The Gathered & Scattered Church — Why we need both.
The Gathered & Scattered Church — Why we need both.
Jim Collins in his book Good To Great makes the observation that successful and impactful companies all have CEOs with this one thing in common… they were humble & willful, modest & fearless. He goes on to compare these leaders to President Lincoln who was known for his personal humility & willful strength to lead in perilous times.
Collins concludes that leading organizations know how to embrace the tension of “the power of the &” — AND YET, so often we think in terms of either/or, when in reality we need the &.
Suzii Paynter, the Executive Director of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship highlighted this concept as her “rally cry” at the 2015 general assembly in Dallas.
The ampersand—&, which stands for “and”—is a great symbol for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Although the ampersand is ancient, it is “a symbol for our time, extolling the use of “and” to join people and ideas and meanings and concepts. “There is tremendous power in ‘and’—to join together, to congregate, to be ‘and,’” she insisted. The idea of combining and joining is so persistent, “and” has been imbedded in the DNA of CBF a long time.
The power of &…
Diet & exercise, peanut butter & jelly, freedom & responsibility, give & take, saving & spending wisely, helping others & taking time for yourself. So many things are better with the & in the middle instead of the OR.
What about this one — the gathered & scattered church?
My church experience has been that often well meaning Christians tend to gravitate toward an either/or environment. Gathering to worship and learn and experience deep koinonia OR scattering, to love our neighbors and serve others and engage in Gospel conversations.
So my question is this — can the church live in the beautiful tension of being the gathered and scattered church?— Gathering to worship and learn and experience deep koinonia AND then scattering, to love our neighbors and serve others and engage in Gospel conversations.
That’s my hope & prayer & heart. I hope it is yours as well!
OK, off to the gym to face the brutal facts & harness the power of hope for a smaller waist line in my future. Now that’s the power of the & at work….
Be blessed,
Jim
