Do you attend a zombie church or a salty church?
What makes a church healthy and holy? Tyler Edwards, authored a provocative book called the Zombie Church in which he answered: "Church is ever, always and only about Jesus." It is not about us. Jesus is the source of our life. It is that simple. In the Gospel of John we are reminded that we are only branches, and when we separate from the Vine, we wither. We seek to grow in our passion for Christ - to live with Him and to live like Him, so that others might come to know Him with us. If not, even though the doors remain open, the spiritual pulse of a church will have supressed vital signs.
What is a zombie church? While I appreciate the hyperbole of a zombie church, actually zombies are real. They are not animated corpses that feed on the living, as portrayed in the movies. Any doctor in Haiti will tell you that a zombie state is produced by a severe shortage of salt in one's body as often results from chronic dehydration. In a word, zombies are salt-deprived people. While ambulant, the life of zombies is at serious risk. Spiritually speaking, they live and move but have no being. As a testimony to the seriousness of salt, administering an IV of saline (salt) solution to sick people has become a standard procedure. Likewise, churches that are disconnected from their source of vitality are like zombies - barely alive.
Perhaps that is why Jesus used the image of salt for a vital Christian life. Salt is used to revitalize people. We are called to be salt for the world. Without Christ, we may live and move but we have no being. Without Jesus we exist as if in a religious trance. We wander spiritually hypnotized. Zombie churches are not horror stories. They are non-responsive communities who have lost connection with the source of their vitality - Jesus Christ.
How does one spot a zombie church? A zombie church is:
- On life support. There is no effort at innovation, no signs of growth nor a plan for the future. To an objective eye, this church appears adrift, just going through the motions, day to day, without a compelling purpose. Worship at a Zombie church will offer few surprises. Welcome will be anemic. Little will look different week to week. Music will be predictable and preaching will be uninspiring.
- Focused in on itself. Zombie churches focus more on their own activity and seem unaware of God's activity. As a result they are also blind to spirit-led opportunities all around them. Unhealthy churches are unengaged in community matters and their members are often unaware and unresponsive to guests and visitors.
- Disconnected from others. There are definite barriers which define groups within a zombie church. Distinctions are made between those who are inside and those who are outside.
- Fixated on small matters and intramural differences. Differences cause division in unhealthy churches. People zombie churches over emphasize the importance of what they possess most exclusively - certain events, a particular retreat, a worship or prayer style. In such churches the enemy of the best is often a good.
- Protective. Unhealthy churches guard things whether it be rules, roles, doctrines, customs or traditions. They are disinterested in having newcomers or welcoming visitors. Zombie churches are reactive to what is unfamiliar and unable to discern the difference between doubts and attacks. Unhealthy churches can lash out to protect things that need no defense. This can be a result of overcompensation for what is lacking in their relationship with Jesus. Such churches spend large amounts of their energy enforcing rigorous expectations on church members.
- Uncomfortable sharing what it means to be loved by Christ and silent on the commission to be salt for the world.
A salty church is filled with caring, courageous and humble people. Salty Christians do not need to be holy rollers. They do not need not to be obsessed with Jesus or addicted to talking about Jesus. Though the lessons of life have taught Christians of their need for Christ. They know that the Church is filled with saintly sinners and goodly goats. That is why the Church is the best place to encounter Christ. Christians are attentive and responsive to the words and deeds of Christ. They know their need for a community - for counsel, for comfort and for accountability. Christians are alert to what God wants for their lives.
Whether someone is doing well or poorly, people know that they are welcome by a salty church. In fact, the only requirement for belong to a salty Church is to have an appetite for a life-more-abundant. Christ will do the rest. One person acknowledged this upon her return to the Catholic Church one day. When asked why she returned she replied, "because you know Jesus best." Would parishioners say this about my parish? This may sound a bit like a Stone Soup approach to parish life and perhaps it is. It was this sense of abundance that motivated the early church. After the ascension of Christ, one might argue that they had nothing, nothing except a promise and a passion for our Lord. This remains the starting point for our new evangelization.
A salty church knows that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Administering a 'goute de sel' a 'taste of salt' saves lives. But this is not a simple cure in spiritual terms. How does a church cultivate life with Christ, love of God's people, and a desire for God's will. Salty churches strive to live like Jesus and love like Jesus. Salty churches care for the least, the last and the lost in the name of Jesus. As we approach the Year of Faith, this question is critical for promoting a new evangelization. In Porta Fidei, Pope Benedict XVI reminds us that it is the power of Christ that compels us.
