THE RELATIONSHIP of a PASTOR and a CONGREGATION NAVIGATING CHANGE Theresa Cho
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Fuller Theological Seminary Digital Commons @ Fuller Doctor of Ministry Projects School of Theology Spring 2-5-2019 THE EPISTLE OF ST. THERESA: THE RELATIONSHIP OF A PASTOR AND A CONGREGATION NAVIGATING CHANGE Theresa Cho Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fuller.edu/dmin Part of the Leadership Studies Commons, and the Practical Theology Commons Ministry Focus Paper Approval Sheet This ministry focus paper entitled THE EPISTLE OF ST. THERESA: THE RELATIONSHIP OF A PASTOR AND A CONGREGATION NAVIGATING CHANGE Written by THERESA CHO and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Ministry has been accepted by the Faculty of Fuller Theological Seminary upon the recommendation of the undersigned readers: Tod Bolsinger _____________________________________ Kurt Fredrickson Date Received: February 5, 2019 THE EPISTLE OF ST. THERESA: THE RELATIONSHIP OF A PASTOR AND A CONGREGATION NAVIGATING CHANGE A MINISTRY FOCUS PAPER SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY FULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY THERESA CHO JANUARY 2019 ABSTRACT The Epistle of St. Theresa: The Relationship of a Pastor and a Congregation Navigating Change Theresa Cho Doctor of Ministry School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary 2019 The purpose of this doctoral project is to develop a framework of how St. John’s Presbyterian Church in San Francisco moves from a mono-cultural community to an intercultural and intergenerational community by examining the adaptive changes of leadership and ministry already navigated in an ever-changing culture. The first section explores how personal and congregational identity interacts within the pastoral and ministry context. A pastor’s identity and leadership style influences the capacity a church has to adapt to the changing needs of congregation and community—causing the community to reflect on its shared identity. Therefore, the second part examines the process of change as managing pain and loss as that relates to pastoral and congregational identity. Koreans call this han and the untangling of pain, han-pu-ri. The first change is how identity is understood. Identity holds many intersections of race, culture, class, gender, and theology. These identities intersect in diverse faith communities—making it both challenging and beneficial as it navigates through adaptive changes. Churches also carry the gravity of pain and loss. Without untangling it, it can be difficult for churches to make necessary adaptive changes. Finally, using the concept of third place/space, a framework of how St. John’s church moves from a mono-cultural to an intercultural and intergenerational community is developed. Ray Oldenburg defines third places as informal gathering areas where strangers and neighbors intersect. The term third space used in Asian American feminist theology refers to the in-between place where identity is tested, erased, and recreated. In order for a congregation to exist as a third place where people intersect their needs and passions as well as embrace its changing identity from a mono-cultural to an intercultural community, a pastor must also have self-understanding and embrace where one stands in the in-between space of congregational and pastoral identity. Word Count: 300 words ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank all the women in my life that have shaped me, named me, and nurtured me in who I am and who I am becoming. Thank you to InHo, my partner and best friend, and my children, Ian and Isabella, who make life fun and colorful. Thank you to St. John’s Presbyterian Church for your willingness and courage to journey with me as we discover where God is leading. Lastly, thank you Tod for holding space for me as this paper unfolded, pushing me when I did not want to be pushed, and cheering me on to the very end. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv PART ONE: PASTORAL AND MINISTRY CONTEXT - WATER 수 (SOO) INTRODUCTION 2 CHAPTER 1: PERSONAL AND CONGREGATIONAL IDENTITY 13 CHAPTER 2: PASTORAL AND CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY 32 PART TWO: THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION - FIRE 불 (BUL) CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW 59 CHAPTER 4: THEOLOGY OF CHANGE IN THE CHURCH 85 CHAPTER 5: THIRD PLACE THEOLOGY 113 PART THREE: MINISTRY PRACTICE - WIND/SPIRIT 숨 (SOOM) CHAPTER 6: ST. JOHN’S AS AN INTERGENERATIONAL CHURCH 127 CHAPTER 7: ST. JOHN’S AS AN INTERCULTURAL CHURCH 157 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 183 BIBLIOGRAPHY 188 v PART ONE PASTORAL AND MINISTRY CONTEXT WATER 수 (SOO) INTRODUCTION St. John’s Presbyterian Church in Reno, Nevada was the first