Book of Discipline – Salvaged Faith

UMC 101: An Inclusive Church

Posted on February 20, 2022Leave a comment

Text: Luke 5:17-26, Book of Discipline – Constitution Preamble and ¶1-5, ¶140, and the new 6

Over this last month as we have worshipped with one another, there has been a recurring theme at the core of our tradition: God’s grace and love is for all.

The prevenient grace of God stretches out to all people, inviting them in.

When we become disciples, we are called to reach out in love to do no harm and do good to all we meet.

Grounded in the core of our faith, we create space for difference and open our arms to encounter people with varying languages and cultures and traditions.

We believe that God reigns over all of human existence, and we trust in the Holy Spirit to guide us as we seek responses that share the healing and redeeming love of God with all people.

And we go out, each uniquely gifted and equipped, to make disciples of all peoples and transform the world.

In our statement on inclusiveness in our Book of Discipline (¶140) we say:

“We recognize that God made all creation and saw that it was good. As a diverse people of God who bring special gifts and evidences of God’s grace to the unity of the Church and to society, we are called to be faithful to the example of Jesus’ ministry to all persons.
Inclusiveness means openness, acceptance, and support that enables all persons to participate in the life of the Church, the community and the world.”

In our Constitution, we proclaim that “all persons are of sacred worth” and “all persons without regard to race, color, national origin, status, or economic condition, shall be eligible“ to worship, participate, receive the sacraments, and become members of the church. (¶4)

The church… the Body of Christ… is for all… and needs all.

But the truth is we need these kinds of statements, because we have not always lived out this truth.

As we talked about last week, sometimes we have been more of a fortress protecting those inside, rather than a force out in the world seeking all people.

We have placed barriers on who was welcome and how they could participate.

We have created separations between races, genders, and classes.

Over the last few weeks in our Confirmation class, we have been exploring our United Methodist history. Each student presented on a different topic or person from our past and together we learned about people who did not experience the church as inclusive and open to all.

We learned about Richard Allen, a freed black man and ordained pastor who was sidelined in the Methodist Episcopal Church. He left our denomination due to the discrimination and formed the African Methodist Episcopal – or AME Church.

We learned about Anna Howard Shaw, who felt a call to ministry but was denied ordination in the MEC. In her journal she wrote, “I am no better and no stronger than a man, and it is all a man can do to fight the world, the flesh, and the devil, without fighting his Church as well.” (Story of a Pioneer, p. 123-124). She left the denomination and was ordained by the Methodist Protestant Church in 1880.

The Methodist Protestants themselves had left the denomination after growing concerns about the power of clergy and the exclusion of lay people from decisions.

The Free Methodists broke away from the denomination over their concerns for the poor after New England churches began the practice of charging for your spot in the pew!

Or what about the story of Bishop Andrews who gained slaves through each of his marriages and refused to set them free… his story became part of the rationale for why the Methodist Episcopal Church, South broke away from the rest of the denomination.

When the MEC, MEC South, and Methodist Protestants eventually merged back together in 1939, we learned about the segregation of the African American clergy and churches in the Central Jurisdiction.

We can find throughout our history these stories of exclusion.

But along the way, there were also folks who exemplified the spirit of our scripture reading for today… friends and colleagues who have torn down walls, built new structures, shattered glass ceilings, and burst through roofs in order to bring people to Christ.

Mark and Luke tell us the story of the crowds who gathered to hear Jesus preach in Capernaum. Five friends came together, four of them carrying their friend who was paralyzed.

But as anyone who might be vertically challenged like myself can attest, it is difficult to see over a crowd.

And it must have been even more so for this man on his mat.

The group tried to shoulder their way in closer, but to no avail.

And then they got creative.

They climbed to the top of the roof and began taking a part the tiles to make an opening above Jesus so they could lower him down.

They refused to let their friend sit out on the curb.

He, as much as any other, was a child of God who belonged at the feet of Jesus.

Do you know what I noticed in this pericope reading it this week…

It doesn’t say that they brought their friend in order to be healed.

There are many stories where people specifically brought people to Jesus to be healed, but that phrase is not used here.

The crowds gathered wanted to hear Jesus preach and to hear the good news.

Why would we assume anything different about this paralytic man?

In fact, Mark Arnold reminded me this week of how Jesus responds to this act of home vandalism. “Jesus sees the faith of the man and his friends first and includes him in his ministry of grace and forgiveness… only referring to the man’s disability when challenged about his authority.” (https://theadditionalneedsblogfather.com/2019/09/11/disability-sin-god-heaven/)

He goes on to write, “everyone, including disabled people, are made in God’s image.”

When we talk about inclusiveness in the church, we speak of our call to share the ministry of Jesus with all people and make sure that every person is able to participate fully in the life of not just the church, but the community, and the world. (¶140, p. 101)

It means “the freedom for the total involvement of all persons who meet the requirements… in the membership and leadership of the Church at any level and in every place.”

Our call to inclusiveness does not ask someone to adapt or change who they are in order to have a place at the table. It is a recognition of their faith and gifts and belovedness in God’s eyes… just as they are.

And it entails our commitment to “work towards societies in which each person’s value is recognized, maintained, and strengthened” through basic human rights and “equal access to housing, education, communication, employment, medical care, legal redress of grievances, and physical protection.”

It means speaking out against acts of hate or violence against people based on who they are.

And within the church, the call to inclusiveness means that sometimes we have to tear the roof off the house to make sure that everyone has access… or add a ramp or an elevator to the church.

It means utilizing assistive hearing devices and closed captioning on our facebook live stream.

One of the things that I think we have gained during Covid-tide is broadening how we make our worship accessible for our members who were homebound and we continue to mail the entire worship service to more than fifty homes every week. Where we can’t bring folks to church, we bring the church to them.

It means including youth and young people on our leadership teams and making commitments to protect children through our Safe Sanctuaries policies.

Here at Immanuel, it meant changing our maternity leave policy to a parental leave policy.

And it also means, as we say in our Constitution, that the church “shall confront and seek to eliminate racism, whether in organizations or in individuals, in every facet of its life and in society at large.”

I mentioned before the how we institutionalized racism through the Central Jurisdiction here in the United States. Just as those four friends literally changed the structure of that home, Confronting racism sometimes means changing our denominational structures and I give thanks that the Methodist Church eliminated the Central Jurisdiction with the insistence of the EUB church as part of the merger that formed the United Methodist Church in 1968.

But this also includes learning about and repenting of our history, as well as actively seeking to not just make room at our table for neighbors who are black, indigenous, or people of color… but building new tables – together.

As a predominately white congregation, this might entail intentionally building relationships with people and church neighbors that look differently than us.

And, it means that we bust open the glass ceiling and do the same for women and girls who have faced discrimination in the church. In fact… this new paragraph on gender equality was only added through a constitutional amendment approved in 2016 and then ratified by annual conferences in 2019.

