Each week I write a column in the congregation’s newsletter, The Reporter, and continually seek fresh ways to communicate the need to remain hopeful and faithful in uncertain and difficult times. I was inspired by a talk Dr. Nick Carter gave to the Alumni Board at Andover Newton last week and penned the letter below for last Sunday’s newsletter. I find it necessary to be realistic about the costs of preserving the institution so that we can increasingly adopt the posture of a movement aimed at spreading the Good News. The nature of institutions is that they prize self-preservation, while movements seek to rally around a cause and gather momentum. Here’s what I wrote to the congregation.

Imagine for a moment that you have been in business for a long time. You have made a healthy profit selling horses and buggies.
One day you’re out in your brand new horse- drawn buggy and hear a strange noise coming up from behind. You look back to see a brand new car, the first you’ve seen. It’s big, beautiful, and isn’t drawn by horses.
What do you do? Do you doggedly dig in your heels and say I’m in the horse and buggy business and will never sell cars? Or do you see yourself as being in the transportation business and begin to explore what adding a range of cars would mean for your business?
This analogy was used this week by Rev. Dr. Nick Carter, visionary president of Andover Newton Theological School in reference to the future of seminaries. I think it’s as valuable in reference to the future of the church and, in particular, our congregation.
As with most mainline Protestant churches, we have seen drastic falls in membership over the past five decades while some other churches and social institutions have grown. Even our strong growth over the past few years has made only a tiny dent. With a few notable exceptions, we have kept doing what we have done for many years, hoping that others will be attracted by what makes us comfortable or sentimental. We have confined ourselves to an old model of governance and sometimes dug in to preserve positions of power and privilege.
Any person with good business sense will tell us this is not the way to be successful. One needs to be watchful for new opportunities to diversify the product range and improve the bottom line. At times you have to shift your model and activities to accommodate the new demands of those who need what you offer. The New York Times on Wednesday ran a story about how luxury hotels no longer market luxury. Who needs another plush bathrobe? Instead, they are marketing experiences that meet the demands of their clients in difficult times.
Of course, the church is not a business and our bottom line does not amount to money. Our mission is not to make a profit. We are called to proclaim the Good News and create opportunities for community to gather, for worship, faith enrichment, and mission that meets the needs of the destitute.
It is essential that we continue to revision who we are called to be today and what we need to do to serve God more faithfully in the present. Our work is cut out for us. Yet we are not alone in this work. God has not left us without hope. We need to turn to God with greater fervor. We need to dream bigger dreams. We need to turn to the experts on church revitalization and listen to each others’ ideas for our future. We need to live into the vision already born within our congregation.
We have achieved great things together over the past few years and have grown considerably, yet we still have work ahead of us to live into a fresh and inspired vision.