The gap between the world inside local congregations and the world outside local congregations has widened increasing in recent decades – at least for many churches.  In talking about relevance, Alex McManus asked, “Is your congregation relevant to outsiders?”  He went on to say that the most effective strategy for closing the gap will involve overcoming the dual caste system of ministry between clergy and laity.  In other words, it will involve laity remembering that by virtue of their baptism, they – as much as any clergy – are called to join Jesus in Kingdom ministry.  So how does this work to make ministry more relevant to outsiders?

In a nutshell, McManus said that spiritually alive laity can use the gifts and passions that God has given them to connect with normal people outside the church.  (Lenard Sweet reminds us that people “in Christ” are not normal; normal in our world means being unchurched and unbelievers.)  Then, over time, the Holy Spirit will help them naturally discern ways to have spiritual conversations in which normal people can be invited to explore what being part of a community of faith and following Jesus may mean for them. 

Let me unpack this a bit, because for many laity, I suspect that this sounds way outside their comfort zone. 

Here’s an example which McManus gave:  what if several men who love Jesus and also enjoy going fishing got together and decided that they were going to use fishing as an intentional means to connect with men who are outside the church.  Then, as relationships develop while fishing over weeks or months or longer, they watch for the Holy Spirit to provide natural avenues to have conversations of a spiritual nature in which they can share in non-preachy ways what Christ and being part of Christ’s followers means to them.  Maybe they will be interested in going on a mission trip or getting involved in a service project in which other church members are involved.  Maybe they would be interested in a financial peace university class (www.daveramsey.com/fpu/home/ ) at the church.  Or maybe the disciple fishermen discover a new set of spiritual needs that would be more relevant to normal people.  The point is for laity to be intentional about relating naturally to people outside the church (using their own strengths and interests) and seeing where the Holy Spirit leads them.

Here is another example given by McManus: He has been involved in several urban settings in starting what he called “culture pubs” (http://voxtropolis.com/culture-pubs-voxtropolis/).   His website describes them this way: “A Culture Pub is a performing arts experience where local independent artists can make their voices heard and where local communities can be shaped.  Each Culture Pub exists as a local public benefit for local independent artists and also as a global public benefit for the poor, exploited and enslaved of the world.”  At the core of the club is a group of Christians musicians and others who want to connect with unchurched artists as together they serve a cause that draws people together – for example child hunger.  A benefit concert is offered to the community to raise money and through relationships that are built with normal people (non-Christians) the Holy Spirit can use to begin to address spiritual issues.  “The Culture Pub was envisioned by Alex and Niza McManus as a way of developing community among local independent artists, bohemians, thinkers and activists. The Network began to grow as others began to see a new way of working together to make the world a better place.”  In short, this is a strategy for building community in which Christ can relate in relevant ways to unbelievers through disciples.

Let me share another example of what McManus is talking about that I experienced.  Phil Maynard and I met with Mike Ellis (http://ow.ly/ubsd) at Panera’s Bread in Daytona to talk about using Twitter as a tool for reaching normal people.  We were put in touch with him through Tom Nelson, pastor of First Port Orange UMC where Mike goes to church.  Mike has been coaching Tom about using Twitter to build a social network of normal (unchurched) people within a 10 mile radius of his church.  When I walked into Panera’s that night, I was surprised to find five people waiting for me.  Mike had brought along three people who have been attending Orange Park UMC as a result of relationships that developed through Twitter.  One person is a single mom that has an interested in Nascar.  Tom had been tweeting people who were following a race one Saturday.  Something he said caught her attention and, after almost giving up on church years before, this single mom gave church another try – and Tom remembered her!  The other two persons were a couple, wife and husband, who have recently given worship a try.  For months Mike had been tweeting with a group of people with whom the wife kept in touch.  After reading of a need that the couple had, Mike was able to find help for them from a group of Port Orange members who keep in touch with him through Twitter.  As a result, this young couple – blown away by the help they received from church members – is now visiting church and exploring what being a Christ follower might mean for them.

It might be sewing or car repair, scrapbooking or bird watching, training to run a marathon or a group discussing cosmology – it really doesn’t matter.  The point is to use whatever gifts and passions disciples have to make connections with people outside the church . . . and then to allow the Holy Spirit to use these relationships to invite people into life in community following Jesus. 

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Blessings,

Jeff

Dr. Jeff Stiggins
The Office of Congregational Transformation

Posted by Jeff Stiggins in Getting Started