This weekend we had the annual meeting of the state setting of our denomination, the United Church of Christ. We vote on the annual budget and pass resolutions and other generally innocuous stuff.

However, our conference minister, Kent Siladi's address was fantastic. It drew us out of and above the level of discourse that is usually heard in denominational (not just ours, but any!) gatherings. He spoke about the core values of our conference, which are solid. And he spoke of our calling as churches, to be transformational communites:


I believe that the Florida Conference exists not to encourage maintenance and survival but rather to be a witness to transformation and common ministry and outreach. To be a Christian means to have a life transforming encounter with the Gospel. Transformation allows us to connect our faith to our daily lives and to work for God’s vision of justice and peace. The early Christian church was filled with the stories of God’s transforming power. People became disciples not because of what they read in the Bible, but because of what they experienced in Christian community. I believe Kirk Hadaway has it right when he observes that a church is called to be an “incarnational community”. Hadaway says, “The Church as incarnational community seeks to embody Christ’s mission by proclaiming the realm of God is here – and by
living in it. To do this we must grow disciples, and in order to grow we must be open to change, to transformation.” (C. Kirk Hadaway, Behold I Do a New Thing, Pilgrim Press, 2001)