Morning Reading . . .
Yes, tardy with my morning reading. Sleeping or walking with my companion in the early morning rather than sitting at the computer or device. See below some reading from the morning and a few thoughts as my companion and I prepare to attend our denominational gathering we call, General Assembly.
I was ordained into Christian ministry in November 1991. I’ve been to a few of these gatherings we call, General Assembly. As we prepare to make the journey to GA17 some have asked what General Assembly is all about. If you are part of our little frontier movement and have never attended an General Assembly, I recommend it. See our denomination come together and know you or your congregation are not alone in your experience, worship, mission, and struggles with culture. Of course, this presumes that there will be another General Assembly in 2019. Yes, there are conversations about NOT having a General Assembly, but I don’t think General Board can rewrite The Design and by-laws that quickly. So, odds are that some kind of General Assembly will happen in Des Moines, Iowa, summer 2019. Is it time to hold General Assembly on a cruise ship?
Some observations about General Assembly.
- It is a gathering of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) church where the General Units are transformed into church because congregations are gathered together. Otherwise, the General Units are non-profit organizations providing resources and connections for our Regions and congregations and representing our denomination at ecumenical and interfaith gatherings. The General church, is only church, when we are at General Assembly. The same is true for Regions.
- The resolutions are a mix of lament and joy addressing social and theological issues relevant to our world and our congregations. The resolutions and our discussion of them have devolved over the years as we have valued education less and the loudest voices more. Recognizing that the culture of ‘win/lose’ has shaped our resolution process we’ve worked to stop voting on sensitive resolutions that could be controversial. The resolutions at General Assembly speak for the congregations gathered at General Assembly. The resolutions speak to our denomination and other expressions of Christian witness.
- General Assembly is an opportunity for people to reconnect with people they’ve not seen or spoken too in a long time or since the last General Assembly even though the technology of the day would have made those conversations easy to continue. Old seminary friendships are renewed. Old stories are shared, and late night conversational visions are dreamed. General Assembly creates the space for new connections to resources and relationships.
- General Assembly is an ongoing lament about our denomination making peace, organizationally and theologically, with being a denomination; and the ongoing struggle for our covenantal authority to be accountable to one another while adopting the best practices of corporate America and wrestling with the lack of recognized hierarchy authority of denominations that represent the historic episcopacy of Christianity. Using the term ‘bishop’ for our Regional ministers may help in our ecumenical relationships, and affirming of our Regional ministers in our org chart, but it does not represent the authority Regional ministers do not have with clergy and congregations. It can be a helpful descriptive for persons from other denominations when explaining what a Regional minister does, but that is the end of its helpfulness.
- General Assembly has become a diverse deliberative worshipping community that dabbles in orthodox Christian theology, mild creedal based faith (what we’ve allowed to happen to The Preamble to the Design), praise and worship leaders (what we once looked to our ministers to do), and technology use in an effort to blend into the Christian landscape. We’ve allowed style over content to define ‘contemporary’ worship. Oh, for the day, when the content of our worship will be understood as contemporary. I would argue that our most theologically conservative congregation is probably the most liberal Christian congregation in their community.
- General Assembly is our bi-annual intergenerational summer camp. When I reflect on it, General Assembly offers what I explain happens at a Disciples summer camp experience: play, prayer, worship, service, and study.
Morning Reading . . .
100 Best Albums of the Nineties
Rolling Stone Magazine Online
Why Pastors and Priests are Leaving the Church (Part 2): What to Do About It
Brian McLaren
10 predictions about the future Church and shifting attendance patterns
Carey Nieuwhof, Christian Week
Commentary: West Texas figures out why Abbott hates public schools
Lonn Taylor, Austin American Statesman