Associate Conference Minister for Small Church Development

Remarks to Maine Conference Annual Meeting

September 25, 2009

&= nbsp; The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the H= oly Spirit be with you all.

I want to thank Rev. David Gaew= ski and the two search committees who selected me – first to serve as your Acting Associate Minister for Small Church Development, and then to serve as Acting Associate Conference Minister for Small Church Development – d= uring this time of transition following Rev. David Ray’s retirement. I want to thank the Coordinating C= ouncil for ratifying the search committee’s choice and appointing me to serv= e in the two acting positions pending today’s vote. And I want to thank all of you = 211; the clergy and churches who make up this wonderful Maine Conference, United Chu= rch of Christ – for calling me to serve in your midst.

I stand before you this afterno= on a man humbled by your vote of confidence, honored to serve God in this role, = and overwhelmed by it all. Never = in my wildest imagination had I envisioned being called to Conference work in the United Church of Christ.

In a classroom assignment in “Ministry to the Dying and Berea= ved” at Bangor Theological Seminary many years ago, we were asked to write our o= wn obituaries. Although the rumo= rs of my death were, of course, exaggerated, I wrote of having served small churches= in northern New England during the many yea= rs of my ministry. My plans were ne= ver to serve large, urban churches – or on Conference staff – but rath= er small, rural churches, which I saw as the life-blood of a family community = of faith.

&= nbsp; I am a passionate lover of the small church, and I suppose it is my God-given= enthusiasm and excitement, which leads me to serve the Maine Conference in this positi= on as Associate Conference Minister for Small Church Development.

There was a time when my path to ordained ministry was not quite certain.&n= bsp; My first time at a Maine Conference Annual Meeting was at Sugarloaf = in September 1993 when I served as a student pastor for a small church in the Oxford-Union Association. Lit= tle did I know at the time, but on the annual meeting agenda was a resolution t= hat forced me to confront an issue that I had long hidden behind my closet door, not wanting to face. That annual meeting changed my life, awoke in me a new sense of self, crashed open that locked door of mine, and it was the start of my new life serving the church of Jesus Christ.

To quote Robert Frost’s p= oem, “Two roads diverged in the woods, and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” Of course there were those who wer= e not very happy with my road choice – and this resulted in my traveling a = rough and rocky road indeed. <= /o:p>

What carried me during the rough years were the words of Malcolm Warford who wrote that God does not require= us to know exactly where we are going, “that throughout our lives we liv= e in the midst of several callings, changing times and new understandings of God’s voice which calls us.” Warford describes being shaped by = the purposes of God as “a meandering journey.” My life is a testament to this observation.

It has been the accumulated experiences I have had throughout my life, which has helped to shape not on= ly my vocational path, but also who I am as a person. I am the type of person who is deep= ly concerned with issues of justice. That explains why I entered the fie= ld of law enforcement and served in the very community where my father had been t= he chief of police. And it is my deep concern for justice that led me to my work as a licensed social worker, advocating for “the least of these” in our community. During my “meandering journey,” I have not always understood why God led me on peculiar side-trips along the way, but I am convinced that God directed me where my gifts, talents, and abilities were needed the most.

In a sermon she once preached, = Susan Davies, reminds us – “the profound seriousness of our calling, = the absurdity of our being called, and our fundamental identity, is not rooted = in ourselves, but in God.” My commitment and service to the church, my theological education, training, a= nd experience, all have helped me to identify the elements of my own calling a= nd vocation in a real way, to discern the Spirit of God in the midst of my lif= e, and to recognize new life and possibilities for service to others.

I have enthusiastically served = the Maine Conference over the past seventeen months in an acting position. My first year, serving half-time, = had its challenges since I was also serving half-time as Pastor of the Brownville Community Church. With so much that needed to be don= e in my Conference role – staffing two Conference committees, attending pr= ogram staff, placement team, and Coordinating Council meetings; staffing two Associations, which included attending Association and Committee on Ministry meetings; working with multiple churches in the search and call process; pr= oviding clergy support, as well as the host of “other duties, as assignedR= 21; – there had been little time for any real small church development.

