LinkedIn is a powerful networking tool similar to Facebook but with a professional focus.
It packs a powerful punch for anyone wanting to connect with people in a specific sphere of interest. You can use LinkedIn to find professionals who might be willing to help you. Say, for instance, you are looking for someone who has worked in ministry with disabled people or who can preach in Arabic. You can look for people with those specific skills.
Conversely, you might have a skill you feel is underused. You can feature your special interest in your profile.
LinkdIn is an “opt-in” medium. The user chooses to particpate in the online community. Users can look for connections, accept referrals, and ask for introductions.
LinkedIn users can join groups . . . also entirely opt-in. Professionals can only connect by getting someone they already know to introduce them. Even then, the person of interest must accept and initiate any resulting communication.
It’s a fairly safe way to form relationships with peers that can be helpful in your work.
One would think that anyone going to the trouble to complete a LinkedIn profile would be serious about using this amazing networking tool. Most groups are filled with names willing to be found or to help others in their searches.
2×2 found a very odd exception. We looked at a group formed around a Protestant denomination. The group had hundreds of members with very detailed profiles. Most of them had their identities shielded!
What a waste of communication potential!
Again, the Church fails to understand how the tools of today’s world can be used in mission. What are church LinkedIn members afraid of? Why bother joining a professional network and then back away from any ability to take advantage of its potential?
The Synod is dominated by clergy. Their voices and interests outrank lay concerns simply because they are involved more with leadership on a daily basis and somewhat dependent on their standing with the Synod for career advancement and security.
Many lay representatives at Assembly are new to church governance and follow their pastors’ lead.
The Synod Assembly agenda is tightly scheduled, leaving little room for lay delegates to explore ideas, which might be old to clergy but are new to them.
Lay people who become involved at the synodical level must first pass through a nominating process that is reviewed largely by clergy or lay people who have already passed muster.
Redeemer, years ago, attempted to nominate a lay member and received a phone call from a clergy representative who said they’d consider our nomination only if we “felt strongly” about it. Puzzling! Why have a nomination process?!
Generally, there is little contact between church leadership and the people they serve. Contact is often orchestrated toward SEPA leadership’s objectives.
One dedicated lay person once shared that they went to an Evening with the Bishop excited to be part of dialog. He left, frustrated and disappointed, after an hour of listening to the bishop talk with no attempt at interaction with attendees.
Redeemer’s experience with the last two bishops was that they wanted congregational interaction on their own terms, subject to their own timing, agenda and control. Congregational leaders, who had attempted dialog for years with no response, were ignored — and eventually replaced by decree.
So here’s an idea. What if there was an annual LAITY ROUNDTABLE, say two months before the Annual Assembly, where ANY lay person could attend, discuss challenges and formulate ideas and proposals to bring to the Synod Assembly’s attention? The retreat could be one-day, on a Saturday perhaps, and should be entirely lay led. No clergy allowed. Trust your lay people!
The LAITY ROUNDTABLE would serve no purpose but to review ideas and proposals of individual congregations for inclusion on Synod Assembly’s agenda.
There would be added benefits:
Laity would understand common challenges and be inspired to find solutions.
The interests of the churches would be lifted up.
Lay involvement and leadership would grow.
Churches would feel more involved with the denomination which can only help SEPA.
Large churches and small churches would interact as equals.
Community would expand as laity come to know one another without pastors as gatekeepers.
Interchurch problem-solving would pump some fresh blood into our church . . . and we still consider it our church even though we have been kicked out — without a voice!
Imagine this meeting between Jesus and his disciples and the local church development consultant.
Jesus:
Good to meet you, Mr. Consultant. Thanks for your time. Let’s get right to work. I want this fine group of men to go out into all the world and preach the Gospel. We’re hoping you can give us some advice about the best way to do this.
Consultant:.
I’m so glad you came to me, Mr. Jesus. I am an expert at analyzing ministry potential in Galilee. I know my services come at a steep cost, but in the end, I’ll be able to save you time and money.
Jesus:
So, where should we start? We are raring to go!
Consultant:
I’ve finished my analysis. I reviewed the census reports and toured the neighborhood and interviewed a good number of locals. I hate to discourage you but your ministry dollars might be better spent elsewhere.
Jesus:
You’ll have to explain that. We’ve been walking around Galilee for months and we’ve already made progress. All we need from you is advice on how to best spend our time and resources. Money doesn’t grow on olive trees, you know!
