Janet R. Cawley, Who Is Our Church? Imagining Congregational Identity. Alban Institute, 2006.
Referenced in: Congregational Culture, Church Identity
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
Cawley presents a well-crafted process for churches to understand their identity. She defines identity as “what makes a congregation unique, distinct from all others.” (5) She says the closest analogy to congregational identity is personal identity: what makes you you and me me is like what makes a congregation a congregation and not some other church. Thus she recommends an identity clarification process that is not based on piling study after study, but on the “personal identity exercise.”
The personal identity exercise uses the congregation’s knowledge of itself to construct a metaphor, a dynamic model of the congregation as a person. This metaphor is then used to generate options, priorities, and strategies for future action. (8-9)
The book discusses the importance of identity and the paralyzing effect of false identity. Next is a biblical and theological reflection on 1 Corinthians and the church as the body of Christ. This is followed by describing and analyzing the personal identity exercise, and then how it can be used to spawn new life in the congregation.
From the Publisher
After congregations have considered their history, added up all the statistics, and tried to be honest about their core values, the question still remains: “Who are we, really?” Author Janet Cawley offers a creative, engaging, and faithful way to answer just that question. Cawley demonstrates how to use a congregation’s knowledge of itself to construct a metaphor of the congregation as a person and then draw on theat metaphor to generate options for future mission.
Cawley makes the case that congregations with a clear, well-articulated identity—those that know, accept, and love who they are—can be flexible and respond to change and new initiatives from the Holy Spirit with boldness because their basic sense of themselves is affirmed rather than threatened. They can make faithful and appropriate choices about what they should do. Congregations will find this intuitive, imaginative approach is useful, accurate, and lots of fun!
About the Author
Janet R. Cawley is an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada who has wide and varied experience working with congregations in transition. She holds a doctorate in systematic theology and has taught at the Vancouver School of Theology.
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