I have an appreciation for the Missional Church movement. I’m certainly drawn more towards that model of mission than the attractional model, which I feel turns the Church into an ecclesiastical Wal-Mart. For all my appreciation, however, I’ve never jumped in fully with the movement for a variety of reasons. One of the biggest obstacles is the fact that Central is an established congregation that’s part of a denominational structure – whereas missional Churches tend to be newer and connected to other congregations through way others than denominational ties. Another reason, however, is that the way the Missional Church movement often works out their mission doesn’t resonate with my particular calling or passions. They tend to work to fulfill they physical needs of people, like medical clinics or food pantries, and whatnot. Don’t get me wrong, these ministries are absolutely necessary in the Church – and both myself and Central participate in these types of missional activities. It’s just that I’ve never felt particularly called to take leadership of such endeavors. My gifts and passions always lead me to work with the hearts, souls, and minds of people – which is wonderfully complimentary to meeting the physical needs of people, I feel. The problem is, I’ve never really figured out how to make my particular calling and passion “missional.”

My friends who run “Yes! And…” in Philly certainly do some of what I’m passionate about – they get kids to use both sides of their brain and get them to participate in drama. Homework labs also do something akin to what I’d like to see implemented among Central – they give students some remedial aid who might not otherwise get it. Yet, I don’t have the resources to do what Yes! And.. do, and I’d like to do more than what a homework lab can do – but what?

Well, four things have come together that have helped me start to the process of getting an idea together.

First, the education aid budget has been hugely slashed in NJ, which is leaving local school districts scrambling just to get their core curriculum taught in the schools.

Second, I heard about an educational report that has the USA slipping even further behind the rest of the world in science and math. This is bringing about the usual push to get “more science and math” taught in the schools.

Third, I had a conversation with a parent of a college Junior who is struggling a bit in their classes. During the conversation this parent quoted their child saying, “I don’t know why I don’t do well on the tests, I memorize the study sheets!”

Fourth, I saw this article about the power of deep connections posted on FaceBook by my regional pastor.

These things combined really made me starting thinking that Central’s mission in our town could be the promotion of education through creativity, engagement, and empowerment. With so much pressure being put on teachers to teach to standardized tests, and too few parents who are actively engaged in educating their children, perhaps Central can be a blessing by helping students learn how to think. We can’t solve every problem and, no, not every school student will be willing to be engaged and challenged in the ways I’m thinking – but we can do something which brings willing students to a point where they can go beyond memorization, and into a place where they can actually connect information in ways that surprise even them.

I’ve got a couple of ideas on how we might work something like this out (or at least start), but it’s really just a dream at this point. I would love it if we could help students engage drama, art, local history, and even philosophy in creative ways that demand students engage both sides of their brains. It’s a thought, anyway.