Consultant:
Sorry, Mr. Jesus. I wish I had Good News for you. I know how important this is to you — this being your home and all. But the fact is the opportunities for ministry in your neighborhood are very few. The demographics just don’t support ministry — not here, not now.
A Disciple (you can guess which one!)
Jesus, listen to him. Why are we paying Mr. Consultant if we are not about to listen? The expert said we are wasting our time. Let’s call it quits, divide the money we’ve collected and call it a day. It’s been fun, guys, but I’m with Mr. Consultant. He says the demographics won’t support us. Good enough for me! (He walks away).
Remaining Disciples:
Come on! You have to do better than that. We’re from this neighborhood!
Jesus glances proudly at his disciples but quickly turns back to the local business authority.
Jesus:
I’m prepared to start sending these men out in teams of two starting right now. They are well-trained. Just point us in the best direction!
Consultant:
Again, Mr. Jesus. You are wasting your time and money. First, everyone around here is Jewish.
Disciples snigger uncomfortably. Consultant notices and quickly jumps to his own defense.
Consultant:
All right, I understand . . you are Jewish, too, but you are the exceptions. How many more fisherman and tax collectors do you think you’ll find? The odds are just not in your favor, especially with the opposition of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Disciples:
What about all the people we’ve already met and helped?
Consultant:
Well, that’s true, butthey’re not going to help you. They don’t have any money to support your efforts. They’re “takers.” If you want to succeed in your ministry you need to find “givers.”
Peter, angrily:
Are you calling me a “taker”?!
Consultant:
Whoa. I didn’t mean to rile you. I’m just saying . . . you can’t keep curing the lame and talking to widows and expect to have a viable ministry.
Jesus:
So, what do you suggest? I thought about limiting our ministry to my family and Jewish friends, but I have this idea. Lately, I’ve been thinking about preaching to the (hesitates) … the Gentiles.
Consultant gasps:
Surely, you are not thinking of converting Romans and Samaritans! That’s a losing proposition. Our studies show NO interest among those demographics. The chance of success with them is about as good as with the know-it-all Greeks. You might as well start knocking on doors in Gaul! You’ll lose any support you ever hoped of getting from the Pharisees. Sounds like a good way to get yourself killed!
Jesus:
But what about all the children? They seem to like following us.
Consultant:
Yeah, children are real cute, but you just aren’t getting it, Mr. Jesus. Children won’t pay the light bill.
Jesus:
Light bill!? Now you’ve lost me.
But I’m listening. You’re the expert. Where should we go with our message of love and salvation.
Consultant:
I’m sorry to be the bearer of Bad News, Mr. Jesus, but my best advice is to go back to the drawing board with your mission plan. Ministry to Jews, Greeks, Samaritans, Romans, children, widows, sinners, poor, sick, and lame, just isn’t the best use of your mission dollars. Much as it pains me to say, I think the time has come to close your doors. Give what’s left of your money to someone with better odds. It won’t be easy, but really, it is for the best. And as for you disciples, I’ll work up a report on where you can go to fit in. Your work was real good and all. Credit where credit’s due. Oh, before I forget . . . here’s my invoice. I take cash.
This little scenario is not as far-fetched as it may seem. It closely parallels a conversation our church had with a church consultant 20 years ago. It is the very rationale that is behind the epidemic of church closings.
It was carefully explained to us that ministry in our own neighborhood was “not good use of the Lord’s money.” The neighborhood had changed. There was no point in continuing.
Others face the same challenge. One pastor summed it up well.
Our old members are very generous. The problem is that the changing neighborhood is bringing poorer people to our worship who are not accustomed to supporting a church. It takes ten of them to equal the support of one of our older members.
The challenge facing the church is that it is these very people whom churches are pledged to serve. That’s the way it was in Jesus day and that’s the way it is today. When we start looking at every church visitor through our green-tinted fiscal glasses, the entire mission of the church is lost.
Church planners often look for memberships that can support the lifestyle and structure to which they have become accustomed. And that’s where Christian mission ends.
Among the most frequently asked questions among new bloggers/social media practitioners is “How do we get people to “like” us or “comment.”
This is particularly difficult in the church setting because Social Media breaks a 2000-year-old tradition. Preachers preach. Congregants listen. Traditional communication is one way.
If pastors are encouraging parishioners to voice theological thoughts in public, they are asking people to make a major change in their spiritual relationships with God, the Church, and with other people. They may feel awkward, vulnerable or unqualified. This will take time.
Encouraging religious dialog among the laity is a worthwhile goal and long, long overdue. Trust must be established. Confidence must be built. Faith must be prepared for inevitable challenges. It’s a tall order and not to be rushed.
