TCN - What Does this Mean?

            “What does this mean,” is the “standard Lutheran question.” If you remember memorizing the Small Catechism, each commandment, article of the Creed, and petition of the Lord’s Prayer had an explanation that began, “what does this mean?”

            Perhaps you are asking the Lutheran question if you have seen or heard about the Transforming Churches Network (TCN) report that we received on Sunday, February 8^th. (An Executive Summary of this report is elsewhere in this newsletter; the full report is available by request or by downloading it from our web site). If you are asking yourself, “what does this mean,” that is a good question and I’m glad  you’re asking it.

            To begin, let me explain what the TCN report does not mean. It doesn’t mean that Shepherd of the Coast is somehow deficient or in trouble as a congregation. It doesn’t mean that we have deep seated problems or there is some pending disaster.

            The TCN report does challenge us as a congregation to do better at reaching our community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The TCN process, should we vote to move forward with it, will guide us in being more effective at sharing the message of salvation with our neighbors. TCN will give us tools to sharpen our vision, organize for outreach, and make an impact on our community.

            For me, personally, TCN will provide a learning community of other pastors so that we can support each other in this process. I have found that those learning communities of which I have been a part in the past have been enriching both personally and professionally.

            For us as a congregation, TCN will provide a valuable reminder during our building program that we need to keep the main thing the main thing. Because a building program takes so much effort, it is easy for the building to become a church’s “Golden Calf,” replacing the mission of Christ’s Church with the mission to build the building. TCN will help us avoid this confusion.

            Here are two things you can do for Shepherd of the Coast’s TCN process: 1) Pray. Pray for God’s guidance as we decide whether to accept the report and two-year process to follow and 2) Ask questions; ask a lot of questions. Your questions matter for your understanding of TCN, for others to understand the process, and for Shepherd of the Coast as we move forward.

            In Christ,

            Pastor Dan Czaplewski