Still, there are more walls to tear down.

Another constitutional amendment failed by just 5% to meet the 2/3 threshold for implementation by annual conference votes.

Currently, our constitution proclaims that “no conference or other organizational unity of the Church shall be structured so as to exclude any member… because of race, color, national origin, status or economic condition.”

That amendment would have expanded our protected classes in the constitution to add gender, ability, age, and marital status.

We continue to go on to perfection.

As I think about what it means to be United Methodist today, I think about those five friends from our scripture.

I think about how each one of them was beloved by God and a person of sacred worth… just as they were.

And I think about how they worked together to make sure that all were able to be in the presence of Jesus.

Our call to inclusiveness in the church is a call to relationship and faithfulness.

It is about invitation and welcome.

It is about breaking down walls and tearing apart ceilings and fighting so that our friends and neighbors can all gather at the feet of Christ.

But it is also about owning up to the reality that along the way we have not always lived into this ideal and acknowledging the people who either chose to leave or were forced out of the church simply because of who they were.

I am reminded that my access and privilege to even stand here in this pulpit is not something to be taken for granted.

I remember the people who fought to make this a reality and look for ways to use my voice to speak up on behalf of others who are excluded.

May we, as United Methodists, continue to work to ensure that the doors of the church are open to all people, may we embrace one another with love and acceptance, and may we provide the kind of support that is needed so that all of our siblings can fully participate in the life of this church.

UMC 101: We are ALL Ministers

Posted on February 13, 2022Leave a comment

Text: Ephesians 4:4-16, Book of Discipline P126-139

Last week, I offered a very brief summary of scripture: God forgives us. God loves us. God has a job for us.

And we see this message at work in our scripture for this morning. We are forgiven by the ONE lord, through our ONE faith and in our ONE baptism. We experience God’s love through the ONE body. And empowered by the ONE spirit, we are called to live out ONE common hope.

But this oneness of God is not the sort that drowns out difference.

We are called to make disciples of all people, but we are not called to make all people look, act, worship, or practice the same way.

As our Book of Discipline describes it, the church “demonstrates a common life of gratitude and devotion, witness and service, celebration and discipleship… the forms of this ministry are diverse in locale, in interest, and in denominational accent, yet always catholic in spirit and outreach.” (P126, p.97)

It makes me think about the interplay of color.

In lighting, color has an additive effect.

White light is actually made up of many different wavelengths and like in these spotlights on a stage floor, there is an additive effect.

Conversely, you could take what appears to be a beam of white light and refract it into its many components and see a rainbow.

Color in pigments, however have a subtractive effect.

If you were to blend together various hues you would end up with a muddled black tone.

But if you allow them to be in relationship, complimenting one another, our pictures and our world become more vivid and full of life.

God’s Word – rather than being black and white words on a page that never change – is alive and varied and moving among us.

We understand how it has been shared and blended and shaped through the legacy of our ancestors and we also come to see how God’s Word is refracted in the everyday experiences of people of faith.

As Christians, the Holy Spirit calls us to travel on the same road, in the same direction, sticking together (as the Message translation puts it)… “but that doesn’t mean you should all look and speak and act the same.”

Because each of us are different people.

We are each called and gifted and blessed in different ways.

We each have unique and beautiful life experiences to share.

Some of us have spent our whole lives working independently and others have always been part of a team.

Some of us are young and have fresh eyes with which to look at the world and some of us have experienced profound pain in our lives.

Some of us work with machines, and others of us work with our minds.

And in all of those very different experiences, we have each felt the love and grace of God, although none of us in quite the same way.

Because of our difference – we are all a part of the Body of Christ.

Because of our difference – we all have a seat at God’s table.

Because of our difference – we all have a unique ability to proclaim the Word of God.

It might be with our actions… or with our words… or with our attitudes.

But Christian faithfulness demands that “the people of God, who are the church made visible in the world, must convince the world of the reality of the gospel or leave it unconvinced… the church is either faithful as a witnessing and serving community, or it loses its vitality and its impact on an unbelieving world.” (P.130, p. 98).

A week or two ago in one of our UMC 101 small group studies, we talked about the declining influence of the church in the world.

We lamented for a bit about folks who are no longer attending worship on a Sunday morning and all of the other things like sports or travel or events that have taken its place.

It feels like we have lost our vitality.

And our Discipline would call us to reflect upon whether or not we, as individual Christians, have been faithful to this call to witness and serve.

For a while, the church had followed a sort of “if you build it, they will come” attractional model.

The church was established and seemed like the norm and we all got comfortable with showing up to connect with our family and participate in the programs.

But what folks on the outside of the walls of our church saw was a fortress being established.

They didn’t know how to get in or they didn’t think they were welcome.

Or perhaps more importantly, they were out there in the world living their lives and we were so busy in the fortress that we lost track of how the world had shifted around us.

Whether we realized it or not, we built walls around our ministries, and they were only accessible on certain hours on certain days.

Many of us stopped actively inviting neighbors and friends to even join us.

We stopped seeking to meet people where they were and when they were available and how they were able to gather.

But as two of my colleagues, Michael Slaughter and Jason Moore remind us, instead of building a fortress, God invites us to be a force in this world.

We are called to be the living body of Christ, adapting and moving and going wherever the Holy Spirit might send us.

The church is called to be the community that “stretches out to human needs wherever love and service may convey God’s love and ours… the outreach of such ministries knows no limits… all Christians are called to minister wherever Christ would have them serve and witness in deeds and words that heal and free.” (P. 128, p. 97)

Can you just sense and feel the difference in those attitudes?

What would it look like for every single one of us to claim our gifts and our task of ministry and not just hole up in the fortress that is the church, but to go out as a force for God in this world?

That is what the Apostle Paul did.

And God sent him not just to those who were already “in”, but to the outsiders and the Gentiles.

In fact, that is the group of folks he is writing to in our scripture for today: the gentile community in Ephesus.

But he knows that the good news of God is meant for them as well and he puts his life on the line so that they might be able to hear and respond to the mystery of Christ.

He writes in chapter 3 of this letter that he was the least qualified person to do so, but God equipped him to proclaim that good news.

And truth be told, it wasn’t easy.

It landed him in prison.

But through the power of the Holy Spirit, he continued to share and spread words of encouragement to this faith community.

“When we trust in [God],” Paul writes to them, “we’re free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go. So don’t let my present trouble on your behalf get you down.” (Ephesians 3:11-13, MSG)

And then, he goes on to pray that they would be filled up that that same spirit and challenges them to be a force for God’s message in this world.

“Get out there and walk – better yet, run! – on the road God has called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes no where… Out of the generosity of Christ, each of us is given [their] own gift… God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love.” (Ephesians 4, selected verses, MSG)

What I notice about the list of gifts Paul mentions in his letter to the people of Ephesus is that none of these gifts are passive or silent.

