Apprenticeship - A Lost Art in Churches?

September 10, 2008

I am stressed out by the fact that we are having a lot of work done on our house. The microwave is in my son’s bedroom and I have to wash dishes in the bathroom. Gross! Nothing is where it should be and everything is dusty. But the good part is that I have met some competent and interesting carpenters, electricians, plumbers, and tile people.

All of these workers have a formal or informal apprenticeship system. No one works alone – there is always another working beside them. And I have learned more than I ever thought I would about installing windows and plumbing as I hear overhear the masters answer the questions of their apprentices. But the thing is there isn’t a lot of talking. Most of the teaching is by watching and then doing, assisting the master as he or she does their job.

Why have we lost this concept in churches? In most churches, leadership is a burden because it means doing all the work. In thriving churches, no job is ever done alone. Visitation is done as a team; worship space preparation is done as a team. Everyone is in the process of mentoring or being mentored.

The joy is that life is more fun and more meaningful this way. Church goes beyond a maintenance model into a model of building people into deeper, more competent Christian leaders. Can there be anything more exciting?

Throwing Things Away

September 1, 2008

We are getting some long needed renovations in our house – so, to make way for the demolition (what a great and terrifying word) – I am throwing things away.

There is a lot of soul building involved in throwing things away. You are facing the reality of your past (“I must have been insane to think that I would ever need that many napkin rings”).

You are making a choice about what path you will take in the future (“No , I am not going to drink from that stupid pink plastic cup again … ever”).

You are deciding the new ways in which you will live your life from now on (“With God as my witness, I will not use plastic utensils again!)

Too many people and institutions cling to their stuff and never throw things away. I know once thriving churches who now have 130 people in worship and have a Board and Committee structure that requires 120 people. Do they really need that many people running things?

As the daughter of a history professor, I grew up visiting historical sites and reading about the past. I have a healthy respect for it. But, the past can become an idol.

Institutions and people need to ask themselves: how can we be and do what God wants in this time and this place?