Note: This is the third in a series of blog posts describing lessons learned during our time with DeAmon Harges and Mike Mather of Broadway United Methodist Church in Indianapolis. To read the first post, a reflection on Acts 3:1-10 and the importance of “looking intently,” click here. To read the second post, a reflection on discovering neighborhood vitality, click here. Mike Mather loves to tell this story. You can see it on his face. During our visit to Indianapolis, as we finished eating breakfast in one of the many community rooms at Broadway United Methodist Church, Mike, the pastor of the church, shared the story of how Broadway changed into the congregation it is today. It’s a long a
Note: This is the second in a series of blog posts describing lessons learned during our time with DeAmon Harges and Mike Mather of Broadway United Methodist Church in Indianapolis. To read the first post, a reflection on Acts 3:1-10 and the importance of “looking intently,” click here. In the United States, we often look at inner-city neighborhoods and assign various negative labels to them – labels like “poor,” “crime-riddled,” “distressed.” We see abandoned properties and graffiti and overgrown lots and decide, with the best of intentions, that what these neighborhoods need is revitalization. At Broadway United Methodist Church, they’re quick to point out one thing about revitalization: H