Some of us are tasked with being apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers… but NONE of us are benchwarmers.

NONE of us get to sit in the pews or stay home and watch.

ALL of us have something to share in ministry, all of us must build up one another up, all of us are needed.

We are caretakers of an incredible message that the world is hungry to not just hear, but to experience.

If we look at the journey of those first disciples, they allowed the Holy Spirit to turn them into the hands and feet of God in the world.

They directed their eyes and their hearts outward.

They traveled the world with the message and faced controversy and conflict.

Some were killed and persecuted along the way.

But with the Holy Spirit at their backs, they were a force that utterly transformed this world.

You don’t have to become a missionary to a far-flung place.

You don’t have to put yourself in danger.

But the mission of God needs you to reach out in love.

As we proclaim in the Book of Discipline, it is “the witness of the laity, their Christ-like examples of everyday living as well as the sharing of their own faith experiences of the gospel,” that will be “the primary evangelistic ministry through which all people will come to know Christ and the United Methodist Church will fulfill its mission.” (P127, p. 97)

The truth is, I can preach a thousand sermons, but the only people who will hear them are the folks that YOU bring to this church.

My role as an ordained pastor is to keep reminding you of all of the people out there… and their needs and concerns and hopes.

It is to equip and encourage you to be that force for Jesus Christ in this world.

For we are all ministers of the gospel.

We all have unique experiences and gifts that will allow us to spread the light and love of God to different people and places and in varying ways.

Maybe it is the meal you take to a friend…

Or the encouragement you offer on social media…

Or how you invite someone to pray or worship with you…

Wherever you are, in your everyday life, in your own way, you matter.

You represent Christ and God’s love to this world.

And you are vital to God’s mission and this body of Christ.

Thank you for being you.

UMC 101: The Mission of the Church

Posted on February 6, 2022Leave a comment

Text: Isaiah 6:1-8

I think one of the greatest failures of the church today is that we put God into a very small box.

Jesus is our friend and companion.

The Holy Spirit holds our hand and brings us comfort in tough times.

The Father tenderly calls us to do the right thing.

These are all images that are safe and simple and focused on ourselves.

Not only are they woefully inadequate for encountering a world full of problems that are too big to tackle alone, but they can’t begin to capture the fullness of a God who is truly other… truly holy.

The prophet Isaiah begins to have visions.

Over and over he sees images of the failings of his nation and the bloodshed and oppression his own people have caused by relying on their own might to solve the problems they faced.

And then Isaiah has a vision of God.

A holy, living, powerful God.

Not a safe and gentle friend, but a vision of the Lord upon a throne.

God’s presence is so great and beyond comprehension that just the hem of God’s robe fills the temple.

And there are winged creatures, seraphim, flying around shouting at one another:

“Holy! Holy! Holy! Is the Lord of Heavenly Forces! All the earth is filled with God’s glory!” (Isaiah 6:3)

As the room shakes and fills with smoke, Isaiah isn’t comforted and he doesn’t feel safe and secure… he is afraid for his very life.

“Mourn for me; I’m ruined” he cries out.

He sees just how unholy he is compared to God.

He sees just how unworthy his neighbors and his nation are.

And he knows that this wholly other and almighty God sees it all too.

But then this God does something unexpected.

God’s holiness draws close.

A glowing coal touches Isaiah’s lips and his sin and his guilt are gone.

But this isn’t just about Isaiah.

It isn’t just about one person encountering the holiness of God, repenting of their sin, and being forgiven.

The way some of our churches live out this story today, Isaiah would have gone home from this incredible experience, assured of his salvation, stay loosely connected with his faith community, and hold on to this memory when things were tough.

That’s how we too often treat faith, isn’t it?

But that isn’t the end of this story.

The voice of God thunders throughout that space asking… “Whom shall I send? Who will go?”

How will this world be transformed from a place of sin and death?

Who will call people to repentance and carry the message of love and forgiveness?

And forever transformed by his encounter with the holiness of God, Isaiah realizes he has a job to do.

It will be hard and messy and frustrating and full of joy and power and love.

But he takes up the call and allows God to send him back into the world to transform it.

You know, if I were to sum up the core of the gospel message that Jesus proclaims it just might be: God loves you, God forgives you, and God has a job for you.

Every day, in a thousand different ways, God is inviting us to participate in the reign of God’s kingdom.

God is asking, whom shall I send into this world to fulfill my reign and realm in this world?

And the church has stepped up to say, “Send us!”

Our Book of Discipline lays out for us our purpose:

“The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world by proclaiming the good news of God’s grace and by exemplifying Jesus’ command to love God and neighbor, thus seeking the fulfillment of God’s reign and realm in the world.” (p. 93)

The text goes on to say that “whenever United Methodism has had a clear sense of mission, God has used our Church to save persons, heal relationships, transform social structures, and spread scriptural holiness, thereby changing the world. In order to be truly alive, we embrace Jesus’ mandate to love God and to love our neighbor and to make disciples of all peoples.” (p.94)

I just love that phrase… in order to truly be alive…

You see, we believe that when we encounter the holy, awesome, expansive, presence of God it changes us.

It transforms us from those who are dead in our sin into those who are alive in the Spirit.

It empowers and emboldens us to head out into the world not as ordinary people, but as servants of Christ.

In order for the church to be alive it needs to be actively engaged in this work as well.

What does this look like, practically speaking?

Well, we good old “methodical” United Methodists are pretty clear about the process for carrying out this mission and making disciples. And we hold one another accountable to this process by tracking and monitoring how well we do each year:

First, we need to proclaim the gospel! And this isn’t just about my sermons on Sunday mornings. It is about how all of us share the good news of Jesus in our daily lives.

It is about how we show the world that we love God and love our neighbors. Or as the Book of Discipline puts it, “the visible church of Christ as a faithful community of persons affirms the worth of all humanity and the value of interrelationship in all of God’s creation.” (¶124, p. 94)

We connect people to one another, we connect issues to our faith, and we connect all of it to God.

Each year in our statistical reports, we take note of how well we are doing in this area by reporting our church demographics and who we are reaching.

It probably isn’t much of a surprise to you, but the professing membership of our congregation is predominantly white and just over 60% female.

About 30% of our participants in Christian formation groups are children or youth and just 3% of our participants are between the ages of 19-30.

These kinds of statistics challenge our local church to think about how we might reach out to younger and more diverse people by building new relationships in our daily lives.

Second, we help our neighbors experience God’s grace as they repent and turn to faith in Jesus. Just as Isaiah confronted his own sin and received forgiveness, we proclaim a need for transformation in hearts and lives. One ofthe primary ways we do this is by sharing the message of God with people in our times of worship.

We talk about the sins and concerns of this world and God’s intentions for all the earth, we hear about the grace of God, and we give people the opportunity to respond.

