rh action guide
Post on 08-Apr-2018
222 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
1/52
1
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
2/52
2
Carol Howard Merritt
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
3/52
Table of Contents
Practices
Using the Action Guide
Practices
What Is the Substance of Our Hope?
Family History
Faith Community History
Christian History
Framing the Future
Redistributing AuthorityHow Have Our Attitudes Toward Authority Shifted?
Technology and Authority
Creating Space to Question
Preface
Introduction
Chapter One
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
4/52
Re-forming Community
Individual and CommunityFaith and Community
Church and Community
Reexamining the Medium
Technology as a Ministry Tool
Social Media Response Plan
Retelling the Message
Family Storytelling
Stories and the Bible
Story Harvesting in Your Church
Reinventing Activism
Reign of GodNeeds of Your Community
Social Justice and Technology
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
5/52
Renewing Creation
Encouraging a Grounded Spirituality
Renewing Creation Action Guide
Retraditioning Spirituality
Nurturing Spiritual PracticesSpiritual Practice and Technology
Hope in the Desert
What do I hope for our church?
Hope, How, and Who
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Conclusion
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
6/52
Preface
When I travelled around the country, presenting the
concepts in Tribal Church and Reframing Hope,
people would often comment, That sounds
wonderful, but how do we make this work in our
church?
Church leaders needed atoolto help them put thewords into action.
Because each community and context is different, there is no
way to hand a leader a list of things that their church must do to
become a vital place in a new generation, but there are tools
that we can use.
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
7/52
We can look at our histories, engage in our context, and
imagine where we want to be. We can set down plans toward
those goals, and begin to step toward them.
Using the Action Guide
I designed the content of this guide to be used in a group setting
along withReframing Hope: Vital Ministry in a New
Generation(Alban, 2010). People are using this guide for
extended yearlong studies and quick overnight retreats. So, you
may want to pick and choose which questions you want to ask,
according to your context, format and participants.
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
8/52
The content of the guide is set up so that you can have plenty
of material to choose from. The format is visually designed so
that discussion questions and exercises can be downloaded
onto a computer and projected on a screen.
But, no matter how you use the resources, the goal remains the
same:
Inspiring communities to imagine
how they can be a place ofhopefrom
generationtogeneration.
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
9/52
Practices
The first thing you will want to think about is how you want
to hold the discussions. The most important thing when
studying a text is to make sure that each person can talk.
Often the onlyidea, thought, or pieceof informationthat sticks with a person,
is the one whichcomes out of thepersons own mouth.
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
10/52
There are different ways of conducting discussions.
Large Group Discussions. In a large group, it may beeasier for the group to break up into two to three people
to answer the question. Then come back together and ask
the entire group if something interesting came up. This
allows everyone to talk, and it lets more introverted
thinkers be able to verbalize their thoughts in a smaller
format before talking in a larger class.
1
groups of2-3
largegroup
respondby age
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
11/52
Cultural Change Discussions. If in the discussion, you would
like to highlight cultural changes, you can ask people to
respond by age (for example, if youre in your 80s, 70s, 60s,
50s, 40s, 30s, 20s or teens). This is often a fascinating way
to get an oral history of your faith community.
Small Group Discussions.With a smaller group, mutualinvitation is a good practice to use. Mutual invitation is when
the leader invites one person to respond and that person
invites the next person. Of course, anyone who might
want to pass can, but this method often allows people
who are quieter to participate in the conversation more.
2
3
Small Group Leader
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
12/52
No one wants to spend their weekend on a
guilt trip
Throughout the discussion, keep in mind that there is a fine line
between evaluating a new generation, technology, or trend, and
being judgmental of it.
If youre a congregation which is trying to navigate generationalshifts, you might look at the habits of youger generations, get
frustrated and ask, Why arent they as committed as we
were?
This is an important question to ask, if were ready to hear the
answer and be open to whatwe
might be doing wrong. But ifthe question is only meant to convey judgment, then we will
need to remind ourselves that guilt trips are not attractive, and
no one will be going to our church so they can be shamed.
