Good News Florida

As Church United, we grieve the horrific and unspeakable acts of violence that occurred in Parkland today. We are heartbroken, in shock, and mourn with those who are mourning. We cry out with the prophets of old and the voices of today: “How long, O Lord, how long?” We often find it hard to know exactly how to respond as people of faith to tragedies like this. Words seem to fall short of describing the pain we feel for our community this evening. Broward County is our home. Not only do we worship here, but we live here, work here, and send our children to school here. Its pain is our pain. We stand united as a faith community with our first responders, teachers, city leaders, and fellow residents affected by this tragedy. We are praying for you. We love you, and we are here to serve you. To our Broward County Mayor, School Board members, superintendent of schools, and fellow city officials, we commend you for your leadership. To our first responders, we are thankful for your bravery. To our teachers, thank you for your selflessness and sacrifice. Please know that we are here for you. We pledge to work shoulder-to-shoulder with you to ensure that love is greater than evil and that peace in the midst of violence is found. As we grieve, may we also remember that our hope lies in the Prince of Peace. As we pray, let us ask the God of all comfort to gently remind us all that He is near, that He is present, and that His love is greater. If there is anythingmore we can do to be of immediate help, please let us know. On behalf of Church United and with our deepest sympathies, we stand with you. Mercy Fund For those who would like to contribute to the needs of the victims of this tragic event, Church United has set up an assistance fund through the National Christian Foundation. http://bit.ly/MercyFund CHURCH UNITED 12 MARCH 2018 Good News • South Florida Edition Three catalytic questions • What is the LOSTNESS of my city? • What is the PAIN of my city? • What is the BROKENNESS of my city? No one church or ministry, no matter how large, can make a dent in the lostness, pain, and brokenness of a city or a region on their own. In churches — and I don’t mean large churches only—we tend to want to concentrate on what WE are doing. Sometimes we can even come to believe that our church or our ministry is the only one out there doing good. But if we become aware of the extent to which our communities have been damaged, we realize that this is a job bigger than any of us. We start asking new questions: questions about how we could have greater impact. If the church is going to positively affect, and even transform our communities, we’re going to need to make a fundamental shift from our EGO systems to a King- dom ECO system. We have to change our way of thinking and doing. Much of the church’s engagement in the community in the past has focused on benevolence, not really transformation. By transformation we mean shifting the needle in the spiritual, social and sys- temic (cultural) dimensions of city. Transformation will not happen unless we harness the collective capacity of the Kingdom. Shared outcomes vs shared activities The tendency we see inmany unity movements is shared activity without shared goals or outcomes. Churches and leaders might be willing to work together in a show of church-to-church bridge-building — and that’s a good thing — but it’s only more activity if they’re not consciously working toward the same goals and outcomes. Defining shared outcomes empowers collaborative action by the churches in communities. Collaborative sharing in mission does not require congregations to make long-term organizational commitments to one another in activity, but rather to the shared outcome. Each role player can determine their contributions and activities within the framework of their own unique convictions. Although the approach to ac- tions might differ, all are working together to achieve the same outcome. What will it take to create a prolonged and sustainable unity movement within the Church that would transform whole regions for the Kingdom? We suggest focusing on a simple but comprehensive framework, which would include spiritual, social, cultural objectives, goals and outcomes for the city. Think of your city as if it were a person, and ask yourself, “How could we more effectively minister to this entity?” This could be formulated by simply asking and answering the following three questions. • What is the LOSTNESS of my city? • What is the PAIN of my city? • What is the BROKENNESS of my city? The threefold challenge to Christ followers • A spiritual challenge: Owning the lostness of your community. Estimate the number or percentage of unsaved people in your region/ or the evangelical presence, and see them as the group you’re dedicated to reaching. • A social challenge: Own the pain of your region. In what ways are people hurting in your area? For many, the breakdown of family, with all the social implications this brings, will be their primary focus. • A systemic (cultural) challenge: Own the brokenness of your region. What are the things that are broken in your area? Here, we contend with insti- tutional components of society that define the way we do life. These constitute the cultural dynamic of the region. Education. The government. The justice system. Busi- ness.Arts andMedia. What do these areas represent and what causes misalignment with Kingdom life and represents brokenness in the city? These spheres, when func- tioning well, form the basis of a healthy community. Let us continue to seek the peace of our city. This is the work that we as God’s people are called to do. Toward the end of His life, Jesus prayed this to His Father: “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4, NIV). Alan Platt is the leader of Doxa Deo and City Changers Movement and also plays a support role to Church United South Florida Alan Platt Church United South Florida Church Unity – Where do we go from here? Church United ReleasedThis Statement Following the Tragic Events in Parkland