"How Do We Grow? Making Space for More"

Dr. Angela J. Merkert
January 7, 2001

Good Morning. It is a privilege and pleasure to be with you today, welcoming a new year on the first Sunday of this calendar. I bring greetings on behalf of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregation's Central Midwest District, of which I've been honored to be a part since August 1st.

Over the past 6 years I have been a consultant in our UU congregations, active in the Mass Bay District--greater Boston area of 57 congregations--much more concentrated than our widespread almost 70 congregations of CMwD. Planning, board development, ministerial search retreats, Committee on Ministry development, canvassing and fundraising all toward the goals of GROWTH and strengthening Unitarian Universalism--in breadth, depth, size, commitment, influence and impact. To develop the transforming power of living out our mission--demonstrating, modeling how to live--our Principles and Purposes.

You have dealt with growth as the western Milwaukee area has grown and as you have become more known. Growth is evidenced through adult membership numbers, religious education program enrollment, and professional staffing--minister, religious educator and music director as well as support staff.

Those of you who have been in the leadership of this congregation know that there are both opportunities and challenges with growth. I'd suggest that working with such questions as: Why make space for more? Who will we include? are a part of a spiritual exercise for a congregation.

How do we grow? Growth does not happen on its own. It is invited, some of it is planned. We must be intentional for growth to occur. And growth, by whatever measure, also implies change. Repeatedly the research on religious groups, regardless of the denomination, identifies health, strength, vitality and growth with the openness and will to change.

Why is growth important for individual congregations, as well as the entire association of U.U. congregations? Survival is one answer. If we cannot grow, we will not survive. Why do we want to survive, even thrive? We have a message to share--we have a light to shine for people who are seeking meaning in their lives, answers to spiritual, philosophical, ethical questions about life, justice, responsibility, respect and integrity. We have created holy spaces in which to build and share community, and within which to be affirmed with dignity and respect. We are also called by our Principles and Purposes to participate in the prophethood and priesthood of all believers, ministering to each other as well as acting on our mission in the larger community.

Our UU social ethicist and theologian, James Luther Adams reminded us repeatedly that It is in an embodied community that our faith is realized. We embrace and live our various freedoms within the Beloved Community--freedom of belief and conscience; freedom to determine our practice of worship; the minister's freedom of the pulpit; freedom to govern our religious communities through our congregational polity. With these freedoms come responsibilities as well--As we live these freedoms wisely, respectfully-- diversity of belief and practice is an outcome. A community is needed within which to grow and support our faith, to support our spiritual growth.

With a valuing of this Beloved Community, How then do we grow? There are more ways to grow than by numbers--increasing membership, increasing pledge amounts, increasing religious education enrollment,-- although numerical increases can and do result. The Rev. Loren Mead, founder of The Alban Institute which conducts research in congregations and shares those results through workshops and publications, has identified four primary ways a congregation can grow. It is a given that if one or more of the four alternatives are not chosen, a congregation will not thrive. Not deciding is to decide, and may also be an abdication of leadership for a congregation and its rich legacy.

The four categories of congregational growth are: Numerical, Maturational, Organic, and Social Incarnational.

Numerical Growth involves focus on a variety of Numbers--Increased members; more friends become members; an increased number of pledge units; larger pledges; outreach to families of young children for the religious education program; increased youth programming; young adult outreach to 19-35 year olds. More participation of members in church life. Generosity is increased--through time, talents, and money; also known as stewardship. Members develop an increased commitment in living out their values. More people are entering the congregation than leaving, either through death, moving out of the area, or dropping out of the particular congregation. Who are the groups being ministered to, and who else in the larger community is in need? Are questions to be considered.

Growth through Maturation involves a broadening and deepening of the spiritual, religious experience. Regular church attendance is important regardless of who is in the pulpit--what's more important is being in community and affirming the Sabbath time. There is increased attention to the assimilation of new members, who are welcomed not only for their presence and the shoulders for carrying more of the work load, but also their ideas, their fresh eyes on the congregation. It's a time when attention is given to worship rituals, structure, quality and consistency. When board and committees affirm that the work of the church is not the same as other corporate and non-profit work, and chalice lighting, readings, brief check-in's are included in the opening and closing of meetings. Understanding that people are not all at the same faith stage of their journeys is built into the worship and program planning. Adult education is increased.

Wade Clark Roof has surveyed Americans, especially Baby Boomers, over a number of years to determine how change is and is not occurring regarding religious and spiritual beliefs. Spirituality is the term more frequently heard in his interviews of recent years, as well as in the media. It includes four themes: a source of values and meaning beyond oneself, a way of understanding, inner awareness, and personal integration. Lyle Schaller, a church consultant, identifies four yearnings which people bring with them to church--to feel understood, to understand, to belong, for hope. Those yearnings are associated with relationships, not functions or work tasks.

Our own UU minister, Scotty McLennan recently published Finding Your Religion, in which he identifies six stages of faith development that include: Magic, Reality, Dependence, Independence, Interdependence and Unity. I'd guess many UU's are at one of the last 3 stages--which imply concepts of Ultimate Reality as distant, or non-existent--the Independence Stage; as paradoxical, the Interdependence Stage; or as all-pervasive, at the Unity Stage. I believe that the increasing interest in covenant groups in our congregations are a response to the desire for a deepening of spiritual meaning, as well as a means of participating in a respectful, more intimate, caring community.

Organic Growth is a third way to grow. This includes attention to the congregational infrastructure. How does the church organize to do its work? How are decisions made? How democratic is the governance of the church? How is leadership developed and shared, rather than passed around among a small group? What are the norms, the unwritten rules among us, that are especially noticed by visitors and new members? How respectful are we of each other? How do we agree to disagree? How do we model being in right relationship? How much is focus kept on the work of the congregation as spiritual work in itself, with intentional resolve to practice living by our Principles? For if not here, then where?

