New Faces, New Spaces

A country church started a Celebrate Recovery ministry for victims of opioid addiction.

A county-seat church brought its church bus out of the garage for the first time in two years and started transporting children to Wednesday night events at their church.

A suburban church started a young adult ministry called “GAP” that meets over dinner in restaurants.

A dying church opened its doors to its Korean neighbors and started hosting Korean worship services.

These stories and more were shared at the North Texas Annual Conference over the past few days in celebration of the theme, “New Faces, New Spaces.”

Every year, the annual gathering of local United Methodists focuses on a different theme, and this year’s conference zeroed in on the effort to reach new people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was encouraging to hear how our brothers and sisters have attempted to do exactly that over the past year in a variety of creative ways.

This was at the heart of the work of the Vision Task Force over the last few months; the group was deeply concerned about how to be a vibrant church home for people who are not yet here.

And frankly, this is my own personal passion, too. I want the people of north Oak Cliff to discover the joy and fulfillment of following Jesus, and I want them to join us in our journey. I don’t think I will ever be happy or content to “rest easy” with the status quo.

There will always be room for one more worshipper or one more new member. There will always be a need to feed another homeless person, or to read with an elementary school child. There will always be an injustice to fight, or another wrong to right.

I get really excited when I see people doing creative things for the sake of God’s mission. That’s why Annual Conference is so much fun. We get to hear about the real practical work on the ground in North Texas.

But I think it’s time for us to also think about the meaning of “New Faces, New Spaces.” Because new spaces are springing up all around us. We’ve seen an unprecedented rise in the number of apartment units available in the area — up and down Singleton Ave., Ft Worth Ave., and Davis St, not to mention throughout the Bishop Arts District. The new spaces are already here.

Which means the new faces are on their way. Each new face represents another beloved child of God who is in need of community, friends, support, and inspiration.

Kessler Park UMC exists for each new face. That’s why we’re here. As the body of Christ, we literally represent Jesus to and for them. The stories at Annual Conference reminded me that we need to think seriously about these new faces. We need to ask ourselves some hard questions about our own spaces.

Can we make space for the new faces?

Do we need to create new spaces?

What do we have to offer the people of Oak Cliff?

Remember, the day that the church stops thinking about how to reach new people is the day that the church starts dying.

A Summer Holy Land Tour

When I was beginning my probationary period as a pastor in the North Texas Conference (twenty years ago), I heard that ordinands were taken on a special “Holy Land Tour” in the months before their ordination.

I got excited when I heard that! I’d always wanted to visit Israel and Palestine, and visit all the places identified in the Bible. I thought to myself, “What a great gift to pastors entering full-time ministry!”

Except that I was mistaken. Turns out that Bishop Bruce Blake had organized a tour of North Texas. He wanted the new ordinands to see the extent of our “parish,” including the sites of special significance to our connection, as well as new places for  mission. He was trying to emphasize the point that North Texas is “Holy Land.”

I was disappointed, and I kicked myself for getting my hopes up. I really wanted to see Jerusalem.

Fortunately, a few years later, I had a genuine opportunity to visit Israel and Palestine. As I walked in the places where Jesus walked, however, I found myself being less-than-impressed. I had imagined that I would be spiritually moved, that I would sense that this place was sacred and holy. That’s not what I felt, however. I’d always imagined a magical, mystical place; but this was nothing like that. In many ways, Israel and Palestine felt like any other 21st-century Middle Eastern city, full of Old World charms but New World problems.

And I suddenly realized the point that Bishop Blake was trying to make — any and every place can be holy. You don’t have to travel to some far-away location, even one found in the Bible, to encounter God. You don’t have to make a pilgrimage to historical or legendary sites to experience the divine.

In fact, the lure of certain places like Israel and Palestine can actually blind you to the presence of God in the place where you actually live. In your excitement to see Bethlehem or the Sea of Galilee, you might miss the fact that God is working in your own back yard.

