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Ecclesiastical Autoimmune Syndrome – Part 3

By Ken Howard

Today’s post is the third of a multipart series on Ecclesiastical Autoimmune Syndrome.
Click here for last week’s post.

In this series of blog posts, we are reviewing the signs and symptoms of Ecclesiastical Autoimmune Syndrome so that we can learn to spot it before it becomes terminal. After Commissions on Ministry, the next opportunity for E.A.S. to set in is in seminary.

Seminary

Near the end of my seminary experience, as I sat in front of the Commission on Ministry for my final interview before approval for ordination to the transitional diaconate, my bishop (God bless him) asked me if I could share a metaphor that would honestly capture my seminary experience. My response was that “It felt like a cross between kindergarten and boot camp. They assume you enter without relevant opinions about ordained ministry, and if they find out that you do, the quickly and thoroughly disabuse you of them.”

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Ecclesiastical Autoimmune Syndrome – Part 2

by Ken Howard

Today’s post is the second of a multipart series on Ecclesiastical Autoimmune Syndrome.
Click here for last week’s post.

Last week we began a discussion of Ecclesiastical Autoimmune Syndrome (or E.A.S.):  an emerging, infectious, but poorly understood pathology afflicting an increasing number of churches. E.A.S. occurs when the body of the Church turns against its own, perceiving healthy agents of corrective change as threat to “the way things are” and activates the organizational immune system, which then expels those threats from the organizational body. Like its human namesake, Ecclesiastical Autoimmune Syndrome drives churches to screen out of their leadership and its followership the very people who could bring life-giving, health-renewing change, while screening in those less likely to bring the discomfort that change – especially healthy change – inevitably brings with it. E.A.S. is slow-moving and almost unnoticeable, but is very frequently a systemic slide into death. The result of untreated E.A.S. is a church that would rather die than change

But what are the signs and symptoms of Ecclesiastical Autoimmune Syndrome and how do we learn to spot it before it becomes terminal?

Perhaps it would help to share some real life examples of how E.A.S. functions in various church organizations and processes.

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Ecclesiastical Autoimmune Syndrome – Part 1

by Ken Howard

Today’s post is part of a new multipart series.

Autoimmune Syndrome is one of the least-understood of human pathologies. The human immune system is the body’s active defense against infectious disease. When working properly, it responds to invading microorganisms, such as viruses or bacteria, by producing antibodies or sensitized lymphocytes (types of white blood cells) that attack the invaders and either kill them or expel them from the body. Under normal conditions, the body’s immune system cannot be triggered against the healthy cells of the body it protects. Autoimmune Syndrome occurs when the body mistakes perfectly healthy cells, tissues, or organs of the body for pathogenic threats, causing the body’s immune system to attack the perceived “invaders,” and kill them and/or expel them. It can lead to a wide variety of diseases include Crohn’s disease, juvenile diabetes, endometriosis, fibromyalgia, lupus, multiple sclerosis, narcolepsy, rheumatoid arthritis, and hundreds more.

Like its human equivalent, Ecclesiastical Autoimmune Syndrome (E.A.S.) is also a poorly understood pathology. It occurs when the body of the Church turns against its own. [Read more…]

National Church Growth Report Survey

by Ken Howard

A colleague of mine, Hugh Plappert, founder and CEO of FinishLinePlanner.com, is conducting a survey on church growth, and has asked me to make my readers aware of it, in case they would like to participate.

Appropriately titled the National Church Growth Report Survey, it may be found here: bit.ly/ChurchGrowthSurvey (case sensitive).

The survey should take less than 2 minutes to complete and submit. Those who do will receive a gift, along with a video about how to use it, and access to the results of the survey on request.

Hugh is a pastor in the United Pentecostal Church International.

Missional Planning for Dioceses: Where Do We Go from Here?

by Ken Howard

This the 7th and last post in a multi-part series. Click here to read the previous post.

Step 4 – Where Are Our Future Opportunities and Threats? (Investing in The New). Think of this in term of ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky’s immortal wisdom: “I don’t skate to where the puck is, I skate to where the puck is going.” In other words, it is insufficient to just know where there are people in need of ministry, to whom your churches could uniquely minister. You must also understand where you have no presence, and what you would have to do to be present there.

To do this, you would want to start by identifying all areas of your diocese which are not within 15 minutes of another congregation of your denominatiuon. These are areas where your diocese does not have a functional presence (since 70% of people will not drive more than 15 minutes to attend a congregation) and which merit more research as possible sites for new congregations, using the same three community population trends identified above to refine your search:

  • Population Growth. Growing or shrinking? (Growing is better)
  • Diversity. Increasing or decreasing? (Increasing is better)
  • Generational Balance. More balanced or less balanced? (More is better)

Example – Assessing Sites for New Church Starts Based on External Sustainability:

 

 

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