And so every year, we keep track of how many people are worshipping with our faith community, and how many baptisms, professions of faith, and new members our church has witnessed.

In 2020, before the pandemic, our church had an average worship attendance of about 160. What has been amazing is that even throughout this difficult time, we have grown the number of people who worship with us each week. When you combine our in-person and online attendance, we have been reaching, on average, just over 180 people every Sunday!

In this past year, we welcomed five new people to our faith community, baptized two little ones, and are supporting twelve students as they go through the confirmation process.

The third thing that we believe the church does as we make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world is help people to grow in their own Christian life. This happens in worship, for sure, but also in small groups, conversations, leadership opportunities, and the various places we share our gifts with one another and the world.

One of the biggest ways that we can see that our church is alive and continues to thrive is that even as we suspended some of our opportunities, we adapted and created new ways to grow.

We have studied scripture on Zoom, included younger folks in our brass group, brought in new leaders for Sunday school, continued to include those who moved away in online opportunities, and expanded teams to support and encourage our elders, our teachers, and our college students.

When you add up all of the individuals who have participated in some kind of ministry opportunity in this last year, 229 people have been nurtured in their faith through this church.

Fourth, we give people opportunities to say, “Here I am, send me!” As the Book of Discipline puts it, we “send persons into the world to live lovingly and justly as servants of Christ by healing the sick, feeding the hungry, caring for the stranger, freeing the oppressed, being and becoming and compassionate, caring presence, and working to develop social structures that are consistent with the gospel.” (¶122, p. 94)

Our call is to put faith and love into practice in real and tangible ways that make a difference for our neighbors and transform this world more into God’s realm each day.

As a church, we keep track of the number of folks who serve in mission and community ministries that our church sponsors… from Joppa, to Hawthorne Hill, to CFUM meals, to Trunk or Treat, and more. 131 members of this church actively engaged in this work… and we know so many of you are engaged beyond this church too in service and work of advocacy and justice.

Together, we try to not only see, but respond to the hungers that people experience in their lives… not just for food, but for safety, for healing, and for relationship.

And we do all these things not just once… but over and over again. In our work of putting faith and love into action, our witness continues to make disciples who will transform the world.

You know, I have to be honest.

In this season where the world is talking about the “Great Resignation” and the stretch and strain so many people are feeling, it is hard to get excited about recommitting and increasing our engagement with the church of Jesus.

Not only are we busy, but we are tired. And for all sorts of legitimate reasons.

One of the reasons we put God into that small little box is because we aren’t sure that we really can take on one more responsibility.

It seems easier to hold God at arms length… to focus only on the small differences God makes in your daily life… instead of worrying about anyone else.

But friends, the holy and awesome and terrifying power and presence of God is here!

The whole earth is full of God’s glory!

“Woe is me!” Isaiah cried out.

He was ready to die, give up, give in…

And the holy power of God gave him the ability to say, “Here I am… send me.”

And our church believes that in order to truly be alive… to be energized and empowered… then we have to let that burning coal of God’s love and mercy and grace touch our hearts.

We have to “embrace Jesus’ mandate to love God and to love our neighbor and to make disciples of all peoples.” (p. 94)

Take a moment to rest and rejuvenate your spirit…

But also know that the Holy Spirit is ready to set your heart and your life on fire.

And friends… the good news is that we don’t have to do this work alone.

Each one of us within this Body of Christ called Immanuel has a unique gift and role to play… whether it is praying, or leading, or giving of your resources, or doing the hands on tasks of ministry.

Here at Immanuel, we embrace this vision of discipleship. We believe that we follow Jesus as we connect with one another… as we worship and repent and confess our faith… as we grow in community… and as we go together to the world.

All of us, together, with God’s help… can not only be disciples… but make disciples… and transform this world.

UMC 101: Our Theological Task and the Quadrilateral

Posted on January 30, 2022Leave a comment

Text: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Over the last several weeks, we have been exploring what it means to be United Methodist.

We’ve talked about some of the core beliefs we affirm, how we came to get our distinctive United Methodist flavor by emphasizing faith and love in action, and both standards for teaching those core beliefs… but also the love, grace, and humility that leaves room for opinions and difference around practices and positions.

After all, as our scripture for this morning reminds us – we could have all the right answers, and do all the right things but if we don’t love – we are nothing.

As long as we seek to love God and love our neighbors, we can join hands for God’s work in the world.

Does that mean that anything else goes?

Absolutely not.

I shared with you last week from a portion of John Wesley’s sermon, “Catholic Spirit,” in which we talked about those core essential things and how love gives us guidance for how we relate to others who disagree.

But he is very clear at the end of that sermon that holding such a charitable spirit that leaves room for others does not mean you are indifferent to other’s opinions.

And, it doesn’t mean that you are unclear in your own thoughts, practices, or community, “driven to and fro, and tossed about with every wind of doctrine.” (“Catholic Spirit”, John Wesley’s Sermons: An Anthology, p. 307)

In fact, he says if you have a sort of “muddy understanding” with “no settled, consistent principles” that “you have quite missed your way…” (p. 308).

In other words, do your work.

Take responsibility for what you believe, how you act, and the community to which you belong.

Don’t simply parrot what someone before you has taught, or change your perspective when a new pastor comes along.

You are responsible for diving into the gospel of Jesus and figuring out what impact it has on the world.

This is the work of theological reflection.

A theologian is anyone who studies God.

Now, I am a theologian. I have a Masters of Divinity from Vanderbilt University and spent three and a half years studying scripture and ancient texts and history and the thoughts of other theologians.

But YOU are a theologian, too.

A theologian is anyone who “reflects upon God’s gracious action in our lives.” (BoD, p.80)

And United Methodists believe that every single one of us is called to this work.

Every generation has to wrestle with what it means to be faithful in a changing world.

We have to figure out how to communicate the good news of our faith to people who are hurting and lost and broken.

But we also need to figure out how to see the problems and challenges around us like the climate crisis or sexual abuse or global migration and ask what our response should be.

And to do that, we need more than just the basic teachings of our faith, or doctrines.

Doctrine is important, because it helps us remember the core of Christian truth in ever-changing contexts… But our task is to test, renew, elaborate, and apply those teachings in the world.

You see, we take the love of Christ for this world and we figure out how to share and live out that love right here and right now.

There are a couple of important things that the United Methodist Church believes are important to remember, and I think that we can think about these through the description of love that the Apostle Paul offers to us in his letter to the Corinthians.

First, as we do this, we should be willing both take apart and put together our understanding of faith in love. In other words, don’t strut around with a big head forcing your beliefs on others, but ask if this position is still true, credible, and based in love. At the same time, we should always be looking forward for where new truth is flowering and helping to creatively put together a message for tomorrow.

