Whenever congregational leaders decide that PBG is a good idea, they then face the hard task of getting their congregation as a whole to feel the same way. The last thing on earth you want to do is to bring PBG to a congregational vote without plenty of time to educate your people and answer their questions first.
The leaders of my congregation used a variety of means to inform our congregation about PBG, including many forums and informational brochures. One of the most effective things we did, however, was to create this video:
In it, three well-known Lutheran church leaders in our area of Northern Illinois talk about their experience in transitioning congregations to PBG. The three leaders are:
- Pastor Alan Buss, First Vice-President of the Northern Illinois District of the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod and Senior Pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Belvidere, Illinois.
- Pastor Dan Gilbert, former pastor of Cross Lutheran Church in Yorkville, Illinois and current President of the Northern Illinois District.
- Dr. Jack Giles, Congregational Services Executive for the Northern Illinois District. Dr. Giles previously served on the staff of two churches using PBG: Trinity Lutheran Church in Lisle, Illinois and St. Michael's Lutheran Church in Bloomington, Minnesota.
This video gave our people confidence that PBG had already been tried and found effective in many other congregations.
Though initially designed just for Prince of Peace in Palatine, Illinois, this video should prove valuable to any congregation exploring PBG.
Interesting but crashes at 2:26 into video.
ReplyDeleteSorry! I'm trying to fix this problem.
ReplyDeleteI think I've got it fixed now. If you find it crashing again, just use your mouse and manually drag the moving marker a bit. It should come right back on for you.
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