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Equipping Your Reimagine Journey
Church. Gather. Differently!
Phil Miglioratti • The ReimagineFORUM
As the nation begins to “reopen,” the right of churches to gather has become highly politicized. For some, the cry for reopening is an act of patriotism based on what they consider their constitutional right. Others claim the precious principle of freedom of religion while some protest in anger. Some congregations have defied the ban to meet together (some also ignoring social distancing) and a few have sued the government for a return to business as usual.
Regardless of your perspective, I ask you to look at the how the church is responding to the reopening issue from the viewpoint of those the Church exists to invite or influence. Whether a congregation gathers in blatant defiance or even quietly resumes their normal schedule, many observers have only reactive/negative images that will invariably lead them to reach wrong conclusions about the heat and soul of the Church.
As I ponder our situation, I find these questions bothersome:
What would happen if, rather than clamoring for our rights, we broke out of our standard operating procedures and designed new ways of proclaiming God and blessing our communities?
What could God do through the Church if we began to view this virus-crisis as an opportunity to reshape cultural stereotypes (judgmental, irrelevant) as we demonstrate the heart of God (love, sacrifice, forgiveness; John 3:16-17)?
What if we express our right to gather in ways unexpected but appreciated, even welcomed.
What if we gathered; not defiantly but joyfully; not in our seats but out in the streets?
What if we promote a gathering to honor and bless and pray for First Responders?
Church, we are right now in a Kairos moment.
Reimagine Church in this unique moment in history to gather - -
in small groups (5-7) outside your building to praise (parade) and pray (circles)
Then, each family or small group walks/drives to a:
Church, you have the right to fight. Fight, differently. Use this unique opportunity to show and tell the Gospel with acts of kindness by serving others in an attitude of love. Reach. Then preach. And teach.
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Tags:
FUTURIZE!
Futurize. After we stabilize, normalize, and mobilize, then we begin to re-structure ourselves for the future. In an inexplicable way, every existing church has an opportunity to relaunch [1] – much like a new church plant.
For many spiritual leaders, this shared moment in history has been exceedingly clarifying. Things that once occupied our priorities now seem like a life-sized game of trivial pursuit. The mission of Jesus’ church has been refined in our minds and it is so much larger and more exhilarating than producing endless Sunday extravaganzas.
Corporate worship will always be a rallying point, but the gospel mission of the body will require all of the body. We are interdependent. There are no spare parts. No spectators. No unimportant days. No second-class callings.
With metrics recalibrated toward Kingdom impact, the church’s future becomes one of power and redemption. We now have a moment that we can take into the future. May we be leaders of conviction and courage.
The #ReimagineJOURNEY...
needs wisdom to know how to follow Spirit-led, Scripture-fed direction - -
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Wegner: The economic situation is changing for the church, and we’re not going to be able to support these big facilities. But we could reimagine ourselves as a platform. I think of the two words: portal and platform. Netflix is a portal. They have an offering, and people can come and choose. That’s kind of what we do in our churches right now. On an internet platform, for example, you can build whatever you want on it. If we begin to think of our churches as a hub and see ourselves as a platform, a church can create a network of microchurches very quickly as opposed to the cost of running one large congregation.
Full Article:
https://outreachmagazine.com/features/church-planting/57401-reimagi...
From a community impact leader . . .
Great article - "Church. Gather. Differently!" Love the list of practical suggestions at the end
Templates for Leadership:
Seven questions to keep your focus on your calling; prayer, evangelism, loving our communities to Christ with justice...
Use these questions in your planning, incorporate your team, initiate with prayer...
•The "E" Strategy to Engage Your Community / City
Nine "E" components congregations or ministries of any size can focus on to impact their community and the culture.
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