One, Issue#2 (Summer 2009)

Beyond These Four Walls

Taking Christ into the Community, a Lent in the Living Room Experience.

by Lisa Wilkins

As I walked into Elliott Hall that January Sunday morning, I thought halfheartedly, “OK, I’ll listen to this speaker with an open mind, open heart.” But to be honest, the premise of Martha Grace Reese’s book Unbinding Your Heart that she would discuss that morning did not seem relevant to me. It didn’t seem like something I or we as a church needed to hear. Nevertheless, Elliott Hall was completely filled. All adult Sunday School classes had been cancelled that morning to encourage everyone to listen to Reese. The reason I was half-hearted and skeptical was simple. I didn’t think my heart needed unbinding in the first place. I’m a reasonably dedicated Christian who makes a good effort to do the right thing. I try to have an open heart and look for opportunities to serve where possible. So, was my heart bound? Did I really need to hear her speak that day? There is always room for improvement, but I skeptically sat down in the back of Elliott Hall with my husband, Clint, and listened closely to see if Reese could make a case for her cause to apply to my life.

Her stories began unfolding as she explained several real-life examples from her Mainline Evangelism Project in which her team closely studied what was working well in more than 1,200 mainline denominational churches today. Good, that certainly piqued my interest; I am intrigued about our changing culture and what that means for our churches. It took a while, but eventually I was moved by her stories about several dying, aging mainline churches – many like we see all around us – that were onto something. The Holy Spirit was stirring in their congregations. They were finding ways to turn their congregations around. And it wasn’t because of a consultant or some impressive minister. Of course, those can be very helpful. But no, it was because the church members were beginning to reach out to their community around them in a very deliberate way. They were also intentionally devoted to prayer in a new way. They were praying very specifically and regularly for God to show them how to grow and thrive. These were true stories, not wishful thinking.

What was most compelling was her conviction that we need to pray more and to listen for the Holy Spirit’s gentle nudges more. And we must change our approach, so we more intentionally reach out to people in our community. Her assertions about the true power of prayer, backed up with real-life examples of answered prayer and wondrous – but not perfect – church transformation seemed believable and possible. Perhaps her recommendations resonated with me, because they got us back to the basics of our faith.

So, she made her case (she was originally trained as a lawyer, after all), thus marking the kick-off to what HPPC calls “Lent in the Living Room.” Following her talk, the Rev. Howard Griffin explained that Lent in the Living Room would be an opportunity to meet once a week for six weeks with other HPPC members in our respective neighborhoods. The church encouraged all members to focus on praying and studying together in neighborhood community groups knowing that “Where two or three come together in My name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20).

The main purpose of Lent in the Living Room is to take the church to the neighborhood. And while HPPC has a long legacy of providing crucial ministries within the church walls, Griffin said, “The ‘if you build it, they will come’ approach can’t be our only mind set. We also have to take the church to the people; we must reach out to people around us.” He explained that the rules have changed. Not everyone grows up in church anymore, so there’s a mission field all around us.

Griffin and Reese agree that in today’s post-modern world, truth is based on one’s perspective, and perspective is based on one’s experience. Today people aren’t as concerned about what happens once they die – heaven vs. hell. Rather they are most concerned with the question: Does Jesus make a difference in my life today?

Griffin emphasized, “This is why as Christians we must learn how to articulate our experiences in the faith. We need to be comfortable explaining how God works in our lives.”

Clint and I signed up that morning. This was exactly what we had been looking for – a chance to create deeper connections at HPPC. What better way to do that than to meet in such a personal way – in someone’s living room. And studying a book about prayer and faith sharing seemed worthwhile.

Turns out, Clint and I were asked to serve as facilitators for Lent in the Living Room, which meant we’d be trained to help lead and facilitate the meetings and discussions each week. We were surprised to be chosen but were reassured that the decision to get us involved was prayerfully considered. We were hesitant to agree, because we have two young children – James who is 3 years old and Caroline who was 13 months old at the time. The most likely time for weekly meetings would be in the evening right around the children’s bedtimes. However, we knew that if we said “yes” to this opportunity to serve, God would help it all work out somehow. We thought surely there would be others with children in our neighborhood in the same situation, and we were right. That meant we offered baby sitters in a special area of our home each week, and we encouraged families to bring their children comfortable in their pajamas.

Because we don’t live in the Park Cities, we were surprised at how many other HPPC members live near us. We were also surprised at the number of unfamiliar faces, reinforcing the fact that with the size of our congregation and the variety of services, it’s easy to miss each other on Sunday mornings.

The Rev. Nelson Bell underscores the importance of small group connections: “Opportunities like Lent in the Living Room help transform one’s church experience, because it provides a better and healthier vision of what it really means to be a member of the body of Christ. Getting plugged into a small group – especially in one’s neighborhood – makes the body of Christ more tangible and real.”

» Page 2: Taking the Church to the Neighborhood: Our Experiences