Society has changed. There is no cultural expectation that a
new generation will attend church.
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
13/52
One of the best ways to avoid being judgmental is by
encouraging those within a generation or those who are part of
a particular trend to speak for themselves.
For instance, a parent can avoid critical evaluations on behalf of
her sons generation, or someone who has never logged into
Facebook, can refrain from negative perceptions about people
who engage in communication on Facebook.
The opinions of the outsider may be valid, but it may not be the
most constructive way to spend your time together.
When reaching out to anew generation,it is always best to give the people
in that generation thebenefit of the doubt.
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
14/52
Introduction:What is the Substance of Our Hope?
Much of our hope comes from our histories. It
springs forth when we are able to tell the stories of
our past and when we are able to examine thosethings we would rather ignore. As we begin our study
together, we will be looking at the past.
How do we frame our own stories?How do we frame the
stories of our community?
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
15/52
Looking at the Past
Family History
Draw your FamilyHistory
Faith Community'sHistory
Construct aTimeline
History ofChristianity
Major Events
Think about your family history. Draw it.
Explain it to the person next to you.
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
16/52
Do you think of your family history as a timeline, a tree,a venn diagram, or something else?
Does the history revolve around certain people? Or
does it revolve around events?
How did you learn your familys stories? Were there any
secrets left out of your history? How did you find out
about the secrets in your family?
What are the strengths of your family? Are therecharacteristics that you would use to describe them?
Family
History
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
17/52
What is the history of your faith community?
Can you construct a timeline together?
What are the stories that you tell as a congregation?
What are the things that are left out of the timeline?
How do people in your church respond to skeletons in
the closet?
What are the defining characteristics of yourcommunity?
Is there a story that you would tell that illustrates that
character?
Faith
Community
History
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
18/52
ChristianHistory
Think about the history of Christianity.
Can you write down a few major events together (i.e,
Pentecost, the Reformation)?
When you think of Christianity as a whole, are there
particular things that are painful to recall?
Are there things that Christians have done in your
lifetime that are hard to bear?
What are the things that you love about our faith?
What characteristics of Christian people or Christian
communities make you the most proud?
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
19/52
Framing
the Future
As we work on reframing, were not only looking
at our past, but were also imagining our future
together. What sort of things give you hope for the
future? What are you the most excited about?
Number your paper from 1-20. Complete the
following sentence twenty times: When I imaginethe next 20 years at our church, Im most excited
about ____________.
You may do this exercise individually and share
the answers as a group.
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
20/52
When I imagine the
next 20 years at ourchurch, I'm mostexcited about...
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
21/52
Chapter One:Redistributing Authority
One of the major shifts that occurred since our
congregations were formed has to do with the way
that we perceive and respond to authority. How have
our attitudes toward authority shifted? How does
that affect our congregations?
4) Shareyour
stories bydecade
1) Break intogroups of 2-3
2) What wasyour attitude
towardauthority?
3) Did itchange?
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
22/52
Break up into groups of 2-3.
When you were growing up, what was your attitude toward
authority? How did you view teachers, politicians, doctors, and
pastors?
Did your attitude toward authority shift when you were growing
up? What political, cultural or technological events changed the
way that you viewed authority?
Watch the YouTube video Duck and Cover Original 1950
Airing
Speaking from
generation to
generation.Begin with,Would anyone inhis or her 90s like
to tell a story aboutyour attitudetoward authority?
Would anyone inhis or her 80s liketo tell a story?
Encourage peopleto refrain fromdescribing another
generation. (Forexample, if
someone tries toexplain how hisgrandson treatsauthority.)
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
23/52
Do you have Duck and Cover stories? How did you find outabout nuclear weapons? Do you think that the introduction of
these weapons changed the way that we regard authority?
How has technology affected our attitudes toward authority?
When you were a teenager and you had a question, what did
you do? Identify a teenager, parent, or someone who currently
works with children or youth. Where do teenagers go with their
questions now?
