It’s been about six months since the Leadership Journal article that Greg and I wrote was published. If you haven’t read it yet, you might want to read it and then check out these follow-up posts to it.
Anti-Megachurch?
New Sign Coming
One of the things the article did was let a bunch of people in on what’s going on at Garnett. I’ve had a number of people ask how things are going. Up until the article was published, I was hesitant to talk about Garnett stuff on this blog because it was so painful. Now that the conversation has gone public I’m going to try to keep you updated on our progress.
One of the things I want to do is try to keep telling the story in as honest a way as possible. Too often, the only transition stories that get told are the ones that are told in hindsight after the corner has been turned. Stories told in hindsight tend to be more tidy than those told in real time. There is a risk in doing this I suppose, and I may not be able to pull it off without causing unnecessary anxiety for my Garnett readers. If that’s the case,then I may not be able to follow through with my intentions. There may be a reason why transition stories are usually told after the fact and I’m about to find out why.
The Event Center has been up and running in a formal kind of way since the first of the year. A number of new events have been scheduled and a number community groups are using the facility on a regular basis. It’s been cool to see partnerships form with schools and service organizations. The synergy generated by these partnerships is beginning to build and I predict that major surprises (the good kind) are in store for us. I expect us to have opportunities to participate in a some big events or initiatives that are going to make a huge impact in our neighborhood. What kind of opportunities? I have no idea and I could be wrong. I guess it’s just a hunch.
From the church side, we’re still getting used to the idea that we no longer meet in a church building, but that instead we meet in an Event Center. The transition has gone much better than I had anticipated and the church seems to be supportive of the move we’ve made. I’m not sure other people from other churches understand why we’re doing what we’re doing, but I’ll save some of those stories for later.
Telling Stories, Asking Questions, Learning Lessons
I appreciate you continuing the story, it was the article in the journal that lead me to your site. Glad to see you are trying to be missional.
http://www.matthewsblog.waynesborochurchofchrist.org
I like all the change. It is dangerous to let time go by without changing. Perhaps this transition is a bit painful, like you said, but I think that we are pulling through remarkably. Thanks for all your hard work. -Ali
Wade,
I drive by the event center every day on my way home from my congregation’s church building and one of my neighbors is a former member of Garnett Church. It’s been intruiguing listening to your story. I think you’re doing some good things. I know the encouragement isn’t always there so I wanted to tell you to keep up the good work. Thanks for sharing with us during the transition instead of waiting until the end.
Wade,
I have learned so much just by cherry picking your worth reading list. Thanks for being willing to share and teach others.
I am catching up on your blogs from the last several weeks and thought I would comment on this one. As a Garnett “partner” for a long time, the recent transitions have been difficult. I have chosen to trust God over my emotions and let him carry me through. My personal view is that we still meet in a church building that is being used as an event center. I agree that our past needs to be that, our past. However, not all of the past was fruitless and I hope we can continue the good. The goal is the same, people reached, people healed, God glorified.