Second, the work of theology is both your responsibility and our responsibility. It is about “plain truth for plain people” – every Christian… young and old alike, is called to grow and learn about how to follow God into this world. But we also believe that it is in our conversation and sharing and work together that all of our individual reflections are strengthened. This is why we come together at our church conferences, and annual, jurisdictional and general conferences to make decisions. Like a love that isn’t always “me first” and that cares for others more than self, we believe everyone has something to contribute and we should be aware of how everyone is impacted.

Third, this work of reflection has to be grounded in what God is doing in the world. We believe that God so loved this world that Jesus came to make a home among us… in a particular time and in a particular place. And we believe that God is still present in our time and in all of our diverse places. Paul tells us that love should not be envious or boastful… and I think about how important it is for us not to force a practice from one culture onto another, or for a culture to give up their own practices to be more like another.

Last year, some of us read together, “I’m Black. I’m Christian. I’m Methodist.” and were surprised by stories of how many of these black leaders felt as if they had to become more white in order to be faithful and found great strength as they reclaimed their own identity.

Finally, if we are going to connect the love of Jesus with the world, then we have to focus on what we do. We can say all the right words and have endless conversations, but as Paul would say, if we aren’t dealing with love – then we are just noisy gongs and clanging cymbals. We know what is true when we see the impact in real lives. United Methodists are all about practical divinity.

The Apostle Paul describes how our understanding of the truth changes through time as we mature and grow and put aside childish thoughts. We are continually doing our best to comprehend – knowing that today we can capture the fullness of God’s truth and love only partially.

But still we try. And we keep trying to do our best in faith, in hope, and in love.

As Paul wrote to the Philippians, we can focus our thoughts on what is excellent and true, holy and just. We can practice what we have learned and received from our mentors and teachers in the faith.

Our job as a theologian is simple: What can I say and do that is faithful to scripture as it has been passed down through tradition, and that makes sense in light of human experience and reason? (Book of Discipline, p.81)

Chalkboard with a drawing of four quadrants for scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. — From https://joshuanhook.com/2018/10/24/how-the-wesleyan-quadrilateral-helps-us-understand-god/

These four theological tools we refer to as the Wesleyan Quadrilateral.

All four are important lenses to help us see how God is working and moving in the world.

As we explored a few years ago with our Bible 101 series, scripture is at the center and is the foundation of all that we do so, we had better be reading and pouring over scripture in our lives.

But… and… scripture itself is always being interpreted.

First, scripture is interpreted by other scripture.

You cannot take a single verse out of context but need to look at the fullness of the entire passage and story.

And, we come to see as we read the bible that there is an overarching story within the scripture itself… a story of creation and redemption, a story of mistakes and forgiveness, a story that ends in the restoration of all things.

In the gospels, religious leaders ask Jesus to interpret scripture for them and his response gives us a general guide for our own interpretation: how does this verse lead us to love God and love our neighbor? (Matthew 22:34-40)

Next, we have the witness of how people have interpreted that scripture through time. Tradition shows us the “consensus of faith” that has grown out of a particular community’s experience. (p. 85-86)

Not all contexts and communities are the same. The experience of Czech immigrants in the Midwest was very different than that of African slaves in the Deep South. Each community passed on the gospel and created practices of faith that show us how the scripture made sense in their lives. We also connect tradition with the theology of previous generations that have been passed down to us in creeds and writings.

Tradition shows us how communities have understood God, but we also each have or own unique experiences.

Who you are and what you have been through is always with you when you open up the Bible – tragedies and joys, gender, economic reality…

It is why you can read the same passage of scripture repeatedly over time and discover something new with each reading.

But Wesley also talked about how God continues to be revealed through our experiences and the fruit that we are bearing in the world.

One example is how he relented to license women as preachers in the circuits after he saw the call of God bearing fruit in their ministry.

Our final tool for theology is reason. As the Book of Proverbs reminds us, each person is called to “turn your ear toward wisdom, and stretch your mind toward understanding. Call out for insight, and cry aloud for understanding. ” (Proverbs 2:2-3)

We believe God reveals truth in many places, not only in scripture, and that we should pursue such knowledge and truth with our whole selves. Science, philosophy, nature: these are all places that help us to gain understanding and sometimes reveal even deeper truths within the written word.

Why does this matter?

Because as our Book of Discipline reminds us, every day, there are new concerns “that challenge our proclamation of God’s reign over all of human existence.” (p. 88)

A black man is murdered in public on a city street by a law enforcement officer.

A derecho destroys the infrastructure of a community.

A virus takes the lives of 8,501 of our neighbors in this state.

Where is God’s justice, protection, and healing?

What does it mean to love our neighbor in light of these realities?

That is the work of theology… seeking an authentic Christian response to these realities so that the healing and redeeming love of God might be present in our words and deeds. (p.89)

As we affirm in the Book of Discipline:

“United Methodists as a diverse people continue to strive for consensus in understanding the gospel… while exercising patience and forbearance with one another. Such patience stems neither from indifference toward truth nor from an indulgent tolerance of error but from an awareness that we know only in part and that none of us is able to search the mysteries of God except by the Spirit of God. We proceed with our theological task, trusting that the Spirit will grant us wisdom…”
Book of Discipline p. 89

May it be so. Amen.

UMC 101: A Doctrinal History of Difference and Charity

Posted on January 23, 2022Leave a comment

Text: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell the story of the first wave of exiles who return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and the walls of the city.

But just as important as rebuilding was rediscovering who they were as a people.

In our passage from today, Ezra reads aloud to all of those gathered the words of the Torah.

It becomes obviously very quickly in our lesson today that the people didn’t know what it contained.

Generations of Judeans had experienced exile after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem by the Babylonians.

They had been removed from their homes and their lives were upended.

In many ways, they forgot who they were and the God who had saved them.

As Ezra reads from sun-up until noon, the Levites help to interpret and make sense of what is being read and the people weep with emotion because they now understand God’s word.

But this isn’t simply a recitation of laws.

It is the history of their people.

It is the story of creation and the stubborn, sinful nature of humanity.

It is a story of redemption and rescue.

It is a story of how God never gave up on the people and faithfully kept the covenant.

And while in some ways, the people are grieved by what they have lost and forsaken, the leaders see this as an opportunity for celebration because we have rediscovered a path forward.

And so, the people rededicate themselves to some basic practices that would help them remember who they were and be faithful to God’s instruction in their lives.

Right now, the United Methodist Church is having a sort of identity crisis.

There are folks who would describe themselves as more traditional who want to recapture what they believe it means to be faithful to God’s instruction in their lives.

In their own discernment, they are grieved by what they believe has been lost or forsaken, but are turning it into an opportunity to discover a new path forward.

And as such, the Wesleyan Covenant Association is preparing to form a new denomination that will allow them to do so: The Global Methodist Church.

I believe that one way or another, this new denomination will form in 2022 and there will be a split in our denomination.

From conversations that we have had previously in this congregation, I believe that most of the folks here would not characterize themselves as part of the movement to leave.

