The Feb. 7-9 event drew 76 participants from the Fresno area, Canada, the midwestern states and from among the MBBS student body, according to Ray Bystrom, associate professor of pastoral ministries and coordinator of School for Ministry.
"Many books have been written in the past couple of decades about numerical growth of churches, but few until recently have focussed on the spiritual growth of churches," said Herb Miller, one of three speakers at School for Ministry.
Miller is president of Net Results Resource Centre in Lubbock, Texas and editor of the Effective Church Series. He recently succeeded Lyle Schaller as Parish Consultant for the Yokefellow Institute.
People are different from each other. While most church leaders know that is true, most congregations plan on programs as if everyone were spiritually identical. Congregations tend to attract 'our kind of people' and repel other kinds of people."
Miller said churches usually serve different kinds of "spiritual food".
"When people say they did not find a church or particular religious experience within that congregation meaningful, they mean that the type of spiritual food it provided lacked the power to touch their wills and influence their life directions," he said. The four types of people who are seeking different experiences could be categorized:
1. The Thinking Type: These focus on "thought content", and look for spiritual guidance in the words of Scripture, sermons and position papers on ethical issues.
2. The Action Type: This kind of person finds enrichment in service. "For them, action is authentic theology and prayer," Miller said.
3. The Feeling Type: This kind of person "feels in order to think", Miller said. He or she finds significance in music, heart-felt testimonials and other experiences that touch the emotions.
4. The Meditative Type: These are more inward-focussed persons whose "prayer is largely an experience of hearing God speak to them rather than vice-versa. They often find scant spiritual nurture in Western Protestantism, which may seem to them more like a social club than a God-focussed group," Miller said.
No worshipper neatly fits in such categories, Miller pointed out, but the categories help explain corporate spirituality. Further, most American Christians fit into the "thinking" or "feeling" type.
One explanation for recent interest in spirituality, he said, is that "thinking type" spirituality usually dominates during times of relative political stability, dependable social order and strong sense of individual worth. The "feeling type" tends to emerge under conditions currently prevalent in the United States--culture is unstable, political order is crumbling, person roles are poorly defined and people feel a low sense of personal power.
Perhaps mainline church membership is declining because many churches hold to a "thinking type" experience when many, especially in younger generations, seek a "feeling type" experience, he said.
The emergence of American megachurches since 1965 is partially explained by their ability to "provide diverse spiritual experiences under a large organizational umbrella," noted Miller.
Church leaders at the School for Ministry studied suggestions from Miller's latest book, "Connecting with God: Fourteen ways churches can help people grow spiritually." These included worship, preaching, prayer, Bible study, fellowship, service, stewardship, evangelism, leadership, administration, retreats and encouragement.
Other speakers at School for Ministry were J. Alfred Smith, pastor of the 4,000-member Allen Temple Baptist Church of Oakland, CA. Bystrom said Smith brought a vital message about how God is bringing transformation to the neighbourhood around Allen Temple, "sometimes at great risk to both the pastor and the people".
The church sponsors a wide variety of social programs to help the poor. Smith also brought a powerful word about the prevalence of institutional racism.
Allen Temple is the topic of a book by G. Willis Bennet titled "Effective Urban Church Ministry".
Matt Hannan, pastor of New Heights Church in Vancouver, WA, infected School for Ministry participants with his "love for God and for people," reported Bystrom.
"He's just bubbling over with love for God," Bystrom said. "He told us about several programs he's instituted in his church, but I think what happens is that people receive love, acceptance and forgiveness from him personally, and they're motivated to serve others in the same way."
Hannah says people are seeking "hope, help and home" in a church, and New Heights tries to provide that by "exalting Christ, edifying the saints and evangelizing the world".
Kent Gaston, MBBS