I've been thinking about...

...The Disciples of Christ General Assembly.

I’ll be heading out on Wednesday to attend the every-other-year national gathering of my “other denomination” (I was raised and ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a cousin denomination to our fair UCC). This comes as a part of my Continuing Education time with the church. I’ll be reconnecting with old friends and colleagues, as well as learning the newest and most successful techniques in church leadership.

The Disciples of Christ have been investing huge amounts of time and talent into the “Revitalized Church” movement. The goal is to help rekindle the fires in local congregations in the name of becoming healthy, growing, vibrant faith communities. It sounds just like our goal for Encanto!

Along those lines I’ll be attending a handful of workshops that speak directly to revitalizing the life of the local church. Those include:

• Transforming a Local Congregation

• Taking the Bored out of Board Meetings

• Healthy Congregations

• Young Adults and the Church

• Toward a Prophetic Church

• Theology of Inclusion for a Welcoming Church

I’m looking forward to the five day event. I’ll fly out on Wednesday and won’t get back until Sunday evening. Next week the Rev. Liana Rowe will be leading worship. I’ll see you when I get back and I look forward to sharing everything I’ve learned and experienced!

Yours in the journey, Rev. Brian