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A Letter From Sharon E. Watkins January 18, 2008 . . . I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live . . .
"Choose life!" exhorts Moses as the people prepare to cross out of the wilderness into the promised land. "Choose life!" was my appeal to Disciples through the State of the Church presentation at General Assembly. "Choose life!" The words echo still through my mind as we move into a new year of ministry together. Our forward progress is determined in part by our past. For nearly 200 years, we Disciples have lived out of a fundamental spiritual truth: in Christ Jesus we are one - for the sake of the world. For nearly ten years we have declared that our mission is "to be and to share the good news of Jesus Christ . . . from our doorsteps to the end of the earth." Today, one description of our particular Disciples way of being and sharing that good news is: "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." In a broken and hurting world, we choose life! Choosing life is part attitude. It's prayerfully focusing on God's blessings; it's deciding to live according to God's will. Choosing life is also part action. It involves caring for the body. For individuals, this means careful attention to disciplines of diet, exercise, Sabbath rest. For a church, caring for the body, in part, means careful attention to the disciplines of covenant by which we are related first to God and then to each other. It means shaping up the corporate body for the mission at hand. Nearly two years ago, the General Board asked me to develop a ministry plan that would reduce our infrastructure in order to enhance our mission. Since then, I've been traveling across the United States and Canada, listening to congregational pastors and other leaders. I've been consulting with the 21st Century Vision Team, two moderator teams, and various configurations of general and regional ministry executives. Some principles are beginning to emerge - principles on which to build a healthy body of Disciples for today. These principles have to do with organizing ourselves to strengthen congregations for mission. We will do this by expecting our mission priorities to guide our work, by becoming flexible enough that resources follow the Spirit's leading, and by living into our increasing diversity with grace and joy. In the coming months, as we move through General Board and other opportunities to consult with the church, you will begin to hear about elements of a new ministry plan. These principles will address organizational issues blocking our forward movement in mission. They will be based on our emerging clarity about our mission priorities. Now is the time to get organized - time to choose life by shaping up the corporate Body we call the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ.) In a time of fragmentation and brokenness in so many parts of the world, we who claim Christian unity as our core, need to embody the very wholeness that we proclaim as God's desire for the world. We need to clarify what it means to live in covenant with each other. Most of all, we need to move forward in mission. I look forward to moving ahead in mission with you during this period. It is a great time to be church! Grace and Peace,
Sharon E. Watkins
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