News and Updates

Watkins Leads Oreon E. Scott Clergy Conference at Christmount
October 12, 2007

General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) the Rev. Dr. Sharon E. Watkins engaged a group of 65 clergy, retired clergy and laity in the three-day Oreon E. Scott Clergy Conference. The conference took place at Christmount Christian Assembly in Black Mountain, N.C., Oct. 8-10. The topic was "A Movement for Wholeness in a Fragmented World: Recasting the Historic Disciples Plea."

In the first session, Dr. Watkins offered the group a working statement being developed by the 21st Century Vision Team of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), which states:

"We are Disciples of Christ, a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world. As part of the one body of Christ, we welcome all to the Lord's Table as Christ has welcomed us."

Watkins reminded the conference participants of the historic threefold Restoration plea: unity, evangelism, and millennialism; and suggested they had been redefined over the generations to now be unity, mission, and justice.

The second session was a rehearsal of the history of restructure. The next session asked the group to think through how we act in living out our theology in the 21st century. The General Minister and President challenged the participants saying, "people should be able to look at church and see signs of God's intention for the world." She also suggested that "bad news is typical of our talk, but does not reflect the reality of our lives. When we offer good things about our church, we're not bragging but we're excited about what God is doing. The reality of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is that lives are being transformed for Christ."

The Tuesday night session took a hard look at the reality of communication and the breakdown of traditional lines of authority and power in the culture of 21st century North America.

The final session on Wednesday morning addressed the implications and issues facing the church as we journey into the future. Watkins encouraged the church in all its actions to practice habits of wholeness.

The 2008 Scott Clergy Conference will be held October 6-8. Visit www.chirstmount.com for more information.

By: Kevin Phipps, Minister, Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ),
Wooster, Ohio
revkevwooster@gmail.com
330-262-4652