You might be more progressive in your thought, or maybe you value being part of a community where many perspectives are welcome.

But there is a lingering question that keeps coming up…

Where will that leave the United Methodist Church?

I believe it is just as important for those of us who remain to remember who we have been to discover where we might be going.

What is the story of our people… and how does it make us weep and grieve, and how can it be an opportunity for our future?

When we began United Methodist 101 a couple of weeks ago, we talked about what we hold in common with other Christians, but also how our emphasis on faith and love put into practice meant we emphasize certain beliefs – like grace and service and community accountability.

As the Book of Discipline puts it:
“The pioneers in the traditions that flowed together into the United Methodist Church understood themselves as standing in the central stream of Christian spirituality and doctrine, loyal heirs of the authentic Christian tradition… grounded in the biblical message of God’s self-giving love revealed in Jesus Christ.”
p. 56

And yet, like a stream that ebbs and flows, the doctrinal history section of our Book of Discipline paints the picture of a church has never been rigid or unyielding.

There is a core “marrow” of beliefs, but beyond these “essentials,” there is room for difference.

Or as Wesley put it, “As to all opinions which do not strike at the root of Christianity, we think and let think.” (p. 56).

We have the freedom and ability to both hold on to the core of Christian beliefs and to think and reason and disagree with one another in love about everything else.

I think this is a vital and important thing to remember as we make our way forward in this hyper-partisan and divided world.

In his 1750 sermon, “Catholic Spirit,” Wesley lays out what it means to be charitable in our thoughts.

Quoting from 2 Kings: 10:15, he lays out what it means to be one in heart… to be right in heart.

It isn’t about sharing the same opinions, or even sharing the same worship practices.

No, Wesley lays out what he believes are the essentials:

First, he wants to know if your heart is right with God.

Do you believe in God and believe in Jesus, and is your faith and belief “filled with the energy of love?” (John Wesley’s Sermons, p. 304)

In this limited time that we have on earth, are you trying to do God’s will.. more afraid of displeasing the one we love, than of death or hell?

Second, is your heart right with your neighbor?

Do you have love for others, full of goodwill and tender affection?

Not just the folks who love you, but even your enemies… “Do your bowels yearn over them?” Wesley asks… which is kind of like staying, do you spend your time worrying about them – praying blessings over even those who would curse you?

And do you live out that love in actions? Do you take care of the wants of their bodies and souls?

If so, take my hand.

Let’s show love to one another… the kind of love described in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, full of patience and humility.

Let’s pray for one another that the love of God and neighbor would grow in our hearts.

And let’s join together in the work of God in the world.

As the Methodist movement grew in Great Britain, sermons like this, along with the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England and Wesley’s commentary on the New Testament, became the standards for teaching.

We also taught our theology through a rich history of hymns and practices of community like the General Rules we talked about last week.

And each year, the preachers were called together at a conference where Wesley would instruct and supervise their work.

These were the boundaries of our doctrine.

And then, these standards were shared in an American context.

The Methodist movement grew up alongside the American Revolution and when England lost and the Church of England left the colonies, American Methodists were left without churches or leadership.

Reluctantly, John Wesley realized the necessity of an independent church and provided a basic liturgy, doctrinal statement, hymnbook, and General Rules.

At the Christmas Conference of 1784, the Methodist Episcopal Church was formed with the Articles of Religion as its only core doctrine.

But there was an interesting shift that happened. Unlike Anglicans, who were required to subscribe to the Articles, Americans simply were instructed to keep their teaching to within those boundaries.

Or as the Book of Discipline puts it: “The doctrinal emphases of these statements were carried forward by the weight of tradition rather than the force of law.” (p. 60)

Truth be told, we launched out into the frontiers of the continent and placed much more focus on that “practical divinity” that launched the Methodist movement… evangelism and nurture and mission… instead of worrying about formal doctrines.

The same was true for the formation of the Evangelical Association and United Brethren traditions. Spreading the good news and calling believers into a life of witness and service was more important than theological speculation.

Philip Otterbein and Martin Boehm came from German Reformed and Mennonite traditions respectively, but the leaders of these traditions discovered that although they had differences, they were brethren…

Jacob Albright who began the Evangelical Association, was a German Lutheran who was formed in a Methodist class meeting.

These distinctive theological traditions all rally around the core essentials of the faith… our love of God and neighbor put into practice in the world.

“If your heart is with my heart, give me your hand”

shows four bars representing Methodism, German Reformed / Mennonite, Lutheran, and Free Church traditions that flow into the UMC

In this graphic by Rev. Jeremy Smith, we get a glimpse of those different streams of theology and tradition that flow into the United Methodist Church today.

Naming the richness and diversity of the church, our Book of Discipline also reminds us that “Currents of theology have developed out of the Black people’s struggle for freedom, the movement for the full equality of women in church and society, and the quest for liberation and for indigenous forms of Christian existence in churches around the world.” (p. 61)

All of that means that as we have become a global denomination…

As we open our arms to folks of different theological traditions…

As we allow language, culture, and lived experiences to encounter our traditions…

Then, rather than become more rigid or uniform, our church expands its ability to keep discerning the most faithful way to live out the gospel in real life, in this community, today.

Next week, we will talk about some of the tools we have at our disposal as United Methodists for that work.

But we do so without sacrificing the core of what we believe.

All along the way, we have continued to include in our doctrinal standards the Articles of Religion from the Methodist Church, the Confession of Faith of the EUB Church, the standard sermons of Wesley and his Explanatory Notes on the New Testament, and the General Rules of the Methodist Church.

And we protect this core in our constitution, which declares that these may not be revoked, altered, or changed.

What I have come to understand, however, is that while we might all cling to that same “marrow” of essential beliefs, there is much that we will disagree on.

John Wesley gives us this advice: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; and in all things, charity (or love).”

Earlier I asked the question:

What is the story of our people… how does it make us weep and grieve, and how can it be an opportunity for our future?

I must admit that my heart weeps and grieves right now for two reasons.

First, when I remember and rediscover this rich history of theological difference, I have a hard time coming to terms with why my siblings in the United Methodist Church might want to leave and separate from me around a theological difference that isn’t at the core of those beliefs. Why can we not stay united around our essentials?

But I also am grieved by the idea that our continued holding together has caused immense harm to our LGBTQ+ siblings, because we have not in fact created space for freedom. In fact, at our General Conference in 2019, we made our positions around human sexuality more rigid and punitive.

We are stuck in a system that has winners and losers based on the outcome of a vote.

Our denomination is currently echoing the partisan divide of the nation and the hostility, misinformation, and bad feelings that it engenders.

This week, I stumbled upon a hymn written by Charles Wesley that seems written for this moment. Echoing the same message as his brother’s sermon, “Catholic Spirit”, “Catholic Love” call us to return to the core of love of God and love of neighbor.

