Inspiring Rural/Small Town Resiliency

This past week, I found through some sources (which I name as I go along) some very inspiring stories about the resiliency of rural and small town America during this time of our history. They moved me and illustrated the growing truth (and perhaps reminded us of an old truth) that the rural and small town environment can, does, and still does, take care of one another in humanizing and exciting ways.

The first story is of my own county.

Last week my friend Grace Housholder, who is a member of our local paper’s, The News Sun, editorial board, posted a link on Facebook from The Christian Science Monitor about volunteer efforts here in Noble County in light of our economic situation with an unemployment rate of nearly 18%. (and just short of neighboring Elkhart County that leads the nation in unemployment).

 The stories told in the article reveal a community that has risen up to care. Some of the names in the article are familiar ones to me (one is a member of my congregation) and the grade school mentioned is where my wife works and my kids have been educated. Our county is a resilient county with many caring people, something that rural residents have known all along, and I think that our nation is going to be reminded of in the days and weeks ahead. You can find the article here: http://features.csmonitor.com/economyrebuild/2009/03/16/amid-18-percent-unemployment-indiana-county-finds-unity/

(The Community Kitchen mentioned in the article begins today here in Kendallville.)

A “rising Sun” The Sopris Sun that is… A fellow “twitterer,” Jack Schultz (@jackschultz) is the source for the second story that moved me. It is a LA Times story about a small Colorado community, Carbondale, whose only local paper, The Carbondale Valley Journal, shut down and left its community and readership without its source of vital information.

As a result, the original owner and founder of the paper, Rebecca Young, sent out an e-mail to asking if anyone was upset by the closure. They were.

So, a group of volunteers, led by Young, organized and started the The Sopris Sun, a free weekly paper that is “named after a snow-capped peak towering over the Roaring Fork Valley.” The first issue was distributed on February 12, 2009 with a run of 3,000 copies. While there is a paid editor and reporter on staff, several volunteers help with ad sales and the paper’s production.

What caught my eye (and my heart) was the statement of Colin Laird, a board member and the head of the local community Development Corporation, “Every town should have a park, a library and a newspaper.”

With all of the talk (and good talk) of volunteerism by President Obama and his administration, here is, in my opinion, true volunteerism at its finest. You can read the story at: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-volunteer-newspaper23-2009mar23,0,699154.story

The rural community, a new incubator for entrepreneurship?

The third and final story comes from that wonderful tool, Google Alert, which I learned about from another twitterer, Pastor Bob aka @RuralRealities on twitter. I am able to receive e-mails at a frequency that I select (once a day) about various subjects that are of interest to me. One is “rural development.”

In today’s in-box there was a link to an article from the Omaha World-Herald. The article’s title really says it all. “Researcher sees increase in rural self-employment.”

The researcher is Randy Cantrell, a development specialist for NU Rural Initiative. He believes that self-employment accounts for “18 to 30 percent of jobs and virtually all job growth” in rural counties. He wants to be sure and will be factoring in self-employment in a new survey to be sent to rural areas.

As I read the article, I was reminded of the resourcefulness of people who can re-invent themselves in a new line of work no matter where they live. I am hoping that this kind of economic growth will take place in my county so that employment stability can take place. You can read the article here: http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10592959

Again, I am very impressed by the strength of character and compassion that I read (and see) in these various rural and small town communities.

‘Neighborhood Discipleship;’ Thoughts on “Land and Community;” and something for the funny bone….

Cooperative Ministry or ‘Neighborhood Discipleship’

For the past 6 or 7 years, I have worked my colleague and mentor Dr Arthur Kelly in leading what has been called Christian Education Roundtable Discussions during the North American Convention of the Church of God in Anderson, Indiana each June.

Because of my work here in Noble County and Kendallville and my reading in rural and small town ministry, I began to think about how cooperative ministry is and can become in the rural and small town environment and not just in North America but around the world.

A few weeks ago, we sat for brunch at a restaurant along Interstate 69 and fleshed out the goals for this year’s gathering dealing with cooperative ministry or, as it has come to be known, ‘Neighborhood Discipleship.’ Arthur told me a couple of inspiring and challenging stories of churches, including his own, who are ‘listening’ to their communities and providing programs of care and support to them.

