Theme/Overview
Disciples Assembly planners approached the 2009 General Assembly with awareness of the newly stated Disciples identity:
"We are Disciples of Christ, a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world. As part of the one body of Christ, we welcome all to the Lord's Table as God has welcomed us."
This assembly is designed to help us embody that self-understanding.
Through our theme, "for the Healing of the Nations" (Rev. 22:1-5), we address our hope to participate in God's healing, and ultimate redemption of the world. In worship we focus on our journey back to God's created wholeness. In an Assembly-wide conversation we focus on our future together as "a movement for wholeness." Then, through our closing All-Assembly Festival and communion service we extend our witness. Inviting guests from the "fragmented world" -- in Indianapolis and beyond -- who seek companionship for their faith journey, we will make it clear that Christ invites all to the Table of Blessing and Hope.
Pray Now and Without Ceasing
In preparation for the Assembly, General Minister and President Sharon Watkins invites Disciples to "pray now and without ceasing" for God's leading in this momentous gathering of Disciples. In events and planning sessions leading up to Assembly, hand-written prayers have been shared on hand-shaped papers, and delivered back to the Disciples Center. There they will become part of the website, posted in random fashion on the opening General Assembly web page. Look for this feature to be available on or before November 3, 2008.
To share your prayers, write to: generalassembly@ogmp.disciples.org with "Prayers" in the subject line.
Worship
General Assembly worship moves Disciples through the self-understanding of our created goodness (Gen. 2) to our need for repentance and forgiveness when we walk away from the goodness that bathes our creation (Gen. 3). Understanding anew our call to wholeness, we share in Jesus' pray that we may be one, "that the world may believe," (John 17). Refreshed by God's call on our lives, we consider our own baptism and the baptism of the Holy Spirit as empowerment to live lives – to act in ways – worthy of our calling (Acts 2). On our final day together, a Sunday, we move into the Indianapolis area's houses of worship for reflection on the day when God's imagination for creation restores us to wholeness (Rev. 22).
Then, in celebration of God's care and call for all creation, we gather for a closing concert and communion service on Sunday afternoon, inviting the entire Indianapolis metropolitan area community – especially those who seek companionship for their faith journey. There we spread the Lord's Table one more time together and "welcome all... as God has welcomed us."
This year's worship experiences feature an all-Disciples line up of preachers to bring the Good News of God's redemptive love to the Disciples Assembly. They are:
- Cynthia Hale, Sr. Pastor, Ray of Hope Christian Church, Atlanta, Ga.
- Doug Skinner, Northway Christian Church, Dallas, Texas
- Sharon E. Watkins, General Minister and President, Indianapolis, Ind.
- Frank Thomas, Sr. Pastor, Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, Memphis, Tenn.
To read more about the General Assembly speakers and their biographies, visit the Speakers page.
Worship also features the musical direction of accomplished actor and musician, Bill Thomas, one of the ministers of Church of the Valley Christian Church in Van Nuys, Ca. Joining him again is a worship band of Disciples musicians, with surprise appearances by gifted special musical artists.
Wholeness Café
As the Assembly begins, the gathering not only turns to God, but to one another in a process designed to help all the Assembly Disciples share what it means to be part of a "movement for wholeness in a fragmented world." Seated at hundreds of small tables, Disciples engage in face-to-face conversation designed to harvest the wisdom of the entire Assembly as together we shape our future as a faith community.
Read more about the Wholeness Café.
Worshipful Work/Business
A Wednesday afternoon business session begins the official work of the Assembly in Indianapolis, with General Minister and President Sharon E. Watkins delivering the State of the Church Address as one of the first reports of the Assembly.
Ayanna Johnson, 1st Vice Moderator, opens the worshipful work of our business sessions, leading us in prayer and reflection to start each day. Each morning a different speaker will follow her reflection, and address what it means to be a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world.
Thursday morning, the speaker is Rick Lowery, First Testament scholar and interim dean at Lexington Theological Seminary. He will unpack the pair of scriptures upon which our theme is based. (Gen. 2:4bff and Rev. 22:1-5)
Friday morning, plans are being finalized to identify a speaker who addresses the community, and how we might find wholeness in ways that make our neighborhoods and communities healthier and more sustainable.
Saturday morning brings Jose Morales, to the podium. Morales, a Chicago-area pastor and young adult who came to Disciples from a Pentecostal background, will remind Disciples that the early passion of the Disciples revival movement still burns in our hearts ready to burst into revival flame again.
At the close of each business session, Moderator Newell Williams, noted Disciples historian and President of Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas, provides a brief history presentation to the gathering, in recognition of the 200th Anniversary of one of the Disciples founding documents, The Declaration and Address of Thomas Campbell.
To Be Determined:
In addition, the Administrative Committee and General Board will recommend topics for discussion based on Sense-of-the-Assembly resolutions that require more conversation than the typical 12-minute floor debate will allow.