Fiddlin' Around While the House is on Fire
Article by Jack Loflin

Jack Loflin is the council director for this Mississippi Annual Conference. This article is a reprint of his "Nurture, Outreach, and Ministries" column in the November 20, 1996, issue of the Mississippi United Methodist Advocate. It is used by permission.   

One of the most pathetic figures in history was Nero, the Roman Emperor from 54 to 68 A.D. His personal history has been colored by the excesses of his attitude and lifestyle. In the year 64 A.D., half of Rome burned; and Nero accused Christians of setting the fire. Thus began the first Roman persecution. Myth has it that Nero played his fiddle while the city burned. Those kinds of myths have a way of arising out of the exaggerations or excesses of a person's life. It is clear that the myth grew because of Nero's lack of attention to his subjects, his overarching obsession with his own needs and desires, and his inability to see the implications of the prevailing climate for the future.

We can draw the conclusion that he was out of touch with reality; he did not have a clear picture of things as they actually were; he could not read the signs of the times. The results: He committed suicide in the midst of a revolt.

I think we have lost touch with reality in the church. All indicators seem to tell us that our old system is not adequate to carry us into the twenty-first century. Our membership has declined dramatically during the past twenty years; we are continuing to decline in terms of percentage of the population; we are rapidly aging; our supporting agencies, boards, committees, councils- from the local church to the general agencies -are not clear about their mission and generally are not in touch with the people they are supposed to serve. If we are honest, we will have to admit that we are beginning to worry.

There are no clear answers. If anyone knew for sure, we would all be working hard to correct the course and bring vitality to slumbering and declining congregations. If you disagree, and I am sure many of you will, get in touch with the facts. Look at our track record. What concerns me most is that we seem to be going along as if nothing is happening and calmly preparing to go with a "business as usual" attitude.

One thing we do when we feel a bit restless is tinker with the machinery. History has shown us, however, that when we make changes in our structure, we tend to change the names and keep operating in the same old way; and nothing new happens. In 1969, we scrapped the Official Board and gave birth to the Administrative Board and Council on Ministries, both of which kept functioning as "official boards." Twenty-seven years later we have grown so dysfunctional that large numbers of congregations are talking about "looking for a better way." The results, I believe, will be no better than we have previously experienced unless we decide that what we really need is to develop a new way to function.

We are, I think, overly organized; a full-blown bureaucracy. In most places, we have more groups and sub-groups than are necessary; we have a multitude of rules and regulations about what we can and cannot do; we are paralyzed by the route it takes to get permission to do anything (we are careful not to proceed without the proper permission); we are extremely staff dependent. There has to be a simpler way! Bureaucracy with all its grasping tentacles has immobilized too many of our congregations and has rendered them impotent and unable to respond to ministry needs around them.

A part of the bureaucratic system is the tendency to work from the top down. Images of power and authority vested at the top need to be shattered. We hang on to titles and positions as if they actually mean something in the long run. If we just keep trying to make the hierarchical system we have work, and if we keep following the bureaucratic processes we have in place, we are just "fiddlin" around, and things will get worse.

If you have an urge to restructure, remember: Structure is the last piece of the picture you put in place. You begin with mission, an under-standing of God's call, a biblical imperative. With a clear understanding of mission, you ask, "How can we respond to what God is calling us to do in this place, at this point in time?" That is, "What is our vision for the future as we respond to God's call." Then ask, "What steps can we take to help us achieve the vision and fulfill God's mission?"

Finally, we ask, "What kind of machinery will it take to get us where we want to go?"

And for heaven's sake, let's make it simple.