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What else does it take? Salty churches are exploring the following strategies to revive their people:
1. Use Existing Points of Contact to Evangelize – When do people already show up at church? How do we treat them when they do? Instead of getting upset by strangers in "our" pews on Christmas and Easter, can we equip members to take advantage of this opportunity to get acquainted with them. Many parishes have invested in expanded greeting spaces at the entrance to their buildings. An effective greeting area is conspicuously located at the entrance of the church or parish hall. Sacramental events and preparation programs are opportunities to welcome nominal Catholics. When newcomers relocate near the church, are Catholic neighbors equipped to welcome them and invite them to take advantage of parish resources? Does the parish sponsor welcome events (e.g. Do You Hear What I Hear? - a night of caroling, stories, trivia and reminiscing that uses the festive atmosphere of the holidays in a short program to invite all people to be awed by the promise of Christmas)? How does the parish reach out to lapsed Catholics who are struggling with unemployed, loss or illness? How can we equip Catholics to be available as spiritual companions for family and friends when life gets difficult? A welcoming parish has a plan for accessibility and accommodates people who are differently-abled.
2. Think Small and Be Responsive – Some church are intentionally staying small. Others have used small groups to provide a deeper sense of intimacy in a larger community. Spiritual seekers are responding to smaller, welcoming churches and find great satisfaction in the intimate experiences of worship and faith sharing that they provide so well. These churches are agile and responsive to particular local needs – employment resources, youth activities, fitness and dance classes, Christian business groups, food cooperatives, drug rehab centers, health clinics, coffee houses, lunch hour worship experiences, GED or a class in English as a second language. There are many resources for churches that want to be more responsive (e.g.evangelizebuffalo.org, foryourmarriage.org, faithformationlearningexchange.net, outreachmagazine.com/ideaexchange, fathersforgood.org).
Responsive churches do not limit their congregation to those who attend Mass or live within a geographic boundary. They use the organizational structures and staffing that best fit emerging situations. They see themselves as a community for others. Larger parishes re-energize their congregations through small groups while small parishes band together in cooperative clusters to insure both Catholic character and greater access to resources. A parish can band together with other churches in response to such practical community concerns as homelessness, bullying, drugs, human trafficking . Churches even work together to address the needs of spiritual seekers in the area with co-sponsored events during Lent, Operation Clean Up or Good Neighbors. Churches cooperate to provide counseling or crisis intervention at a neutral setting. And churches even cooperate in mutual promotional efforts especially around holy days.
3. Lead the Change – Innovative pastors inspire change through adaptive solutions to new challenges. Adaptive thinking involves learning, experimentation and innovation. Pastors will continue to solve technical problems with existing know-how - technologies, procedures, structures, and competencies (e.g. change the Mass schedule to accommodate a newly merged or linked parish). Adaptive thinking can challenge the imaginative resources of an organization. When a group of parishes anticipates the loss of a priest and develops a collaborative cluster as a way to accomplish a common Catholic mission, they have initiated adaptive change. Adaptive change is a process that mobilizes the resources of a community to think pastorally and strategically – observe, interpret, innovate, evaluate and adopt. Adaptive change is invigorating to the people inside as it is attractive to people on the outside.
4. Engage People in the Parish – Engagement is the level of emotional investment that a person has for a particular faith community. Why focus on engagement? Because when a parish engages a person, that person is more likely to invite someone else to a church activity, serve in the community, support the parish financially and be satisfied with life. Engagement causes spiritual development and engagement is more actionable than spiritual commitment. It is an essential element in spiritual vitality because we all need to feel that we will GET SOMETHING out of our participation at church. We also need to GIVE SOMETHING. We want to feel a sense of BELONGING. And Catholics want to GROW together. The National Study on Youth and Religion confirms that young people are happiest, most successful and least likely to be involved in at-risk behaviors when they are engaged with a faith community. Most church members do not intentionally disengage as much as they drift away. If they no longer have an opportunity to do what they do best their level of engagement drops. Major life changes cause downward drift in engagement. Parishioners who are unengaged and under serious stress are the most likely to drift away or to try another church.
5. Strengthen Catholic Families – Parishes will implement new initiatives (e.g. Strong Catholic Families) to encourage the development of households of faith and support parents in the task of nurturing the faith of their children. The Pope highlighted the vital role of the family in promoting a New Evangelization. There is great potential for parishes to re-envision and adapt the many published materials online to support parents, affirm family strengths, respect diversity of family patterns, allow parents to network together and strengthen marriages. Churches can develop programs to help young men and women to understand their role in the family, develop healthy relationship skills, negotiate solutions to problems with friends and respect others.
