CHAPTER 1

Shall We Gather at the River?

I have to make a confession at the very start: I love congregations. I find themendlessly fascinating and continually significant. Being in them, leading them,learning about them, consulting with them—all have been at the center of mylife and ministry. Congregations are communities in which people are transformedin their faith and life. The Spirit of God is at work in them—in their richhistories, present mission dynamics, and future possibilities for service. Godis in their midst. Congregations are at the heart and center of the mission ofGod's church.

There are over three hundred thousand local communities of faith in the UnitedStates, approximately seventy-four hundred of them congregations of theEpiscopal Church. These faith communities are found in every sort of setting,and each one is unique in its identity. People engage God and the practices ofChristian faith in ongoing and significant ways within their congregations.These local communities of faith generate profound and imaginative mission bothhere and around the world. Yet congregations are also complex entities. They canexperience vitality, strength, and growth. Conversely, they can experiencechallenge, weakness, and decline. Congregations require leadership, clarity ofpurpose, and vision for the future. Their life cannot be left unexamined andtheir present and future require strategy and action.

This book is written for congregations—their members and their leaders—andfor people who care about congregations and their effective mission. It includesan assessment of congregational life and a theological reflection forcongregational mission and transformation. It describes the characteristics andattributes of strong and vital congregations, and offers up spiritual practicesthat enhance the lives of individual believers and congregations themselves.

This book also recognizes that congregations cannot be transformed apart fromtheir sense of mission, which is an even more essential focus, topic, andreality for the church at this time. By "mission" I mean the primarypurpose, work, and call of God and of the church. God's mission is thecontinuing purpose of God in redeeming and restoring all humanity and, indeed,the whole universe. The church's mission is the manifestation of God'smission in a particular time, place, and context. Local congregations reflectGod's mission, and they live out this broader mission in their own settingswith their own identity, values, and priorities.

we begin with water

To engage the mission of God's church, we begin with congregations in theirmission. To reflect on their character and mission, we begin with water. We diveinto the powerful waters of baptism which flow in and through localcongregations. We negotiate the fast-moving waters of change that are all aroundus in our contemporary context and world. Here begins my story of congregationallife and mission, in the waters of God's grace and love.

I served one particular congregation for many years and learned a great dealabout God and gospel in that community of faith as we prayed, proclaimed,served, learned, and reached out together. There are many stories to be told,but one is especially appropriate in thinking about the life, mission, andidentity of that congregation.

It is the story of worship on a glorious Sunday morning. The morning was brightand beautiful, but its brightness and beauty came from something more than thesun in the sky and the lush autumn day. It was the brightness of Christian faithand hope and the beauty of God's people gathered for prayer and proclamation.

This was a celebration of Holy Baptism, and what a celebration it was. Children,adults, black, white, offspring of long-time church members as well as peoplefor whom church life was a new experience gathered to be showered with God'sabundant grace and love, to be renewed and transformed in life, to be giftedwith the powerful, playful Spirit of God, and to be enrolled in the expressionof faith in which God would be joined to them in this life and in the life tocome. There was not a great deal of water, but there was enough ... asufficiency of water to flow with the purpose and power of God. There was enoughwater to transform and change their lives forever.

This congregation was answering the question raised in a beloved AfricanAmerican spiritual, "Shall we gather at the river?" We sang this song inprocession to the font that morning. More importantly, we answered the questionraised in the singing, "Yes, well gather at the river, the beautiful, thebeautiful river...." We were affirming and affirmative about what God was doing inthe waters of baptism as we gathered at the beautiful river of God's love andgrace.

Christian congregations gather at the river frequently and do this baptismalaction regularly. They welcome people into the household of God and, in sodoing, they proclaim the identity of Christian people individually andcorporately. Individuals are "marked as Christ's own forever." They belongto Christ and are enfolded in Christ's love. They are made citizens of God'skingdom and members of God's church. Their identity is one that includesgenerosity, proclamation, service, forgiveness, compassion, justice, andrespect.

The same is true for the community of faith. Its identity is also shaped andproclaimed in the action of Holy Baptism. Through this action, the Christiancommunity is identified as a community of proclamation, service, andreconciliation. It is a community of invitation and hospitality at its verycore. Thus, it is a community of mission. We can actually see the mission of thechurch as we look into the waters of baptism. And we can see that we are to be achurch of mission, a church of purpose, a church that lives out its baptismalidentity day by day.

"We thank you, Father, for the waters of Baptism. In it we are buried withChrist in his death. By it we share in his resurrection. Through it we arereborn by the Holy Spirit" (BCP 306). What powerful waters they are! What ariver of grace it is. "Shall we gather at the river?" It is a question forpeople of faith and their congregations. Congregations exist to be baptismalcommunities gathered around God's word and purpose. They are empowered byGod's Spirit to embody and engage God's mission in the world. The waters ofgrace continue to flow.

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