The Epic, Pt. 3

September came, and so did Dr. Paul Borden. One Sabath, prior to his arrival, our senior pastor called for volunteers to meet with Dr. Borden and the pastoral staff. As hands went up, we noticed something odd. Those who were chosen were new, or fairly new members. There was nothing wrong with this, in and of itself, but how could these people speak to what was going on in our church? Further, none of the people chosen for interview even live in the vicinity of the Takoma Park. How accurately would they be able to answer any interview regarding the community? What kind of depth could they provide? None. As we were soon to learn, that was okay. You see, these people weren't supposed to provide any real answers. The questions were canned...just like the questions asked during the "Focus Groups" session. Questions asked were specifically designed to elicit the answers the questioners desired.

From an analysis standpoint, this approach was problematic. If the object of the exercise was to learn about the congregation, with its history, strengths, and weaknesses/difficulties, the logical people to talk to would be the long-term members. If, on the other hand, the object was to discover the needs of the unchurched in the area, the logical approach would be to conduct focus groups among the citizens of the greater Takoma Park community. However, being logical and doing the right thing were never the objective.

On Thursday, September 6, 2007, Dr. Borden spoke at a meeting called of all Takoma Park Church officers to discuss his findings. This was also strange because this meeting occured BEFORE he held the interviews the next day on Friday afternoon. He preached a sermon on September 8, 2007, and left us with the report that we have already posted, which he presented to the church on the afternoon of Sept. 8. We should note here that the report is actually signed by three individuals. The other two, Dr. Ray Pichette and Pastor Glen Altermatt, are Potomac Conference employees who apprenticed themselves to Paul Borden for the duration of his evaluation of Takoma Park so they could learn his processes and techniques in order to replicate them in other churches throughout the Potomac Conference.

While there are a number of things in the Borden Report that disturb us, the most significant is easily the third "prescription:" "Structure: It is understood that if this report is accepted the congregation will adopt a staff led structure... The overview of the new structure will be presented to the congregation by the Potomac Conference on October 6, 2007." (For an explanation and analysis of the new structure which was ultimately recommended, see the upcoming post, "How does the new structure work?")

When questioned about the source of the specifics for this new structure in the following weeks and months, Pastor DeSilva's replies were always different. One time he said he developed this new structure. Another time, he said the conference developed it. Another time, cornered, he said that the Potomac Conference had tasked him with coming up with a chart for the change in structure. On yet another occasion, he said that he came up with the chart and he had to run it by Potomac Conference for approval. Who knew what the actual truth was?

Mark Twain wrote that one should always tell the truth. This way you never have to remember what you said.

Next: The Town Hall Meetings

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