Sept. 4, 2025

By Rev. Rick King

On July 13, New Life and Falcon Heights churches approved the Plan of Union and entered a new chapter: moving toward life as a NEW church with a new mission, vision, and identity. This is the sixth in a series of columns on 13 predictions for the future church from Canadian pastor and blogger Carey Nieuwhof, reflecting on them in light of our merger opportunity.

While I was away on vacation with family in Ohio, I had time to relax and let my mind wander. And one of the things it stopped and pondered was how much the Church has suffered from its pursuit of better customer service.

“When did the Church start doing that?” you may ask me. Sometime in the late 70s or early 80s, starting with megachurches, but mainline Protestants soon adopted these tactics, as well.

How did that cause the Church to suffer? It completely changed the member-congregation relationship, and even the God-relationship by placing humans at the center and replacing God. By appealing to what people wanted in a church, motivated by a desire to reach more people and connect them with God, the Church inadvertently changed the way people see the divine-human relationship. Sundays became more about “What’s in it for me?”

But things have come full circle in a sort of corrective. “Consumer Christianity” is dying, it turns out. And that death is having an impact on church gatherings, which are becoming less about US and more about God and the world God loves. Carey Nieuwhof writes, “Rather than a gathering of the already-convinced, the churches that remain will be decidedly outsider-focused. And words will be supplemented with deeds.”

Furthermore, the compassion and kindness with which we treat each other in congregations, how we resolve conflict and care for people’s spiritual lives, will all matter more than what causes we embrace and what programs and activities are birthed or allowed to die.

This fall, a Vision Team comprised of New Life and Falcon Heights members and facilitated by Rev. Emily Meyer will be having conversations with congregants and members of the neighborhood. These are designed to identify neighborhood and congregational assets and insights that will go into discerning our new church’s VISION (how the world will be different because the church is here), MISSION (how we bring that vision into being), and VALUES (how we embody that vision and carry out that mission).

And out of this, we’re hoping the Holy Spirit reveals a new NAME for this new church that lets everybody know who we are and what we are about.

Watch the TAB and all our communication platforms for news about members of the visioning team and what’s coming up next!

Aug. 14, 2025

By Rev. Rick King

On July 13, New Life and Falcon Heights approved the Plan of Union and entered a new chapter: moving toward life as a NEW church with a new mission, vision, and identity. Carey Nieuwhof’s essay ten years ago, titled “13 Predictions about the Future Church,” continues to be relevant to what we’re trying to do. This is the fifth in a series of columns on these in light of our merger opportunity.

Neil Postman critiqued its rise in televangelism and megachurches in his 1985 book, “Amusing Ourselves to Death.” Eugene Peterson decried it in his memoir, “The Pastor,” in 2011.

Carey Nieuwhof calls it “consumer Christianity.” Regardless of what language we use to label and describe it, it’s the fruit of organized Christianity, particularly Protestantism, seeking to capture an ever-shrinking portion of people’s attention, amid all the other options for what to do, how to think, what to spend our money and time on, you name it.

And although evangelicals were the first to pioneer the use of market research principles and practices, soon it seemed every other church that wanted to grow sought to package itself and its message in terms of, “What can I get from God?” and “What’s in it for me?”

Add to this the way that using certain kinds of media can shape the Christian message itself, even distort it, and you have a recipe for a never-ending quest for people’s eyes and ears at the expense of winning over their hearts and minds.

Whether we’re aware of it or not, this has led us to evaluate our religious experience, our churches, and even our faith itself according to our “individual preferences and comforts,” to quote our church’s Vision and Covenant. Nieuwhof points out that “even many critics of the church who have left have done so under the pull of consumer Christianity because ‘nothing’ meets their needs.”

And given how central dying to oneself and emptying oneself, taking the form of a servant, are to the Gospel, consumer Christianity is out of step with the core of who and what the church is about.

The general public saw this disconnect a long time ago. As the church turns its life around (literally repents) and necessarily becomes more authentic, it will become more selfless, more directed at the well-being of the community where it lives and less concerned with its own survival.

