This post was previously titled “Digital Disciples Charlotte Meetup,” but that is changed as this is not a Digitial Disciples event, but Charlotte area Digital Disciples are invited to attend and connect. This post has been updated to reflect that change ~ Antoine

We mentioned on Twitter yesterday that an update for Digital Disciples Charlotte was coming, and now we’ve got the details to pass along.

Gabe (founder of Digital Disciples) and his wife are visiting Charlotte, and have relayed that Digital Disciples in the Charlotte area are invited to come out to the Charlotte Creatives Meetup and Lunch. The details for this are as follows:

Date: Friday May 27
Time: Noon
Place: Warehouse 242

Please note, you have to RSVP as seating and resources are limited. Please find the remainder details as well as the link to RSVP at Eventbrite.

Apologies to those who might not be able to make it out because of the time. But, do at least note your interest on the Meetup site so that we can let you know of future meetups.

In Reference to Digital Disciples Charlotte

It has been a long time since the last time we’ve come together. Looking forward to connecting with Gabe and Warehouse 242, hoping also this can spur us and the Body of Christ in Charlotte into better serving one another.

Working dates for the next couple of meetings as well with the summer here. If you have suggestions, use the Meetup site to suggest and we can go from there.

I was reading some information recently about some evangelistic engagements happening in various parts of the world, and lots of these are being started with the mindset of using the Gospel as the leg to stand on that will improve the social conditions of various areas. Many times, missional or evangelical engagements start with this idea, but end up succeeding or failing because of the immediate next domino – how does the group being evangelized then stand on its own?

For example, you (or your organization) starts an effort to educate a social group because it has been identified that the location is well trafficked and that there are several people in that area who have shown a hunger for learning. Your methods involve establishing a school, and you account for the people, the building, and even much of the startup expenses related to at least getting 6 months to a full year to see it through. What’s left to do but to go there right?

Well, not exactly. You are developing a school, so what is the curriculum that you will be using? What will be your measures of success? Because you are effectively building a well in an oasis, how you you going to navigate the other areas of society that will be effected by the introduction of a place of education? You’ll need laborers to help with cleaning, and you might need to have a backup plan towards how you’ll acquire and support teachers? What kinds of other activities will that building employ? And how does the establishment of an educated class of people prepare for life after that education if there are no jobs befitting what they’ve just learned in that region yet?

The last question tends to be the one that should make us all pause a bit when it comes to our engagement of others with the Gospel by computer-based methods. We’ll gladly educate them on the things of the Word. Equipping them to skillfully speak and handle the Word of God to address moral and psychological wounds that might be present. But, what’s next? How did we help them to also create opportunities for those infrastructure or technical needs that might be present?

I wonder, if when establishing our technology-driven evangelistic methods, if we could also have a focus on the other skills (lately, that’s been sounding a lot like Exodus 25-27 like skills)? Which not only will allow those groups to demonstrate the Gospel, but to also provide a means of supporting themselves beyond the initial generations taught.