With increased focus on organic growth, leaders are more likely to function in affirming ways rather than as gatekeepers to encourage new ideas and members' sharing of their gifts and talents. With a strong sense of mission and purpose, clear roles and responsibilities for leaders, processes and procedures clearly defined and openly shared, and an invisible network of open, respectful communications bonding the relationships of individuals throughout the congregation--space is created for new people, new ideas--with health, vitality, and growth resulting.

Social Incarnational--Social Justice work is about how we live out our mission in the larger community. We minister to each other within the existing membership, and what else? How do we live out our values in the larger world, not only as individuals, but in the name of our particular church community? How does the congregation work to transform itself as a holy community, in addition to supporting the transformation of individuals? Examples among UU congregations include: Oakland, CA; Portland, OR, Haverhill, MA; Plandome, NY. Increased numbers have resulted with their outreach programs.

So we have a model of four ways to focus on growth. Is that all that is important? I don't think so. Growth also implies being mission-centered. Each congregation has a ministry, a purpose for its existence, its mission. It is understood as a part of its identity--yet not always clearly focused. For this congregation the legacy of that ministry dates back to 1962. It is in its adolescence as an organization. With clear mission/vision--identity--purpose, a congregation stands tall with its identity and attracts others. With a real sense of mission, a congregation not only serves as a sanctuary from which to minister to those who have made their way in, but lives out that mission in the larger community. At DeKalb's 40th anniversary celebration last October, John Buehrens, our UUA President challenged those attending to continue risking and growing. He noted that too many times in his seven-eight years in this role he has experienced congregations as private clubs with regularly scheduled social gatherings every Sunday morning. It can be so much more when we focus on mission and meaning.

With a strong sense of mission, members are attracted to choose church as the third place in their lives, after family and work. It is a place, an experience, where one is identified by who one is as a person and not by what one does for a living, or by kinship ties.

Mission-Centered also means:

1. Mission becomes a compass in decision-making.
2. The congregation is financially healthy and funds it mission
3. Covenantal relationships are honored and conflict is managed in respectful ways.
4. There is increased anti-racism and anti-oppression work done.

Schaller notes that "Most of us need a point of dependable stability and continuity in our lives. The ideologically conservative finds that point of stability and predictability in ideology and thus is free to advocate change in practices and institutional life." I'd note that is occurring now with the variety of alternative services and mega-church growth in conservative religious groups. He continues, "The ideological liberal is more open to new ideas and innovation in ideology and thus looks for continuity, predictability, and stability in practices and institutional life." That's us as UU's. When we understand that resistance to change in practices, we can work with it.

(Note: Ideologically conservative is not the same as fundamentalist. There are many more of the former who are not fundamentalist.)

Often the question of growth is connected to how many can we hold in our worship service. The most comfortable plateau in U.S. Protestant congregations is the 135-165 range. The most uncomfortable as reported by members is 175-240. We can be more comfortable with stability or decline, rather than working with the changes required to become larger and move through this plateau. The congregation will tend to focus on taking care of today's members, and not ask, who else can we make room for when we are caught in a plateau?

Our largest congregation is 1800--the largest historically was People's Church in Chicago--at the time of Preston Bradley, who also had radio program widely heard. He offered dynamic, strong ministerial leadership that was mission-focused and addressed the needs of people at the time.

Change happens when there is discontent with the status quo and there is a willingness to "pay the price for change"--not only a financial price. With a vision for the future--intention in living out the mission, there comes a spirit of adventure to try new ideas. The opportunity to engage in the spiritual work of discernment occurs--Given who you are and where you are, this UU Church West of Brookfield, Wisc in January, 2001, what are you called to be, to do , how to live out your UU, liberal religious identity?

The choice is not to develop a strategy for Growth--but to develop a strategy for intentional change based on mission/vision. To be a mission-based congregation means doing transformational work, staffing for growth and visioning your life at another size.

The authors of a recent book, The Cultural Creatives, Paul Ray and Sherry Anderson, identify three cultural groups now existing in the U.S.--the Traditionalists, the Moderns, and the Cultural Creatives. The latter are estimated to number 50 million. They don't all agree on everything spiritually, politically, or otherwise. They do have distinguishing lifestyle characteristics, live out values and beliefs, that I'd suggest are similar to or the same as those of many UU's. Included are desire for authenticity, careful consumption, arts and culture, home as a nest, experiential consumers, systems and holistic views.

Among the challenges and opportunities they anticipate for the future are: continued acceleration of technological changes; globalization of big business, big media, big finance; ecological crisis including global climate change, overpopulation and damage to humans and eco-systems from man-made chemicals; intensified culture differences between Traditionalists and Moderns especially relating to social movements; and an increasing difficulty justifying the dominant Modern culture with its secularization and cynicism. I'd suggest the book as a good read for an Adult Education series.

There are just over 200,00 of us UU's, including our children --and there are 50 million Cultural Creatives!! Consider the opportunity there!! Those 50 million are represented here in this congregation and in the larger community around you. Do they know you're here? How can you make space for them? How can we NOT let our light shine, and share OUR MESSAGE with them?

Nelson Mandela once asked if we as individuals are afraid to shine our lights, share our talents, unleash our passion. I'd suggest it can apply to groups of people, for instance, congregations, as well. What if we more fully lived out the message of universal love and the power and passion possible in the search for truth? How could WE make a difference?

From the late Rev. Robert Karnan: "May your vision so soar that no budget is possible to contain it, may your love of justice be so genuine that no community can thwart its cleansing healing goodness, may your courage overcome all fear and set the spirit free."

May there be space in this community to choose growth.

So be it. Amen.