I am interested in hearing from you about stories in rural and small towns where churches have partnered with other churches and/or community organization to provide not just important spiritual care but also important and necessary practical care to their communities.

Please post your stories to the comment section of this post and I look forward to reading them!

Land and Community: A vital Rural Resource

Speaking of reading, if you are interested in rural ministry, I suggest that you look for a late Canadian researcher, sociologist, and writer named R. Alex Sim who wrote a book that I am now reading called Land and Community.

I started reading chapter 3, “The Ways and Means of Community Life,” last night and found one section, ‘Vertical and Horizontal Organizations,’ very enlightening. Sim defines a vertical organization as a “purely local group without formal connections with similar groups in other locations,” and horizontal organizations as a “large-scale one that has operations in many localities.” As I continue to read the section, I realized that Sim put in writing what I have believed for several years, i.e., that a rural/small town setting is a truly different organization setting for horizontal organizations, (including Christian denominations) when compared to an urban and suburban setting.

He then illustrates his perspective with a recap of his 1963 feasibility study of Lanark County, Ontario on behalf of the National Council of the YMCA‘s of Canada. I will not go into detail here but I will say that what he shares has shown to me another perspective regarding the challenges for rural and small town environments when it comes to quality of life issues as well as unemployment issues.

In the next section, he addresses the various ‘service’ professions and includes a place for the clergy and the church. I can’t wait to read it!

On a lighter note…

Through Twitter (@jjkane) I have connected with a wonderful blog about rural ministry called Rural Route Church. (http://ruralchurch.wordpress.com). Mike recently posted a blog that I found very funny and also thought provoking as it highlights some of the burdens of ministry that pastors sometimes break under and churches fail to alleviate in appropriate ways.

What if preachers formed a Union?  Hmmmm…..

Our Union Demands are as follows:

1.  We demand lightweight pulpit furniture.  Really. . . have you guys tried to move that stuff?

2.  We demand that one pew be filled with men who will “amen” at least 7 times during the course of every sermon.

3.  We demand that our congregants be as excited about worshiping God on Sunday as they are about the ball game on Saturday.

4.  We demand that all criticism be directed to someone besides us.  Anybody will do. . . just pick one.

5.  We demand that only one deacon fall asleep during preaching at a time.

6.  We demand that everyone everywhere understand that King James simply authorized an English translation of the Bible.  He didn’t write it.  Seriously, he didn’t.

7.  We demand that all the fat preacher jokes stop.  Well, okay a few of them are pretty funny.

8.  We demand that you please quit referring to our ministry as “hard work” while you snicker under your breath.

9.  We demand that you quit setting your watch alarm to go off at 12:00 every Sunday.

10. This isn’t really a demand, but could you please try to understand that we simply cannot conclude every church service like the Grand Ole’ Opry by singing “May the Circle Be Unbroken”.

If these demands aren’t met in a timely manor we will walk off the job.  Scabs will be heckled and verbally abused if they cross our picket lines.

Here is the link to the site

http://ruralchurch.wordpress.com/2009/02/24/ucw-local-777-united-church-workers/

A catching up potpourri of life and events here in Noble County

Hi everyone! I fully intended to post much sooner but it has been a very busy couple of weeks. This is a big weekend in our household as my oldest is in the local middle school musical this weekend, ‘Teens in Tinseltown.’ So practices have increased along with homework and then you add in my youngest and my wife’s increased responsibilities at work and my pastoral duties… well it is very busy. So today’s post is an update on some things that I have written in past blogs.

Community soup kitchen… Two community soup kitchens have or will be coming on-line this month. The first began a few weeks ago at the Ligonier United Methodist Church in Ligonier and served, according to the News-Sun (our local paper) around 100 people. This is good news. The second will get started next Friday here in Kendallville at Trinity Church, United Methodist and is called ‘The Community Table.’ It is being sponsored by the Noble County United Way and hosted by Trinity. But it has been a community wide effort with input from many. Unemployment remains a problem and has risen to 17% here in Noble County which is the third highest behind Elkhart and Lagrange Counties who are, respectively, to the west and north of us. Now there has been some bright spots including a company out of Ligonier that has turned to making composite covers for certain kinds of rail cars and has reportedly made a deal with a railroad in Minnesota. But we are still hurting here. Even the church I serve has cut our budget and we are having to temporarily borrow some money from one fund to pay some bills.