WEARY of all this wordy strife,
These notions, forms, and modes, and names,
To Thee, the Way, the Truth, the Life,
Whose love my simple heart inflames,
Divinely taught, at last I fly,	5
With Thee, and Thine to live, and die.

Forth from the midst of Babel brought,
Parties and sects I cast behind;
Enlarged my heart, and free my thought,
Where’er the latent truth I find,	10
The latent truth with joy to own,
And bow to Jesu’s name alone.

Friends, in the midst of a world and a denomination full of division, what might it mean for us to embrace the charity and love that the Wesley’s called us to embody in all things.

Instead of focusing on partisanship and fighting for our own way, maybe we need to simply focus on love.

Maybe we can show one another a love full of patience and humility.

Maybe we can pray for one another that the love of God and neighbor would continue growing in our hearts.

And maybe, even if we practice in different ways and move in separate directions, we can still find ways to join together in the work of God in the world.

May it be so.

UMC 101: Doctrine and Discipline in Real Life

Posted on January 16, 2022Leave a comment

Text: Luke 3:7-14; Book of Discipline (p. 55-56, 77-80, 105-146)

We continue today by the banks of the Jordan River with John the Baptist and a piece of scripture that we briefly touched during the Advent season.

He has been calling people to repentance, asking them to change their hearts and their lives, and suddenly there is a growing number of folks on the riverbank.

I love how the Message translation puts it: “Crowds of people came out for baptism because it was the popular thing to do.” (Luke 3:7-9)

John the Baptist went viral.

And yet… instead of celebrating all these folks who were ready to dive in, he explodes at them!

He calls them children of snakes and then has the audacity to ask them, “who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”

That’s exactly the kind of welcome you’d want to hear when you step into a faith community for the first time, isn’t it?

“The axe is at the base of the tree,” John cries out, “and trees that aren’t producing fruit will be thrown into the fire.”

Nothing like some good old fire and brimstone preaching to wake us up on a Sunday morning.

I’m ready for John to bust out the Sinner’s Prayer and have everyone fall to their knees to repeat the words after him in an altar call.

But when the people start to ask what they should do, John the Baptist surprises us…

“If you have two coats, give one away.”

He tells them to do something that will make a difference for their neighbors.

It sounds like a good works response… rather than a faith response.

And that is because he is calling them to change not just their heart, but their lives.

Last week, we touched on the idea that for United Methodists, faith and good works are like two sides of the same coin. You can’t love God without loving your neighbor. And likewise, acts of love towards our neighbors are an outpouring of our love of God.

Or as our Book of Discipline puts it:

“Our struggles for human dignity and social reform have been a response to God’s demand for love, mercy, and justice in the light of the Kingdom. We proclaim no personal gospel that fails to express itself in relevant social concerns; we proclaim no social gospel that does not include the personal transformation of sinners.”
BOD, p. 55

This is that “practical divinity” that we talked about. It is the good news of Jesus Christ realized in the lives of Christian people.

Food for the hungry.

Clothing for the naked.

Health for the sick.

Freedom for the oppressed.

So let’s talk about that other John… John Wesley.

He looked around at faith and life in England in his day and like John the Baptist saw a similar disconnect. Religious leaders were ignoring the real problems of every day folks and every day folks had no room in their lives for religion.

So he got out of the pulpit and went out to where the people were… the coal mines, the streets.

He started to preach about changing our hearts and our lives and crowds of folks began to take notice and show up and want to know more.

Our Book of Discipline tells the story of how our Methodist United Societies got started:

“In the latter end of the year 1739 eight or ten persons came to Mr. Wesley, in London, who appeared to be deeply convinced of sin, and earnestly groaning for redemption. They desired… that he would spend some time with them in prayer, and advise them how to flee from the wrath to come… he appointed a day when they might all come together, which from thenceforward they did every week.”
Book of Discipline, p. 77

Each society, or larger gathering, was also made up for small groups, or classes of about 12 folks.

By the time Wesley died, there were 72,000 members of these United Societies across the British Isles.

And there was only one condition to be part of the society: you had to want to flee from the wrath to come and be saved from your sin. They called this “working out your salvation” and whenever someone was focused on these things, they expected there to be evidence of fruit.

Sounds a whole lot like what was happening on the bank of the Jordan River… doesn’t it?

But I also must mention a key thing that Wesley includes… something that is vitally important to what it means to be United Methodist.

Wesley never thought people could or should do this on their own.

He grouped people together into classes and larger societies so that there would be support and accountability as together we help one another within the Body of Christ to transform the world.

That support and accountability is also like two sides of the same coin.

John the Baptist sounded awfully harsh there on the banks of the Jordan River. And we think as United Methodists that we should never be people who rush to punishment – because that doesn’t demonstrate God’s mercy…

But at the same time, a church that lacks the courage to speak and act on behalf of our neighbors loses any claim to moral authority.

So they’d get together every week to pray, to encourage each other, and to ask about how faith and love were put into action in their lives.

If someone wasn’t living up to their commitments, they would give them time… even put them in a remedial group, if necessary. And sometimes, they had to have an honest conversation and ask that person to leave.

These societies had what we call General Rules… rules that we have talked a lot about over the last couple of years in our own pandemic response.

The members of the classes and societies were expected to show evidence of their desire for salvation by:

First – doing no harm and avoiding evil of every kind – especially that which was commonly practiced.

Wesley included examples of what that looked like in his day…

profaning the day of the Lord by buying or selling…

drunkenness…

buying or selling slaves…

taking your brother to court…

buying black market goods…

putting on gold or costly apparel…

and singing songs or reading books that don’t help you grow in your love of God.

But it wasn’t just about what we shouldn’t do.

The second rule of the Societies was to do good; by being merciful and doing as much good as you could as far as you possibly could to as many people as you could:

This rule lists examples like being diligent and frugal…

Living out the commands of Matthew 25 to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit those in prison…

Being patient…

Teaching and sharing the word of God with others…

And things like buying from and employing other Christians.

The third rule was to keep practicing those things that were vehicles of God’s grace and mercy and power in our own lives – what Wesley called the “ordinances of God.”

These included things like public worship, studying the Bible, prayer, fasting, and communion.

Just as John the Baptist had some practical, real life examples of what it look like to produce the fruit of salvation in the world, the General Rules of the United Societies show us what John Wesley thought it looked like to bear the evidence of salvation in his day.

And so, as a denomination, we have continued to wrestle with how to exercise our “responsibility for the moral and spiritual quality of society.” (p. 55).

Every time our General Conference meets, we update what we now call our Social Principles that help to guide us as we live out our faith on a daily basis, as well as Resolutions that provide detailed positions on current issues.

