Companions,
ReBe Church... has kind of a bebop ring to it, eh?
UMCom has launched its ReThink Church campaign with incredible savvy, much fanfare, many resources, and more to come. One of our tribe, Don Heatley (Visible Church) is helping out with some of the video work. Those of you who haven't seen Don's great work-- you really ought to!
It seems to me, at least, that many of us who would identify as emerging/missional have been about doing more than simply reThinking what church might be. We've been reBeing church-- in all sorts of ways, in many settings.
We've been talking about-- and incarnating-- openness and hospitality in our "public" settings (congregations and other places where we act publically) AND helping people live accountably (with courage to correct and even let folks go who really aren't into this) in smaller group settings.
And we've become or are learning how to be better partners with all sorts of folks, locally and globally, not all of whom might agree with our theology but who do share a common passion around mission that we would say, and do say, incarnates the mission and reign of God in Jesus who is transforming the world.
Many of us are already doing all these things.
When we gather this fall at Lockerbie Central UMC in Indianapolis, our point isn't to do any more reThinking, but to experience and commit to reBeing church in its fullness even more than we are now-- wherever we are, wherever we go.
ReBe Church... yeah!
Peace in Christ,
Taylor Burton-Edwards