Here are some ideas.
Start with younger members. They are closer to their confirmation years and much more comfortable with social media, although many do not see it as a place for serious thought. Still, they are a most likely to consider it. The challenge will be to build their confidence to speak outside their circle of peers.
Prime the pump. Ask three people to write a blog or start a conversation on Facebook. Help them. Teach them. Guide them.
Engage the congregation or forum group in conversation about the online dialog and specifically ask some of them to share their insights on line. You can lead the way with your own “like” or comment.
Create an online poll asking questions that the posts raised. This is an easy first online engagement for people. It’s anonymous but people can see how it works.
Repeat this cycle monthly or quarterly or as topics arise in your community or congregation.
One more idea:
Blogging Roundtable
Have a blog roundtable. Sometimes these are called blog carnivals. It’s a new idea so you can choose any name you like. Make it fun. Blogging rodeo? Blogging round-up? Blogfest?
Ask several or many people to write on a given topic and submit a 500-word or less post in email, text or document format. Post an introductory blog to present the topic and explain the roundtable concept. Set a deadline about 10 days away. Do some behind the scenes nudging to make sure you have at least a few responses. Run a few tickler posts on the topic to get mental juices flowing. On the appointed day, publish ALL the posts at once and encourage participants and readers to mix, match and compare. You might even run a “like” contest or poll to see which ideas resonate best.
This could help rally people and engage them in a fun way.
2×2 is the voice of Redeemer, small congregation in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pa. Our denomination decided for us that we could no longer fulfill our mission and seized control of all our property and financial assets for their own use. They locked the Christians of East Falls out of the church, we can only assume, so that they could more easily have their way. Our church building, under SEPA management, has been an empty witness to Christianity for going on three years — a definitefailure to fulfill mission!
Redeemer, however, continues as 2×2.
We were not about to abandon our mission under such selfish circumstances. We had spent several years fostering a world view as we had visitors and members from all over the globe. This made it easier for us to take our ministry online, but we had no idea what to expect. Thinking globally and acting locally, we are discovering that our mission can impact the world.
We no longer worry so much about Philadelphia, although we are ready at any moment to reopen our physical church. We think our neighborhood still counts in God’s Kingdom.
Meanwhile, we are beginning to hear from congregations far away. A mission worker in Eastern Europe thanks us for our social media ministry. A pastor in Pakistan sends us regular updates on his congregation’s efforts to reach the poor in remote villages. A church in Africa thanks us for our ministry and describes their need to care for orphans.
Having been ousted from our denomination, we are no longer cloistered within Lutheranism. We are in regular contact with churches and church leaders across the United States. A few have provided both financial and spiritual support. Some have interesting projects and experiences which we incorporate into our ministry. We are more “in full communion” than when we were part of a “full communion” denomination — and this was achieved without decades of dialog!
At home in Philadelphia, we have become friendly with several parishes we knew little about when we were cozy in our own property.
Most congregations, near or far, are looking for little more than attention and prayer, which we are able and happy to provide.
We did not know what we were getting into when we started our virtual ministry, but it has opened the door for new mission and new possibilities. We are no longer just talking about mission but have never been more actively engaged.
Meanwhile, our own denomination behaves as if we never existed.
Churches talk about growth all the time — even when there is little or no growth evident across a denomination. Denominations can even adopt airs of successful growth in their convocations and publications, camouflaging double digit decline.
Why is growth desirable? Is it because of the Church’s burning need to save souls, or is it to meet the escalating costs of Christian community? There is surely some of both in the answer and other options. Nevertheless, it might be worthwhile to ponder what is really spurring the current demand for growth and change.
The problem is that we are measuring success by statistics that no one really set out to fulfill.
Imagine how big every church would be if for the last 100 years every congregation accepted 20 new members net (allowing for natural attrition). Twenty new members each year should be a modest goal for a church that is growth-oriented. It should get easier every year and explode exponentially!
It rarely happens!
Most churches and church communities are designed to fill the needs of the founding members. Growth to keep up with the economy was not in their crosshairs. Special ministries to changing communities were not what most members signed on for.
Most congregations and clergy are content when numbers provide a sense of stability.
Look at the average church building erected 100 or 200 years ago. Most were not built with growth in mind. Many were situated on donated land and built to fit the lots and house the existing worshiping community. The biggest number in mind was how many might show up on Easter morning and Christmas Eve.