6. Equip Tweens, Teens and Twenties for a Mission in the World - Some parishes are equipping faithful adults to reach out to the generations that are most likely to drift away. Some parishes cooperate to sponsor Young Life or Life Teen programs. Some parishes are pooling resources to establish a regional youth ministry. Some parishes are cultivating a relationship with parents or guardians who share faith at home. Some parishes are integrating technology into catechesis programs (blogs, online learning, and Facebook) and conducting online reflections on service, make-up classes or independent study. Some parishes are emphasizing home-based learning where parents gather on a monthly basis to review the content for the coming month which they plan to share with their children; some also use technology to communicate with families each month. Some will take advantage of ecumenical opportunities.
7. Reimagine the Parish as a School of Discipleship - The Catholic way of life has always been caught as much as taught. Make faith formation resources available 24/7/365 to allow families to grow in faith at home. Develop apprenticeships through all catechetical activities and events, pairing up the confident witnesses with those who desire a deeper relationship with Jesus and the Church. In response to the changes of the 21st century and reduced Mass attendance, effective faith formation will accomplish the tasks of the catechetical mission in a relational framework and through a holistic approach to Catholicism as a way of life. High-tech strategies augment high-touch experiences of small groups, home activities and spiritual companions. Effective strategies will equip more catechetical leaders as guides and curators. More parishes will focus on diverse spiritual audiences and inter-generational settings.
8. Give High Priority to Lay Ministry Formation - The New Evangelization will require new personnel. Innovative parishes will experiment with ways to encourage the participation of new people and sponsor these people through formation in ministry. Training modules will provide theological foundations, spiritual development, practical skills and collaborative practices for:
· missionary attitudes and strategies for community organizing
· the realities of the emerging religious landscape
· pastoral planning and change management
· ways to engage the next generation
· leadership methods for parish clusters
· online and social media strategies for faith formation
· evangelization - retention, welcome and engagement
· collaborative models for parish administration and pastoral leadership
Much of this may already be available through established diocesan formation programs, conferences, mentorships, webinars.
9. Gather in the Courtyard of the Gentiles – In response to Pope Benedict XVI, parishes move out to dialogue with others regardless the difference of their perspective. This is an initiative of the Holy Father to open dialogue with non-religious people of conviction. Parishes can have constructive encounters with nominal Catholics in casual settings. Theology on Tap, Lifetree Café, Word on Fire, church at night, and mall chapels are all examples of neutral location initiatives to create a space for relationship building, spiritual learning and evangelization in non-traditional settings (off church property). Some parishes sponsor affinity and self-help groups (e.g. exercise, sports, male or female spirituality, single mothers) is another way to help people with practical and personal needs to find a spiritual home with us. There are growing numbers of groups that blend prayer, yoga, Tai Chi, Ignatian exercises or Taize prayer to tap the interests of people who want to relieve stress through contemplation and meditation. These efforts have potential to bridge emotional and physical fitness with spiritual fitness. These opportunities attract spiritual seekers, many of whom are nominal Catholics. Some churches purchase homes in the area around church as a way to provide low cost housing.
10. Equip Boomers for an Expanded Role in Parish Outreach and Welcome Ministries – On January 1, 2011 the first Baby Boomers began retiring at 65 years of age. Over the next fifteen years over 70 million will follow. Many of these Boomers are looking forward to an encore career and the opportunity to continue to apply administrative and management talents to increase parish capacity. Some look forward to reading stories or rocking babies. Boomers can re-engage friends and family who are nominal Catholics through partnership on a project. Are we prepared to empower this uniquely experienced and educated generation to exercise their faith in ministry? Boomers are attracted to mission-driven causes that allow them practical ways to contribute and develop emerging skills. Some will lead meditation groups or outdoor adventures. Some want to conduct a census outreach or teach spirituality through the arts. Many will support a church that exercises their spiritual muscle through action on social issues. Effective use of such human resources can multiply the productivity of the pastor and staff.
These are some of the ways that parishes can celebrate implement a plan for New Evangelization that revitalizes the parish as it equips parishioners to engage others in spiritual renewal.
