“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2a

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you that support the ministries of the Christian Church in Georgia and have supported me during the past seven years.  I was blessed to have Sabbatical last year, a time for rest, rejuvenation, and study.   My focus during this time was on regional and congregational transformation.  My studies transformed me and renewed me in my calling.  My transformation opened my eyes to the reality of how the church and its lay and clergy leaders should work in the 21^st century.

For example, a few years ago our region worked hard on creating a mission statement and ministry plan. 

Our mission is to be Christ’s witness in the Georgia Region, Growing, Building and Equipping Vital Faith Communities.

We have used this to help shape the way we have done ministry during the past few years.  We have been God’s hands and feet here at home and around the world.  We have not done it all, but we have been diligently working toward Goals set by this mission.  Does this mission statement still fit the current reality?  When I read the statement it suggests that the region offers programs and workshops to help our congregations.  Certainly we do offer some programs and we will continue to do so, but during the past few years I have seen congregations sharing their gifts and knowledge with other congregations.  These times of sharing have been powerful moments to witness.  For me, they have been glimpses of the Kingdom.  I think an important part of our mission should be connecting or networking the knowledge one congregation has to another congregation in need of that knowledge.  It seems to me like our mission statement is very vertical, when what we really need to do as a regional church is work toward connecting with one another and have a more horizontal ministry.  In fact that is what we have been working towards during the past few years. 

I suggest that we need to revisit our mission statement in the coming months and re-define our mission to fit our current reality of ministry.  I would like to think of us as a regional church network instead of one of the programming and workshop arms of your local congregation.  To be sure, the region will continue to have programs, camps, women’s and men’s ministry, clergy gatherings, and young adult programming to name just a few. But I think that in order for God and God’s mission for us to remain in the driver’s seat we need to focus our ministry even more on relationships, connecting our congregations and people to one another.  George Bullard has a wonderful illustration of this.  He says God’s Mission and Vision should drive the car and our relationships should sit in the front seat and help God navigate.  Programs and management sit in the back seat and support them both.  The more connected we are, the more opportunities we will have to share our good news, knowledge and gifts with one another.

I share all this in order that you might begin thinking about your own congregation’s mission statement and ministry plan.  There is a group of talented and gifted people working on congregational transformation in our region.  Wow, I just realized that they are a network of people from different congregations.  If you would like to talk about how your congregation can create a ministry plan to fit your mission, please contact the regional office or me.

We held our first meeting with the Church Transforming Task Force this past weekend.  I am excited about the work of our group in the region and look forward to the many congregations in Georgia being able to share their stories of change and transformation.  Ray Miles shared this definition of Transformation with us.  There is a lot more on the web at Disciples Home Missions about Church Transformation.

Transformation is a spiritual, systemic, and strategic journey traveled by a congregation urgently striving to realize what God has called it to be and do.

It is spiritual because transformation is about listening to God.

It is systemic because transformation is not about any particular ministry
or program. It is about everything a congregation does and is.

It is strategic because transformation addresses challenge, change, and
transitions through an intentional process.

And it is a journey because transformation is not an event, but a never-ending process to manifest that unique future to which God is calling.

Is your congregation transforming?

Heiwa is a Japanese word for peace.  The word describes a sense of peace—justice with compassion, gentle equality, and harmony.  Our final discovery at camp this summer recognizes that the issue of fairness and someone having an unfair advantage is part of living in the world.  Teaching campers to be advocates for one another when unfair situations occur is challenging.  Learning to move from having a “me-first” attitude to valuing their peers is part of the maturing process. Campers can take this attitude into their lives at home.

Ubuntu is a South African word for peace in the community.  A residential experience of Christian community is fairly rare in this world and is a clear strength of church camp.  The camp experience of life together gives campers and staffs the opportunity to learn how to live in a Christian context.

Peacemaking can be taught, especially where there is some sense of trust and as leaders model a Christ-like, forgiving spirit. Camp Christian provides a wonderful opportunity to teach peace through living in community.

As young people are learning the skills of peacemaking in all their relationships, there is also the opportunity to talk with them about their relationship with God. Moving beyond simply a concept of God to a personal relationship with God is surprisingly similar to the ways we get along with each other. The ways we find God in our lives give us a sense of the sacredness of all of life. Talking with young people about God is as important as helping them to get along with one another.

Acts 2:41-47 and the story of Pentecost provides the background for this Discovery.