Preface
The Rev. Dr. Susan K. Smith showed her Outreach Seminar audience why she rates as one of the top preacher/communicators in America. At the 46th NACCC Annual Meeting, she walked the aisle in talk-show fashion. Her speech ranged from soothing to strident. She explained anecdotally the meaning of outreach. She exposed the inadequacy of our outreach but still inspired, even empowered, us to reach out to the spiritually deprived. Some highlights:
-JBP
Definitions
Among definitions of outreach volunteered by the audience:
Practicing Outreach
You must understand the people you are trying to reach. A hungry person does not want to hear about Jesus. He or she wants food. It helps if you have “been there” and recognize the burdens you also carry. You can be a living example and demonstrate that “God loves you, not because of who you are, but in spite of who you are.”
If you don’t love yourself, you won’t believe that another person could love you. You can’t believe that God could love you either. Our whole demeanor changes when we reach out to God, forgetting who we are and giving ourselves to God’s will. Then we can change lives, including our own.
Outreach
and the Church
Sunday worship is the most segregated hour of the week. Everyone dresses the same, sits in the same pew, follows the same routine. We panic inside when a new person shows up at church … a white person in a black church, or a black person in a white church. We inwardly think, “What’s he/she doing here? Why doesn’t she/he go to their own church?”
Dr. Smith told of the white woman who visited her black church, kept coming even when the welcome was not overly cordial, went to Bible Class, joined the choir, and finally gained acceptance. Evidence of belonging came when Dr. Smith’s young son suggested to her, “Mom, you have to teach her how to move like the rest of the choir.”
Sin and Outreach
Sin is “comprised of the silly things we do which separate us from God.” We all are guilty. Sin shows you are a human being. Growing up is doing some “dumb stuff.” It doesn’t mean you are a bad person.
She told of her days in a Catholic college where she was required to go to confession, but was confounded because she did not have anything to confess. She finally decided she was guilty of the sin of pride.
The Rev. Dr. Susan K. Smith conducted a seminar entitled “How to Determine the Most Effective Outreach for Your Church and Your Community.” She started the Advent United Church of Christ, Columbus, Ohio, with six members. It now has more than 700.