Let’s say that building the church is like building a house.
The family needs to choose a floorplan. But before we talk about floorplans, the family should talk about two things: 1) Is the foundation strong enough to build on? And 2) what are the family’s future plans? (For example, does the adult child plan on continuing to live there?)
After this, the family can talk about the pros and cons of different floor plans. But it’s better to think about these things before building on a faulty foundation, or building a structure the family will outgrow in five years.
Similarly, the main goal of the Transition/Assessment Team (TAT) is to recommend what kind of structure (“floorplan”) to live in. Do we want to have three separate rooms with three separate pastors (as before)? Or do we want to knock down the walls and have one big room? Or do we need something else?
Phase 1: Can we be one church?
But before we jump to “floorplan” (structure), we should reexamine our “foundation” (theology and practices). How aligned are we? Can we bridge over our fault lines in theology and practice, or would it be wiser to build separately?
Phase 2: Should we be one church?
After we examine our “foundation,” we can talk about our future hopes, dreams, and fears, and see what kind of “floorplan” (structure) might be most helpful.
Phase 3: How should we do it?
Then we can look at next steps. After we select a “floorplan,” what kind of next steps should we take?