School district changes… At their meeting on Wednesday night March 11th, the East Noble School board made the decision to close one elementary school, make all elementary schools k-6, and combine all 7th and 8th graders into one building. The vote, I believe, was unanimous. Another part of this plan will include staff cuts at all levels of the district though several retirements and resignations have already been announced and approved by the board. My wife’s position as an instructional assistant is uncertain until around May 1st when notices will be sent to those being laid off.

Hometown Competitiveness… The HTC program here in Noble County is continuing to gain steam as we move toward a formal launch later this month and into early April. The leadership ‘pillar’ of which I am a part has been meeting weekly to develop a survey to administer to a cross section of Noble County residents this spring. We have wrestled with definitions of words like ‘community,’ important concepts like ‘building capacity,’ and how long to make it (we are aim for 12 questions) as well as the type of survey to make. But it has been good work and I believe that a good survey will be coming soon!

Well that’s all for now… back to house cleaning! (Yes, this guy helps clean the house!)

Rural ministry discussion moving: Building Capacity – what does it mean?: executive director search committee experience about to begin.

Rural ministry…

I have enjoyed writing and responding about Rural ministry in this blog but I have decided to move my discussion about it to my other blog, now renamed, ‘Small Town Sermons and Thoughts’ that you can visit at http://jimkane.wordpress.com

Building capacity…

Well, the Noble County Indiana Hometown Competitiveness effort is getting underway and next month will be a flurry of activity with an official launch of the effort around mid-month. The leadership pillar, of which I am a part, is starting to meet weekly and our first effort is the development of a survey to administer to the Noble County community about leadership as it relates to the stated goal of ‘mobilize local leaders and build community civic capacity.’

One of the other pillars has used surveymonkey.com to develop a survey and we will be using it as well to develop ours. As we discussed this stated goal I was drawn to the ‘building capacity’ aspect of the goal.

‘Building capacity’ is something that I have heard quite a bit in the past couple of years but what does it mean and how does it relate to leadership development in the context of building civic capacity and mobilizing leaders? (What about recruiting and developing or, better yet, ‘nurturing’ leaders?)

As I started searching for ideas, thoughts and definitions about capacity building, I came across the Alliance for Nonprofit Management website, allianceonline.org and their thoughts about capacity building. They define, in the words of Ann Philbin, capacity building as “process of developing and strengthening the skills, instincts, abilities, processes and resources that organizations and communities need to survive, adapt, and thrive in the fast-changing world.”

They go on to quote from Deborah Linnell’s work, Evaluation of Capacity Building: Lessons from the Field, that building capacity, “may relate to almost any aspect of its work: improved governance, leadership, mission and strategy, administration (including human resources, financial management, and legal matters), program development and implementation, fundraising and income generation, diversity, partnerships and collaboration, evaluation, advocacy and policy change, marketing, positioning, planning, etc.

“For individuals,” Linnell continues, “capacity building may relate to leadership development, advocacy skills, training/speaking abilities, technical skills, organizing skills, and other areas of personal and professional development.”

As I reflect on these statements, I find a comprehensive set of indicators/descriptors to measure capacity building and to focus my thoughts on potential questions for this survey. And I am interested in these descriptors as it relates to the current state of affairs in our county especially during the current economic downturn and its impact on our county leadership’s, at all levels and in all sectors (government, church, education, social service), ability to not just cope but become pro-active.

Thoughts and ideas regarding building capacity are welcome.

Executive Director search experience… For past two plus years, I have been involved with Drug Free Noble County as chair of the Faith Partner’s Committee. As such, chairing the committee has placed me on the search committee for a new Executive Director. I have lots of questions and thoughts about this process and especially that of building capacity in an almost 20-year-old organization that has been highlighted (and, I believe, honored) at the national level over the years. One important goal for me is that there is some kind of financial capacity developed that will allow DFNC to thrive and grow beyond its capacity limited by only grant money. I would like to see an executive director who can help us develop such a plan.

