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January 23, 2009
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=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================
Community and the Homebound: Part 2, by Phil Ware
Several days ago, we ran an article that asked about how our churches
could offer community to those who had great difficulty leaving their
homes -- and we used the word "homebound" as the term for those with
these restrictions. The response was amazing -- both on the blog and
also via email. We heard from caregivers who were homebound because
they were caring for someone non-stop. We heard from those who are
homebound or who were homebound for some period of time in their lives.
We heard from those who have led ministry to the homebound. And we
heard from many others.
Many of the homebound wrote that they don't feel less faithful because
they can't be in church and emphasized that the church is not a
building. But this really misses the point: each of us truly needs
community. The discussion was never intended to suggest those who are
homebound are less spiritual because they cannot connect to a church
community, but it was intended to stimulate the rest of us to be aware
and do something about those who are physically cut off from regular
Christian fellowship. And Jesus clearly emphasized that it is not the
homebound person who is responsible to make community happen, but for
those who follow Jesus to help be community to those cut off from it (Matthew
25:31-46;James 1:26-27).
The following comment really captured the need in a succinct way:
Had a stroke nearly 8 years ago. Have not had one visit. ... Watch
services on the web every Sunday. Enjoy very much. I know the Lord
is beside me all the time, but it would be nice to have some flesh
and bones representing our Lord.
Then notice this comment:
Being hampered somewhat because of total deafness, I am most
interested in this ... will be watching intently for the
progression of this ... a very needful thing.
But maybe one of the most powerful reminders of our need to help those
who are homebound is this:
I have a brother who is paralyzed from the neck down and sometimes
he doesn't get a chance to go to worship. It's a blessing that my
parents are members of the church because they give him communion
and they have a devotional every night as a family. The sad part is
that the congregation doesn't come to worship with him. It's very
important that the congregation doesn't forget about the sick and
shut in. My brother is very encouraging and motivated and I thank
God for that and that his spirit isn't down in spite of the way
they treat him. I thank God for my parents being strong Christians
also.
And then this powerfully clear statement of truth reminds us about the
need for fellowship:
Local church communities need to bring fellowship to the homes of
the home bound. It's simple. The elderly have the same needs as a
teenager. They will miss their friends. I don't know how many times
my kids said that to me. "I want to see my friends!" That could be
old or young. Parents let their kids have friends over. Kids, let
your parents have friends over! It's role reversal. The kids
provide for the elderly parents. The parents provided. Now it's the
kid's turn. The parents of the church provided for the kids, now
it's their turn to provide for them. Simple! Just do it! No lip
service or good intentions. ACT!
Many of those who are homebound challenged churches not discount the
power of people who are homebound to minister to others.
My Mom, 84 years of age and homebound, supervises the prayer chain
at her church by telephone. She counsels both by telephone and in
her home ...
Take note of this related comment:
I started an email newsletter with the sisters in Christ that I
have met over my years of relocation. It is a great way for me to
express what the LORD is doing in my life and vice versa. And we
open our Bibles to find our answers. We are also reading through
the Bible together in a one-year format.
And finally, these words of challenge and encouragement from one who
faces increasing challenges from a progressive hereditary disease:
Being homebound shouldn't be a prescription for ceasing to be
involved in our necessary Christian community life. Instead, we
should see these or any limitations as an empowerment to meet God
through others by uniting in different and creatively unique ways.
As several of our homebound respondents suggested, they can and should
speak up to their church leaders and challenge them to provide some
ways to connect to the life of Jesus' community. Others emphasized the
incredible resources that are available online that allow for a vibrant
spiritual life (e.g., all the devotional resources at
www.heartlight.org/devotionals or as one commenter suggested,
www.joniandfriends.com) and also ways to connect to other believers (my
blog and other discussion groups are examples of this).
Finally, I wanted to make one brief nudge to our readers. Several
talked about this being a responsibility of church leaders and pastoral
staff to fix. However, I want to remind us all that while leadership
will have to give an account to God for how they have served their
flock (Hebrews 13:17), the call to care for those in need is the
responsibility of ALL of us (James 1:26-27). We shouldn't and mustn't
wait to have ministry to those homebound started or assigned to us by
church leaders. This is a matter of knowing someone who has the need of
community and friendship, and offering it. Clearly, some of the
organized ministry needs the support and confirmation of church
leaders, but much of the ministry described below can and should be
done by all of us who call Jesus our Lord. This final comment says it
better than I can:
What an excellent chance for members of the church to be involved with
a ministry that is explained in Acts 6 and James 1:25-27. Do I need to
be a Minister or a Deacon to do this work? Absolutely not. Is this not
what the Lord would have us all do? Absolutely!
Recommendations for Helping Homebound Stay Included in Church Community
Responses from the Blog and From Email
1. Have an organized group that takes the homebound Communion each
week and sings and prays with the homebound. Even have a
mini-worship service for the homebound person at their home led by
a group who had this as their ministry each week.
2. Put together a prayer visitation team that also includes members
who would help tidy up the house as needed or wanted and visit the
homebound.
