It was my privilege to spend a couple of days this week at the “Bold Like Jesus: Crossing Borders” conference in Greensboro, NC. This is the third gathering of pastors and lay leaders from across North Carolina and is an ecumenical learning opportunity about evangelism hosted by the AME Zion, Lutheran, Episcopal, and Moravian denominations.
I served as one of three presenters, with the focus of my session on “Building Bridges.” There’s much we can learn from Jesus as we bridge connections with neighbors in our communities and there is much to learn from the actual process of bridge building. It was at this intersection that I focused my comments. I was asked to share the material I presented today for use in congregations. It can be downloaded by clicking here: bold-like-jesus-building-bridges-presentation (Note: some pictures have been removed to reduce file size.)
Connecting with the community can be exciting and invigorating but it also requires being ready to step out of our comfort zone and not being afraid of failure. Here’s what I shared as my “Be-Attitudes of Bridge Building”:
- Be prayerful
- Be open to the move of the Holy Spirit
- Be authentic
- Be creative
- Be flexible
- Be willing to fail
- Be okay with being rejected
- Be willing to be uncomfortable
- Be approachable
- Be willing to go beyond the surface
- Be a team player
- Be relevant to your context
- Be willing to keep trying
- Be reminded…you’re not saving your neighbor – Jesus already did
- Be joy-filled!
Go out and build bridges.
Happy connecting! Pastor Tiffany
(Photo source: http://www.bridgerun.com)
Loving God, Living Life, Laughing Lots. 