A Considered Social Media Strategy: Social Media in the Rural Community

I remember way, way back in 1995 standing in front of computer screen with a bunch of people and watching America Online load. Then in 1997, I found out a company named Juno was starting a free e-mail service and I got my first e-mail address.

In 2001, I started searching the Internet for sermon ideas and illustrations and discovered sermoncentral.com to which I have added my sermons for use by fellow pastors and, when requested, sent my PowerPoint slides to them literally from Ireland to India and points in between.

A few years later, I tried to start blogging but nothing good came of it. Then in the summer of 2007, I was invited to join a Facebook group through some work I was doing for the Case Foundation out of Washington, D.C. Then, just last year, I joined MySpace because I was in some wedding pics posted by the couple I had married and then earlier this year I joined LinkedIn.

I also decided last spring to start blogging my sermons and after fits and starts came on line with my sermon blog in December 2008. This blog came on line in the fall of 2008.

Then there is Twitter. I first read of Twitter last year in an issue of Wired magazine and thought I would give it a try. I joined just last month and the rest is history. (Hi, I’m Jim and I am a Twitteraholic!)

I share this brief history with you because I believe that in considering a social media strategy a look back at your personal history with the Internet, which has made social media possible, is a necessary ingredient in considering your social media strategy forward from this point in your life. But, another reason is the issue and need of balance in your life.

This week I posted a note about Social Media and one’s sanity and I did so with the thought of doing a follow up piece about one person’s media strategy and thoughts. This comes as a response to some ‘tweets’ I received linking to some posts and e-books about social media strategies. I am grateful to two fellow ‘Twitterers’ (‘Twiteri?’), Amber Naslund over at altitudebranding.com and Jason Falls at socialmediaexplorer.com, for their posts about making sense of Social Media. Jason posted some comments from David Finch called “The Social Media Trap: What’s the Next Big Thing?” and it got me to thinking about how much social media I use and how much is too much.

I like what he said after ticking off all of the current social media trends and sights, ‘The challenge is how can I maximize not what’s coming, but how can I maximize what I already have.’

He then goes on to offer his ‘7 Ways to Avoid the Social Media Trap’

1. Engage in conversations within the communities you are currently a part of.

2. Revisit social networks that you already have a profile in and see if the community has evolved or grown since you last visited.

3. Don’t run after the “next thing.” If it’s big you’ll find out about it, believe me.

4. Think execution before activation.

5. Simplify and go back to the basics of social media: people first, tools second.

6. See if you can unplug and connect with others face-to-face.

7. Add to your social media toolbox not what everyone has, but only what you will use.

As I read these things, I made a determination to:

1. Get off MySpace since I am not doing anything with it and most of the people I was linked to are now on Facebook.

2. Use Facebook as my primary social media to maintain contact with family, classmates, and friends.

3. Use LinkedIn to improve my professional networking.

4. Use Twitter as an active reflection tool with others in a focused way.

5. Remember that face to face is still very important

6. Limit my time on these things to take care of my primary relationships – family most notably.

7. “Get a life,” as my wife often says, and not be on-line as much as I used to be.

Thanks David and Jason!

Now, as for Amber’s article ‘The Social Media Starter Kit,’ her thoughts are helping me focus on what kinds of tools are out there and what are good for starters. She mentioned two that I use – Tweet Deck for Twitter and wordpress.com that is the host of this blog. I have found both to be very good and easy tools to use.

She also has a couple of e-books available at her site that I have download but not yet read. I plan to review them and share my thoughts at a later date.

These tools and my journey have allowed me to be connected globally in ways that I never imagined. But the challenges and even the ethics, of using these tools are on-going issues as we continue to expand the electronic frontier.

I believe the appropriate and proper use of them can benefit those living in rural and small town settings by allowing one to be connected in some meaningful ways. But have a plan and use your social media is some focused ways so that you are not overwhelmed by it all… and don’t forget to stay connected face to face with significant others in your life!

