Pray before proceeding.Countless are the times and ways in which my beloved
Meadowbrook Church of Christ has attempted (in its search for finding its identity given location, demographics and tradition) to define its niche and self over the past seven years that I've been a member. Perhaps there has been no collective search at all, and all of the searching has really been my own. My perception. I'm open to that possibility.
If you're a member at Meadowbrook and don't already know what I'm talking about, then reading further is senseless. If you're one of the unfortunate souls that does know what I'm talking about, then maybe its not just me, and I ask that you pray for the Holy Spirit's guidance before you proceed.
Who's on First?Strategic planning at Meadowbrook inevitably ends up like the famous Abbott and Costello routine,
Who's on First. We go round and round with the same questions that have only questions as answers. I hope I can convey my thoughts on who, where and what we really are, and how it should determine what we do next. How capable I'll be, I don't know........third base.
For once, let's be honest. We are a bunch of smart, rich white people who have no intention to nor idea how to relate to the lost of inner city Jackson. None! The demographics of our congregation bear this out.
So let me start with a few questions. Is there anything wrong with who we are? Should we be somebody else? Could we be if we wanted to? My answers are No, No and No. We are who God made us. Certainly, when we are full of His Spirit, the best of who God made us to be comes forth. God has given us talents to use. So why can't we use who we are to our fullest advantage?
I was in
Broadstreet a few Sunday's ago before church. The place was packed. It was packed with people who (based on their attire) appeared to have NO intention of making it to church that morning. They appeared, largely, unchurched. I know it's dangerous to make such assumptions, but it occurred to me that Meadowbrook is smack dab in the middle of the smart, rich, white,
unchurched country. But for the grace of God, they're us! They're people that we can relate to much more easily than someone who lives off Farrish St. I'm not saying this is ideal, or that we shouldn't feel compelled to seek the poor, sick and needed, I'm simply saying that history indicates that we're not very good at it as a church. It's not
who we are. We can continue to beat our heads together hoping that we will somehow change our history, or we can embrace our strengths. I'm choosing the later. In choosing to seek the poor (lacking the riches of Christ), sick (dead in their sins) and needy (longing for true community) of the Fondren-Belhaven-Northeast areas, it is my hope that a greater capacity to reach into inner city Jackson will result. Which brings me to
where we are.
Shining City on a (well concealed) HillHere we sit, in this nice building, right off
I-55 and Meadowbrook Rd. That's all fine and good, but I live in Madison. And I'm not moving. In fact, the majority of our congregation lives outside the city limits of Jackson. There are 255 address listed in the online directory, as of August 14, 2006. Of them, 72 have Jackson addresses. That's 28%! So 72% live outside the city limits of Jackson. Why do I bring this up? Because I don't believe that this trend can continue for another generation.
At what point do people stop driving in? Why do they drive 10 - 20 miles (one way) now? I know why I do. Because of the genuine, Spirit-filled people with whom I share a religious heritage that attend Meadowbrook. It's important to note here that it is the combination of the two. Right now, in Madison, I can find groups that are just as genuine and just as Spirit-filled. I can find groups in Madison that share my religious heritage. But, I don't believe that both currently exist in the same place in Madison. The same is true of Rankin county. This may be a harsh indictment of other CofCer's in the area, but that's my opinion. A generation from now, however, I'm willing to bet that there will be acceptable options much more convenient to where I live. This is not to say that I'm married to my heritage. I'm not. But, it's nice that it exists in a place like Meadowbrook. That's why it matters. I don't' want that to be lost 20 years from now.
That's why I think it's crucial for the people who have invested their money and lives in the area around Meadowbrook to be the ones who will have to carry the work of Meadowbrook into the future. Will Meadowbrook look the same 20 years from now? Absolutely not. It doesn't look now like it did 20 years ago.
Our task is to make Meadowbrook a place that is open and inviting to those who are in need of Christ in our (Meadowbrook's) immediate area so that they can be the ones to make sure that Meadowbrook remains viable into the future.
It's the eCommunity, stupid!Okay, I admit it! I have, at times, gotten sucked into the notion that we have to be cool to be compelling. My thoughts have been things like..."We've got to have a well done audio/visual set-up for us to have a chance to get noticed by the unchurched. Afterall, they can't be expected to find us worth a second look if we don't do at least as well as secular society in the presentation of our message." Okay, I didn't actually say those words, so as to require quotes, but you get the point.
In reality, however, it's about relationships...duh. It's about relationships formed around the everlasting truth that Jesus is Lord (and all that comes with having a savior--Romans 15:13).
I started drafting these thoughts a few days ago. Since then, I watched a video of the recent class where Stacy Andrews from
The Journey joined Jeff Richardson as a guest in his Sunday morning class on the Emerging Church. After watching it, the thought that was most compelling to me was that The Journey is reaching the unchurched in the Fondren area being simple and grounded in the Word. This runs contrary to the notion (see my quote of my thoughts above) that we have to be culturally relevant (i.e. flashy and slick like a 2006 commercial) to reach the current culture. Those things may work for a
Pinelake, who largely is drawing the already-churched in droves, but it doesn't little to truly connect with the innately skeptical unchurched.
If we are to break through to those in who are in need of Christ in the area around Meadowbrook (or anywhere else for that matter), the understandable wall of apprehension and/or contempt for "church" (the institution) has to be breached. As Stacy pointed out, it can only be done individually or in groups
small enough to allow those we are trying to reach a chance to ascertain our trustworthiness (individually and the body as a whole). This takes time...our time. It also will take us making judgments on the things (specifically the church work) that already occupy large amounts of our time.
The Big Finish!Not really. It's my blog. These are my opinions. I've been married long enough to know that I'm not
always right. Please share your comments.