- Dennis Mahaney, Office of Parish Life
1. Use Existing Points of Contact to Evangelize – When do people already show up at church? How do we treat them when they do? Instead of getting upset by strangers in "our" pews on Christmas and Easter, can we equip members to take advantage of this opportunity to get acquainted with them. Many parishes have invested in expanded greeting spaces at the entrance to their buildings. An effective greeting area is conspicuously located at the entrance of the church or parish hall. Sacramental events and preparation programs are opportunities to welcome nominal Catholics. When newcomers relocate near the church, are Catholic neighbors equipped to welcome them and invite them to take advantage of parish resources? Does the parish sponsor welcome events (e.g. Do You Hear What I Hear? - a night of caroling, stories, trivia and reminiscing that uses the festive atmosphere of the holidays in a short program to invite all people to be awed by the promise of Christmas)? How does the parish reach out to lapsed Catholics who are struggling with unemployed, loss or illness? How can we equip Catholics to be available as spiritual companions for family and friends when life gets difficult? A welcoming parish has a plan for accessibility and accommodates people who are differently-abled.
2. Think Small and Be Responsive – Some church are intentionally staying small. Others have used small groups to provide a deeper sense of intimacy in a larger community. Spiritual seekers are responding to smaller, welcoming churches and find great satisfaction in the intimate experiences of worship and faith sharing that they provide so well. These churches are agile and responsive to particular local needs – employment resources, youth activities, fitness and dance classes, Christian business groups, food cooperatives, drug rehab centers, health clinics, coffee houses, lunch hour worship experiences, GED or a class in English as a second language. There are many resources for churches that want to be more responsive (e.g.evangelizebuffalo.org, foryourmarriage.org, faithformationlearningexchange.net, outreachmagazine.com/ideaexchange, fathersforgood.org).
Responsive churches do not limit their congregation to those who attend Mass or live within a geographic boundary. They use the organizational structures and staffing that best fit emerging situations. They see themselves as a community for others. Larger parishes re-energize their congregations through small groups while small parishes band together in cooperative clusters to insure both Catholic character and greater access to resources. A parish can band together with other churches in response to such practical community concerns as homelessness, bullying, drugs, human trafficking . Churches even work together to address the needs of spiritual seekers in the area with co-sponsored events during Lent, Operation Clean Up or Good Neighbors. Churches cooperate to provide counseling or crisis intervention at a neutral setting. And churches even cooperate in mutual promotional efforts especially around holy days.
3. Lead the Change – Innovative pastors inspire change through adaptive solutions to new challenges. Adaptive thinking involves learning, experimentation and innovation. Pastors will continue to solve technical problems with existing know-how - technologies, procedures, structures, and competencies (e.g. change the Mass schedule to accommodate a newly merged or linked parish). Adaptive thinking can challenge the imaginative resources of an organization. When a group of parishes anticipates the loss of a priest and develops a collaborative cluster as a way to accomplish a common Catholic mission, they have initiated adaptive change. Adaptive change is a process that mobilizes the resources of a community to think pastorally and strategically – observe, interpret, innovate, evaluate and adopt. Adaptive change is invigorating to the people inside as it is attractive to people on the outside.
4. Engage People in the Parish – Engagement is the level of emotional investment that a person has for a particular faith community. Why focus on engagement? Because when a parish engages a person, that person is more likely to invite someone else to a church activity, serve in the community, support the parish financially and be satisfied with life. Engagement causes spiritual development and engagement is more actionable than spiritual commitment. It is an essential element in spiritual vitality because we all need to feel that we will GET SOMETHING out of our participation at church. We also need to GIVE SOMETHING. We want to feel a sense of BELONGING. And Catholics want to GROW together. The National Study on Youth and Religion confirms that young people are happiest, most successful and least likely to be involved in at-risk behaviors when they are engaged with a faith community. Most church members do not intentionally disengage as much as they drift away. If they no longer have an opportunity to do what they do best their level of engagement drops. Major life changes cause downward drift in engagement. Parishioners who are unengaged and under serious stress are the most likely to drift away or to try another church.
5. Strengthen Catholic Families – Parishes will implement new initiatives (e.g. Strong Catholic Families) to encourage the development of households of faith and support parents in the task of nurturing the faith of their children. The Pope highlighted the vital role of the family in promoting a New Evangelization. There is great potential for parishes to re-envision and adapt the many published materials online to support parents, affirm family strengths, respect diversity of family patterns, allow parents to network together and strengthen marriages. Churches can develop programs to help young men and women to understand their role in the family, develop healthy relationship skills, negotiate solutions to problems with friends and respect others.
6. Equip Tweens, Teens and Twenties for a Mission in the World - Some parishes are equipping faithful adults to reach out to the generations that are most likely to drift away. Some parishes cooperate to sponsor Young Life or Life Teen programs. Some parishes are pooling resources to establish a regional youth ministry. Some parishes are cultivating a relationship with parents or guardians who share faith at home. Some parishes are integrating technology into catechesis programs (blogs, online learning, and Facebook) and conducting online reflections on service, make-up classes or independent study. Some parishes are emphasizing home-based learning where parents gather on a monthly basis to review the content for the coming month which they plan to share with their children; some also use technology to communicate with families each month. Some will take advantage of ecumenical opportunities.
