BLOG SERIES: The RE REsearch REview
If you want to buy a particular house, you create a pros/cons sheet and list them all out. If you want to join a denomination, you do the same thing; but instead of calling them pros and cons, we call them benefits and shortcomings. So, what about ECO? We know a lot about their theology and their methodology, their mission and vision, their strategy and hopes. It’s all pretty cool. But what about the benefits for us? To answer that, here’s a script with three readers. Enjoy. It’s truly beneficial.
Ten ECO Benefits
Reader 1: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine — ten! The ten ECO Benefits.
Reader 2: The ten ECO Benefits.
Reader 1: Number one: It’s egalitarian
Reader 2: A former member said: “Being in a congregation where I knew I could never serve as an elder made me feel like my voice and my story were less worthy of being heard.” Let me just say it: We never want anyone to feel that way here ever again.
Reader 3: Being egalitarian is a big deal and a big deal for all of us.
Reader 1: Number 2: Presbytery: Presbytery will help our church.
Reader 2: At ECO, presbyteries are not just business meetings or judicial courts. Instead, presbytery is a resource to help churches flourish and make an impact on their neighborhoods.
Reader 3: Sounds like presbytery is now a really big plus.
Reader 1: Number 3: Resources: ECO has resources to help our church.
Reader 2: Here are some of the resources that ECO offers to us: Becoming A Flourishing Church video course, Church Health Assessment, Helping Churches in Transition network, 360 Discipleship Assessment, Coaching, Mentored Ministry, and a Pastoral Search and Transition Guide — just to name a few.
Reader 3: Resources to help us – to help us grow.
Reader 1: Number 4: Missions. ECO empowers us in all of our mission endeavors.
Reader 2: ECO has partnered with experienced mission agencies who will help us discover global partners, make missionary connections, send our members on short term trips, and contribute to special needs. But we are also free to continue supporting our missionaries and to advancing God’s kingdom in ways that are uniquely us.
Reader 3: ECO empowers us for missions; to give, send and go.
Reader 1: Number 5: The National Gathering is inspiring.
Reader 2: The National Gathering is designed for church leaders and for you. Its goal is to empower God’s people for ministry, encourage God’s people to grow, and to connect God’s people with one another. One pastor said: “It’s like a family reunion that you actually want to go to! I always leave encouraged.”
Reader 3: The National Gathering is a place to go and to get spiritually fed.
Reader 1: Number 6: ECO’s focus is on discipleship.
Reader 2: ECO’s goal is to empower churches to make disciples of Jesus so that we will embody our faith every day; whether that be at work, at school, at home, or wherever.
Reader 3: See, ECO values a “livable theology;” and not just a theology for the head.
Reader 1: Number 7: ECO’s Essential Tenets are the Gospel.
Reader 2: In ECO, the essential tenets for membership are mere Christianity. God, sin, salvation. The Bible is God’s Word. God is a trinity. Jesus is the incarnate Son of God who died for our sins and rose again so that we could have eternal life. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the universal church, the forgiveness of sin and the life everlasting. And we believe we are called to love God with all our heart and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We believe we come to Christ through faith alone by grace alone for the glory of God alone.
Reader 3: Essential Tenets, no big deal; they’re just what we confess each week.
Reader 1: Number 8: ECO fits our church.
Reader 2: We looked at lots of denominations. Some, we felt, would be a step backwards. Some were lateral moves that, in the long run, wouldn’t really help us. And some were a step too far requiring all sorts of changes. But ECO fits us. But because it is a step, it still challenges us to grow so that we can be all that God has called us to be.
Reader 3: ECO fits, and that’s good news, but reaching our potential is what we should seek.
Reader 1: Number 9: ECO has its own seminary, but trusts all good seminaries.
Reader 2: ECO has its own online seminary that provides rigorous academics, a strong mentorship, and constant integration into actual ministry settings. But ECO also accepts graduates from all good seminaries. But the focus is always on equipping pastors how to minister in the church.
Reader 3: Knowing seminary facts, but not how to minister; that is a real disaster.
Reader 1: Number 10: ECO will help us find a new pastor.
Reader 2: There’s a national shortage of pastors, but ECO gives us the clearest and the best path to find our next pastor. That’s no guarantee, but ECO gives us our greatest opportunity to find someone who will lead us into the future.
Reader 3: ECO offers the best and easiest path to finding a new pastor.
Reader 1: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine — ten.
Reader 2: These are the ten ECO benefits.
Reader 3:
I was skeptical—I had some doubt,
But now I have ten reasons to let it out and shout.
And if it is not too, too late,
Maybe I should just reiterate.
Being egalitarian is huge ad huge for all of us.
And it sounds like presbytery is now a really big plus.
ECO has Resources to help us grow.
And it empowers us for missions; to give, send and go.
The National Gathering is a place to go and to get fed.
See, ECO values a “livable theology;” not just for the head.
Essential Tenets, no big deal; they’re just what we confess each week.
And ECO fits, and that’s good news, but reaching our potential is what we seek.
Knowing things, but not how to minister, is a real disaster
But ECO offers us the best path to finding a new pastor.
Reader 1: The ten ECO benefits. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine — ten
Reader 3: Amen and amen!
