Building a Missional Classis
by Wes Granberg-Michaelson
Dakota Classis is being redesigned around its missional purpose. Similar efforts are underway elsewhere, including throughout the Synod of the Heartland. My visit provided an opportunity to see firsthand how this is working. For those in the RCA concerned about how our structures support (or don't support) the missional engagement of our congregations, I think there are lessons to be learned from what it going on in places like this.
The process here in Dakota has been going on for some time. Like several other classes in the region, the constitution and bylaws of the classis were examined and revised to reflect more clearly the mission and vision of the RCA, and the role of the classis in that calling. The committee structure was changed to reflect our commitments to church multiplication, congregational revitalization, and leadership.
But perhaps most interesting at a practical level has been the move to divide this classis into three "clusters." My time, for instance, was spent primarily with pastors and congregations in their southwest cluster. That cluster, like the classis, is organized around teams reflecting the emphasis on multiplication, revitalization, and leadership. Moreover, the pastors of the churches in this cluster belong together to a pastoral network group--one of the 65 or so networks now functioning in the RCA. These are focused on covenantal accountability, mutual support, and transformational learning. Interacting with the pastors in this cluster during my visit, the value of their network group became immediately apparent.
Two classes in the Heartlands have embraced a cluster model. This came about as they first asked basic questions of vision and purpose: "What does God want to accomplish in and through this classis?" As that became clear, they asked how the vision could most effectively be implemented. In these cases, they decided to focus the work of the classis in clusters that provide meaningful networks of ongoing relationships. Their hope was that this would make a real difference in supporting and equipping congregations. Much of the work of the classis--in pastoral supervision and support, church multiplication, supervision of congregational ministry (especially in times of transition), and so on--gets carried out through the cluster. Gatherings of the cluster include bringing elders, deacons, and others together. Focusing on our common call to follow Christ in mission finds practical expression in those settings.
Within this approach, the classis as a whole meets only once a year, both to carry out its essential responsibilities and to share vision and commitment to engage together in God's mission. Clusters enable the work of the classis to become more decentralized and brought closer to congregations. While of course this works better in some situations than others, the overall direction focuses on the ability of the classis to focus on the missional engagement of congregations, and provide a structure that can equip and support them in that purpose. At least in the corner of South Dakota I visited, this seems to be effective.
Dakota Classis is by no means unique. Central Plains Classis and a few others have adopted a cluster model for their organization. One of the first to do so was Classis Cascades, which I'll be visiting after leaving Dakota.
More fundamentally, each classis in the Regional Synod of the Heartland has been involved in a process of re-envisioning and revising its basic purposes. This has assisted in developing an integrated approach for providing staff resources and capacity. Again, focusing on vision has resulted in new ways of organization and cooperation.
Each staff person of the regional synod serves specific classes, working in cooperation and accountability with their executive committees. For instance, Dale Assink, who joined me in part of my visit (and drove me for four hours at night from Corsica, South Dakota, to Omaha), serves Dakota, East and West Sioux, and Central Plains Classes. Much of Dale's work focuses on congregational revitalization, and he guides pastors and congregational leaders in the "refocusing" process that has become a key strategy. He estimates, for instance, working with 70 pastors and 400 elders, deacons, and congregational leaders in various settings--retreats, workshops, etc.--in this approach, and the fruitfulness is evident.
One of the structural dilemmas facing the RCA, in my view, are the three assemblies beyond the consistory that each have responsibilities for our mission and ministry, and each have relative autonomy from one another--classis, regional synod, and general synod. In a world of limited resources, patterns of cooperation between them seem imperative for the support and equipping of our congregations. That happens best when there is alignment, or a sense of shared purpose, around our mission and vision. In many cases, Our Call has provided this. Then the challenge is for staff and governing committees to find the best ways for sharing various resources around these common purposes--church multiplication and congregational revitalization, supported by discipleship, leadership, and mission. To this, we now have the added common challenge of building a multiracial future freed from racism.
The Regional Synod of the Heartland has been discovering and implementing a model that builds collaboration between our assemblies in order to strengthen our call to mission. John Sikkink, as regional synod executive, and his staff colleagues have worked hard on cooperative approaches where vision, mission, and values are shared, and resources flow cooperatively, and with accountability, between the general synod and its staff, regional synod, classis, the clusters within the classis, and consistories. It was fascinating to me to view this all from the perspective of the southwest cluster of the Dakota Classis. It seems to work.
So there are lessons to be learned and best practices to be shared. I'm sure to learn more as I now travel to Classis Cascades, where the theme for the first day of meetings is "missional vision," and their desire is to explore what an ideal missional classis might look like.
Posted 11/6/09
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