Terry Allen Moe came as pastor to Redeemer Lutheran, a traditional, working-class congregation in a poorer, mixed-race neighborhood in Portland, Oregon, in 1981. Five US presidents, six Portland mayors, and four Lutheran bishops later, Redeemer had been transformed into an innovative, spiritual-not-religious, member-based nonprofit called Leaven Community, and a new ELCA congregation--Salt and Light Lutheran--nested in the midst of Leaven. This is the story of how an intertwining of spirituality and organizing transformed a pastor and congregation. Using the metaphor of paying attention to the voice of God in the burning bush (Exodus 3), Moe describes how he and the congregation turned to the burning bush of deepened spirituality coupled with hard-nosed organizing embodied in the IAF network. The process was not easy or smooth, but the pastor and people changed, and together they impacted the larger Portland community. This is the story of listening, discerning, acting, and evaluating to address the upstream causes of pressing issues and of identifying and lifting up the public dimensions of people's pain. This is the story of prayer circles that addressed societal challenges contributing to people's private struggles. This is the story of unearthing and confronting the impacts of political decisions, overcoming the mentality that "church and politics don't mix." Sunday worship shifted to include the stories of addiction, job loss, rising energy costs, and ecological grieving from the members and their neighbors. This book demonstrates how the power of spiritual discernment and community organizing can transform a community of faith. It's timely inspiration for congregations struggling to find their way out of decline and the immobilization caused by fear and lack of creative leadership.
Terry Allen Moe is a pastor, leader, and organizer. He served as pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church, Portland, Oregon, for over thirty years. He recently served as Director of Transformational Leadership, IAF Northwest (2013-2018), and previously as leader for the Portland Organizing Project (1985-2002) and with the Congregation Based Organizing Team at ELCA Churchwide (2000-2007). He holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Wesley Theological Seminary. Susan L. Engh is retired ELCA Director for Faith-Based Community Organizing and author of Women's Work: The Transformational Power of Faith-Based Community Organizing.
Foreword by Susan L. Engh Preface Part One: Meeting the Burning Bush 1 The Transformation Begins 2 Burning Bush: The Fire of Spirituality and Organizing 3 Turning Aside: The Bush All Aflame Part Two: Walking on Holy Ground 4 Removing Our Sandals 5 Becoming Mindful of the People 6 Bricks, Straw, and a Red Piano Part Three: The Egypt Within 7 Crying, Weeping, Wailing 8 Who are We? 9 Confronting the Egypt Within Part Four: Making a Way through the Wilderness 10 Walking into the Wilderness 11 Making a Way in the Wilderness 12 The Bush Still Burns Epilogue Select Bibliography Appendixes Acknowledgements Index
"Don't miss this riveting account of Pastor Moe and his congregation's spiritual journey. Starting as a mostly white Lutheran church in a Black neighborhood, they went beyond the standard church structure, beyond providing traditional community services, to the foreign realm of community organizing to challenge those in the halls of power. They confronted city councilors, mayors, bad landlords, and red-lining banks, and along the way created a unique church-community structure that everyone who wants to make a difference in the world should pay attention to." --Jeff Merkley, US Senator for Oregon and former member of Pastor Moe's congregation "Terry Moe's vision, creativity, courage, authenticity, and collaborative spirit shimmers through the pages of this book--a primer in how to grow into formidable spiritual leadership with our struggling neighboring communities and challenged mainline congregations. Blending the wisdom of cutting-edge community organizing, ancient spiritual practices, and intentional congregational life, Pastor Moe's work is and always has been well ahead of its time. Read this! You will discover a wise companion and mentor for your own journey." --Laurie Larson Caesar, bishop of the Oregon Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America "An insightful, self-revelatory chronicle of Pastor Moe's thirty-year odyssey in which both he and his faith community were transformed through contemplative organizing. A valuable resource for clergy and lay leaders who are committed to courageous renewal for their congregations." --Dennis Jacobsen, author of A Spirituality for Doing Justice (Fortress Press, 2021) "A compelling story about what is possible when leaders are broken open from the inside out to discover the mystery of God's transforming power. Over four decades of pastoral ministry Terry Moe has been integrating spirituality and the practices of community organizing to engage congregation and community. Much practical wisdom here for how to do transformational ministry in this time between what the church and world has been and the new reality that is trying to emerge." --Ray Pickett, Rector, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary "Not every person sees fire along their path. Not every congregation organizes for mission. Our gifts are unique. Our communities complex. The Bush Still Burns is filled with the miracles of Christian mission. It is about the tenacious vision of one pastor and the faithful journey of a single congregation. You will find your passions reflected here, and your imagination pried open." --Rev. Dave Brauer-Rieke, former Bishop, Oregon Synod, ELCA "In a world threatened by kleptocracy and environmental plunder, Terry Moe harks back to the early rabbinic sentiment that God created and dismantled many worlds before arriving at this one. Courageously, his own three decades' experience of taking apart and remaking his own parish links discerning political organizing with the discovery of Spirit outside the walls of church and synagogue. Like a bush on fire, he suggests, there are human stories waiting to be told, if we pay attention. We can go on worshiping tepidly, but his own humble narrative points us toward what's more incandescent, our wish to make the world more just and kind." --Joey Wolf, Rabbi Emeritus, Havurah Shalom, Portland, Oregon
