Reflections on the state of the church

by Verity A. Jones

Last week, I was invited by the Christian Church Foundation (CCF) of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) to speak to a gathering of development officers (fundraisers) in the church at their annual Disciples Development Conference. The location -- sunny Tampa, Florida --sweetened the pot. It's been very cold and wet in Indianapolis this winter.

I was asked to address the topic: The state of the church and current trends. I figured the good folks at CCF asked me to do this because, as someone both inside and outside of the denomination, they thought I might have more freedom to say some things than others. I don't know, but they gave me freedom to say what I thought, so I did.

Afterward, a number of people asked me for a copy of my remarks, and wondered if I might post it on the DisciplesWorld website or publish it in the magazine. But a speech like this isn't really newsworthy (for online or print news) and it's not really a feature article. So I inquired with the real News Muse, Rebecca Woods, news editor of DisciplesWorld magazine.

Now, Rebecca (and her family members!) have been trying to get me to start blogging for months (something I have been reluctant to do, the reason for which may be the topic of another blog). So when I asked her what I should do, Rebecca said, "Well, Verity! This is perfect for a blog!"

So here I go. My first blog entry is really just a link to a speech I gave about the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) entitled, The state of the church and current trends. But at least I'm getting started.