The Church of the Reconciler

The following is a summary of my experience at the Church of the Reconciler. As part of a seminary class I chose a place to do mission work. I hate to admit, this was my first experience in this setting. I thank God for the experience for it has changed me and allowed me realize how important mission is for the church. Without missions, the Church is just a building where the Body of Christ is doing nothing. Be in action! Be in Mission!


http://www.churchofthereconciler.org/


The Kingdom of God! What does the Kingdom of God really mean, is it theory or is reality or is it a personal perception of how the world will be upon the return of Christ. What is our duty as Christians within the context of the Kingdom of God? As I begin to discuss my Kingdom project I thought it was necessary to begin with the aforementioned questions and statements. As they are what came to mind as I thought about this topic. I will not attempt at this point to answer my own self imposed questions, but those questions are imperative to understanding one’s call, whatever that call may be in the making of Disciples for Jesus Christ.

When I first read the assignment, I thought to myself, what I will do. I grew up in a middle class family and went to middle class church and up until this point figured I would pastor a middle class church and deal with people mostly like me. In reality, I was and have been only working and worshiping within my comfort zone. To serve Christ and to do his will, I have to, as well as other persons in vocational ministry, step outside the comfort zone of the Church walls. We can’t go wrong outside the Church as we have Christ on our side for comfort, and guidance no matter the situation. I was still scared to a point of how I would respond to this project and what I would do.

After some thought and checking out options, I chose to work at the Church of the Reconciler (COR). The COR is “a multicultural, multiracial United Methodist congregation” which believes "God shows no partiality." (Acts 10:34.)[1] “Church of the Reconciler's special task is equipping laity for the ministry of reconciliation so that we may be "sent into the world as Jesus was sent" (John 20:21)[2]. Why did I choose this venue for my Kingdom Project, so I could step outside my comfort zone and learn to overcome any personal fears I may have had in order to bring Christ to others and to open my heart and my mind to all of God’s people?
My first day at the COR began around 7:00am on March 29, 2009. I met the Senior Pastor, Kevin Higgs at the entrance to the Church. We greeted each other and went straight to work setting up the musical instruments for the band, which consist of Kevin and homeless members of the church. Each week the equipment has to be packed and unpacked and secured in a metal cage to prevent it from being stolen.

A Sunday school class from my Church (none of them whom I knew but recognized as our church is about 2400 members) showed up around 8:30 am to distribute breakfast to the homeless people who congregate in the fellowship hall to be served breakfast before the service. I assisted the Sunday school class unload their vehicles with the breakfast items and pass them out to the people in attendance. I observed after just a brief period of time the Body of Christ in action and the United Methodist Church connectional system in play.

The worship service was one of a contemporary service was well laid out and organized, yet different from the traditional Methodist Worship service I was so used to and love. The topic of mission permeated the message, even though I was there to help, my faith in the mission of the church and my own calling were positively affected in a way that I had not considered and yet, do not have enough time to discuss in this brief summary of my Kingdom project. Newbigin states that “mission involves learning as well as teaching, receiving as well as giving.”[3] (139) I certainly learned from this experience as I was giving my own time and volunteering to assist the COR I learned of Gods grace and confirmed the need for the church universal to be in mission.

The COR serves communion each and every Sunday as people from many faiths and denominations attend, but the commonality of most Christian faiths is the act of Holy Communion. Leslie Newbigin noted in his book The Open Secret “the nature of the church’s mission, is clearly this: in every situation the church must call all people- oppressors and oppressed alike-to that and continually renewed in the Eucharist.”[4]
The COR gets that and truly understands how Holy Communion is a way to bring all of us together to share in that Holy Mystery.

After the service, I had an opportunity to interact, listen to and talk about Christ with some of the members and listen to their stories. At the end of the day they are people just like me and have aspirations and goals and are in need of God’s saving and abundant Grace. One member actually came up to me and Rachel Martin, the associate pastor and asked us to pray with him. How awesome an experience that was and how moving an experience to know that the Holy Spirit was amongst us as we all are active members of the Kingdom of God.

My second and third Sundays were similar in nature. The majority of the work I did was helping to set up the church for worship service. After arriving at the church around 7:00 am, it took approximately an hour to set up. I then had some limited time to walk around and socialize with the members, before handing out breakfast which is usually brought in by others churches in the community. This socialization of course is unique compared to a traditional church setting. Some people want to talk, others don’t, but you have to be open to what happens.

The COR is truly a mission church filling a need in downtown Birmingham. My experience has touched me in a way I never imagined possible. The reading we have done and all of the class discussions came to life in this missional setting. I truly experienced the “the leaving of one’s comfort zone, sacrifice, hard work, the possibility of persecution, endurance and putting others first” of which was discussed by Frost and Hirsch. [5] Unlike many of my classmates, I have never preached before. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, this class and my experience at the COR has inspired me to write my first sermon. The pastor at the COR has also invited me back to preach. How exciting and unexpected during this Kingdom Project and so early in both seminary and the UMC candidacy process to be asked to preach.

The Kingdom of God from my own contextual perspective, of which I learned not only in class but through the time and efforts of this kingdom project, is that the Kingdom of God is the here and now, the future and the past all working as one to fulfill his will and to bring about the New Jerusalem. We, the church, as the Body of Christ must seek out to do his will, to make Disciples of Jesus Christ while in mission and outside the church walls. We must seek to be incarnational in nature as noted in the book, The Shaping of Things to Come. Our duty as Christians within the context of the Kingdom of God is to fulfill the Great Commission and to break out of the church as we know it and be in mission.

I praise God for this experience and for having a class which required me to step outside my comfort zone. I have a new zeal and understanding now of the needs of people and the need for the church to serve those needs, both physical and spiritual.



[1] http://www.churchofthereconciler.org/
[2] http://www.churchofthereconciler.org/
[3] Newbigin, Lesslie The Open Secret, Grand Rapids MI: William B Eerdmans Publishing Company
[4]Newbigin, Lesslie The Open Secret, Grand Rapids MI: William B Eerdmans Publishing Company
[5] Frost, Michael and Hirsch, Alan, The Shaping of Thing to Come: Innovation and Mission For the 21st Century Chruch (Peabody Massachusetts, Hendrickson Publishing 2003) 51