Can You Perceive It? – Part 2
Reimagining The General Assembly Of The Christian Church (Disciples Of Christ)
Rev. Allen V. Harris, Regional Pastor & President, Christian Church in Ohio
Last month I wrote in my newsletter column about perceiving things in new ways, especially
when we didn’t even realize our perceptions were impaired. Quoting the Pentecost story in Acts 2 and the famous words from Isaiah 43:18-18 about God doing a new thing, I gave some personal examples of “Aha!” moments where familiar things became brand new for me. But on my mind the entire time writing my article was a perfect example from what is happening in our church today. (If you didn’t’ get the chance, you can read the entire article HERE.
The example that was on my mind was the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada. Since early on in our inception as a distinct movement in the Christian tradition, those of us in the Stone-Campbell movement have been drawn together as a whole body, whether as the International Convention, the National Convention of the Churches of Christ, the General Assembly, the National Convocation, the Biennial Assembly of Obra Hispana or NAPAD’s Biennial Convocation, or other large events that bring us together as a whole, we have felt the need to hear the voices, learn the perspectives, share the wisdom, and build community across the breadth and depth of our faith tradition.
A very large part of this need to gather is due to our polity and theology, both how we feel God has called us to organize ourselves and how we interpret scripture in regard to how we exist as church. For us, when Jesus says, “Wherever two or three are gathered…” it is an explicit call to gather together as one body. When we proclaim, “the priesthood of all believers,” we understand that this must be embodied communally and cannot be done in isolation. From the beginning we knew that the church is most whole, most vibrant, most likely to fulfill Christ’s mandate “that they may be one” when we come together to do the work and share the witness and feel the love of Christ in community.
But we also know that our vision of coming together as the entire church has not always been realized fully or appreciated completely. My very first General Assembly of the Christian Church I attended was in 1979 in St. Louis recorded an attendance of 8,179 persons. As a young high school student I was in awe at the coming together of so many people who shared the same faith commitments – or most of them – as did I. Previous Assemblies had as many as 10,500! And yet the most recent General Assembly last summer in Memphis hosted only 2,121 attendees and, while still a phenomenal experience for me and filled with wisdom, grace, inspiration, and community, it was noticeably smaller than ever before.
There are lots of reasons why our gatherings are leaner, and I could address (and have) this in detail. But what I want to share here is that the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is in a time of reimagination, or to use the biblical language from Isaiah, a period where we are perceiving things differently. Thanks to the hard and wise leadership of our General Minister and President, the Rev. Theresa Hord Owens, and the dedication and hard work of a host of gifted leaders across the life of the church, we have been engaged in a “Covenant Project” to take something we are familiar with, perhaps too comfortably so, and try to perceive it in new ways for a new day. The General Assembly meeting in Louisville, Kentucky in 2023 voted to make some substantial changes in both the shape and purpose of the General Board of the church as well as the General Assembly. The ramifications from those votes are being rolled out carefully, and this summer we will experience a signature piece of the reimagining of the church in the online General Assembly July 10-111. You can read all about the entire process here: https://disciples.org/covenant-project/
What has become clear to me as the effects of these changes begin to be processed in the Regional Church and Local Congregations is that we have to be extremely careful not to interpret what is happening as simply logistical and practical or, as some have misinterpreted, solely a sad necessity of the decline of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and other mainline Protestant denominations. It is neither, although there are certainly practical implications in both.
What the Covenant Project is doing is calling the church to understand there is an urgent and essential need for us to work together collectively differently and to meet as a whole church in new ways. This is a direct and covenantal response to God calling us to “do a new thing” and to “perceive it” with as much faith as we possibly can.
In just over a month we will gather entirely on-line for the first time in our history as a movement through the use of technology. This is monumental and has radically faithful implications for the Stone-Campbell movement. It will only be a dramatic statement of faith, however, if we allow for it to be. Here are some “new things” that will become real if we embrace the changes:
- Because there will be no costs for travel, lodging, and meals this will be the most financially equitable gathering in our history. This fulfills the mandate from Jesus in Matthew 4:19, “Come, follow me!”
- Because every single congregation will have three delegates, in addition to all ordained and commissioned clergy, this will be the most representative gathering in our history. This fulfills the promise of Isaiah 56 that we will be a house of prayer “for all people.”
- Because there is no geographical location for this General Assembly, this will be the most united gathering in our history. This fulfills the hope of the Apostle in Ephesians 5:6 of “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.”
- Because we are giving the option of attending the General Assembly individually on our laptops, desktops, tablets, or even phones using the audio-visual options best for our needs OR gathering with others at a central location like a church, this will be the most accessible gathering in our history. This fulfills the call in Romans 12:13 to share with those in need and practice hospitality.
Are there still some obstacles to overcome and some bugs to be worked out? Of course. But those should not overshadow the exciting and innovative way we are attempting to be church in a new way for a new day!
We have included with this newsletter a sheet outlining a number of important details to help you and your congregation connect with the larger body that is the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) at our General Assembly July 10-11 online. Please check out this document and explore the options. If your church administrator or pastor can access ALEX to register your delegates, great. But if they cannot, please just contact me and I can very easily add your delegates to your church record. All we need is a full name and the email address they will use to log on.
And you don’t have to be a delegate to attend! Anyone can register for the General Assembly. Find out more here: https://disciples.org/2026-general-assembly-beyond-love-surpassing/ And if your congregation wants to be a site for a gathering, please contact me directly.
I do hope you are willing to put on the glasses of faith and look at what is happening in our church through the lens of faithful creativity and authentic responsiveness to God’s call to us to “do a new thing.” If we choose to, who knows what God will have in store for us next!
Faithfully Yours,
Allen