This is me yesterday at the end of the day, only I didn't look this cute.Talk about information overload!! Between Friday night and yesterday we received ten hours of story, data, strategies and suggestions for greeting, marketing, communicating, implementing, and more. At the back of the handout that includes most of the power point pages we viewed is an evangelism checklist of things to do to improve how we live being "the Church." 45 items are on that list. Forty-five! One of the things we learned was about the use of bold print for emphasis.
Step one? Paint something!
We can do that. We just painted our parish hall-also-known-in-the-episcopal-church-as-the-undercroft last year. It was suggested that when we use terms unfamiliar to visitors that we explain what they are. We also painted the bathrooms. But there's always more. Start with something visible, inexpensive and active.
And I need to start writing in sentences of twelve words. Or less. If you're familiar with this blog then you know that my writing style is more along the lines of, say, Frederick Beuchner, who, as he puts it, opens a vein and lets flow whatever is there. See my challenge?
There is so much work for us to do. The good news is that there is a checklist. The good news is that some of it just takes thoughtfulness and time. The real adventure ahead (like how I avoided the word "challenge?") is to engage the congregation in imagining new life and new vitality, and helping them see that they don't want to miss being part of this wild ride. My own imagination will need to be led toward how I can help make that possible and achievable. Oh, my brain hurts.
Lord, have mercy!
4 comments:
Sounds intriguing and fascinating! When you mentioned painting... all I could think of is our old, stuck-in-the-60's bathrooms at church. I hate even going in there, as it's such a dated time warp. It feels old and stuck... like many churches feel to visitors probably. We really DO need to pay attention to our surroundings!
Oh, and I'll say this... in terms of being pithy: I subscribed to Tom Ehrich's writings for some time, the wordier he got, the less I found inclined to read them. He's fully redone the way he writes his daily meditations, and now, they are shorter sentences and more easily digested. It DOES make a difference I think.
I think the twelve words or less is a variable that can be slightly adjusted based on the congregation. Some, highly educated congregations might brisle a bit at this...but others, well, absolutely.
I think you'll get some good mileage out of that workshop.
you can do it...I have FAITH in you! (how does one do bold print in a comments section? Watch your snail mail...a little something winging its way to you.
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