Tuesday, October 30, 2007

I Refuse To Lead A Dying Church Study

After six weeks of studying, reading and learning together, the group has learned some significant things and we want to share some of them with you.


We decided early on in reading the book that we do indeed Refuse To Lead A Dying Church! The Oasis on West Elm United Church of Christ has a bright, mission filled future ahead of it, IF, we chose to live out this unique calling.

So, what did we agree to?

  • We refuse to lead a dying church.
  • We agreed to draw a line in the sand and refuse.
  • We refuse to simply go thru the motions and play church.
  • We refuse to help our church gracefully into the grave.
  • We refuse to channel our best ministry energy into community or justice endeavors that are detached from our congregation's life and ministry.
  • We refuse, ever again, to lead a dying church.

There are six critical choices:

  • Choosing Life over Death
  • Choosing Community over Isolation
  • Choosing Fun over Drudgery
  • Choosing Bold over Mild
  • Choosing Frontier over Fortress
  • Choosing Now Rather than Later

Over the next six weeks, I will be sharing some of the significant learnings and how they impact the future of our church and the direction we choose to go in the future. Check back for updates and feel free to make comments and ask questions.

Together, may we REFUSE TO LEAD A DYING CHURCH!

12 comments:

UCCtruths said...

Congrats to you and your church to take this bold initiative. I spent the first 6 years of my life at West Elm when Roger Brown was the minister. I remember West Elm as a beautiful church that embodied the term "community" and I know that my family benefited greatly from being a part of the West Elm community.

God's grace as you take on this bold initiative!

-James Hutchins
UCCtruths.com

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