When growth happened, older buildings were abandoned, new ones built or wings were added. In some cases the only option for growth was to add worship services. But these days services are often added for convenience or worship style options — not to accommodate growth.
If growth is so important, why isn’t it planned from the beginning?
When are extra pastors added? Answer: when growth has already happened and the congregation can afford an additional salary. Extra hands are rarely sought when the mission work justifies it but only when there are already more service needs and a foreseeable budget to sustain those existing needs.
If growth is truly a goal and more hands are needed to achieve growth, we have to start thinking outside the foresight of our founding matriarchs and patriarchs. We have to return to true mission, not economic salvation.
We have to provide help where it is most needed — neighborhood churches. Yes, even the small ones. That’s where true denominational growth will take root.
The temptation for denominational leaders is to look for easier success formulas and provide the strongest support to the congregations who can sustain their current budgets—for the time being, at least.
The small church has been neglected for quite a while. Tragically, the neglect has been intentional. It is also short-sighted.
Denominational middle management stressed viablity in congregations at a time when the economy was impacting their own bottom line. Small churches became attractive targets for closure. Their weaknesses were highlighted while the denominations’ struggles were hidden from view. The attitude was, “We know what’s best for you. We can make better use of your resources. Praise God for your 100-150 years of dedication. Hand over the keys and where do you keep the money?” No “please”; no “thank you.”
This attitude reflects a dereliction of duty. Denominations exist to serve and once you write off your constituency, ethical dilemmas soon abound.
Suddenly, the failure of small churches becomes a goal — the sooner the better, and please make it easy. Little time and attention are spent on the problems of the small church. Clergy fail to hear God’s call for small parish ministry. Small churches must rely on lay skills and the devotion of retired clergy, whose training and active years predate the current thinking.
This is a shame. Small churches are ideally situated to address many of the problems faced by denominations today.
It’s a David and Goliath scenario.
A Goliath church is large and cumbersome. It looks down on the rest of the world and can be haughty about its wealth and prestige. The budget is top-heavy with professional salaries and property maintenance. Parish life revolves around making these assets function. This makes it more difficult to identify change in the community and refocus on changing ministry priorities. Any priorities to be addressed must fit the skills and interests of salaried leaders. The priority is always paying pastors and keeping up the building. A Goliath church has an army of support. Armies work best when there is someone giving orders.
A David church is small, agile and wiry. It meets the rest of the world eye to eye. It doesn’t have the status of larger churches, but it is likely to know very well where its strengths lie. It has a hard time getting the attention of denominational leadership. It presses forward, relying on members’ talent, fueled by a spirit and devotion that is ready to overcome any obstacle. It does not have much in the way of internal hierarchy to weigh it down. It can change ministry plans and emphases easily as neighborhoods change and new challenges arise. Any member can implement a new idea. A David church is likely to change quickly and the denomination, who may have been paying no attention for years, is none the wiser.
Mainline denominations face challenges today that are ideal for David-sized church ministries. Small churches are likely to interact personally with visitors and less likely to depend on someone else taking the lead. Multicultural ministries can be easily pursued in neighborhoods where populations are changing. The disabled and disenfranchised can be served one on one without unwieldy programs. Families led by single parents can easily find support and acceptance. David churches have been training their own leaders for decades. They have skills and energy that King Saul would not notice — until he is desperate.
Of course, large churches can also address these issues, but there is a greater tendency to create programs led by well-paid experts, while small churches will roll up their sleeves and embrace challenges personally.
The problem is that denominations come to their David churches with Goliath expectations and solutions. Small churches know they cannot afford Goliath budgets. That doesn’t mean that closing David churches and reallocating their assets is the answer. The answer is in finding ways to help David churches be the best they can be with their resources. Use their resources to help them with their challenges.
Wise denominations will look to their small David churches for ideas and energy and stop viewing them as tomorrow’s dinner.
Many church leaders are bemoaning that Church isn’t what it used to be. Bishop Claire Burkat wrote to her rank and file lately warning that the road ahead is uncharted and there is no blueprint for moving foreward. The old ways just aren’t working.
Perhaps it is only an illusion that they ever did!
Welcome to the “horizontal” Church.
Church can learn from what’s happening in the rest of the world. Business leaders, too, are noticing that the old ways of doing business are ineffective, inefficient and unprofitable. There is a TV show that brings this “epiphany” to us every Sunday evening — Undercover Boss.
