Times Are Changing

Posted by Larry in

I recently began meeting on a weekly basis with a group of ministers in cooperation with the Dunbar Ministerial Association. The group is a composed of the ministerial staff from the various churches in the city of Dunbar. Our meetings have come about in a response to many of us asking the question, "Can we do more together than alone?"

As we came together to discuss what we could do in the way of cooperative ministry we felt as if we needed to prepare ourselves with a season of prayer and searching. Thus, we decided to begin meeting at the McDonald's in town for about 45 minutes to discuss an agreed upon book and then go from their to the United Methodist Church just a few blocks away to join in prayer for another 30-45 minutes, and I must say that this is proving to be one of the most refreshing times of my weekly schedule.

However, for as much as I rejoice in this time I also realize that what we are creating will be very fragile at first and will require much care and cultivation to eventually blossom into something beautiful. I am reminded of this each time I talk with someone who has been around church life for any length of time. Many have expressed that this type of sharing and coming together would have never happened 20 or 30 years ago. I cannot personally speak to that as I am only a very young 34 years of age, but I can say that I have been witness to a competitive attitude among churches and heated rivalries across denominational lines even though this behavior is contrary to Christ's prayer that Christians should be united in love as a witness to all of those that have not yet received God's love.

With all of that said, I do believe that times are changing. I and many that I talk to in Christian circles consistently express a discontent for spiritual apathy in church life. It seems that people are more prepared today to cast aside the dogma of denominationalism and embrace a more inclusive brand of community, or at least that is what I am feeling and experiencing in my personal faith journey.

I want to conclude by recommending the book The World Is Flat (3.0) by Thomas L. Friedman. This book is written to be a brief history of the 21st century in terms of our marketplace relationships on a global scale. After just one chapter I have become more aware that I as an individual can create and leverage global influence. Now that is a powerful notion! Pick up a copy and let me know what you think.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 6, 2009 at Monday, July 06, 2009 and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the comments feed .