A few weeks ago we, as Disciples Together, also had a life changing moment together. I don’t know that anyone jumped up and down, but there were a lot of smiles and excitement in the sanctuary at Highland Park CC. I hope that you will seriously plan to attend as we prepare to gather together on October 15th to discern what God might be calling us to do together as Disciple congregations in the Upper Midwest. Every church is essential to this process. I pray, as your new Regional Minister and President, that God will make visible all the ways God wants us to do ministry together.

While listening to my wife prepare for her Sunday message, I was reminded again of why I have such passion for where we are headed as churches in this region, as Disciples Together!  Amy was working with the text from Deuteronomy in which the people of God are at a crossroads and must make a decision that is truly one about life or death. Though preachers can often exaggerate these dire situations, I believe life and culture often minimize these critical moments.  We in this region, in our local churches and as Christians in general have seen in the last decades a decline in numbers, resources, and more importantly, in passion, purpose and direction for our ministry as Church!

We have every reason to believe that we too, are at a crossroads and must begin to take seriously the decision of life or death. We must wrestle deeply with who, what and why we are church.  As we stand and look towards the future we have to be willing to ask basic questions about our most foundational assumptions of how we structure our church life together.

Like the community talked about in Deuteronomy, life and death decisions must be made together as one people of God, and one region. As you know we have scheduled a specially called regional assembly to make such a decision around how we understand ourselves as region, and how we do ministry as Disciples Together. The meeting is scheduled for April 9, 10:30 AM – 2:00 PM, at Highland Park Christian Church, Des Moines IA. However, before that we have set up a few listening sessions on the proposed resolution:

• Oakland Christian Church, Oakland IA, February, 20th 2:30 PM
• First Christian Church, Des Moines IA, March 6th 3:30 PM
• 2 Webinar sessions: March 3rd and 10th at 6:30 PM. Simply go to the following link at the designated time (https://my.dimdim.com/bsdumw/)
• Noelridge Christian Church, Cedar Rapids IA, March 20th 3:30pm
• Chariton Christian Church, March 28th  Chariton IA,  7pm
• First Christian Church, Fort Dodge,IA  April 4th,  7pm

If you would like a listening conference in your area please contact Rev. Bill Spangler-Dunning at bsdumw@gmail.com.

Blessings,

BSD
Lead Transitional Regional Minister and President
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the Upper Midwest

1. We have restructured our budget and ministry ensuring that we do not overspend.
2. Fully paid off the $190,000 line of credit debt.
3. Started a new church in Rochester, Minnesota.
4. Redesigned School for Congregational Learning and increased attendance by more than one hundred people.
5. Consolidated our offices to the Christian Conference Center.
6. Experienced a surge of individuals organically desiring to come together around the ministry they feel called to by God. (Ministries that are not prescribed by a committee or have any sense of asking someone to fill a slot or carry out this ministry because of duty.)
7. Explored and developed any and all ways of connecting Disciples across the Upper Midwest.  Some ways have been via a technology such as video conferencing; others, for example, by simply determining the meeting location (ie. a church) by assessing the geographic center of those serving on that ministry unit.
8. Put forth an intense effort for regional staff to visit and worship with every congregation in the Upper Midwest in the two year transition period.
9. Began partnering with seminaries so we and our students can experience teaching congregations in this region while the students attend seminary in Oklahoma by distance.
10. Begin to experience a sense of energy and passion in the midst of that chaos that gives us that deep understanding that we are not only not dying – we are at the beginning of something new and wonderful.

There is still much chaos and uncertainty that likely will be in our near future; however, we are beginning to feel the Christmas-like experience that occurs at the darkest time of year. The dark shadows are still all around us but we now have the choice of what we focus on as people of faith.  As we come to an end of our transition time and head into the wondrous Christmas time, I believe that God is helping us as “Disciples Together ” find new strength and purpose in our ministry.  I believe God is calling to us once again to do ministry together.  I deeply hope you will join me in that belief!

Changing structure does not guarantee spiritual balance and purpose; but, sometimes, our structure can get in the way of the flow of ministry.

Many times I have heard stories like the one above in which ministries arise from someone noticing a need and sharing it with others to help discern God’s calling. These ministries are often the ones that congregation members talk about with passion and energy.

What if we in the region had a structure that encouraged this same way of being church together? What if, when we made decisions about the ministry we do together, every church had a representative at the table? What if our board/gatherings always included time to listen for perceived needs and we spent time in discernment about what and where God might be calling us?

These are only some of the ideas I continue to hear bubbling up from the congregations as we all strive passionately to faithfully be church in this world. Let me know about what you think by sending me an email at bsdumw@gmail.com.

Though I heard it before, I recently heard it again from a minister in this region; “If you want to know how and where you see God in the ministry of your church, simply look at your budget.” This is as true for churches as it is for individuals. How I spend my money, my time, and my passion reflects my core beliefs and purpose. It illuminates what I value, both to myself, and to others.

I would add to this revealing phrase that how one structures a church will let you know what is important as well. We in the region have evolved from a time when individual congregations first decided to do ministry together and structures were created to help accomplish the ministry, –to- a time now when structures determine what ministry we will do together. As we move forward in this transitional time together, I cannot say that we have all the answers as to what we will look like or what structures we will need to help us ‘be church’ but I can say that the priority will be to ask, “To what needs and ministries is God calling us today and how can we best gather and support them?” I know that our foundation as Disciples Together is and will be the ministries that develop from each and every congregation as they join together. I ask for your prayers as we begin in this next phase of our transition.

May God continue to bring us together in ministry.

Your partner in ministry,
Bill Spangler-Dunning
BSD

She will also be able to share about the other ways you could take advantage of the the Christian Conference Center through a church retreat or the offer for all clergy to stay for free when you just need a little retreat…

Click this link to enter the conversation on Tuesday. You can enter anytime between 11:45 am and 12:30 pm (central standard time) ….

http://my.dimdim.com/bsdumw/

Then enter your name and you can see and listen in. No webcam necessary.

In February some of the Chi Rho kids that I work with expressed concerns about the racist comments they were hearing regarding the aid requests for Haiti.  They were struggling with how to respond.  We talked it over and decided to sponsor a lock-in and begin some activities that might open the conversation further.

The hope of this event is that the kids who attend will leave with 1) an answer from the scriptures that they can refer to, and 2) a project that they can share – their own interpretation of the story of the Good Samaritan.  We are invited your kids to join us on this adventure.

Below is an information sheet and registration for the lock-in for 3rd-8th grade that we are putting together.

• We are asking for each participant to pay $5 or bring one item for Church World Service Health kits (listed on the information sheet) and $2.00 for food expenses.
• I am still working on schedule and need volunteers.
• We will begin at 6:30 p.m. with arrival and team building activities.  Dinner will be a 7 p.m.
• I’m also in need of a videographer in the early morning to video what the kids put together.  We can then provide churches and individuals with DVD’s to show what we learned from Jesus’ story of the good Samaritan.
• We will dismiss at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday.

FCC Laurens IA – Lockin Registration

For more information, contact:

Sara Galindo
FCC Laurens
324 West Section Line Road
Laurens, IA
712.841.2455