Thursday, 27 March 2014

Over Coming Passivity in Church Services

As part of my work for the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds I get to take the sermon slot in church services and also run training events for churches and other groups.

Rather than standing at the front and talking for a long time I have developed an approach that gets people involved in the learning process and then to respond in some way and the results have been very encouraging

I was recently encouraged, when I was congratulated on my approach and the suggestion was made that I ought to bottle it, so others could benefit. This is my attempt to bottle what I do to facilitate participation. Please don’t take it as a magic formula but I hope it provides you with some ideas for developing your own style.

My approach stemmed from my concern that people can develop habits of passivity when attending church or similar events; coming to listen, but not actually to engage in the process.  

I was concerned that people are going home having been entertained but not actually learning from the experience of attending church. There was, however, some evidence to suggest that people wanted to engage and put questions or a counter argument to me as they shook my hand as they left. Unfortunately the traditional talk does not make it easy for either the audience or leader to make or manage contributions from the floor.

So often in the bible when Jesus is communicating we see him asking questions to encourage discussion around a meal table or over food.

Some authors would suggest that the stand up and talk method of teaching we see in so many churches was learnt from the Greek culture rather than a Judaeo-Christian culture. I have also been told that adults learn best when discussing and working on a problem together rather than listening to someone else’s voice as in a lecture.

It’s also the case that when we involve a multi-sensory approach to learning that many people connect better with the material. Some trainers even include highlighter pens, which smell of fruit, and good visuals and activates also help people learn.

In my work I have been experimenting in finding ways to encourage people to be involved in discussing a question and to then facilitate a response.

Part of the problem is the fact that a leader is often asked to come and speak rather than to facilitate learning and therefore naturally drops into a speaking role rather than adopting a more creative approach to teaching and facilitated learning.

The architecture of many of our churches certainly doesn't help and further discourages active learning, with rows of pews or chairs lined up to face a pulpit, lectern or raised dais, which is similar to a cinema or theater where people go to be entertained.  This seating layout is different from other areas of our lives.  For example when we get together socially in pubs, restaurants and cafes we usually sit in groups around tables. In our schools the children are also seated around tables so the children can work together in groups.

So when running a training session I always insist that people sit around tables in small groups so that they can discuss what we are looking at. I also try to divide the session in to a series of 15 minute periods, each period looking at a different aspect of the topic with representatives of tables giving feedback after each period.

In groups of around four it’s also easier for people to make a comment or ask a question rather than in a larger group. It is also much more difficult for people to sit passively and not to contribute. I can then ask representatives from each table to feedback to the larger group and groups are nearly always willing to contribute in this way.

The other things that I have discovered that works really well is to ask people to draw or write on a specially cut out paper symbol such as a leaf or piece of fruit and then to stick this on to a larger diagram or chart.  This is a form of the old post it note idea but the specially cut out symbol gives a greater emphases to the process and the act of sticking it on the chart subconsciously reinforces the persons commitment to the learning process.

I have in the past provided cut out green leaves to members of very traditional rural congregations and asked them to write on these, the areas where they felt God was at work in their community.  I have then invited participants to the front and to stick the paper leaves on a large diagram of a tree at the front of the church.

I was initially surprised at the willingness of people to come to the front but on reflection realised that the action is very similar to the process of coming to the front for communion, which people are familiar and comfortable with.

One of the keys to this process is the expectation of the leader that people will engage in the process. If the leader doubts that people will take part potential participants will latch on to this and be reluctant to engage.


However, if the leader is confident and enthusiastic then people will respond.  I don’t say I am not nervous, I always am, but prayer really helps me settle down and to put the results in to the hands of the Holy Spirit trusting in the process and the God given capabilities of those present. 

P.S The Service of saying good bye to the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds Diocese is an example of a service which used elements of this approach see www.riponleeds.anglican.org/news-646.html. This was made easier by not having pews in the Cathedral.

Wednesday, 5 March 2014

What Can Rural Churches Learn from the Rural Passenger Transport Industry?

For many years before being appointed as the Rural Officer for the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds I was involved in the rural passenger transport industry. I didn't work for an operator but for the Community Council of Shropshire and then Cumbria County on projects to develop and fill the gaps left by the withdrawal of bus services following the introduction of the 1985 Transport Act.

Recently I have been reflecting on this experience and the possible lessons that rural churches can learn from the rural passenger transport industry.

The old National Bus Companies managers had become masters of managing decline and consolidating their operations. However this often resulted in complicated timetables that where difficult to use. 

When variations or new services where suggested to managers one reply I remember receiving was. “We have surveyed the passengers on our buses and they don’t want to go there.”  However as I used to point out I was more interested in the passengers that weren't on their buses and perhaps they should do a community survey. When these were done more often than not they threw up unmet needs and demands and when these were provided for people used the new facilities.

The lesson rural churches can perhaps learn from this is that we don’t just need to survey our existing congregations but that we also need to connect with and listen to those in our communities that are not attending our services.

Part of the reason that bus services and communities needs were mismatched was that the requirements of the local communities had changed over the years and the bus operators had failed to adapt and therefore passenger numbers had declined.

One of the things the old National Bus companies had become poor at was customer care and provided utility rather than comfortable and quality buses.  Seats where closely spaced with limited room for shopping and drivers would watch as people struggled on board with shopping or push chairs climbing up steep steps.

Contrast this today with forward looking companies like Harrogate and District who’s number 36 service runs between Ripon, Harrogate and Leeds and is thriving.  The buses have low floor access and the drivers stop centimetres from the curb so passengers can easily get on board. The leather seating is very comfortable and the buses are clean and warm with free wifi and are driven by courteous and helpful drivers.
How this contrasts to some of our churches, where access is via steep steps and the seating uncomfortable and the buildings cold and poorly lit.

Yet some churches are improving access: replacing hard wooden pews with flexible comfortable seating, installing low energy modern lighting, carrying out energy audits to reduce heat loss and installing modern low carbon heating systems such as biomass. (see story) In addition installing a kitchen to provide refreshments as well as accessible toilets.

One of the lessons we also learnt in the rural transport industry was that timetables needed to be simple to understand and easily remembered.  The complications that have been brought in to try consolidate operations with different times on school days, market days and during different seasons of the year, actually undermined services and people couldn’t remember when the bus ran. What was required was easily to remember timetables that you could carry in your head; such as the same time each day or the same time past each hour, with no exceptions.  When these were introduced passengers’ numbers crept up. The same is true in parishes where there is a service at the same time each Sunday; even if the format of the service may change it’s the same time each week and numbers are creeping up.

Another factor we learnt was that to sustain a rural bus service we needed to combine various uses or different markets. For example the well know post buses that combine the carriage of post with the carriage of passengers or the border courier in Scotland that combined the delivery of medical supplies to hospitals and rural Doctor’s practices with the carriage of passengers.


The same pattern is now emerging in rural churches with church buildings in use as multi-functional community buildings. Examples in the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds includes St Michael Church, Spennithorne near Leyburn (see story) that hosts the local library and All Saints Kirby Overblow (see story) which is also used for exhibitions, conferences, as a theatre and a place for community celebrations. In other areas church buildings host community shops, youth clubs and other activities, whilst still being used for worship at other times.