In the old business world, upper management controlled all things. An employee’s future relied on his/her ability to control people, material, budgets, customers. The power in the business world has shifted to the consumer. Smart business people are meeting the challenge by restructuring their businesses to be less vertical (hierarchical) and more horizontal. Create a good product, serve your customers well, and your business will grow by word of mouth or by keystrokes on the internet or cellphone.
The Church lives in the same world. It has relied on hierarchical control for a very long time and so change may come a bit harder and a tad slower, but things are changing. Hierarchies are crumbling under the weight of their own weaknesses. Rank and file spiritual church members are resisting the support of vertical management and for good reason. It’s expensive, unproductive and crippling. Offerings, we can conclude, are better spent on direct service than on supporting hierarchy.
And so, the Church today is mirroring society. The Church is becoming more horizontal. We still have a good “product” and the laborers in the vineyard are committed. The Church will survive by spreading person to person (2×2!).
This is where Bishop Burkat is wrong! There is a blueprint! It’s called The Bible.
This is the headline of an e-letter recently sent to the professional leaders of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America by Bishop Claire Burkat.
Bishop Burkat announced that she and the church were having an epiphany.
“The age of the mainline Church as many of us have known it has passed, and there is no blueprint for our journey in this next, rapidly accelerating age.”
The epiphany may have struck sooner and taken fewer casualties if Bishop Burkat had taken time to get to know congregations when she took office. Heart to heart dialog at the time might have helped her hear things we congregations were trying to tell her. We could have helped her lead. That’s the Lutheran way. Interdependence.
It has taken almost every day of her six-year term, but Bishop Burkat has discovered some things for herself.
“The most apparent changes in our congregations and denominations so far see us shifting our focus from relying on professional staff, planning programs, keeping-up buildings, and preserving institutions toward engaging people inside and outside our churches in spritual conversation, as well as creating caring communities, collaborative service, and collective discernment.”
Redeemer was trying to tell her that. We had forged our way, with very little reliance on professional leadership. We had fostered good relationships with neighborhood organizations. We had relied on the gifts of the laity. We recognized that God was at work in our community in a new and creative way.
Now SEPA has a new blog to share ministry stories of its member churches. Although the site invites us to Tell Our Story, we doubt that our story would make it past moderation. So we will tell our story here. Feel free to tweet or reblog or post it on God Is Doing Something Good Blog for us.
Redeemer had a growing outreach ministry to East African immigrants. They had found a church home in East Falls and were growing in participation and leadership. Redeemer of the 20th century had welcomed the 21st century, adapting our traditions—not forsaking them—to welcome many new people. Bishop Burkat and SEPA discouraged our ministry and locked us all out of God’s House.
Redeemer was concentrating on developing lay leadership. That need is the topic of Alban Institute’s Roundtable this week. Redeemer had been working at this for a decade.
Redeemer had a plan to help immigrant families locate starter homes, obtain mortgages and make necessary renovations. Bishop Burkat and SEPA made this impossible.
Redeemer had a plan to pioneer congregational use of the web. The fact that we were locked out of our church home made this a priority. If you are reading this (along with our more than 100 daily readers) you have discovered our ground-breaking blog.
Redeemer recognized that our property, rented to a Lutheran Social Service agency, was contributing to a valued neighborhood ministry. This was a mission alliance that served a church agency, our congregation and neighborhood. If money were our sole objective, we could have rented our property for more. Bishop Burkat and SEPA’s interference put the agency in the middle of a property dispute. They chose to shut down their 25-year presence in our community.
With this long-standing mission project ruined by SEPA, Redeemer worked for a year to develop a school that would serve the community in a way which would also foster religious values. Bishop Burkat and SEPA evicted the school just as it was about to open.
Redeemer recognized that a neighborhood ministry to immigrants, while valuable and God’s apparent plan for us, was not likely to be funded from the offering plate. Neither would an outreach mission to college-aged youth and young professionals, also a large part of East Falls neighborhood. Both were obvious missions for any church in East Falls. We worked to develop alternate income streams using our assets. Bishop Burkat and SEPA sued us to obtain our property and endowment funds for their own use.
God continues to work through Redeemer.
In our excommunicated state, we began visiting other Lutheran churches. We started to see firsthand many common challenges. We are responding.
We are creating a model for a program that would help small congregations create an eductional outreach and reconnect with their neighborhoods. VBS-aid is getting inquiries from all over the coutnry. It’s an idea that could bring many benefits to the emerging 21st century church and to SEPA. It needs start-up funding.
Abandoned by our own denomination, Redeemer is forming new relationships with other Lutheran groups and other denominations. We are pioneering an educational model for congregations that would not be expensive and would create ongoing dialog and community—another good idea with growing support.