As we engage with neighbors around the church this fall to discern the identity, vision, and mission of the new church birthed by this merger, we have a chance to seek the welfare of the city that surrounds us, not just our own.

What questions would YOU like to ask our neighbors?

Bluegrass Sunday Aug. 3

Join us for Sunday worship and communion at 10 a.m. at New Life Church, either in person or via our Sunday livestream.* The service will feature music by Monroe Crossing, a Twin Cities bluegrass band named in honor of Bill Monroe, “The Father of Bluegrass.” They’ll also give a 20- to 30-minute gospel concert after the service.

Barbershop quartet in worship Aug. 10

Fourtold, a barbershop quartet of the North Star Chorus, which rehearses every Tuesday evening at Falcon Heights Church, will provide special music for our service at FHC at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 10. Gordon Everest sings tenor in the quartet. The other members are Delmar Brandt, Paul Willis, and Jake Simmer.

Horn Club parking lot concert Aug. 11

The Twin Cities Horn Club–one of the world’s largest musical ensembles of just French horns–presents its fourth annual Parking Lot Concert on Monday, Aug. 11 at 7 p.m. in the FHC parking lot. Bob Olsen plays with the club and serves on its board. The concert includes the debut performance of the Jagdhornverein Twin Cities, the only known hunting horn society in Minnesota! Bring a chair or blanket, and enjoy this 60-minute program of fun music for the whole family.

Barbershop choruses at Como Pavilion Aug. 12

Eight barbershop choruses from the greater Twin Cities area will present a Mass Chorus concert at the Como Pavilion at 7 p.m. Aug. 12. The finale will be comprised of all chorus members. Come early to get a parking place and a seat in the pavilion.

North Star Chorus parking lot concert Aug. 19

The North Star Chorus and quartets will perform in the FHC parking lot at 7 p.m.

–All these performances are free, although contributions will be greatly appreciated.

July 24, 2025

By Rev. Rick King

With the vote approving the Plan of Union on July 13, we’ve entered a new chapter and are moving into life as a NEW church with a new mission, vision, and identity. Carey Nieuwhof, one of my favorite church futurists, wrote an essay ten years ago, titled “13 Predictions about the Future Church,” and these are remarkably relevant to what we’re trying to do. This is the second in a series of columns on these predictions in light of our merger opportunity.

It may be true, as I wrote last week, that the church is resilient—Carey Nieuwhof says that “the potential to gain is still greater than the potential to lose” concerning the church.

But he also says that churches that love their model more than the mission will die. It’s always helpful to ask, “What is the need which this program meets?” And then to ask, “Is this still a need in the congregation, and is this the best way to meet it?”

You may have encountered what’s called The Seven Last Words of the Church: “We’ve never done it that way before.” You may have heard different versions of this: “We’ve always done it this way,” or “We’ve been doing this as long as I can remember.” Or the simpler, “We’ve always done this.”

As in, “We can’t stop now; we’ve got too much invested in this.”

Churches have a way of getting attached to particular activities, practices and programs, and for some reason, these may make it hard to envision a successful future for the church without them.

Every church’s history is filled with programs or activities well-loved in their time, but no longer part of the church’s life. A women’s fellowship concludes after celebrating its years of faithful ministry; an instrumental group replaces a choir; “Sunday school” is replaced by other small groups for deepening faith; a mission or outreach project struggling to stay alive in a church is replaced by another that fulfills the same part of the mission but which people are excited to take part in.

A healthy church approaches change by asking, “What is the need, and how are we called to meet it? Is this part of our mission?” Healthy church members discern whether to continue serving in a particular ministry by asking, “Am I serving out of my JOY, or out of a sense of obligation?”

If we hold the MISSION high and remind each other that our programs are just ways of fulfilling the mission, change becomes more possible.

What model or method are YOU holding onto, and is it still fulfilling FHC’s mission?

Next week, we’ll look at how CLARITY on the mission of the new church can lead to health, vitality, and joy!