It’s been a while since I posted something on my blog. I am amazed at folks like our GA Moderator Bruce Reyes-Chow who not only blogs regularly but also writes regularly on his Facebook, twitters, and uses every technological medium possible. More power to Bruce and folks like him! The long-term question I have about all this technology is –can it truly develop deep and sustaining relationships and ministries?
I have spent the last month and a half traveling and visiting with pastors, CLPS, tentmakers and congregational leaders serving small, rural and/or urban churches in Napa Valley, California; Rockford, Illinois; Spartanburg, Greenville and Clinton areas of South Carolina, Indianapolis, Indiana and Dayton, Ohio. Regardless of the size of congregation and the community context, the two questions consistently lifted up in my visits and conversations are: 1) What can we do to change/transform our congregation?; and 2) What are the ways that we can reach out to/with our neighborhood/community?
These questions are inter-connected to me because I believe that a congregation that is poised to experience transformation and renewal is a congregation that is spiritually grounded in it’s call from God to serve with its neighborhood/community. The problem is that some of our churches want to experience transformation without having to leave the comfort of their church walls and connect with their neighborhood/community. These congregations believe that if they can purchase the right congregational transformation package, hire the right consultant, or develop a sexy web page that this alone will turn their congregations around. They want somebody else to do the spiritual and physical “heavy lifting” required for effective congregational transformation work.
One of the congregations I recently visited was Bethany Church in Clinton, South Carolina. Bethany is a member of the Laurens County Cluster of Smaller Membership Churches, a coalition of 15 smaller membership churches working together in shared ministries. This is hard work but it has paid off in the numerous ministries developed by Bethany Church and the congregations in the Cluster in serving with their neighbors nearby and across the globe in Haiti and Dominican Republic. This community outreach effort is led by the Rev. Herb Codington. Rev. Codington is consistently living into the reality of the time and effort it takes to build relationships and bridges. On the local level, the cluster offers programs for all ages. There are fellowship gatherings, prayer expeditions to different churches, and leadership training events. Each summer the cluster sponsors a youth camp. Along with Bible study and recreation, participants serve in projects like cemetery clean up, repair and re-roofing of homes of the elderly, and visitation in nursing homes.
No doubt, using electronic communications such as the web certainly have their place in connecting with people, but there is still no substitute for face-to-face, one-on-one contacts that will deepen these lasting relationships over time.
In my many conversations with folks across the country regarding congregational transformation, I continue to wonder , “How can a congregation serve its community if it does not know the dreams and needs of its neighbors? How can a congregation develop mission partnerships with its community if it does not know what skills and gifts exist within its community? How can a congregation leverage its resources if it does not know what kind of human and financial resources exists within its community? How can a congregation be faithful to God’s call without embracing the ‘stranger in their midst’”?