THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 26, 1994 TAG: 9411240074
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Religion
SOURCE: Betsy Wright
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
ONE OF THE things I like most about this column is getting feedback from you, the readers. Sometimes this comes in the most unexpected places.
This past weekend, I was on a retreat with another adult and 11 senior high school students from my church. We were staying at the home of Joe and Nancy Schaedel in Arrowhead Beach, just outside of Edenton, N.C. The Schaedels' home is a favorite retreat spot, and whenever there, we try to worship with the members of nearby Center Hill United Methodist Church.
Three of the best and most memorable sermons I've ever heard were preached at this tiny country church . . . and each was preached by a different person, one layperson and two pastors. I'm including this past weekend's Thanksgiving sermon by the Rev. Ralph Epps among the best . . but that's another column.
Anyway, as we were sitting down, a lovely woman dressed in bright fuchsia greeted me.
``It's so wonderful to have ya'll back,'' she said. ``We've missed you!''
And almost without skipping a beat, she added, ``And I just loved that column you wrote on Saturday.''
Her last line took me by surprise, but I thanked her for the comment and sat down with my youth group. After the service, I made a beeline for the lady, intending to get her input for today's Reader Response column about last week's issue, participatory management in the church. As we walked out, this woman - 80-year-old Margaret Smithson of Tyner, N.C. - introduced me to her pastor.
``This is the young woman who writes that religion article in Saturday's paper,'' she said. ``Sometimes they're really boring, but this was a good one.''
Oh, the honesty of age!
I roared with laughter as we exited the church. Trying to pull a Reader Response out of Ms. Smithson (it doesn't seem polite to just call her Smithson, as is our newspaper's style) was difficult. She said she agreed with the column wholeheartedly, but ``the other way around.''
A Methodist since birth, Ms. Smithson later sent me a note that said she could identify with ``what the article was saying but in reverse - laity not clergy.''
``I'm sure,'' she said, ``that the problem you addressed is true in many larger churches and maybe in some smaller ones, but not in ours. . . . Our minister is great! . . . He has made many sacrifi-ces. . . .''
I guess when it comes to participatory management, it cuts both ways.
Now, here are other Reader Responses.
From Orange Oden Jr. of Chesapeake: ``In support of your column of November 19, I say a resounding AMEN!
``Can you say it a little louder?''
From Aubrey Priddy Jr. of Virginia Beach: ``I liked the article you had about participatory management. I am a firm believer that when all classes of people have input on matters or issues, you will see better results. . . .''
From the Rev. J. Ewing Brown of Norfolk: ``I was struck by your article, `Congregations should embrace participatory management.' I've always felt that church leadership impervious to its constituents finally restricts the church's spiritual vitality. Psychologically speaking, such an approach can cause dissonance among our youngest generation, which will make recruitment from this grouping increasingly more difficult.
``Clergy from the baby boom generation are not in sympathy with a top-down leadership. . . . (They) are more egalitarian than their predecessors and seek to deal with church members as what they are: mature adults. This management style opens up communication, places more confidence in the community ethos, and gives the membership more stake in decision-making. This approach is also more likely to place emphasis on the development of people.
``Some view this as the dumbing down of pastoral authority. For me, it is just the reverse: It is opening the church for new breath and for a powerful connection with our society and church communities, and it is resulting in pastoral leaders returning to their ancient craft: the cure of souls.
``When the dust settles, the church landscape is going to change in terms of how it does business. This is happening just in the nick of time. We might be able to win back our young adults to the church and provide them with a plausible approach to stewarding the Lord's resources: you and me.''
And last, a few folks at my own church asked me how the ministers I preached to on the subject of participatory management reacted to my harsh pronouncements. My answer: positive response! Evidently the Portsmouth District of the United Methodist Church has some really open and honestly-searching-for-answers ministers in its fold. MEMO: Every other week, Betsy Mathews Wright publishes responses to her
opinion column. Send responses to Issues of Faith, The Virginian-Pilot,
150 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, Va. 23510; call (804) 446-2273; FAX
(804) 436-2798; or send computer message via bmw(AT)infi.net. Deadline
is Tuesday prior to publication. Must include name, city and phone
number.
by CNB