Intentional Interim

I am in the process of field work for training as an Intentional Interim.  The idea is the interim period when a church is without a pastor is a unique time for self-examination, refinement of mission, handling brokenness and being intentional about the direction of the future.

Such is also the case with “interim” moments in our lives.  Some of those interim moments are imposed upon us by job changes, relationship issues, health matters, life passages and a host of other dynamics.  Some of them we control and some we don’t.  Always, however, there is the opportunity to be intentional about the way we handle change and interim periods in our lives.

It should come as no surprise that people chose moments of crisis or great change (often “interim” moments) to reconnect with church and deepen their spiritual moorings.  Interim moments may also be mined for mission and ministry options that are swept away by routine outside those interim periods.

I looked for a biblical reference to shed light on the interim period.  I found it in none other than Jesus himself.  Jesus’ ministry began and ended in Judea.  But one of the turning points of his life (There were 4, I think including baptism, Transfiguration and Gethsemane) came when early on he withdrew (intentionally) from Judea and spent the next number of months in Galilee.  There in Galilee Jesus’ public ministry took its shape, complete with miracles which had their start in Cana of Galilee.  The early formation of those disciples began in Galilee.  The Teacher found his voice in the Sermon on the Mount, also in Galilee.  The Great Galilean Ministry of Jesus was an Intentional Interim.

Wait...That's The Church!

    “But, wait!”  I can hear you say it.  “Isn’t all that the role of the local church?”
    And you’re right … sometimes.  In the best of times and in the best of churches people really do identify the needs around them, pray them through, experience calls to do something unique and creative and faith-filled.  Mission is engaged and acknowledged and the church and the people become missional.
    But the fact is, these are not the best of times.  And the fact is most churches are focused on maintaining what has always been going on … at the expense of what might be new or innovative.
    It’s not that a mission cohort would take the place of the local church.  Never could. Never will.  But it just may be an important addition to the existing mission incubator we call the local church.
    You don’t have to be a systems thinker to see the potential impact on the local church in a community that is blessed of the Lord to have a missions cohort.  Entrepreneurial Christians focused on bringing Christ to bear upon their community can’t help but bring new sparks of life to the church - especially if they are active members and leaders in one or more of those local churches.

Mission Incubator

Across the country entrepreneurial incubator sites and organizations are springing up to assist people in launching new businesses.  Sometimes they have commercial kitchens with them which can be rented by the hour and people trained in all the regulations and business requirements of the food business.  In Candler NC is Advantage West, the Blue Ridge Entrepreneurial Council and Blue Ridge Food Ventures.  The commercial kitchen idea has been copied in Burgaw NC where the town’s historic depot has been converted, and in Warsaw NC where Sprunt Community College has developed the site.

I see the need to have the same kind of entrepreneurial incubator environment for mission projects.  Something close is offered through conference centers.  North Carolina Baptist Men have “Mission Camps” at Shelby and Red Springs.  But even these are not quite what I have in mind.  In all these cases established programs are promoted and pursued. But what I have in mind is a place where people with a unique vision can come and find practical help in bringing it to reality.

Kinston Cohort Leaders Chosen

I am pleased to announce the filling of the Cohort Leaders position in Kinston NC.  Henry and Carol Ann Davis are a strong Christian couple who came to Kinston less than a year ago and have been living in a rented home that did not meet their needs. 

With some special financing efforts the huge house on Highland Avenue is now under contract for their purchase.  They’re exactly the family this house cries out for - a total of 8 in their family. Carol Ann is a stay-at-home Mom.

Now they have consented to serve as the Cohort Leaders in Kinston and will be helping identify the mission projects the Lord already has in mind for us to undertake in Kinston and the surrounding areas.