(For a really interesting take on Twitter go to David Pogue’s article of 9 February in the New York Times, ‘Twitter Is What You Make It.’)

Being a Rural Pastor; Hometown Competitiveness Program

Time magazine published a story about the challenges of rural pastors in their January 29, 2009 issue and it can be found here: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1874843,00.html

I wrote something in my last post about this article but had not read it until last week.

I have been a rural/small town pastor for nearly 8 and 1/2 years now and I came from Grand Rapids, Michigan. I will admit is was hard returning to a smaller community and a rural setting. But, I great up in a rural area outside of Dayton, Ohio so I was not a stranger to rural/small town life.

The challenges are great right now in my community. President Obama has been speaking today in Elkhart, Indiana and Elkhart is an adjacent county to ours, Noble County. They have the highest unemployment rate in Indiana and we are number three. (Lagrange County, to our north, is number 2.)

This is Amish country as well and I heard last night that many Amish families are selling their farms and attempting to move elsewhere to restart because they quit farming and went to work in the many RV factories that are now closed. They are moving to try and buy farm land elsewhere because they cannot afford to stay on their farms here.

In my own congregation (and Kendallville, my town, is primarily industrial) there is job loss and there are some who are ‘on the bubble’ when it comes to staying employed because they do not have orders coming in for the manufactured goods they produce.

So it is a challenging time in our community and congregation right now. However, in contrast (at this point) to the communities featured in the article, our community of 10,000 has many assets that are being utilized to help out during this downturn.

I have grown to love being a pastor here.  Yes, you live closer to people in small towns and things are known very quickly. But, as you listen and respect those you live with (and that includes your parishioners) you gain a great deal. There is a resiliency in people that you come to love and admire.

The article quotes Shannon Jung whose co-written book with Mary Agria, Rural Congregational Studies: A Guide For Good Shepherds, I have reflection on in several posts. I highly recommend it for those interested in serving their rural/small town churches and seeing how integral the church is to rural and small town life.

Hometown Competitveness

Speaking of rural life, the reason for this blog, the Hometown Competitiveness program is starting to take shape.  You can find out more information on this program at http://www.htccommunity.org

I am a part of the leadership pillar and I am looking forward to have my ‘pillarmates’ share their thoughts on this program in the months ahead.

The State of Rural America

One of my favorite blogs, Out of Ur hosted by Christianity Today, has just posted a report from Colin Hansen about the state of affairs in rural America based on a Time magazine report. You can read it here http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2009/02/the_hansen_repo_1.html

It speaks of the brain drain in the rural community and the fact that many our struggle to have teachers and doctors as well as pastors come and serve their population. It paints I believe an honest assessment of rural and small town America. However, though we have an unemployment rate that is 3rd highest in Indiana (over 12%) what I see is a coming together of churches, social service agencies, and local government to address immediate concerns.

What concerns me about the blog is the attitude of some in response saying that rural ministry is a dead-end. I would have said the same thing at one point but after nearly 8 and one-half years in a small town setting, it is a dynamic and challenging setting. And I think that I had come to Kendallville in my 30’s I might have seen it differently. But, as Jung and Agria (and Shannon Jung is quoted in the Time article) have said, many denominations send/appoint older and more mature pastors to rural areas because they are able to deal with the rural/small town environment much better than newly minted clergy. I believe that if good decisions are made in Washington, state capitals, and at the county and local level of government, and if churches make the decision to be missional instead of maintenance oriented, that quality ministry is possible in rural and small town areas. I believe that wherever people are, God is there because God seeks to have a vibrant relationship with each one of us no matter where we live.

On another note, one of my 12 books that will stay in my library is Strengthfinders 2.0. Get it, take the test, and start utilizing your strengths!

Reading Reflections 4: Leadership in the Rural Church and Community; A Rural Take on President Obama’s Inaugural Speech; A renaming of the blog; some more thoughts on being rural and missional

I continue to be impressed and inspired by Jung and Agria’s text: Rural Congregational Studies: A Case for Good Shepherds and especially with chapter 5 on leadership.

