Busy time with the snow and all... digging out from a blanket of snow to digging through a blanket of seminary assignments. We have moved from Valentine’s Day to Ash Wednesday. The ordo of seminary life is approaching harmony once again. This two week sabbatical from blogging has given me time to focus on what Burnt Church should present to the world of internet users. The challenge is do we honestly present what Burnt Church is today or do we put forth the church that the saints of Burnt Church desires to be. And then again, how about the church that God calls out?

Two months before his famous Aldersgate experience in 1738, John Wesley was ready to give up on preaching altogether. He couldn't wrap his mind around the idea of salvation by faith alone, and he told himself, "How can you preach to others if you don't have faith yourself?" His friend Peter Böhler, a Moravian missionary, didn't let Wesley off the hook so easily. When John asked Peter if he should stop preaching, Böhler replied, "By no mean." So Wesley asked, "But what can I preach?" Böhler answered, "Preach faith till you have it; and then, because you have it, you will preach faith." [www.wesleyreport.com]

So we ask, should we profess to be the church we want to be till we are the church we should be? Lynne Baab in her work “Reaching Out in a Networked World” peels back the myth that communication reflects reality. Baab’s specific example was the formulation of mission statements. “Research shows that communication not only reflects reality but it also shapes it.”

With that in mind I believe that as we communicate our perceived identity to others it should reflect who we are, where we are going and most importantly… how the reader can help us reach that identity. With this in mind, I go now to map out our church facebook and website design.

We received a bit of snow this last week. In fact, as I type, there is another ten inches falling on what we already have.

At times God stretches out displaying his absolute power. In can not think of a more loving and tender way than to cover his children with a thick blanket of pure white snow.

We worship an awesome God!

Grace and peace in our Lord.

This has been an important week for this project. I have received the go ahead from the church session to take on these projects. I am now more anxious than ever to get started on the church website and Facebook page. But, with hands poised over the keyboard to get started, I am challenged by the thought “that my focus has been on the wrong goal.” Reluctantly I have to admit that I am guilty of trying to fill the pews instead of working towards heart filled with the Holy Spirit. In Wilkins’ 'Reach: A Team Approach to Evangelism' Scott explains that “this attitude reveals a harvest mentality without any thought of proper cultivation”. With this understanding we need to think of evangelism not as a onetime project, but rather as a continuous process.

In Matthew 28 Jesus instructs us to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” The Frieberg Lexicon translates maqhteusateas to “make a disciple of someone, instruct, cause someone to become a follower”. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon points maqhteusate“to make a disciple; to teach, instruct”.

There was nothing about “build a fine church building and entice the people to gather there by designing fancy web pages”. This remembered mandate redefines my focus, to first the taking of the Good News to the people. And second, to offer further instruction leading those who are searching to the revelation that God is good and that grace is offered through the blood of God the Son.

The result of realizing Christ’s grace is a desire to worship, praise and glorify God. It would be at this time in the journey of the new believer that our congregation may be of interest to them.

My text books have arrived! Well, almost all. Of the seven course texts, two books were already in my own library.

• Reach A Team Approach to Evangelism and Assimilation ,Scott G. Wilkins, (Baker Books: Grand Rapids)
• Projects That Matter, Successful Planning & Evaluation for Religious Organizations, Kathleen A. Cahalan, (Alban Institute)

Four textbooks ordered from Amazon were delivered today.

• Church Marketing 101: Preparing Your Church for Greater Growth, Richard Reising, (Baker Books)
• Reaching Out in a Networked World, Lynne M. Baab, (Alban Institute)
• Thy Kingdom Connected: What the Church Can Learn from Facebook, the Internet, and Other Networks, Dwight Friesen, (Baker Books)

I have added an additional book to the collection. This book offers some direction on what information not to share opening, and the reasons why.

• Healthy Disclosure: Solving Communication Quandaries in Congregations, Kibbie Simmons Ruth & Karen A. McClintock, (Alban Institute)

And… one book is on back order from the Alban Institute.

• Reframing Hope: Vital Ministry in a New Generation, Carl Howard Merritt, (Alban Institute)

Interesting… This is the one book that I ordered directly from the Alban Institute. Not only did they notify me by email that the book is on backorder. The Alban Institute shipped me a packed with UPS that contained but only one slip of paper with the backorder notice. I appreciate great service, however I question how fiscally sound this practice is.

Now the challenge is which work to begin with. I am seriously considering instead of the usual bulling through each book, I may go into the texts with a more thematic approach. Right now I am interested in the theology of this project, trying to see how Christ has called us to this new electronic ministry.

More news tomorrow! I have met with the session of church with the challenge “to go where no church has gone before”. Or at least, a road that this particular church has yet to travel.