Memphis Model

So a last week I was in Memphis over night.

As I was sitting in the hotel room, watching the local news, a story caught my eye.

They were doing a piece on some local churches. Actually on a group of women from several local churches. These women got together and decided that the lines that have existed in Memphis for generations need to come down. So, they formed a little group. Not really so little, around 200 or so at last count.

They came from what they called the large suburban mega-churches, which they said are predominately white and upper middle class, and they came from the small, 20-30 congregations of the inner city churches, mostly lower income and mostly black.

They decided to get together and live life together. They are having lunch meetings. They are have play dates. They are swapping baby sitting. Then something else happened.

The men in these families started to pay attention. Then the Church leaders began to pay attention.

Now they have a very large and very active intercongregational, inter racial group of people.

They women said they looked around and said "Now what?"

So they began to step outside of themselves. Started taking on project in the city. Helping people with their homes. Running errands for people. Serving in all areas of the community before being asked.

Then something else happened. The local government began to notice.

This group of women have impacted some real change in their community. Real change in peoples lives. Real change in God's people.

All because a group of women got together to see if they could do anything to help and get to know some other women they would normally have walked by.

I have been thinking about this a lot since I got home.

The boundary lines and years of aggression and stereotyping these women confronted must have been so very daunting. But they listened. They did as they were asked.

Would I have the courage to do the same?