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It was getting a glimpse of
the Kingdom that motivated the 40+ members of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Sumner,
Washington, to break out of their own comfort zone, beginning with how they reached out to
each other. Internally, a division was keenly felt between the different age groups. While
a wide rift between generations is hardly uncommon in today's "forever young"
culture, it has a particularly divisive effect in the church world. With the old saints
needing the young ones—their vitality, new ideas and passion for God, and the young
converts needing the old—their wisdom, their common sense and cadre of continuity, it
's lamentable that in these times, too seldom the twain seem to meet.
When the Reverend
Lori Bonkowski, pastor of Christ the King, saw the problem of "separatism" in
her own church, she knew that it would take more than a rousing Sunday sermon—or even
a series of them—for people to change. It would take a revisioning process, one that
would be long enough and safe enough to allow people to not only open up with one another,
but to also have a chance for self-reflection. More importantly, the process would have to
contain a strong biblical imperative—one that would help the believers graduate from
the touchy-feely element inherent in small groups and move on to discovering their larger
purpose—not just in relation to the church, but to the world around them. For the
church to grow and flourish, the members would have to see church as more than just a
social club. |
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