September 2011
Perhaps, like me, you have heard the present state of the church likened to the Titanic. Shrinking attendance, a diminished role in society, financial problems, and other difficulties are cited as evidence that the ship called “Church” is sinking. This choice of a boat metaphor is an intriguing one. After all, the ship is an ancient symbol of the church, and the central part of a church building’s interior is still called a “nave” (from the Latin “navis”, meaning ship).
Perhaps, like me, you have wondered what sort of ship or boat the church might be. We are not alone in this wondering. The artists at ignitermedia.com, in one of their mini movies titled Cruise Ship vs. Battleship, play with this idea. They ask if, when we are “church shopping”, our criteria centre on a ship that exists to meet our needs or on one that equips members for service. Do our questions about a potential church home sound like this: Is the service good? Am I well fed? Are my needs met promptly? Do I like the captain and crew? Do I like the music they play in the ballroom? Or, do our questions point beyond ourselves: Is the ship on a clear and noble mission? Are the crew members equipped and encouraged to contribute in significant ways?
Another type of boat is prominent in Scripture. Rather than stories of luxury liners, cruise ships, or battleships there are stories of fishing boats. Simple, sturdy boats designed to sail the waters and gather fish to feed others but often enlisted by Jesus as a place for teaching or as a way to cross Lake Gennesaret and further his ministry. These are working boats with a crew of people working together on a common mission. The more experienced crew members mentor newer members and show them the ropes. Sometimes Jesus provides a counterintuitive fishing tip, as recorded in Luke 5 when, after a night’s fishing results in no catch he suggests that the experienced, commercial fishers put out into the deep water and let their nets down again; the results are astonishing! And the work is not without risk; the boats and the crew encounter potentially fatal storms on perilous water.
Has your congregation had conversations about your purpose, considering, metaphorically speaking, the kind of boat you are and might be? Is your focus on trying to keep afloat in perilous waters? Are you working to provide a great cruise experience? Or are you centering your activities on the noble mission to which God is calling you and Holy Spirit is strengthening you to carry out faithfully? Are you equipping the members of your crew, sitting in your nave, to live out their baptismal promises in practical ways and risk working together to serve God and others in unpredictable waters? Congregational coaches can assist you to have these conversations. Once clear priorities for ministry are identified, coaches can further assist your congregation to map out tangible plans for taking action and mobilizing your resources to sail in some uncharted waters, all the while remembering that the boat, its mission, crew, and gear belong, not to us, but to our gracious God.
Marilyn Malton, Lay Canon, Congregational Development and Director of the Renison Institute of Ministry, Waterloo