Two words define this chapter for me: process and listening. Both are skills and a mindset. I believe that their point that rural ministry requires a patience for process that is accomplished by listening is spot on.

They quote a summary of important qualities/characteristics that rural pastors need to develop and cultivate from a coalition of Iowa pastors. (Jung and Agria, page 93)

a. [help] parishioners understand relationships,

b. [help] them clarify their options

c. [help] them process change.

I have personally experienced these things in my current ministry. Regarding B and C, this has occurred in our relocation efforts. Our church sits on a street corner here in Kendallville and has been at this location throughout its life since it started in the 1940’s. The facility has evolved over the years but elements of the original home building remain.

Not long after I came, I heard from several different persons about the building. So in my annual report at the end of my first year, I suggested they pick 5 people they trust to examine all of the options regarding facilities.

After year one of study, it was narrowed down to either adding on or relocating. After year two of study, an almost 100% vote to relocate was made. That was in September 2003.

Then after an almost 5 year search and several offers, we bought land. Now we are in a process to present an initial design to the congregation for approval and a new capital funds campaign.

It has been, at times, painstakingly slow to me. But, the congregation has strongly embraced the relocation process and are just as excited as I am!

Dear Mr. President,

I appreciated your pointed and visionary inaugural address last week. I think that Dr. King would be please with what we heard. In fact, I heard Dr. King at several points as you spoke.

I listened to it from the perspective of a rural pastor and rural citizen. I was especially listening to how your goals, both economic and, for lack of a better term, ‘community building’ would empower the rural parts of our nation.

At one point you said this, “For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act – not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.”

Mr. President, do not forget that the rural towns and counties of our nation can both benefit and assist in this important goal. We need new roads and bridges; we need to harness the sun and the wind; we need to build partnerships with national and international business because we have great workers here as well; we need to educate and re-train the people in places like Noble County who are losing and have lost their jobs. We have a role to play in the renewal and revitalization of our nation. Don’t forget us.

Mr. President you also said this, “For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus – and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.”

Please remember Mr. President, that rural America is not monochrome but kodachrome. There are people of all faiths and languages in our small towns and rural counties. In our own, I know that there are Latino, Hispanic, and Yemeni as well as black and white. There are conservatives, moderates, and progressives ‘out here’ so please remember that we struggle to be a community for all.

Mr. President, do not forget that rural people are people of hope, faith, and trust in God and in our nation. Keep us in the loop as we move forward under your leadership.

I have renamed the blog, Reflections on and about Rural Life because that is the direction some of my writing has taken. I will continue to report on the work of Hometown Competitiveness here in Noble County but also rural community life as well.

Finally, as I continue to think about being missional, I am reminded of what Jesus said in Luke 4:18 and 19 (New Living Translation)

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

for he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim

that captives will be released,

that the blind will see,

that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors,

¹⁹and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”

This is a missional statement – healing, releasing, redeeming, empowering that focuses on the establishment of the Kingdom of God through the redemptive work of Christ Jesus.

Reading Reflections 4: Leadership in the Rural Church and Community; A Rural Take on President Obama’s Inaugural Speech; A renaming of the blog; some more thoughts on being rural and missional

I continue to be impressed and inspired by Jung and Agria’s text: Rural Congregational Studies: A Case for Good Shepherds and especially with chapter 5 on leadership.

Two words define this chapter for me: process and listening. Both are skills and a mindset. I believe that their point that rural ministry requires a patience for process that is accomplished by listening is spot on.

They quote a summary of important qualities/characteristics that rural pastors need to develop and cultivate from a coalition of Iowa pastors. (Jung and Agria, page 93)

a. [help] parishioners understand relationships,

b. [help] them clarify their options

c. [help] them process change.

I have personally experienced these things in my current ministry. Regarding B and C, this has occurred in our relocation efforts. Our church sits on a street corner here in Kendallville and has been at this location throughout its life since it started in the 1940’s. The facility has evolved over the years but elements of the original home building remain.

Not long after I came, I heard from several different persons about the building. So in my annual report at the end of my first year, I suggested they pick 5 people they trust to examine all of the options regarding facilities.

