Vision for O&A Ministries: You Can Help Build a Church Where All Are Welcome!
Mark Johnston, Executive Director of GLAD’s Open & Affirming Ministry Program, has laid out a vision for the next year of Open & Affirming Ministry.
“I have planted and nurtured a lot of seeds in the past 3 1/2 years, and I have learned a lot about how this process works. It’s now time to ramp up, get more people involved, and reach out to all of our Disciples congregations.”
Here’s what Dr. Johnston has to share about his plans for the next year:
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 3 1/2 years since the GLAD Council called me to be Executive Director of the Open & Affirming Ministry Program. During this time I’ve kept busy, learned much, and supported the growth of welcome and affirmation in many congregations. From the beginning it was clear that one person can’t do everything needed to build a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) where there is no question that all are welcome at the table. It’s time to include motivated, inspired GLAD members into this work.
The Mission of the Open & Affirming Ministry Program is to build a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) that welcomes persons of all gender expressions and sexual orientations to the table of Christ’s communion and to the full life and leadership of the Christian Church.
However, there’s also something I learned from last year’s plans for the Calling All Pastors project. You may remember in some Crossbeams articles that I have the goal of calling every pastor in the denomination. You may have helped me by finding people to make calls or you may have made some phone calls yourself: If so, thank you! I haven’t given up on this project! Yet I have learned that it may be best to start small when the vision is large. This realization on my part is guiding my plans for the next year. I want to ramp up, build up a base of trained and motivated volunteers, and build a team structure that will accomplish our vision.
My vision for the next year?
- Continue the Calling All Pastors project on a region by region basis.
- Develop a group of GLAD members trained to use the Building an Inclusive Church Toolkit.
- Build up a team of people in each region to further the mission of the Open & Affirming Ministry program.
Yes, I can hear you already – but that’s really big! What happened to starting small?
Yes, please, keep reminding me. I always want to do everything all at once! My biggest strength and my greatest fault, I know.
Right now, I’m focusing on finding a few people in each region to help with the Calling All Pastors Project. Are you interested? Read more about the project below and contact me at mark@gladalliance.org.
The second task I’m focusing on is scheduling trainings in the Building an Inclusive Church Toolkit. I’m going to encourage you to attend a training and learn these tools: Graceful Engagement, Storytelling, One-to-One Conversations, Framing. These tools are useful not only in an O&A process but in many an important discussion in church, at work, in life. Are you interested? Read more below and keep an eye on Crossbeams for trainings that will be scheduled this year. Ready to commit? There will be a one day training offered as a pre-Assembly event in at Central Christian Church in Indianapolis on Saturday, July 8. Read more about the Building an Inclusive Church Toolkit below and contact me at mark@gladalliance.org.
The third task I’m keeping in mind is to build up regional teams to support the work of Open & Affirming Ministries. I hope these teams will fill with people inspired by their work on the Calling All Pastors Project and people who have been trained in the Building an Inclusive Church Toolkit. I also know that others will be needed on these teams with a variety of skills and commitments. Interested? Read more about the project below and contact me at mark@gladalliance.org.
Calling All Pastors Project
The goal of the Calling All Pastors Project is to contact every pastor in the Christian Church and offer the resources provided by the GLAD Alliance. I have training materials and scripts for the calls – just a few pages, but everything you need to be successful in these calls. I also have a simple web form for reporting back the content of the calls. And remember: Pastors are nice people and easy to talk to! And there is no intent in this project to engage a discussion with pastors who disagree with our vision.
What I’m saying is that everything is ready to go. I am looking for volunteers in each region to make phone calls. Can you make 10 phone calls for us? Perhaps your Sunday School class or a group of friends in your church would be interested in making calls? Contact me at mark@gladalliance.org.
Building an Inclusive Church Toolkit Trainings
The Building an Inclusive Church Toolkit has been developed over 20 years by an ecumenical group of welcoming church programs including GLAD. It is full of graceful engagement, community building, and listening. Notice what’s missing: argument and debate. Those trained in using the Toolkit find it highly valuable. Indeed, a pastor recently wrote me and noted that “[The Building an Inclusive Church Toolkit Training] was life-changing for our team members who attended, and these were folk who were already supporters of the Open & Affirming process and LGBTQ issues.” Interested? Keep an eye on Crossbeams for information about trainings. Plan on attending the training at our General Assembly Pre-Assembly Event in July. Or contact me at mark@gladalliance.org and let’s make sure a training is scheduled that’s convenient for you.
Regional Teams
Ok, this one I know I need to take slowly. I hope to find people inspired to advance the vision of Open & Affirming Ministry in each of our regions. Might that be you? I invite you to get involved in the Calling All Pastors Project. I invite you to attend a Building an Inclusive Church Toolkit Training. Or perhaps you’ve already attended a training and you’ve been using it in your congregation. Be in touch with me at mark@gladalliance.org and let’s begin a conversation about what a GLAD Open & Affirming Ministry Team might look like in your region.
And, able to join a team, keeping us on your prayer list, being a member of GLAD with your financial contribution, I so appreciate the support of all Disciples who dream of a day when no one has to wonder if they are welcome in one of our Christian Churches. It is an honor and privilege to work towards this vision with you.