I heard an interesting statistic as I channel-surfed the morning news programs: sixty-five million dollars are spent each day in the United States on books and seventy-eight million dollars are spent on lotteries. What’s particularly ironic about these figures is that most states designate their earnings from lotteries to education. We all know by now that lotteries take the most from persons least able to afford them, so the effect is like a substantial tax bite on families who could use the extra cash for things, such as books for the kids. When one considers that chances are far better to be struck by lightning than to hit the jackpot, logic dictates five or ten dollars could be put to much better use. Here’s a better bet: once a week, once a month, or just once in a while, buy a book for someone you love.

A mother was preparing pancakes for her preschoolers, and they began arguing over who would get the first one. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson.

“If Jesus were sitting here, He’d say, ‘Let my brother have the first pancake. I can wait.’”
Kevin turned to his brother and said, “Ryan, you be Jesus.”

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What if church were not just a building? Not a noun, but a verb? Jesus told us to “go into the world,” doing the things he did: teaching, healing, feeding hungry people, speaking against injustice, and calling the world to more faithful living. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to empower the disciples to begin a movement. Are we part of this movement into the world? This is the objective of the next level or generation in the United Methodist Church’s “Open” Campaign. It’s called “Rethink Church.”

The “Rethink Church” campaign offers three ways to help local congregations become more actively engaged with spiritual seekers in their communities: welcoming, connecting and identifying.

In welcoming, churches learn how to see themselves from several perspectives. First, from the outside in, what is the outsider’s perspective. Second, from the inside out, how do we prepare to welcome seekers as honored guests. Third, from upside-down, how can we rethink church and come to a new understanding that opening doors isn’t just about letting people in but about church members going out and making personal connections in the world.

In the connect track, congregations learn about how the church’s impact in the community depends on how the congregation connects with seekers outside the church walls, with the connection of other churches and resources, with the Creator, who is introduced to seekers, and with change as we transition from talking about church to being the church.

In the identifying track, congregations figure out what their church is known for and begin to rethink that identity in a process called “Discover-Design-Do.” They discover whom they are and whom they want to reach in their communities. Then they design strategies that play to their strengths and meet community needs as they learn to open doors beyond worship to be relevant to new generations. They learn how to reach seekers, instead of waiting for them to come to church.

It’s a good plan. We’ll be starting our own “rethink” project in the coming months, the conference directed “Cultivating Excellence in Ministry.”

Time is free, but it is priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it, you can never get it back.
Harvey Mackay

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