members, an life is breathed into it by the Holy Spirit.  It is hard to pin down. 

But this gives it life and Spirit.

Truly, the Network lives in the cloud.

Peace,
Todd.

What is the future of the ELCA?  Of denominations in general?  What does it mean to be a part of our denominational tribe today?  What will it mean in 5, 10 or 20 years?

We are approaching the 1 year anniversary of the decisions made at the Churchwide Assembly last August in Minneapolis.  It has been a challenging year for our church.  For many of us in congregations, the ripple effects from the assembly hit more like tidal waves.  And the state of the economy led to staff cuts in our denominational offices that significantly diminished the capacity for mission...and cost many of our friends their positions.

There was a period of time when I (and I'm just speaking for myself here) really felt like the wheels were coming off of the wagon.  And I kept waiting for things to get better.  Still waiting. 

Since then, I keep hearing of congregations that are leaving...of friends whose jobs are at risk...of congregational conflict...

I started to wonder about the future.  Is there a place for denominations in the future?  Our denomination in particular?  Certainly there is a need...certainly there is a role...

I had some of my hope restored a month or two ago when I heard of the LiftELCA initiative.  A team has been assembled to look at the future of our denomination.  This is the LIFT (Living Into the Future Together) team.  "Their purpose is to develop and recommend options for the future of the ELCA in light of its identity, changes in its environment and its call to God's mission. "

2 things I am grateful for:
1.  I am grateful that someone in our denominational leadership has thought to ask these questions.  Frequently it is those in leadership that are the least aware of, or the least willing to ask the difficult questions. 
2.  I am grateful that the LIFT team has taken an attitude of transparency in their work.  Look at their web site.  It's all there.  Check out their Twitter feed...visit their Facebook page.  Accessibility has been their hallmark, and I am grateful for this.

There is currently a LIFT questionnaire that they are asking members of the ELCA to fill out. 

I care about our denomination.  I care about the work of the church as manifest within our community.  Like everyone else, I have thoughts...I have opinions. 

I am grateful that our church has a group who wants to listen to my (and everyone else's) thoughts about God's misison within our church. 

Please participate.  Please invest.  Please allow the Spirit of God to blow through you and into the rest of our church.  Speak.  And listen.

Pax,
Todd.

Who Are Our Leaders?  Meet Monty Lynse!

Welcome back to our occasional series of articles on "Who Are Our Leaders?"  This time, we introduce:  Monty Lynse (he's the one on the left)

The Vital Stats:
Name:  Monty Lynse
Works at: Faith Inkubators
Job: National Director of Youth and Family Ministry

The part of youth ministry I like best is: sharing stories and tips with other youth workers and pastors. I also love church camp and mission trips.

 

The part of youth ministry I struggle with most is: getting parents to realize that even though they didn’t pay attention in confirmation, they can still be a strong, regular faith mentor in the life of their kid. They just need encouragement, a plan, and the right tools.

 

My favorite ministry resources are: (Homer Alert) Faith Inkubators Head to the Heart confirmation materials. I’ve worked for over a decade on this stuff and wouldn’t have spent the time if I didn’t think it helped churches, kids and parents.

 

 

If I could have a super power it would be: the super-strength to break through many parents’ “drop them off at church” syndrome, because, as overwhelming as it may be, kids need regular faith talk at home. You don’t become fluent in a language by going to class once a week. You become fluent when you are regularly immersed in the language. It’s the same with the language of faith.

 

I take care of myself in ministry by: continually trying to get good ideas from others. I’m smart enough to know that I don’t know it all.

 

I would tell someone just starting in ministry: that it is a fantastic way to live out your faith in a way that impacts kids and parents on a regular basis. It can be frustrating, but extremely fulfilling. It may even be the one job that is so fun, you say to yourself, “They actually PAY me to do this?” every time you get a paycheck.

I appreciate the Network for: community. I appreciate the camaraderie and wisdom that the network provides through its events, communication, and members in general.

Someone e-mailed the Network this past week.  They were trying to go through the online "joining" process, but after filling out the info page, it took them to a payment page.  They said "payment?  You have to pay to join this thing?"  And so they e-mailed us to see what that was all about, and about what the costs "got them."

We got word today of significant budget cuts in the ELCA.  This is not new.  We have seen our denomination experience this before.  And in the economy that we live in, we hear of cuts every day.  Business...education...government...non-profits... hearing of job losses is nothing new.

But today is new.  For the first time I can recall, youth ministry positions in an already small department have been cut.  What does this mean?

• What does it mean when before the 1988 merger there were something like 17 youth ministry staff in the 3 predecessor bodies deployed around the country.  Now we're down to a director, a Gathering Director, a Gathering Assistant Director and a support staff?
• What does it mean when the church is being asked to do more with less?
• What does it mean when churches withhold beneveolent support to make a statement?
• What does it mean when some claim that we are moving into a post-denominational era?

There are many more questions than answers.  And there will be time and space to talk about these things.

But today we need to focus on a different "what does this mean?" question:

What does it mean when our friends have lost their jobs?  What does it mean for them?  For their families?  For their colleagues and friends?

This is the most difficult and yet the most important of the questions we can ask today.  The other questions can wait.

So for today, what does this mean?  :It means that we have friends who are hurting.  There are people who have done good work over the years on behalf of the church...on behalf of congregations...on behalf of young people...on behalf of the Network.  And now they are hurting.  Dianha and Rod, please know that you have friends who know you are hurting.  You have friends who are praying for you.  And remember the God of grace who surrounds with love and grace.  In our prayers, we hope you feel that grace today.

This Network was formed because people doing ministry needed support.  It's time to be the Network for each other.

Peace in troubled times,

tb