7. Reimagine the Parish as a School of Discipleship - The Catholic way of life has always been caught as much as taught. Make faith formation resources available 24/7/365 to allow families to grow in faith at home. Develop apprenticeships through all catechetical activities and events, pairing up the confident witnesses with those who desire a deeper relationship with Jesus and the Church. In response to the changes of the 21st century and reduced Mass attendance, effective faith formation will accomplish the tasks of the catechetical mission in a relational framework and through a holistic approach to Catholicism as a way of life. High-tech strategies augment high-touch experiences of small groups, home activities and spiritual companions. Effective strategies will equip more catechetical leaders as guides and curators. More parishes will focus on diverse spiritual audiences and inter-generational settings.
8. Give High Priority to Lay Ministry Formation - The New Evangelization will require new personnel. Innovative parishes will experiment with ways to encourage the participation of new people and sponsor these people through formation in ministry. Training modules will provide theological foundations, spiritual development, practical skills and collaborative practices for:
· missionary attitudes and strategies for community organizing
· the realities of the emerging religious landscape
· pastoral planning and change management
· ways to engage the next generation
· leadership methods for parish clusters
· online and social media strategies for faith formation
· evangelization - retention, welcome and engagement
· collaborative models for parish administration and pastoral leadership
Much of this may already be available through established diocesan formation programs, conferences, mentorships, webinars.
9. Gather in the Courtyard of the Gentiles – In response to Pope Benedict XVI, parishes move out to dialogue with others regardless the difference of their perspective. This is an initiative of the Holy Father to open dialogue with non-religious people of conviction. Parishes can have constructive encounters with nominal Catholics in casual settings. Theology on Tap, Lifetree Café, Word on Fire, church at night, and mall chapels are all examples of neutral location initiatives to create a space for relationship building, spiritual learning and evangelization in non-traditional settings (off church property). Some parishes sponsor affinity and self-help groups (e.g. exercise, sports, male or female spirituality, single mothers) is another way to help people with practical and personal needs to find a spiritual home with us. There are growing numbers of groups that blend prayer, yoga, Tai Chi, Ignatian exercises or Taize prayer to tap the interests of people who want to relieve stress through contemplation and meditation. These efforts have potential to bridge emotional and physical fitness with spiritual fitness. These opportunities attract spiritual seekers, many of whom are nominal Catholics. Some churches purchase homes in the area around church as a way to provide low cost housing.
10. Equip Boomers for an Expanded Role in Parish Outreach and Welcome Ministries – On January 1, 2011 the first Baby Boomers began retiring at 65 years of age. Over the next fifteen years over 70 million will follow. Many of these Boomers are looking forward to an encore career and the opportunity to continue to apply administrative and management talents to increase parish capacity. Some look forward to reading stories or rocking babies. Boomers can re-engage friends and family who are nominal Catholics through partnership on a project. Are we prepared to empower this uniquely experienced and educated generation to exercise their faith in ministry? Boomers are attracted to mission-driven causes that allow them practical ways to contribute and develop emerging skills. Some will lead meditation groups or outdoor adventures. Some want to conduct a census outreach or teach spirituality through the arts. Many will support a church that exercises their spiritual muscle through action on social issues. Effective use of such human resources can multiply the productivity of the pastor and staff.
These are some of the ways that parishes can celebrate implement a plan for New Evangelization that revitalizes the parish as it equips parishioners to engage others in spiritual renewal.
- Dennis Mahaney, Office of Parish Life
Web Resources
New Evangelization - Resources from the U.S.C.C.B., 2012
Disciples Called to Witness: The New Evangelization - U.S.C.C.B., 2012
Porta Fidei - Pope Benedict XVI, 2011
New Evangelization, Synod Preparatory Materials - Vatican, 2012
Pouring New Wine Into New Wineskins: The New Evangelization and What It Means for the Way We Do Catechesis by Bishop Edward Clark, Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of Los Angeles, 2006
Disciples Called to Witness: The New Evangelization - U.S.C.C.B., 2012
Porta Fidei - Pope Benedict XVI, 2011
New Evangelization, Synod Preparatory Materials - Vatican, 2012
Pouring New Wine Into New Wineskins: The New Evangelization and What It Means for the Way We Do Catechesis by Bishop Edward Clark, Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of Los Angeles, 2006
evangelization, new evangelization, parish, Catholic, renewal, innovation, pastoral planning, faith formation, young adults, Millennials, Mosaics