Three Things from Verge

I’ve been to a lot of conferences. Enough to have developed some cynicism about their long-term impact on what I do. I can honestly say that the Verge Conference was one of the very best I’ve ever been to. Most likely it was a combination of the content presented and the questions I brought with me. I’m in a different place in my ministry than I have been in years past, so it changed the way I heard what was presented at Verge.

Overall, what I experienced at Verge affirmed the direction the Fulcrum Community is headed. It seems that more and more church leaders are moving away from “church as we know it” and looking for a more relational, sustainable, and enjoyable way of gathering a community of Christ-followers. I heard several mega-church pastors almost lamenting what they’ve helped create as they aren’t sure it’s really increasing the number of disciples in the world. It’s one thing to gather a crowd with a fancy church show and then ask people to volunteer to help keep the show rolling. It’s another thing altogether to make disciples of Christ who see themselves as missionaries with a ministry all their own.

I came away with three big nuggets that are a combination of what I heard at Verge and what we’re learning at Fulcrum. As we continue to clarify our mission and strategy, these may prove to be helpful to us. At the very least, they may help us put some flesh on the ideas of community, outreach, and discipleship.

Essentially, we can accomplish our mission by: throwing parties, doing good in the community, and taking Jesus seriously.

1. Throw Parties: Dinner parties, block parties, special event parties, birthday parties, cookouts, poker nights, and anything else we can think of. Parties create inclusive community, but only when we keep inviting our friends and neighbors to join us. When our parties cease to have outsiders present, it’s over.

2. Do Good in the Community: Beginning with our neighborhoods, we look for opportunities to serve our neighbors. We start small and close. From there, we expand our ministry throughout the city to larger and larger projects.

3. Take Jesus seriously: He’s the point of all this. We listen to him and do what he says. We read his word and let it start messing with us. We invite our friends to the same. We all learn to follow Jesus together.

What would a community of faith look like if it spent most of it’s energy on these three things?