Transformation Forum

2/15/06

"Journeying theGood News Road" was the name of the first-ever denomination-wide [Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)] transformation event, held January 18-20, 2006, in Arlington, Texas. It was a bold attempt to think large, to share widely, and to equip people theologically and relationally to be about the work of transformation. The 275 or so participants from across the United States and Canada were lay-persons, congregational pastors, Regional Ministers and denominational leaders. Keynoters challenged the group, with varying degrees of effectiveness, to engage in the process of spiritual, systemic, and strategic transformation.

I have been asked to share a reflection with co-journeyers in The Jesus Connection process. I led two breakfast forums about The Jesus Connection at the event: workshops which enjoyed high energetic participation, and which raised questions about how the principles on which the Jesus Connection process is based compare with other approaches being recommended. There were other resources also giving concurrent workshops.

While it is not my purpose to review the denominational event I will strongly affirm that in the face of all the ideas about congregational transformation I came away from the meeting with a renewed appreciation of The Jesus Connection's approach and a deeper commitment to the Eleven Steps to Becoming a Witness Evangelism Church (Reclaiming Evangelism, pp. 63-99). The linkage of personal spiritual deepening in Jesus and congregational structure simply cannot be slighted. Transformation is a bit like heaven: everybody's talking about it but not everybody's going there. Some of the ideas and (perish the thought) programs being touted will not only not work, they will lead sincere Christians down dead-end paths and discourage those who seek that new wine of which Jesus spoke. In The Jesus Connection network we have seen results in both individual and congregational lives when people listen to Jan Linn and follow Jesus. God does a new thing. The church becomes a new creation.

I applaud the denomination's efforts to spur transformational thinking among us. I learned much at the Journeying the Good News Road event. With the wider exposure, however, I am all the more committed to the TJC Process we have followed and commend it all the more heartedly to us all.

- David Digby - First Christian Church, Ames, Iowa