3. Assemble an on the road pastoral team to conduct mini-classes in
the homes of the homebound and help them integrate some of the
ideas listed here as ministry opportunities into their daily
routine.
4. Use pastoral staff and deacons to visit the homebound and take
them tapes/cd's of sermons or services or encouraging messages.
5. Put together a praise and worship team that would use their gifts
to sing and bless those who are homebound.
6. Church members "adopt" homebound members and check on them
regularly. This works especially well having younger members adopt
older ones and vice versa.
7. Have retired nurses go by on a regular basis for home checks on
the homebound to express love and care as well as be able to assess
greater needs of assistance that might be needed.
8. Have the homebound form email fellowship and accountability teams:
email to maintain friendships and have set periods when email was
expected to make sure the person was still doing well and in good
health. This is a homebound to homebound ministry and validates the
importance of the homebound to minister.
9. "Phone call Friends" -- phone to check on each other at regular
intervals (daily or weekly) for friendship or accountability. The
community does not have to be bound by locality if you use mobile
phones that have no long distance charge.
10. Visits from other church members (those not on the regular
ministry to the homebound) on semi-regular basis.
11. Cards and notes from homebound to homebound and from others who
love and have concern for those who are homebound to help provide
encouragement.
Let's do a better job!
12. Include the homebound as a key part of the prayer ministry team
and keep them up to date with prayer needs in the ministry or
church. Find ways to connect with them around the prayer ministry
and make sure their prayers are shared with the church or ministry.
Some groups have come up with the term "Bathrobe Prophets" for the
ministry of the homebound who pray, write notes of encouragement to
missionaries, and offer phone calls and encouragement notes to
those who are ill.
13. Provide live broadcast or webcast of Sunday services so they can
stay connected to the church assembly even if they cannot get out
for a time.
14. Mini-IT team that helps older members get email and other online
services set up to be able to stay in touch -- maybe even setting
up older computers and donating them to the homebound to do email
and simple things so the homebound can stay in touch.
15. Use Instant Messaging and Text Messaging as ways of visiting with
the homebound, encourage the homebound to visit with others in
similar circumstances, and encourage other believers to stay in
touch
16. Use blogs and appropriate chat groups as a means of staying in
touch and being in regular discussion with other believers. (Google
Groups is a great example as are Facebook groups.)
17. Skype can be used as a tool to stay in touch with other
believers. (Skype is a chat, audio, or audio/video way of staying
in touch with people all over the world. A microphone and webcam
are needed for live video chatting.) This allows folks to actually
visit face-to-face over the Internet.
18. The homebound can support and maintain correspondence with
children sponsored through groups like Compassion International
(http://www.compassion.com).
19. Use a speakerphone for your small groups when they have homebound
members so they can be a part of the Bible study, fellowship and
prayer time. Web cams even allow them to participate in a visual
way -- several software applications allow this like Instant
Messaging, Google Messenger, and also Skype.
20. Have the home groups of your church meet in the home of the
homebound person. However, make sure there is a set up team and
clean up team so as not to leave them with a mess. This includes
the homebound and makes sure they are a part of the fellowship and
life of the congregation and get to practice the gift of
hospitality.
21. Help the homebound in your church or area start a Christian email
group or email newsletter that reaches out to folks who share
similar circumstances and can offer real life insight and
encouragement and the opportunity to respond. This would include
participation in online ministries and their blogs or discussion
groups.
22. Don't just visit in the home of the homebound, but help them find
ways to get out of the house that fits their physical challenges.
This doesn't need to be a "church" event, but any kind of event
where they are around other believers and can participate in
"everyday life."
23. Have visitation teams (physical visits or calls) that check on
the homebound on different days of the week so that they get a
variety of connections and contacts.
24. Have a prayer team that specifically prays each day, by name, for
each of the folks in your church who are homebound. Even better,
make sure those who are homebound know what is prayed for them!
25. Encourage and help equip the homebound so that they can invite
folks over for visits -- maybe even for tea or coffee or prayer or
visiting -- and help them take responsibility for being hospitable.
This may mean helping them make changes to their house, but can be
a vital role in helping them realize they have a role to play in
life and in ministry.
There are, of course, many other ways to involve the homebound and we
intend to keep this discussion going. We encourage you to continue to
share your ideas on the blog and with your church leaders!
Let's do a better job of being real community to all of our brothers
and sisters in Christ.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
To keep the conversation and comments in one place, I would urge you to
comment and add your ideas to the discussion on this blog post:
http://www.thephilfiles.com/2009/01/14/community-for-the-homebound/
---------
(c) 2009 Phil Ware <phil@heartlight.org>. All rights reserved.
RELATED LINKS:
* Community and the Homebound
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200901/20090116_homebound.html
* Blog Post: Community and the Homebound
http://www.thephilfiles.com/2009/01/14/community-for-the-homebound/
* Southern Hills Church of Christ
http://www.southernhillschurch.org
This article can be found on the web at:
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200901/20090123_homebound2.html
=========================== FEATURED PRODUCT =========================
THE MARRIAGE BUILDER, by Larry Crabb
An all-new discussion guide has been added to this marriage-enrichment
classic.
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