My name is Tom Chappell Lewis, and I have an agenda. I am a second year divinity student at Duke, and (if all goes according to plan) I will be ordained as a pastor in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship on August 14th, 2011, by Second Baptist Church of Memphis, TN. Still, I have quite a bit on my plate before then. You see, there's a question burning in my mind that I simply have to address this summer.
As I look at the sea of churches across this country and think of all the folks out there who could use a helping hand (spiritually or physically), I wonder how to bring these two worlds together. What can America's churches do to reach out to people on the margins? What is already being done? What still remains to be done?
In short, what should a church really look like in "post-Christian" America?
Over the summer, I will be driving all over the country and attending churches big and small that are answering this question in different ways. Some will be megachurches that have grown exponentially through wildly successful evangelistic efforts. Others will be smaller and mid-size churches that have gone above and beyond to alleviate homelessness and hunger in their local communities. All along the way, I will be taking notes and looking for trends. I will release a schedule of church visits on this page as soon as that is finalized, but in the meantime, I recently did a trial run by visiting two campuses of Summit Church in Durham, NC. My notes from the services are attached. Thanks to Summit for their hospitality! It was a great way to kick off this little adventure!
Peace and Blessings,
Tom
PS-- Did I mention that I'm actually getting class credit for this?
Aww, I was rooting for UMC ordination.
ReplyDeleteps. This is Kate Gregory.
pps. Cool project.
Thanks, Kate! Also, sorry, but the Baptists are still the only ones who will tolerate my particular brand of insanity. Not to mention the whole religious-liberty-soul-competency-Christ-as-the-soul-criterion-for-the-interpretation-of-Scripture thing. I won't be passing through Atlanta during the summer, but I might see you sometime next semester when I'm continuing the research! Hope life's treating you well!
ReplyDeleteDear Tom in 2011,
ReplyDeleteThe Methodists will fund your bar ministry while the Baptists won't. Welcome to the UMC.
Love,
Tom in 2018