Pastoral Leadership Conference ABSW 2009
“Preaching from Generation to Generation”
Tuesday, March 10, 9:00-10:45 AM
Panel 1: “Churches in Transition1”
Don Ng
How does an institution (a church) deal with transition? How does the task of preaching changes from generation to generation? How does a new generation of preachers/educators deal with pressing issues of the day? How does that differ or match those of a previous generation?
Pedigree
When a church is understood as a living organism as it should in being the “Body of Christ,” the church has a living history. Telling and the retelling of stories provide the skeleton on which the body functions week to week, and year to year. One of the more poignant stories is when our generation of baby-boomers remembered how they first ate tuna casserole at our home missionary Debbie Allen’s home. When you’ve only eaten salted fish over white rice, tuna casserole was a big deal. By the way, we have memorialized this tuna casserole recipe by Debbie in our church cookbook.
FCBC has a distinctive history, traditions, customs, and a certain pedigree like every local church does. Becoming absolutely familiar and appreciative of that certain pedigree by the new pastor is essential for his/her effective and successful ministry. Doing otherwise would only mean a brief tenure. When I became Senior Pastor in 1998, I followed my predecessor who served 5 years who himself followed Dr. James Chuck who served for 40 years.
One of my first decisions was to pay high respect to Dr. Chuck and reaffirm what the church upon his retirement granted him the title of “Pastor Emeritus.” Dr. Chuck is active in the choir, helps in leading Bible studies and other adult programs, officiates at funerals for people he has known for years, serves as an invaluable consultant. Like every president needs advisors, Dr. Chuck is a special emissary on my behalf.
In my opinion, one of the factors that I see contributing to the effective passing of the mantle from one generation to another is pedigree. In the midst of transitional times, the church seeks pastoral leadership in whom they can identify with and trust. While radical upheavals are necessary at times, our church at the end of the 1990s sought the reaffirmation of historic mission and ministries that it has been a part of for over 40 years to extend into the new millennium. The pressing issues that faced our church, primarily the need to mount a costly retrofit project were successfully accomplished by reaffirming our heritage. The capital fund campaign that raised 1.6 million was on the theme, “Continue the Legacy.”
As Lloyd Bentsen said to Dan Quayle, “You are no Jack Kennedy!” I am no James Chuck by any stretch of the imagination. Dr. Chuck and I are two very different people. But I do share a similar pedigree in Dr. Chuck’s theology, his ABC roots, and his love and appreciation to serve a little Baptist church in the heart of Chinatown. That pedigree enabled me to receive the mantle.
Embracing the New
Whether it’s Ecclesiastes or The Byrds, we know that there’s a season for everything. Obama said, “Change is coming.” We all know that change is inevitable. We change every day, every moment. You will not be the same person as you were at the beginning of this session. But weathering change is possible when one is grounded. Unless one is familiar and appreciative of where you stand, it would be awfully difficult to welcome or resist change when it comes.
Some years ago before my coming in 1998, the church affirmed a mission/vision statement. It is still our mission/vision statement. It clearly proclaims that, “We are a multigenerational, bilingual, bicultural church.” It defines our target audience. It guides the way we conduct our business. It values our cultural identity and heritage. Knowing clearly who we are as a people of God, we are able to face change when it comes.
Welcoming change at FCBC is probably no different from other churches. We take time to learn, listen, pray, and take action only after everyone has had the chance to express his/her opinions. Not every new idea is worthy to embrace. And some worthwhile change passes us by. But every change that we make should fit into the church’s overall mission/vision and it’s historic heritage. If not, it would most likely be “change for the sake of change itself.”
We often feel that when a long pastorate/tenure comes to an end, there will be cataclysmic change to be fearful about. But when we sit back and view our pastorates whether long or brief in the light of the 2000 years of church history, the only truly Teutonic change is Jesus Christ. We are merely a little blip on the salvation history channel of God.
DN/3/5/2009