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A Reorienting Pastoral Theological Reflection Upon Church Decline

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A Reorienting Pastoral Theological Reflection Upon Church Decline INTIMACY WITH GOD: A REORIENTING PASTORAL THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION UPON CHURCH DECLINE by Dorothy Hunse B.A., M.Div. A thesis submitted to the Faculty of McMaster Divinity College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree ofDoctor of Philosophy (Christian Theology) McMaster Divinity College Hamilton, Ontario 2014 Doctor of Philosophy (Christian Theology) McMASTER DIVINITY COLLEGE Hamilton, Ontario TITLE: Intimacy with God: A Reorienting Pastoral Theological Reflection Upon Church Decline AUTHOR: Dorothy Hunse SUPERVISORS: Phil C. Zylla Michael P. Knowles NUMBER OF PAGES: viii+ 351 11 McMASTER DIVINITY COLLEGE upon the recommendation of an oral examining committee, this dissertation by Dorothy Hunse is hereby accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (CHRISTIAN THEOLOOYl External Examiner:_)_~~~~~------­ Daryl Busby, Ph.D. Academic Dean Designate: -~-'----£_-1-L---________ Mark J. Boda, Ph.D. Date: June 30, 2014 111 ABSTRACT "Intimacy with God: A Reorienting Pastoral Theological Reflection Upon Church Decline Dorothy Hunse McMaster Divinity College Hamilton, Ontario Doctor of Philosophy (Christian Theology), 2014 This dissertation offers a reoriented perspective of church decline as discerned through a process of pastoral theological reflection. The conversation partners are: (1) statistical indicators of church decline; (2) case studies of church decline as described by congregational studies research; (3) church renewal materials; ( 4) elements of grief theory; and (5) theological and spiritual resources related to God's power and presence in weakness. Statistical indicators suggest that decline is still an issue for local churches today. In response to this ongoing situation of decline, myriads of renewal materials have been produced offering ways and means for the church in North America to be renewed. Unfortunately these materials, and the assumptions which undergird their proposals, can be detrimental to declining churches, and fail to address the actual experience of decline as revealed by the case studies. For this reason, this dissertation offers a reoriented perspective of decline. It is a perspective that affirms that even those churches suffering the effects of decline can experience intimacy with God, and participate in God's fruitfulness. This perspective affirms, in concert with grief theory, that declining churches will need to acknowledge and mourn their losses brought about by decline. It also asserts, however, that theological and spiritual resources are needed to support churches in this regard. To this end, two theological and spiritual polarities IV will be offered for the purpose of articulating the reorienting perspective. The first polarity involves the movement between decline and a focus upon God as the One who re-describes our experience of decline. The second polarity involves the movement between an avoidance of decline and a focus upon God as the One who is present with us in it. Ultimately both of these polarities are understood as being grounded in the movement between fear and love. This pastoral theological reflection upon church decline is offered as a means of bringing hope and encouragement to those churches struggling with decline. Decline is serious, but it can also be an occasion of experiencing a profound deepening of the church's relationship and ministry with God. v DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to the congregation of Queen Street Baptist Church, who shared Jesus with me, with one another, and with their community, even in decline. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .•...•...•.........•.•••...............•.•......••..lV DEDICATION ....................................................vi Chapter: 1. PROTESTANT CHURCH DECLINE: AN ONGOING ISSUE .......... .1 Introduction A Pastoral Theological Methodology for Exploring Church Decline The Ongoing Issue of Church Decline in Canada: Statistical Indicators A Definition of Decline for Local Congregations Case Studies of Congregational Experiences of Decline Summary 2. THE SITUATION OF RENEWAL: IDENTIFYING ASSUMPTIONS .... 84 Assumptions Undergirding the Renewal Material Renewal Materials and Case Studies in Conversation Concluding Assertions Summary 3. CONGREGATIONAL GRIEF: DECLINING CHURCHES AS VIEWED THROUGH THE LENS OF GRIEF THEORY. .................... .138 Grief Theory and Declining Churches Church Decline and Responses to Grief Grief Theory and Cases of Church Decline Concluding Thoughts vii 4. A REORIENTING PERSPECTIVE: SHARING JESUS EVEN IN DECLINE........................................... 