congregational development@diocal::

we're going to galilee!

Here's my speech to the Diocal convention last Saturday. It will give you some idea of how I see my work in condev:

At the time of the Resurrection, the entire Church was in Jerusalem: Mary, the mother of Jesus; John the Beloved; Mary Magdalene – and, of course, Peter and those who had gone into hiding at the first sign of trouble. But there was one slight problem: Yes, the Church was in Jerusalem, but Jesus was in Galilee. As the angel told the women in the Gospel of Matthew: “He is not here; …he has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.” (Matthew 28:6-7) So, while the Church was in Jerusalem, Jesus was in Galilee.

As part of the Jubilee Deo initiative, the Diocese of California is moving into Galilee, finding Jesus among the startling number of people who are also there: young adults in their 20s and 30s; people speaking in languages as diverse as at Pentecost; people who speak a postmodern language that doesn’t include a word for church; and the breath-taking diversity of folks sometimes called the “new majority.” All of them are spiritual seekers, but they are not going to Jerusalem to find the Church; they are in Galilee, and since Jesus is already among them, that is where we need to be proclaiming the Good News.

As Congregational Development Officer for the Diocese, I have already discovered many mission outposts in Galilee, populated by dedicated clergy and people from our churches, each of them trying to be more articulate and faithful in communicating the Good News of Jesus.

In a way, that is what congregational development is all about: assisting the Church in the very-Anglican enterprise of presenting the eternal Word in our time, in our place, and in the language of the people – which means finding new images, new strategies, new creative paths, and yes, new words. This is an exciting time in the history of the Diocese, with great opportunities and more than a few challenges. The Bay Area is one of the most “unchurched” places in the country, and yet the vast majority of our neighbors are interested in spirituality. How can the Church connect our apostolic faith with that contemporary spiritual quest?

This – perhaps the Church’s greatest challenge – is really the same one with which Christians have had to contend since the beginning of the Church: How can we faithfully and engagingly proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ in the language and in the culture of our time?

Today, that question may have a greater urgency than any time since Constantine, because we are living amidst the ruins of a construct once called Christendom – the synthesis of church, society, and secular culture. And in many ways, the challenge for us as evangelists is obscured by a simple truth: while the world is changing rapidly, we often act as though we were still in a society that is predisposed and sympathetic to “Christendom”. That makes it easy to get lost in internal dynamics, while the world is finding us less and less relevant to its pressing spiritual issues. Often, we present the Gospel in ways that answer our questions, rather than the questions the world is asking of us.

The irony of this is that the world has never been more in need of the Good News of Jesus; the world is insistent in asking “Why?” even if we continue to respond to the question, “How?”

I believe that God is calling us to a deeper engagement of our biblical and sacramental faith that can be articulated in the language – by which I mean the symbols, the music, the art, the philosophy, and the words – of the people of our postmodern world. One of the wonderful things about the Episcopal Church is that the deep roots of our tradition make us strong enough to try new ventures, and with God’s help, to introduce others to Christ. The possibilities are limited only by the limits we place on our imagination and faith. The challenge for us is to trust God, and to be pioneers in this exciting new world.

This is what I hope Congregational Development in Jubilate Deo time is all about, and I hope you will call on me to assist you as you build new roads into Galilee. We have the tools, the information, the success stories –we even have the Blog! But the journey to Galilee isn’t ultimately about the right tools: it’s about setting our sights on mission for the Good news of Jesus Christ.

The Gospel of Matthew ends with the eleven disciples finally arriving in Galilee, where they did, indeed, find Jesus. They worshipped him, and in response, Jesus said:
“‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”

This Great Commission is still our directive, and a good way to be with Jesus in our postmodern Galilee.

Posted by mbarlowe at October 21, 2003 01:04 PM