Book Review: Impact! Reclaiming the Call of Lay Ministry

Information about the book

Impact! Reclaiming the Call of Lay Ministry  by Kay Kotan and Blake Bradford.  Market Square Books, Knoxville, 2018.  (Cokesbury Link)

Summary

To quote the introduction, "We, the authors, believe in the power of laity in the local churches.  The church likely rises and falls with the missional investment of the laity....Our hope for this resource is to rekindle the spark and set the laity on fire - on fire for Christ....It is our core belief is that a church who demonstrates ministry with IMPACT is a church that has a strong movement for the Christ-centered laity.  This lay movement understands the purpose of the church and what it means to be a fully committee follower of Jesus Christ who transforms the world

Impressions

Overall, I thought it was a good book.  There were several moments of ah-hah and highlighting.  I purchased the book because I'm leading a Certified Lay Ministry course in our conference and thought it would be a help as I prepare a session around the call of the laity.  It didn't provide the material I hoped for, but I do see how it will be applicable to other sessions in our course, including the purpose of the church, worship, intentional discipleship, and relationships.

I am confused that almost the entire Impact focused lay leadership centers around the transition of a new pastor into a United Methodist church - how do accomplish that successfully.  It's excellent material, but it is about 20% of the book, and doesn't seem to relate to the main theme.  I was hoping for something else in a chapter with that name.

I purchased the Kindle version of the book - and this is only a small criticism - but the Kindle version could use formatting and editing.  There are Title words missing in the sections, and its difficult to see where chapters begin.  It didn't impact (haha) my reading of the book, but the manuscript did seem unfinished because of the editing issues.

Posts about Book
Posts on my blog that reference this book can be found here.  

Hospitality

I remember, in 2012, I was involved in the local planning group for the NEJ Conference.  It was held in Charleston, WV.  It was a great experience that took a lot of work, but was fruitful for me, and, I hope, for others.

One of my understandings that changed during the planning and implementation of the Conference was the word Hospitality.  It is so much more than we think it is.  As I was reading Impact! by Kay Kotan and Blake Bradford, I found some pages that talk about hospitality.

1. We mistake hospitality for friendliness.  So often in my church (where I have been a member since 1981) members say that we are very friendly - and they have experienced that.  I believe them when they say it.  However, it took many years for me to feel like I "belonged" to the church where I belonged.  Hospitality involves making room for relationship, not just hellos.  How do we offer people the opportunity to really belong - to develop relationships?
2. We mistake fellowship for friendliness.  Fellowship is an important part of belong to a church family.  When my Sunday school talks about what they value about life in a church, they talk about fellowship, even if they don't call it that.  The problem is that Fellowship is inwardly focused.  It is about the relationships that exist within the congregation.  It is doing life together; it isn't about being welcoming to the stranger.  How do we make room in worship and in the life of the church to demonstrate hospitality to strangers/guests?

What is hospitality?  Bishop Robert Schnase defines it as "the active desire to invite, welcome, receive and care for those who are strangers so that they find a spiritual home and discover for themselves the unending richness of life in Christ.  It describes a genuine love for others who are not yet a part of the faith community."  It is outwardly focused.  (Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations)

How can we intentionally (and it has to be intention) demonstrate hospitality?