No pain, no gain is a persistent maxim not only in personal exercise, but also in life. The good things we want in life seem to only come through some process that requires us to put some “skin in the game.”

In order for our parishes to “gain” as disciple making engines, they must undergo a multitude of exercises to grow into what God has created them to be. Growth must begin in:

  • Mission
  • Values
  • Culture
  • Staff
  • Ministries
  • Parishioners

 

Mission tells us why we are here and what we should be doing.

Values give us specific and tangible areas of focus and action to accomplish that mission.

Culture becomes the natural state where these values exist and occur in harmony with the staff and parishioners, if they embrace it.

A Staff is comprised of a group of  people who intentionally maintain the culture, values, and mission of a parish by executing specific tasks and exercising particular roles while simultaneously inviting parishioners to join in the work.

To be a parish of the New Evangelization
that forms joyful disciples
who know, love, and serve Jesus Christ
and live in Faiththrough the Church he founded
(Mission statement of St. Helen Catholic Church)

Parishioners are meant to receive from the mission, values, and culture in order to grow as joyful disciples and to respond through serving Jesus wherever He calls them to use what they have received.

 

Currently my parish right now is going through some major exercises, which have caused many of the staff pain. Those of us on staff are being reorganized into teams and out of silos, in order to work in greater harmony.

 

We are beginning to go through the true pain
of changing our parish culture
by changing our own hearts and minds.

 

Some have been able to embrace and bore great fruit. Others have found it too painful and have needed to take a step back. Still others are in the throes of experiencing that change of heart and mind. We have been consistently confronted by God with the question, “Do you believe in our mission and are you willing to do what it takes to achieve it?”

Personal exercise is not easy; it requires commitment and hard work. Few parishes are willing to put in the work necessary to see lasting change because some of the people involved are not willing to commit to the exercise and renovation of their own hearts and minds.

If we want our parishes to become places that change lives
then we must commit to change in our own lives.
We must become disciples who follow the Master.