If you were a parent, and you had a question about raising your
child, what did you do? What about parents now?
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
24/52
Where do wecreate space for
questions?
Where have othercommunities
created that space?
What would welike to do in the
future?
How have our congregations created spaces in which wecan question? What would you like to do in the future?
Share your ideas and brainstorm as a group.
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
25/52
Chapter Two:Re-forming Community
Along with the shifting nature of the ways in which
we view authority, we are also changing the ways in
which we form community. In many ways, we are
moving from a pyramid to a network. What are our
attitudes toward institutions, individualism, and
community? How do these changes impact our
congregations?
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
26/52
Tell a story of someone who mentored you. What made that
mentor effective?
What was stressed as more valuable when you were growingup: a personal relationship with Jesus Christ or a sense that
you were baptized into a community of faith?
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
27/52
What do you believe is more important now?
What are the most important communities for you? What
characteristics make them important?
What would the Church lose if we began to think less as aninstitution and more as a community? What would we gain?
Where is community most visible in your church? What
generations/demographics are not a part of your church
communities? How can you begin to make space for these lost
demographics?
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
28/52
Chapter Three:Reexamining the Medium
We will explore how we can use technology as a
ministry tool and think about its dangers and
downsides.
In our churches, many of us are moving from
face-to-facecommunication to
interface communication.
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
29/52
Tell a story about when you first started using email. Did you
expect to use it as much as you do today?
Which social media tools does your local congregation use?
Do you use newsletters, discussion groups, and email?
Is your church already involved with social media without thecongregation realizing it? Google the name of your church.
Does it come up on blogs or Flickr? Is there a Google Maps
review?
As a church leader, how would you respond to a bad review or
a negative blog post?
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
30/52
How would your congregation respond to a church leader
who blogged or tweeted? Would your church see it as an
asset or a liability?
Do you think that people can be nastier when they are
involved in social media? Why do you think that happens? Are
there occasions that people involved in social media are more
caring and kind? Relate a story of your personal experience.
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
31/52
Social Media Response Plan
If you find out that someone is harassing a church leader or spreading
rumors about your church through the Internet, your approach will need
to be two-fold: internal and external.
If people are hurt in the situation, then you need to make sure that theyare taken care of, heard, and supported within the body. Our internal
response needs to center around the social media that the church
uses: discussion groups, newsletters, or Facebook.
The external response can be a kind word to the blogger or Twitterer.
Something like, Im so sorry you had that experience. Is there anythingthat we can do to make it better?
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
32/52
The external response can also include an invitation to take the
discussion off-line. Often people become frustrated because they dontfeel like their concerns are being heard, so a simple please email me if
you would like to discuss this further can be helpful.
Do not respond with a show of force that is inconsistent to the threat.
For instance, if a visitor twitters something funny during the church
service, then dont threaten to sue him or her. It will just make the church
look bad, and the original joke will attract a lot more attention.
If the person refuses to take it off-line and the frustration seems to
increase, it is okay to walk away from the discussion. At least on-lookers
will know that the church leaders have tried to reach out. For every one
person who responds, there are often hundreds who read and dont
respond. Keep them in mind as you reply.
*many of these insights were gleaned from my discussion with Charlene Li on God Complex Radio and Harvard Business Review
(December 2010).
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
33/52
What would you add to the response plan?
Do you think anonymity should be allowed on the Internet?
Have you ever been attacked on the Internet? How did you
respond?
Is there a digital divide in your community or your church? How
do you handle it so that everyone is involved and active in the
conversation?
A good resource for further discussion can be found at God
Complex Radio 3.1 Charlene Li and Meredith Gould: Social
Media and the Church.
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
34/52
Chapter Four:Retelling the Message
Another change that has occurred in our culture is
how we tell and understand stories. How has
storytelling changed in your lifetime? How we can
harvest stories in our congregations?
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
35/52
Did television change the way that your family told stories? How
did TV football change Thanksgiving and New Years Eve?
