Last night, in our desire to broaden our circle of fellowship to include more diversity, Meredith and I found our way to a Q Commons event hosted by For Charlotte at The Church at Charlotte. I’m still processing what we heard, and wanted to share some of my takeaways with you. They aren’t in any particular order, just transferred from my scribbled notes.
- Our culture, having embraced secularization, pluralization and privatization , is now reaping a loss of morals, meaning and unity.
- There is an immense affordable housing crisis in Charlotte. If the need froze in place where it is today, it would take over 80 years at the current rate of development to satisfy it. But the need isn’t frozen, it’s increasing.
- The average person in need of affordable housing in Charlotte is working multiple jobs trying to make ends meet.
- Fellow Christians outside of this crisis, we need to “let their crisis be our crisis.”
- When we do, there’ll be no time for forums and conferences because we’ll all be working so hard on behalf of our neighbors.
- We must take the image of God in every person seriously and be a friend to those we encounter every day.
- The question to ask is What can I do to help, not What can someone else do. We can’t continue to outsource love for our neighbors.
- We need to branch out from our Bible studies into Bible doings.
- The key to it all is empathy. Do we care about those who are hurting?
- Abortion won’t be stopped by winning elections but by winning the argument and working to serve the vulnerable in our communities.
- Breaking down dividing walls is central to the gospel, and the church is the only organization in the world with the power to show true unity.
Some of the organizations represented or mentioned:
- Housing Advisory Board
- Charlotte Family Housing
- Beds for Kids
- Movement Mortgage
- Urban Ministry Center
- For Charlotte
- Crisis Assistance Ministry
- My Faith Votes
Also, past Q Commons sessions are available on Right Now Media. If you haven’t gotten your free subscription through the church yet, email me at matthewbroadway@gmail.com.
-Matt
