Unco is short for Unconference. It’s specifically designed for discussions on the future of the church. It’s a percolator for new ministries and ideas, usually within mainline contexts.
Our pastor had an affair and confessed it in his sermon. He stood up in front of the church and let the gathered members know that he had succumbed to temptation, but he was ready to just "move on."
If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know that we talk a lot
about the future of the church--how we need to move into a time of
innovation as well as transformation. Dennis Sanders recently reflected on this post, and I asked him if I could put his comments here.
Do we spend more time in closed rooms--trying to articulate to other church professionals why we are right--than we spend speaking to the media and articulating to the larger world why we believe in the inclusive love of God?
Why are we losing congregations? There are many factors. If
I’m painting with a broad brush, I’d say that it is because we are largely rural, white and older. What can we do to ensure a vital future? Focus on urban
church planting.
God is concerned with the health of women. God cares about teenagers who end up in a lifetime of poverty. Jesus healed the bleeding woman 2,000 years ago, and I think if he walked the streets today, he just might hand her a packet of pink pills.
What are we doing to combat poverty
in our country and make sure that we join the voices of the prophets who speak
out against injustice? Often denominational churches work hard on these issues,
but we do it within our particular silos and we may not effectively
communicate our work.
All posts licensed under Creative Commons, some rights reserved by Carol Howard Merritt. The Christian Century hosts this blog but does not edit posts or take responsibility for them.
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