church I stepped into at the age of eight. St. John’s church had that suburban church look: expansive campus, green lawns, and triangular shaped sanctuary building. It was not uncommon for a Korean congregation to rent out space at a local Presbyterian church and worship in the afternoon. My family began attending not because we were Christian. We attended because we were Korean. There is a saying that wherever two or more Koreans gather together, you will find a church. Church is where people talked, smelled, behaved, and ate the same. It was just as much a community center and social service as it was a church. Church on Sunday was an all-day event. My mother prepared the lunch with the church ladies in the morning. In the late morning, I went to Sunday School or youth group while my parents went to worship service. Afterwards, we ate lunch together—a full Korean feast that often included rice, soup, and homemade kimchi. The afternoon was filled with choir practice, Bible study, and meetings. My dad was usually in the church office counting the offering money and neatly documenting it in a ledger. I loved Sundays—the one day in the week where I could be myself and be with people who shared the same lived experience. When I accepted my first call as the associate pastor at St. John’s Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, I felt I had come full circle. The name of the church was an eerie coincidence of firsts for me: my first church as a child and now my first church as a pastor. Both are Presbyterian congregations. The Presbyterian Church was the first to accept my family as non-believers. Although I roamed away from the denomination throughout my childhood, it welcomed me back when I felt called to ministry. Unlike St. 2 John’s church in Reno, the one in San Francisco was located in a crowded urban city and had over a hundred years’ worth of history. The creaky old wooden structure and the dark nooks and crannies made any youth lock-in a haunting experience. These two St. John’s churches were also mono-cultural communities with a Korean male pastor serving a Korean congregation and a white male pastor serving a mostly white congregation. I served as an associate pastor for ten years. I am the first female pastor at St. John’s church in its 147 years. I am also considered the first racial ethnic pastor—except for a brief period, which I will elaborate on later. My presence was a litmus test for whether St. John’s church was ready to change along with the changing neighborhood demographics. When I began, I was newly married and fairly new to the city. Both my children were born at the hospital located across the street from the church. They were baptized at St. John’s church and grew up calling my head of staff “Uncle John.” For some, having a female pastor was enough of a change. Having a female pastor who is pregnant with her first child within the first year of her employment tipped the scale. Sparked by my needs as a pastor and mother, many changes were made to worship, the sanctuary space, the style of leadership, and programming so that everything that happened at St. John’s church was intergenerational and suitable for adults with children. This was not a fast shift, but a slow ten-year shift to becoming an intergenerational congregation. After ten years, I went from associate pastor to co-pastor with Rev. John Anderson. I was unprepared for how different the shift of associate to co-pastor would be. The weight of leading this congregation increased. Equally, I felt the most creative, empowered, and excited about the future as well. My daughter must have also sensed the 3 shift—asking me when St. John’s Presbyterian Church would be renamed St. Theresa’s Presbyterian Church. To her, the logic was simple: John, St. John’s and Theresa, St. Theresa’s. In the reasoning of my young daughter, the church name had everything to do with the pastor. I could have explained to her that the pastor is not the church, but the people are the church. However, she was eight and her statement had elements of prophetic truth. While the church is not centered on the pastor, a church is imprinted by the pastor’s leadership style, ministry impact, and pastoral presence. As my leadership and position have grown at St. John’s church so have my voice and my presence. Gradually, St. John’s church is becoming St. Theresa’s church. During my fifteen years, the church has changed from an aging congregation to a congregation of all ages. St. John’s church has also changed from a mostly white congregation to a growingly diverse community in race, class, sexual orientation, and faith. Rev. John Anderson will soon retire after twenty-eight years. As he leaves, I wonder what residual benefits I have received in pastoral authority from my co-pastor who is a tall white male will remain.