Do you remember hearing a story that changed how you thought
about yourself (for instance, did reading Jane Austen inspire you
to be cleverer? Did reading superhero comics make you desire
to be braver?)
How do you read Scripture that doesnt make sense in light of
the scientific knowledge we have now? Have you ever been in a
situation where you have been uncomfortable with a scientific
reading of the Bible?
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
36/52
Are there any stories of Scripture that have resonated with you?Are there any characters in the Bible who have inspired you at
different times in your life? Tell a story of when that happened.
Can you think of a time when telling stories helped you build
community (for instance, in a 12-step group, a veterans group, abook club, or a church)?
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
37/52
Ideas for Harvesting Stories in Your Congregation
During a Lenten series, have people from different generations (someone
in his or her 70s, 60s, 50s, etc.) tell a story about a decision they had to
make, and how they sensed God helping them make that decision.
During Advent, ask people to share a Christmas tradition from when they
were growing up.
During a prayer group or Sunday school class, ask people to reflect on a
mentor or friend who inspired them in the Christian Faith.
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
38/52
In a new members class, invite each person to tell their spiritual journey.
Have the pastor or the person in charge of the class begin with his/her
story, and each person can follow. Make it clear that the participants can
say as much or as little as they want.
Meet in neighborhood groups, or have zip code parties and invite people
to talk about an experience they had when they felt like God was with
them.
Celebrate All Saints Day or Ash Wednesday, by inviting people to tell
stories about an important friend, family member, or loved one who died.
During stewardship season, you can invite people to tell a time when the
church was there for them.
In a new member class, invite each person to tell their spiritual journey.
Have the pastor or the person in charge of the class begin with his/her
story, and each person can follow. Make it clear that the participants can
say as much or as little as they want.
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
39/52
Where do you tell stories in your congregation? Where
can you provide a space for your church members to tell
stories?
Can you articulate a story of your church? Is there a place
where you can put some of these harvested stories?
Homes for Harvested Stories
Church website
YouTube
Encourage people to use them as
they talk to their friends, in order tospread the word about your
congregation
YELP reviewsTwitter
Stewardship campaign
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
40/52
Chapter Five:Reinventing Activism
In different ways, a new generation is reframing our
longing for the establishment of Gods reign among
us. What is deepening this longing for justice in a
new generation? What changes are taking place in
our attitudes? How are we taking up new tools
satisfy this yearning for Gods reign?
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
41/52
When have you sensed the reign of God in the life of your
congregation?
How do you understand the reign of God? Does it inspire you?
Are you idealistic or pragmatic when you look at social justice
issues? Or, are you a bit of both?
What are the greatest needs in your community? Are there
gifted people who are involved in causes? Can your
congregation learn about the needs and support them?
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
42/52
Do you use social media toorganize? If your group participates
in social media to raise awareness of social need, when haveyou seen it used effectively?
Brainstorm ways in which you could use social media to
organize, connect, or spread the word about a particular
cause.
For wonderful and fun ideas, check out Miriams Kitchens
Twitter feed and YouTube clips.
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
43/52
Chapter Six:Renewing Creation
In vibrant faith communities, we can often see a
theological, emotional, and practical approach to
caring for creation. And in a new generation, it will beimportant for Christians to continue to nurture a
grounded spirituality.
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
44/52
Have you ever had an experience where you felt deeply
connected to the ground? Have you ever had an experience
where you experienced God through nature? Tell a story of a
time when you had that feeling.
Was there ever a time when you felt surprised by nature? When
you were fascinated by a seed or couldnt believe how quickly
something grew?
What is the context of your congregation? Are you in an urban,
suburban, or rural area? What sort of food or environmental
movements rising up in your area? Are there things that people
in your church are already participating in?
Often caring for creation is something different generations can
learn from each other. Those who grew up with Depression era
parents often know a great deal about recycling and
conserving. Are there ways in which your congregation can
engage in intergenerational learning?
