Instead of being afraid that allowing some free-flowing philosophical dialogue might take a dive into the oblivion, Brighton FUMC has created nurturing organic church groups conducive to building real relationships with the churched and un-churched.
Utilizing $90,000 in grant money from the Office of New Church Development spread out over the course of three years, Brighton FUMC Associate Pastor John Ball is helping create spaces for people to explore their spirituality, while discussing the supernatural as well as the mundane.
When he joined the church’s staff in 2009, Rev. Sherry Parker was attempting to bridge the gap between the relationship of the local church and community and the church considered everything from new “emerging worship styles” to the possibility of having a second venue to even purchasing a coffee shop.
After researching local demographics and considering how the new organic group could be invitational, create and develop disciples, and serve people, Ball said a small-group gathering called Sanctus was born.
”What we then narrowed in on was this organic model that was more transient in nature, that matched and mimicked the personality of the culture,” he said.
After Ball and Christian Education Director Suzy Hutchison attended a four-day conference led by church start and organic church expert Neil Cole, the initial Sanctus gathering took place in an Irish pub in town. Ball said it was a little bit too loud to clearly engage in dialogue though, and he has been open to letting it evolve into what has become three small groups that meet at houses once a week.
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| Brighton FUMC leaders. |
“It is very Wesleyan and I think it is so important to give people a space, acknowledging people have social systems they are a part of every single day — whether it’s “happy hour” on Friday with the guys after work and watching ESPN; we’re saying that’s not necessarily wrong, but we want to provide an experience that has spiritual depth and a place where people can receive healthy systems of support,” Ball said.
A normal gathering will involve some political talk, philosophical debates, jokes and plenty of comrades willing to listen.
At one session last, month the talking points even included the concept of “losing your faith” to inadvertently find it — addressing the importance of salvation and forgiveness as opposed to religious rituals and doctrines Christians often become so consumed with.
Sharing personal experiences, one man admitted he “realized he was human 40 some years ago” when he made a major blunder during a public speech and another talked about the power of “realizing you can’t carry all of your baggage with you everywhere,” which he drew from a video by Mars Hill pastor Rob Bell.
The groups are currently reading the book The Orthodox Heretic and Other Impossible Tales by Peter Rollins, a collection of modern day parables that seems to be a great conversation starter.
“It’s not as intimidating, it’s contemporary, it’s written in a language people can understand and relate to,” Ball said. “They get these parables when they read them and they understand them and it is so provocative that there’s no question about it creating dialogue.”
Currently the groups consist of Brighton FUMC members and Ball said Sanctus is certainly molding disciples, but it hopes to become more effective at inviting others and serving the world.
“What we’re choosing to do as a model is develop leaders inside the life of Brighton First who will then serve as “social missionaries” — a missionary to our culture, who are then developed and empowered to start asking people to join in on the dialogues that are happening,” he said.
For Ball, it is a welcome retreat from the rest of his week and he said it’s therapeutic for him “because it’s not just spiritual conversations that take place, but we discuss our relationships…it’s a place where people are able to share the stuff in their life in an intimate setting, knowing that people care about them and they’re valued.”
He said being missional minded and creative with new outlooks for growth in and out of the church building are what local pastors need to look for, instead of being so focused on potential membership decline.
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