After year one of study, it was narrowed down to either adding on or relocating. After year two of study, an almost 100% vote to relocate was made. That was in September 2003.

Then after an almost 5 year search and several offers, we bought land. Now we are in a process to present an initial design to the congregation for approval and a new capital funds campaign.

It has been, at times, painstakingly slow to me. But, the congregation has strongly embraced the relocation process and are just as excited as I am!

Dear Mr. President,

I appreciated your pointed and visionary inaugural address last week. I think that Dr. King would be please with what we heard. In fact, I heard Dr. King at several points as you spoke.

I listened to it from the perspective of a rural pastor and rural citizen. I was especially listening to how your goals, both economic and, for lack of a better term, ‘community building’ would empower the rural parts of our nation.

At one point you said this, “For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act – not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.”

Mr. President, do not forget that the rural towns and counties of our nation can both benefit and assist in this important goal. We need new roads and bridges; we need to harness the sun and the wind; we need to build partnerships with national and international business because we have great workers here as well; we need to educate and re-train the people in places like Noble County who are losing and have lost their jobs. We have a role to play in the renewal and revitalization of our nation. Don’t forget us.

Mr. President you also said this, “For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus – and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.”

Please remember Mr. President, that rural America is not monochrome but kodachrome. There are people of all faiths and languages in our small towns and rural counties. In our own, I know that there are Latino, Hispanic, and Yemeni as well as black and white. There are conservatives, moderates, and progressives ‘out here’ so please remember that we struggle to be a community for all.

Mr. President, do not forget that rural people are people of hope, faith, and trust in God and in our nation. Keep us in the loop as we move forward under your leadership.

I have renamed the blog, Reflections on and about Rural Life because that is the direction some of my writing has taken. I will continue to report on the work of Hometown Competitiveness here in Noble County but also rural community life as well.

Finally, as I continue to think about being missional, I am reminded of what Jesus said in Luke 4:18 and 19 (New Living Translation)

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

for he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim

that captives will be released,

that the blind will see,

that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors,

¹⁹and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”

This is a missional statement – healing, releasing, redeeming, empowering that focuses on the establishment of the Kingdom of God through the redemptive work of Christ Jesus.

Tech, Social Media, and the Rural Community

When I was a graduate student at Western Michigan University (GO BRONCOS!) in the early 90′s, one of my profs required us to send him an electronic note from the student computer center. I cannot remember if I was successful or not, but I thought, ‘I’ll never use this!’

That was my introduction to e-mail.

Now, I am a tech junkie (to a degree) and have a Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, and Twitter account. My wife thinks I am nuts. (She is probably right.)

But it is fun and while it has been overwhelming at times, I have been able to reconnect with classmates from High School, College, Seminary, and Grad School plus some of the former church youth group members out of my 13 years in that profession as well as former church members.

I also have posted my sermons at sermoncentral.com since 2001 and have sent my powerpoints to India, Ireland, Brazil, New Zeeland, Libya, and points in between.

Now I am a boomer, a younger boomer, born almost past the halfway point of the ’46-’64 time frame of the boomer boom. I wonder how many of my peers are as connected to this as I am?

I say all of that to say this… much has been written about President Elect Obama’s use of social media in his campaign. (Oh yes, I have even downloaded his podcast via my iTunes software of this laptop.) How is all of this going to help him connect meaningfully with rural communities?

An interesting study on social media done by Deloitte compares the usages of millenials, gen X’ers, boomers, and matures.

http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/article/0,1002,cid%3D156096,00.html

As I continue to process my unfolding work with Hometown Competitiveness here in Noble County, this is going to be an issue I keep looking at and asking about, because I think that it is now a key piece of the puzzle in community development because it is a communication skill and media that will become as common as TV, newspapers, radio, the Internet, and the like.

(Thanks to the folks at Social Citizen via Twitter for letting me know about this study.)

Speaking of Twitter…

I have become aware of a new website called townsync that allows businesses and individuals to post various things for their local community to download on line like coupons and the like. Looking forward to seeing how this works.