Over the past several months, a committee of the general church has been meeting to discuss ways in which our shared mission and ministry could be better and more clearly organized. This group, officially called the Mission Alignment Coordinating Council, submitted recommendations to the General Board in April. This past week, Central Christian received a letter from General Minister and President Sharon Watkins updating the process.
The letter, displayed on the bulletin board at church, highlights nine proposals from the committee, most centering around increased communication between different ministries and offices. Notably absent is any of the earlier proposals to radically reorganize the structure of the church's general ministries.
So it may appear that the entire effort, still ongoing, is a bit of a failure. It may seem that the outcome is typical of so many church meetings -- an agreement to have more meetings.
Underneath this process, though, is a very encouraging sign. One of the main goals is to empower broader mission in every congregation. Initially, I believed that this was empty rhetoric, but over the past months I've come to believe that it is the primary motivation behind many of these discussions. More than this, I believe that this discussion, to imagine individual congregations being empowered for such ministry, is an exciting prospect for our congregations in the future. If we can find ways to share our collective knowledge, such as what we've learned about reaching out to political refugees or sending medical aid to Central America, then we don't just have to rely on Global Missions to do things -- members in individual congregations can reach out in service themselves.
More information about the Mission Alignment Coordinating Council is available on Disciples.org.
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2 comments:
Sometimes, Josh, the detailed heirarchical organization thing is frustrating, not just within a denomination but within the Boy Scouts, the Red Cross, the Bar, fraternal organizations, and lots of similar groups which are supposed to be "hands-on" with the people. I envision a paradigm of "These are my people" where we follow Jesus' literal instructions, shed the superfluities of life and wade into the struggle at the touching-the-afflicted level.
All of this is unreasonable and irrational. I am finding that it is the articulation of those sorts of probably-impractical things that is the rather odd assignment that Paul's Commission has given to me. I think.
R
Could be your commission, Roger. Could be. At least your articulation would be clear and memorable.
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