This summer, I’m attempting to do what Bishop Blake did years ago. I’m taking all of us on a tour of our very own Holy Land — Oak Cliff. Each week, I’m spending a little extra time in a different part of Oak Cliff, reflecting on what I observed, and then bringing it to you for your own reflection on Sunday morning.

For example, this Sunday morning, I’ll be preaching about the Trinity River. This river is a defining feature of our city; it has aligned our businesses, shaped our neighborhoods, and entered into our folklore and mythology.

Yes, the Trinity River is holy. Have you ever looked at it that way? Can you see the waters of the Trinity as shimmering with divine possibilities? Is it possible that there is something to learn on the banks of that river?

Come and see this Sunday as we start our summer Holy Land Tour!

New Paths

If you were unable to attend the All-Church Council meeting on Sunday, you missed an exciting and invigorating presentation by members of the Vision Task Force. (You can view the presentation for yourself here.)

I assembled a group of 14 members of the church, most of them new-ish to the church, and tasked them with the job of looking at the vision and mission of the church, and evaluating our strengths and weaknesses with an eye toward pushing us forward.

They have met six times since last December, and have given me lots of food for thought. They took seriously the church’s own mission statement, and decided to make it shorter, snappier, and action-able.

The old mission statement: “We are a community of hope, founded in faith, fostering spiritual growth, and meeting human needs by reflecting God's love in Christ's name.”

The new proposed mission statement: “As disciples of Christ at Kessler Park UMC, we Welcome, Connect, Grow and Help.”

You will notice that the new statement focuses on four simple words. The group came up with these words when we pondered the questions, “How does one move from being an occasional observer to an intentional disciple at KPUMC?” and “What are the signs or markers that one is progressing?”

The group determined that there are four markers of a disciple at KPUMC. First, one is welcomed unconditionally into the community, and extends unconditional welcome to others. This is a hallmark of the KPUMC ethos; our decision to be a Reconciling Congregation affirmed this desire.

Second, a disciple is connected to others, not simply through attendance at Sunday worship, but through small groups, Sunday School classes, and other opportunities for fellowship. Nobody can be a Lone Ranger disciple; the walk of faith demands fellow travelers.

Third, a disciple is always growing closer to God. This is done intentionally through participation in worship, Bible study, and spiritual practices, such as prayer, labyrinth-walking, fasting, and meditation.

And fourth, a disciple is ready to help others, by getting her hands dirty in the mess of ordinary life. This can happen through formal and informal missions, as well as advocacy work for social justice.

That’s how these four words — Welcome, Connect, Grow, and Help — became the heart of the proposed mission statement. They are a very simple and concise summary of the Christian life.
They also make a handy and useful “discipleship path” for the church. In other words, when someone asks us, “What does it mean to be a member of KPUMC and a follower of Christ?” we can answer with confidence, “It means you are welcome here, and you’re invited to connect with others, grow closer to God, and help those in need alongside us.”

It’s so simple, and yet so full of rich potential and hope!

The Vision Task Force would love to hear your comments, opinions, and suggestions about their work. Please look at the presentation here, and then forward your thoughts and questions to ashbryan09@gmail.com.

The next step will be for the Church Council to hear conversation about, and take a vote on, the proposed new mission and vision statements, which will happen in the next Church Council meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, June 27, at 7 pm. All are invited to attend.

I’m energized by this, as I hope you are. More significant to me than the results and findings of this task force is the fact that 14 people, some of them strangers to each other at the outset, bared their hearts and joined their minds together in a common effort to make Kessler Park UMC stronger and more vibrant. This church has a strong future!

My sincere thanks to all who participated, including: Sally Climer, Josh Deluna, Ashley Flores, Bridgette Hardy, Avia Haynes, Mattie Jette, Kacy Jones, Charity Meeker, John Mitchener, Barry Nash, John Ogren, Robert Rodgers, Donald Shugart, and Chris Shultz.