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
45/52
Renewing Creation Action List
Work with local organizations to see if there are any that might provide an energy audit.
For instance, Interfaith Power and Light is a great non-profit that partners with
congregations fostering creation care.
Check to see if your lighting set up is the best for saving electricity.
Check your windows. Are they energy efficient?
If you need money for more energy efficient buildings, heating, or other repairs, check
with your denomination or local government for grants or funding.
Does your congregation have a Green Team? You may want to gather a group together
who would be interested in washing dishes, doing laundry, working a garden, orexploring alternative energy solutions.
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
46/52
Renewing Creation Action List (Contd)
Explore your energy sources. Is there a way that your congregation can use wind
power, solar, or methane? Explore clean energy alternatives that can be accessed
without installing panels, or wind turbines.
Could your congregation start a Farmers Market?
Could your congregation glean after a Farmers Market for the local homeless
kitchen?
Could your congregation begin a community garden?
Could your church begin a trash-free refreshment time?
Promote a carbon fast in your congregation. What are other ways in which you can tie
your practice of caring for creation to the liturgical calendar? Are there other ways in
which you can make creation care a spiritual practice?
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
47/52
Chapter Seven:Retraditioning Spirituality
Reframing Hope highlights practicing prayer,
developing intuition, and seeking direction as
important spiritual disciplines. What spiritual
practices have been important in your life?
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
48/52
Name a discipline that you regularly practice (it can be as
simple as putting together a gratitude list). How do you do it?
What time of day? Does this practice help you when youre
feeling stressed out? Or depressed?
How does your congregation teach people how to pray? Is it
through modeling or instruction?
Would you be interested in making a practice a greater part of
your daily life? Is there someone who could hold you
accountable to your discipline?
Have you ever been a part of a spiritual discipline on the
Internet? Have you ever had Facebook friends praying for you
or attended a service on Second Life? Have you ever prayed
the hours or attended a memorial on Twitter? How did you
feel about that experience? (Be sure to answer only if you
have participated in a discipline through social media. Do not
with your opinion as an outsider.)
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
49/52
Conclusion:Hope in the Desert
Even in our driest deserts we can see tributaries of
hope in the horizon. Where are the hopeful places in
our church community? How can we begin to
verbalize those hopes? Where is God calling us?
And how can we take those first steps to get there?
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
50/52
Collage
1. Get a blank sheet of paper, and write, What do I hope for our
church? on it.
2. Flip through magazines, and spontaneously rip out the pictures
and words that jump out at you. Do not think about them; just rip
them out.
3. Glue them onto your piece of paper, covering over the question.
4. When you have completed your collage, then spend 15-20
minutes writing about it. What pictures remind you of the past?
What pictures make you hopeful for the future?
5. Explain your collage to one other person.
6. In a larger group, explain one image or one word in your collage.
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
51/52
Next Steps
With your collage in mind, to what steps do you feel God is
calling you? Individually, list out at least five hopes. Think long
term (the goals may take 5-20 years). Do not to censure
yourself with things like Wed never have enough money to do
that or We would never have enough people to accomplish
that. Usually money and people come aftera vision is set.
Come back together as a group. Share your hopes and
brainstorm more that arise collectively. Have someone list
them on a sheet of newsprint. Again, make sure that the group
does not reject any ideas at this point. A bad idea can
stimulate a great vision.
-
8/7/2019 RH Action Guide
52/52
Hope How Who
Look at the compiled list. Are there certain hopes which generate
a lot of excitement and energy? Focus on three or four things.
Now list How your congregation might accomplish them. List
those things
Imagine Who could help you. Is there a committee in place who
would be equipped to take on the work? Can you think of a
group of people who would be great at that specific goal? Are
there people who have already been interested in that particular
hope?
As you put the plan into action, be sure to be open and flexibleto how things might take place. We plan, but often God surprises
us with how things happen. Keep your hopes ever before you.
Constantly remind yourself and the congregation of your hopes.
top related