| Some literature suggests that the numbers of people attending worship in mainline Protestant congregations are declining, while the average age of people in them is climbing. Paris Presbyterian Church appears to be at odds with those trends.; Forty-two members with at least ten years tenure at Paris Presbyterian Church answered the “grand tour” question, “What was it like to be a part of the congregation when new people started to attend and join?” Using the rich text capability of Qualitative Solutions and Research Pty. Ltd. NVivo software was important in handling the flat, plain text data that came from the interviews. Faculty advisers for this project were Professors John W. Stewart, and J. J. M. Roberts.; Respondents spoke about their movement from a mood of despair when their congregation was in decline to a mood of delight as they encountered new people, and a revived sense of the presence of God in worship. At the same time, some were ambivalent about the implications of being outnumbered by newcomers, and the newcomers' testing of the boundaries of what the veterans considered acceptable “churchly” behaviour. They described the positive and negative impacts of pastoral leadership at the same time as they expressed doubts about the formative significance of influences and trends coming from outside the life of the congregation.; The concrete information that emerged from these conversations in this particular place helped me reflect on my ongoing practice of leadership. How will I as a reflective leader help this congregation to develop a broadened and strengthened leadership base that includes the newcomers, and that has a clear vision of the future of this body of Christians after I have gone? As they deal with the issues raised in these interviews, they may continue with questions like, “Is this about the church as the interpreter of the meaning of the Word of God?” “Is this about what it means to belong to this community of faith?” Or, “is this about having the dynamism to move out into the world to serve it in Jesus' name?”... |
