By

Rob Weber

This Book is the text for the Visioning (Branding) group in the St. Pete district as part of our effort to be ready for the fall charge conferences and the identity decisions our conference is asking of us as part of the Transformation Process. It is a good read for church leadership (our churches have bought two cases so far) and for United Methodists interested in transformation and use of media in that most of the world’s industry, education institutions, governments, and advocacy groups seek transformation thru vision and identity expression (Branding is not just a logo. It is the expression of who we are and who we are not in such a way as to gather consensus and buy in from within and without).

The book is based on the quadrilateral. Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience form the outline (along with visual arts) for expressing the identity, story, past, present and therefore future of the congregation.

It uses media in the most appropriate method for churches. It is written expressly for churches interested in transformation through stating their vision and storytelling.

Most importantly, it expresses a mindset and urges a methodology that will bring along the "past oriented" people into surveying the present demographics of the community as part of the process. The future vision is then based on "our story" of what is revered and held as sacred. That is kept as present reality is digested. From that sacred combination of past and present (still "our" story) comes the marching orders of what we "have always been" continuing into the "what we are now" and the "therefore where God is calling us as we continue our story).

In viewing past, present, and future as a continuance of our same and special congregational story (the present is just the current chapter, the book doesn’t change, the chapters are different), and in setting the context of that unique congregational story in the Whole story of God’s people, all the people are brought along together. There is less risk of division of the "past" oriented and "future" oriented people not being on the same page.

The book has two helpful workbooks associated with it and a disk. They are:

ReConnecting (A Wesleyan Guide for the Renewal of Our Congregation) Participant’s Guide and Daily Journal

ReConnecting (A Wesleyan Guide for the Renewal of Our Congregation) Leader’s Guide with DVD