New book from Wilmington church leader provides guide for re-energizing congregations
Episcopalians are sometimes called God's "chosen frozen." Jay Sidebotham wants to thaw them out.
A Wilmington-based priest, Sidebotham is a former associate rector at St. James Parish in Wilmington. He's also founder and senior consultant for RenewalWorks, a ministry that seeks to revive spiritual growth in local churches.
Now, Sidebotham shares some of his insights in "Signs of Life: Nurturing Spiritual Growth in Your Church." Although addressed specifically to Episcopal congregations, his ideas could be adapted to many denominations. Indeed, Sidebotham admits he borrowed concepts from Willow Creek, the evangelical mega-church in Chicago.
Surveys found that many churchgoers are remarkably ignorant about what their faith believes, even if they've been attending Sunday services for decades.
Some members like it that way. One rector, only half-jokingly, suggested his church's tagline should be changed to, "We're spiritually shallow, and we're fine with that!"
It takes time (and good, patient leadership) to turn such attitudes around. Sidebotham, however, offers some clear, basic prescriptions.
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First, a renewed emphasis on Scripture: Get the whole congregation back to reading the Bible regularly. Many programs offer novice-friendly outlines for reading the Bible in a year. Other congregations take a few Bible verses and meditate on their meaning for a week or a month or a quarter.
Second, small groups: Have parishioners meet together to pray and to discuss challenges or religious topics. These can be existing committees or classes in the church or new ones.
One priest made her vestry (the parish's governing board) commit to a half-hour of prayer and Bible study before turning to any mundane. business. Meetings lasted twice as long, but most members felt inspired and refreshed.
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A big part of Sidebotham's prescription is reaching out beyond the church walls to the surrounding community, identifying and meeting material and spiritual needs.
For many churches, Sunday attendance has been declining or flat since the pandemic. Sidebotham thinks people are hungry for answers and that an energized church that returns to its roots can provide them.
Readers with long memories might find echoes of the research done by Wilmington writer Paul Wilkes and his assistants, which resulted in the 2001 books "Excellent Catholic Churches" and "Excellent Protestant Congregations."
Book review
'SIGNS OF LIFE: Nurturing Spiritual Growth in Your Church'
By Jay Sidebotham
Cincinnati: Forward Movement, $22 paperback
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Book Signs of Life by Jay Sidebotham aims to aid church congregations
