Top Scripture Verses for Parish Renewal - Part 1

All Scripture is inspired, but certain verses of Scripture inspire us more than others. This summer, we did a message series on the rich young ruler because it is one of those passages that inspires me, challenges me, and sometimes haunts me. You can check out the series on the Nativity website if you are interested in watching (The Pursuit of More)

The series got me thinking of the Scripture verses or passages that are most important for parish renewal. Over the next six weeks, I want to share with you my top six. Why six? There is nothing magical about six; it just makes for a good series length, and ten seems like too many. These will not be in any order except for the one I share today.

The most important verse for parish renewal comes from Matthew 28:18-19. Jesus says to the apostles before his ascension,

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

For renewal and rebuilding of our parishes, we must stay focused on the mission Jesus gave us to make disciples. This is central to why we exist as a parish. When we lose our why, we lose our way. So many parishes lose their focus just trying to get people to come to church. (This was certainly our story for a while.) In trying to get people to show up for church, they create all kinds of programs. Drive around your community and see how many churches (Catholic and Protestant alike) advertise things that have nothing to do with making disciples: pickleball, yoga, rhumba lessons - these are just a few of the signs I have seen. They are signs that a church has lost its mission.

Here's another sign of losing our mission. Once in a while, I get asked, “What does Nativity do for faith formation?” My answer, “Everything.” If it isn’t forming faith, then why are we doing it? Jesus gave us the mission to make disciples by forming them in faith and helping people on their faith journey. If you are doing something that doesn’t form faith in people and help them follow Christ, stop doing it or refashion it.

Often, activities are “fake faith forming.” What do I mean? A great example is parish carnivals and fundraisers. When you ask parish leaders why they are doing it, they will often say it really isn’t about the money, but it builds fellowship. (Then why call it a fundraiser?) Whether it is for raising funds or for building fellowship, it loses on both counts. To make disciples means challenging people to grow in generosity and to tithe and give cheerfully. Fundraisers teach people to give transactionally. Carnivals and fundraising dinners are pseudo-fellowship. They can be fun, but it’s not the life-on-life interaction we desperately need. They don’t really help us form relationships where we can grow in our faith.

We need to get rid of programs or activities that don’t really form faith. And we need to refashion what we must do so that it builds people’s faith. Every weekend we have Mass. We can see it as an opportunity to take people on a faith journey through a welcoming culture, inspiring music, and relevant preaching. Or we can just go through the motions and check the box. Every weekend, we ask people to give to the offering and have an opportunity to connect the dots between faith and finances. Or we can just nag people to give. We need volunteers to run our programs. We can use this as an opportunity to build their faith or just to plug holes. Making disciples means doing what we already do, but with a different focus or through a different lens.

At Rebuilt, we say our mission is to make disciples by helping parishes make disciples. Our model is meant to help parishes become disciple-making machines. We promote four key strategies: create a great weekend experience, grow deeper by shaping a clear discipleship path, grow wider by welcoming outsiders, build layers of leaders. These four key strategies work together and create an integrated parish that’s more effective in our mission to make disciples.

Take a moment to evaluate yourself and your parish on a scale of 1 to 5. How much are you on mission? A “5” means you are totally focused. A “1” means you are totally distracted. What step can you take today to be more focused on making disciples? What do you need to stop doing or to do differently?

Remember, when we lose our why, we lose our way. Stay focused on the mission Jesus gave us. He calls us to make disciples. That’s it. It’s a simple mission that anyone can understand and yet it’s also so challenging that it will take the rest of your life to live out. Don’t let anyone or anything distract you from it.

Rooting for you,
Tom