The Connecting Church

1. The Connecting Church Source: Randy Frazee, CCN Seminar, October 2005

2. Why “connect?” • Restructuring our relationships and time is the solution for crowded loneliness

3. Why “connect?” • “The biggest challenge for the church at the opening of the 21st century is to address the fragmentation and discontinuity of the American lifestyle.” • Lyle Schaller

4. Where did fragmentation come from? • Blame Dwight. • 1941 creation of the interstate highway system and the acceleration of mobility in our culture • The average person in suburbia has 35 “worlds” to manage • Which makes “quick and shallow” the order of the day

5. The Car is King • The average family has 13 “commutes” per day. • Robert Putnam • Results: • Health problems • Hurry sickness • Isolation

6. Is church helping? • Sometimes, no. • Sometimes church structure (ie. our small groups) adds one more commute and appointment

7. What can a church do to help “connect?” • Four “flip-flops” • Worship -> Community • Believing -> Belonging • Program -> Relationship • Community in Church -> Church in Community

8. 1. Worship -> Community • We no longer put worship as the first front door that leads to community-formation, but that worship becomes a support to already-existing communities

9. 2. From believe - > belong No longer make “arriving” at belief the prerequisite for entering into community

10. 3. Program -> Relationships Don’t create programs that work by promotion, with the hope that people will then form relationships Rather, build ministries out of already existing relationships

11. 4. Community in church -> church in community • The goal is not to get people into the church, but to get the church into the community • The final measure of success is not church growth but church dispersion

12. How communities form • “S.A.F.E.” Spontaneity Availability Frequency Eating meals together • Repetitive, unplanned and planned informal contact

13. Launching “communities” • Intentional creation of “neighborhoods” geographically • People who want to eat together, play golf, form small groups, play and commute together, etc. • Think of a church as a collection of these communities

14. When forming neighborhoods … • Be prepared for the issues that arise when believers and non-believers begin to be part of communities together • i.e. Matthew parties

15. Be prepared … • For when something bad happens. • It is inevitable in collections of people • This is the point when non-believers get to see believers in action – and be moved by faith that makes a difference • The locus of ministry moves from the church building and staff to the neighborhood

16. What this will look like • No longer will people come to church as a stranger among strangers, but as part of a community or neighborhood

17. First steps • Personally model community as a leader. • Start in your own immediate neighborhood. • Name the discontent of disconnectedness. • Map attendance clusters in church neighborhoods. • Start sharing stories. • Find peers or mentors.

18. The Connecting Church Dr. John P. Chandler The Ray and Ann Spence Network for Congregational Leadership www.rasnet.org John.chandler@vbmb.org