In my work with local churches, pastors, and Associations in my first year, it became quite clear that the smaller churches in our Conference needed a dedicated guide for redevelopme= nt efforts. The Coordinating Cou= ncil has signaled – through their action of making Conference staff changes – that smaller churches need greater, concentrated efforts. My work for the Conference is only= made possible because your contributions to OCWM – “Our Churches Wid= er Mission.”

I come to this ministry fully a= ware of the challenges that we all face. Now I could stand here and give you a detailed analysis of the hards= hips and woes facing not only the churches of the Maine Conference, but also mainline protestant churches in general.&n= bsp; (But I don’t want to spoil David Gaewski’s State of the Conference address, let alone take longer than my allotted time!)

Let me give you a quick reality= check – if you take a look at your 11-year church statistics (accessible on= the Maine Conference website and located in the UCC Yearbook), I don’t ha= ve to tell you that looking at the numbers alone, the state of our churches is dire. The number of churches = in our Conference has declined, the membership in our churches has declined, the average Sunday attendance in our churches has declined, and our available resources to fund our ministry needs has declined. Given all this decline, one might = wonder why I don’t decline this call to serve as Associate Conference Minist= er for Small Church Development!

I am reminded of the story in t= he Gospel of Luke in the fifth chapter where Jesus provides a miraculous catch= of fish. Jesus tells Simon to “Put out into the deep water and= let down your nets for a catch.” And while Simon moans, “Master, we have worked all nigh= t long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” “When they= had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break.” (Luke 5:4b-6) I am sure we have all read this passage countless times, right?

It is the next verse that pops = out at me as I consider this call to serve the Maine Conference. “So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them.”= ; And it concludes with, “And they came and filled both = boats, so that they began to sink.” (Luke 5:7)

I have read and been nurtured o= n this story in the Gospel of Luke, especially by the part where it crescendos with the disciples leaving everything behind and following Jesus. It is a classic miracle story, and= it is a classic call to ministry story.

I had overlooked, and now disco= vered, as if for the very first time, the verse: “So they signaled their partners= in the other boat to come and help them,” which reminds me that = we are not in this alone – we have partners in ministry.

And so, I humbly accept this ca= ll to serve as your partner in this ministry of Jesus Christ in the Maine Confere= nce, United Church of Christ, as Associate Conference Minister for Small Church Development.

The ministry of small church de= velopment, however, belongs to the whole church, and not just my efforts alone. This is not something that I can d= o or have done for you. So borrowing and adapting a line from the movie “Milk.”

My name is Darren Morgan, and I’m here to recruit you!

A revitalization effort requires passion and energy – two things that I have a lot of. It requires desire, dedication, an= d hard work from many, though, in order for efforts to bear fruit. But doing this hard work can be a challenge, especially when we can easily be buried by responsibilities of c= aring for the church institution. W= e are so busy preserving church buildings – we don’t have time to “be” the church – to experience God in our lives.

Redevelopment, though, should n= ot be thought of as a program – it is a process and should be the way of do= ing church. If you believe that t= he church ethic needs to change from maintenance to development – that n= ow is not the time to be complacent and keep the status quo – then let&#= 8217;s talk!

How can we revitalize the small churches in our Maine Conference? There are a lot of ways – in fact, the number of resources that are availab= le can be mind boggling. At the = small church luncheon tomorrow, I will unveil a Small Church Vitality Initiative,= outlining a process of getting started on a path that energizes our smaller churches = with vitality. Having just returne= d from the United Church of Christ Leadership Institute last month, I am fired up = and raring to go! The question is= , are you?

Are you fired up by the Spirit = of God in your ministry setting? Are= you being transformed to serve God in your community? You know, the most precious resour= ce in the church is not money – its energy. So let’s follow that energy = and see where it is that God is taking us.

There are two roads ahead, whic= h road will your church travel? By accepting this call to serve the Maine Conference as Associate Conference Minister for Small Church Development, I promise to serve as your partner s= o the ministry of Jesus Christ can make a difference in your setting.<= /span>

Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless our ministries i= n the Maine Conference, United Church of Christ.