(Note: the blue horizontal menu bar directly above lists the subsections of the "Introduction." Be sure to read each of these subsections before moving on to the next primary section, "Getting Started.")

Introduction: The Need to Reflect

There are other times when it is especially appropriate to open up a congregation's past for signposts to the present and future. Congregations experience times of transition when their identities seem uncertain. A long pastorate ends and the congregation begins to envision life without Pastor So-and-so. It seeks to find its moorings and clarify its character so that the next called pastor will fit the congregation's current needs instead of echoing its past.

The file drawers of denominational leaders are full of documents that point to mismatches of clergy and congregations, which result in part from ignorance of the ways our history shapes us.

Sometimes a congregation attempts to make a radical break with its past and calls a pastor who is an exact opposite of the predecessor. Too late, members find that their new pastor just does not fit, that he or she seems to come from another world than their own.

Or a congregation might look for a carbon copy of a beloved pastor, unaware of how the congregation has changed in the years since the pastor first arrived and how subtly the congregation outgrew him or her, even while coming to cherish the pastor.

Versions of these stories frequently result in dispirited and divided congregations, malaise or breakdown in clergy careers, or both. The fact that many denominations now urge congregations to reflect on their history in the process of calling a new pastor indicates the growing recognition of the power of congregational histories. The fact that most congregations do not naturally stop and think about their history in the unsettling time of transition between pastors does not mean that they do not need to. Rather, it suggests that most congregations are not equipped to think critically and creatively about their past and how their heritage shapes who they are and who they might be in the future.

Transitions in pastoral staff are not the only times congregations are faced with questions about their identity. Someone proposes a new ministry to the homeless, to the hearing impaired, or to business leaders. A congregation divides over a major issue, such as how to interpret the Scriptures or whether or not to relocate the congregation's building. Members discover new liturgical styles, and some want to adopt them while others steadfastly refuse to consider such a change.

At all of these times, congregations are faced with the challenge to discover who they really are. In modern America, most congregations will not find that challenge easy to face.