| PMC and Crossing the Bar Click here to return to the Church Innovations web site. Each year our church council selects a book to read and discuss throughout the calendar year. It may be a book on leadership development in general, or it may pertain to the goals and objectives that we have set in place for the year in terms of evangelism, or stewardship or hospitality, etc. This year, being the final phase of our PMC process, we were drawn to the newly published book , “Crossing the Bar,” by James Johnson. Although I’m not sure whether its early attraction was based on its content or title! In any event each monthly council meeting provides a “PMC” time in which three areas are addressed: 1) Dwelling in the Word, 2) Discussion of “Crossing the Bar” and 3) updates on the local missional church process. We found that the book can be divided into manageable sections, typically three chapters at a time and discussed as a group. Each month a new facilitator volunteers to lead the discussion asking for sections that grabbed the readers as well as using guided questions that are drawn up by the various facilitators. However, what we found in the early days of discussing the book was that many council members had already finished the book, claiming they just couldn’t put it down! In reality, while we were thrilled that we found a book that grabbed our leaders, this also presents an issue when discussing the assigned readings. We had to enforce the “no telling what happens in the end!” rule. While we have not completed the book study, conversation around the book has been extremely enlightening and engaging. Perhaps after some time of working on defining what the missional church is and what our congregation is specifically called to do, this book of stories puts it into perspective for our church leadership. “Crossing the Bar” has lent great discussion and opened folks eyes to a deeper understanding of the missional church. It is also true that if this book was available to us early on in the process, it may have jump started our understanding of what the missional church is and ability to articulate it sooner than later. Beginning this fall, our leadership team will be leading an adult forum on Sunday mornings through the book. One of our objectives for 2012 is to introduce the book into our small group ministries. We highly recommend “Crossing the Bar” as a book that will help you put names on the faces of the missional church! Thanks Jim Johnson for telling your stories and to Church Innovations for making it possible for us to read them! Blessed reading! Libbie Reinking is the Diaconal Minister at St. Thomas/Holy Spirit Lutheran Church in St. Louis, MO. |
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