218 The Importance of Perspective Hans Frei and Being Shaped by Christ's Narrative The Implications of Frei' s Concepts for our Perspective of Church Decline The Potential Benefits of a Focus Upon Sharing Jesus Clarifying Issues and Summary 5. POLARITIES OF INTIMACY: FINDING GOD IN CHURCH DECLINE............................................. 267 Looking to the God Who is Present in the Midst of Church Decline Two Polarities For Encountering God and Living Fruitfully in Decline Concluding Thoughts BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................... 334 Vlll 1 CHAPTER ONE: PROTESTANT CHURCH1 DECLINE: AN ONGOING ISSUE Section 1: Introduction Church decline and an emphasis upon church renewal has occupied a prominent place within the hearts and minds ofNorth American Christians at both the level of the local congregation and at the level of denominations for many decades now. As the number of people attending church dwindles from year to year, as young people and young families, and even some older members leave the church or switch to more vibrant churches, as denominational leaders face diminished resources and church closures and consolidation, it is not surprising that much attention has been paid to the issue of decline and the need for renewal. Anecdotally, the experience of church decline can be accompanied by a variety of emotions and responses. Sometimes decline leads to a sense of fearful urgency as congregational and denominational leaders search for means to stave off decline before it deepens. Decline can also lead to a kind of paralysis as congregations shrink from the need for change and seek comfort in familiar patterns and practices of doing and being church. The experience of decline can also bring about painful emotions for a congregation, as Sunday after Sunday ministers and congregants alike are reminded of the diminishing numbers, the lack of children and young people, and the increasing age of those who continue to attend. Frustration, too, can emerge as sincere efforts to bring about renewal fail to yield the desired results. In some cases, the experience of church decline can even lead to spiritual pain and questions. Why has God allowed this to happen? Why is it that God does not seem to be answering our prayers for help and 1 This work will focus on church decline as experienced by Protestant churches only, as this is the context most familiar to the author. 2 renewal? Awareness of not only the fact of decline, but also the experience of decline has prompted this study. This work has been undertaken out of a desire to speak to those congregations, and denominational leaders who are experiencing the pain of decline, and who are realizing, at a deep level, that they no longer know what to do. The work of two authors will help set the stage for this work. The first author is Donald Capps, and the work of interest is his book, Living Stories: Pastoral Counseling in Congregational Context. In this book Capps contends for an approach to pastoral counseling that is shaped by and tailored to the particularities of the congregational setting.2 His aim is to develop an approach to pastoral counseling that can be effectively practiced by pastors-taking into consideration time constraints and the sometimes- limited skills of general practitioners-and that will be understood and experienced as an essential aspect of the life of the congregation. 3 Given these criteria, the approach to pastoral counseling that he argues for is one of the "telling of stories within a constructive framework."4 In this he draws a distinction between pastoral care and pastoral counseling. For him, pastoral care provides a constructive and safe environment in which the congregant can share her story, but the story tends only to be empathetically received at face value, and no effort is made to "connect the present story to an implicit story that may lie behind it."5 Instead, Capps argues that pastoral counseling should receive the story but also interpret it for the purpose of helping the congregant see things in the story that she has not yet been able to see.6 2 Capps, Living Stories, 7. 3 Capps, Living Stories, 5, 7. 4 Capps, Living Stories, 10. 5 Capps, Living Stories, 11. 6 Capps, Living Stories, 11. 3 Capps' work sets the stage for this project, because like personal lives, the corporate life ofthe congregation is a "storied" life? Congregations tell stories about the life of their congregation, and so presumably also about the situation of decline. In some cases congregations tell the story that decline is inevitable and will eventually result in the death of the congregation. Other congregations tell the story that decline is not yet significant enough to address seriously. Still other congregations tell the story that the possibility of congregational death due to decline will be less painful than the possibility of change. In one sense the aim of this work can be thought
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