If SEPA hadn’t taken our money, we could fund our projects with our own money.
Bishp Burkat ends her missive to SEPA professional leaders:
“Let’s perceive this journey into uncharted territory as a great adventure. There will be dangers, and we will surely make mistakes.”
Bishop Burkat is right. Mistakes will—and have been—made.
It is not too late to admit that SEPA’s actions in East Falls were just that—a mistake. The art of leadership, especially Christian leadership, is to recognize mistakes and take actions to reconcile.
This is a leadership quality all churches must foster. Congregations must be free to make mistakes without hungry big brother/sister Church waiting to take advantage.
The road into the the future would be smoother if SEPA could admit their mistakes. Instead of counting coup on the neighborhood congregations, try respecting that God may be at work in ways you have yet to understand. That’s the value of an epiphany.
Redeemer may be SEPA’s most valuable congregation — and we’re not talking about land and endowments. Assigned an excommunicated status, declared to be dying, Redeemer has been trail-blazing.
It’s not too late to make things right in East Falls. We are ready for reconciliation. Are you?
As Bishop Burkat points out, “God is God and we are not.”
There is tremendous potential and power behind church blogging, but a blog is a hungry beast and feeding it can be a challenge. We periodically publish idea-starters.
Here is a checklist to help you with bloggers block. Remember to first look at every idea from the standpoint of readers and that includes your community who do not attend your church.
1. Scripture
Scripture readings in most mainline churches have a form called the Common Lectionary. You can look them up in advance, ponder the meaning and relate it to a topic of interest to your community or congregation. Our Social Media Editorial Calendar includes Sunday readings — but there are weekly readings as well and alternate readings for special days. (If your church is named after a saint — there’s something to write about).
2. Church Year
Church life rotates unendingly around the key events in the life of Christ — Advent to Christ the King, followed by a long summer and fall of Pentecost, post-Pentecost or Ordinary Time, depending on your tradition. Whatever it is called, it is a period not directly related to any of the festivals associated with the life of Christ and is often viewed as a period to explore Christ’s teachings. So explore them!
Look ahead at the Church Year and relate seasonal topics to community and congregational life.
3. Community Events
Is your community involved in an election with significant issues? You can address these topics without becoming partisan. Examine the effects of issues and point out facts. Example: How will a tax hike impact the poor? How will failure to provide new revenue hurt the poor? Regardless of outcome of an election, how will the Church respond? How has your church responded?
Is your community working together on a common problem? Tell how your congregation is part of the solution.
Is there an event coming up — not sponsored by your congregation — that your church intends to support? Write about why you care.
Yes, you can write about your church events as well! Just remember that you want to grow readership beyond your immediate community.
4. Community Calendars
Back to school, community celebrations (Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, popular festivals) are all things churches can and should talk about. Make sure your church weighs in on Easter and Christmas! Mention school activities. Are your youth involved in the high school play or do they play on the football team? Interview them on a video.
5. Church Life
What has happened in your church that might interest the community? Was there a great “takeaway” from a sermon that might make a two-minute video? Was there a fund-raiser to report? Tell how the effort benefits the community.
6. Ideas
Blogs are great places to explore ideas. The more viewpoints the better. Keep your ear to the ground for topics that might be interesting to others. What was discussed at the last coffee fellowship? What did you overhear in the diner? Allow for different viewpoints.
7. Action
Last, talk about the actions your church community takes in regards to all topics.
Join Bishop Ruby Kinisa as she visits small churches "under cover" to learn what people would never share if they knew they were talking to their bishop.
Undercover Bishop will always be available in PDF form on 2x2virtualchurch.com for FREE.
Print or Kindle copies are available on Amazon.com.
For bulk copies, please contact 2x2: creation@dca.net.
Contact Info
You can reach
Judy Gotwald,
the moderator of 2x2,
at
creation@dca.net
or 215 605 8774
Redeemer’s Prayer
We were all once strangers, the weakest, the outcasts, until someone came to our defense, included us, empowered us, reconciled us (1 Cor. 2; Eph. 2).
2×2 Sections
Where in the World is 2×2?
On Isaiah 30:15b
Be calm. Wait. Wait. Commit your cause to God. He will make it succeed. Look for Him a little at a time. Wait. Wait. But since this waiting seems long to the flesh and appears like death, the flesh always wavers. But keep faith. Patience will overcome wickedness.
—Martin Luther
LinkedIn is a powerful networking tool similar to Facebook but with a professional focus.