According to our Book of Resolutions, these positions:

“give us evidence that that Church means for God’s love to reach into situations faced each day, not just on Sunday mornings… The United Methodist Church believes God’s love for the word is an active and engaged love… we care enough about people’s lives to risk interpreting God’s love, to take a stand, to call each of us into a response, no matter how controversial or complex.”
Book of Resolutions, p. 22-23

The Social Principles and Book of Resolutions guide how we should engage the natural world, what it means to nurture human beings in community, our responsibilities towards one another in society, and how we engage in economic and political systems across the globe.

They cover topics from suicide to abortion, public education to investments, the rights of farm workers to nuclear testing and stem cell research. All with compassion, nuance, and care.

And… I think this is vitally important… we believe that we are constantly being reformed by God’s love and so these positions are not written in stone: “Faithfulness requires favoring what best demonstrates God’s love and being willing to change when new perspectives or data emerge.” (p. 24)

On the banks of the Jordan River, John the Baptist called those who were serious about repentance to bear fruit in practical ways: Give away your extra coat. Don’t overcollect taxes. Don’t falsely accuse others. Be content.

As United Methodists, we continue to hear that call as we strive to do no harm, do good, and stay in love with God.

UMC 101: Summon to Grace, Growth, and Love

Posted on January 9, 2022Leave a comment

Text: Luke 3:15-18, 21-22, Book of Discipline pages 47-54

Every time we turn the pages from one calendar year to the next, it feels like a fresh start.

A new beginning.

A chance to revisit where we have been and where we are going.

A few years ago, we took time as a congregation during this season to look at the Bible with fresh eyes in our series, Bible 101.

And as so much of the future of the United Methodist Church is up in the air, this is a good chance to dive into who we say we are and what we say we are about as we figure out what is next for us as a people.

So… welcome to UMC 101!

Today, we start by the waters of the Jordan River with John the Baptist, calling people to repent and to change their hearts and lives.

This is such a great place to launch into our discussion of what it means to be United Methodist, because our forebearers in this tradition, like John, were not planning to create something entirely new.

John the Baptist understood himself as nothing more than a sign-post… pointing to the truths of his tradition, the promises of the prophets, and the movement of God all around him.

He was calling people back to their faith…

Calling them to reclaim what it meant to be the people of God and to bear fruit in the world…

And he was inviting them to look out for what God was stirring up in their midst… the Savior who had been promised.

In other words, John the Baptist wasn’t inventing a new religion.

In fact, the early Jesus followers weren’t trying to start a new religion either… they just wanted to answer God’s call to live their faith more deeply.

And our United Methodist denomination never set out to be a new tradition either.

As the Book of Discipline reminds us, the core of our faith is the same as other Christians (p.49-50):

We hold and affirm our belief in the triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – just as our baptismal liturgy invites us to profess.
We hold in common faith in the mystery of salvation… a precious gift… that redeems our brokenness, in and through Jesus Christ.
We believe that God’s redemptive love is realized in our lives by the movement of the Holy Spirit – both in our personal experiences and in the community – the church.
We see ourselves as part of Christ’s holy catholic church – catholic with a little ‘c’ meaning Christ’s universal church. The church is one in Christ Jesus – sharing the authority of scripture, creeds, liturgies, and ministries.
We recognize that the reign of God has already begun, and just as we proclaimed all throughout this Advent season… it is not completely here yet, and that the church itself is a sign of that kingdom – but it is also continually being reformed so that it might be more like what God intends for us.

When John the Baptist stood on the banks of the Jordan, he didn’t have a new teaching to offer. He wasn’t trying to get people to believe something new. He simply wanted them to wash themselves clean of their past, to change their hearts, and to really and truly live out their faith in their daily lives.

If we look back to what John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist tradition, was trying to do, it isn’t all that different.

As our Book of Discipline reminds us, the early Methodists “tasks were to summon people to experience the justifying and sanctifying grace of God and encourage people to grow in the knowledge and love of God through the personal and corporate disciplines of the Christian life.”

They heard a call to “reform the nation, particularly the Church, and to spread scriptural holiness over the land.”

In other words… John Wesley and his early followers… like John the Baptist before them… were simply calling people to put faith and love into practice.

Over time, as we continued to focus on “practical divinity” – or the presence of God moving through our daily lives, the Wesleyan tradition began to take on it’s own unique emphases… or our own spin on those core Christian beliefs.

The first of these is that everything is grace. Grace is the act of creation, the revelation of Jesus Christ, and the restoration of all things… no matter how much we have failed. It is all undeserved and it is all an act of love.

In our United Methodist tradition, we talk about three different ways that grace is present in our lives.

There is prevenient grace… the grace that goes before us. Before we even know who God is, it is the spark of love present in our lives. It is one of the reasons that our tradition baptizes little babies… because God’s grace goes before us. Prevenient grace is the tug at our heart and the unconscious push in our lives to get us to the place where we are ready for God’s love to change us.

Then there is justifying grace… the grace that forgives and restores us. We sometimes talk about this as our conversion experience – whether it happens in a moment or over a lifetime – as our hearts and lives change by God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit.

This is the moment that John the Baptist was pointing to in our scripture for today… acknowledging our sins, turning our lives around, and then through the power of the Holy Spirit and the work of Jesus Christ, actually being transformed. He knew that simply repenting of your sins wasn’t enough. You needed the Holy Spirit to sift out the fruit – the grain – from the husks.

As we often talk about with our confirmands, simply accepting God’s redeeming grace is not the end of our journey. So much of our United Methodist beliefs stem from asking the question – what now?

Or maybe a better way of thinking about it is – what do you do with that grain of wheat that is your life? How do you plant it so that it might grow and nourish this world?

So our tradition focuses also on sanctifying grace… the grace that continues to nurture and transform and perfect us so that each day we are more filled with the love of God and our neighbor than we were the day before.

One of the perpetual conversations amongst different Christian traditions has to do with faith and good works. Because the Wesleyan tradition emphasizes that what we do in this world matters, we sometimes get accused of focusing on works… of trying to earn our salvation.

And God’s grace does call us to respond… but faith is the only response essential for salvation. To accept God’s prevenient, and justifying, and sanctifying grace in our lives.

The thing is, when you let the Holy Spirit work in you… there will be fruit! People will be able to see the good works that God is doing through you.

Related to this, personal salvation always involves mission and service. Love of God is always linked with love of neighbor, a passion for justice and renewal in the world. We’ll talk more next week about some of the ways our own personal piety is linked with social holiness – like two sides of the same coin.

Finally, we can’t do any of this on our own. United Methodists don’t believe that all you need is Jesus – you also need the Body of Christ. For it is in community that we grow and are equipped for our service in the world. For Wesley, there is no religion but social religion. So the nurture and mission of the church brings us together as a connection. Even our congregations don’t operate on our own, but reach out together to witness and seek love, peace, and justice in this world.

When John the Baptist called for people to be baptized, he wanted them to show that they were changing their hearts and lives and wanted God to forgive their sins. (Luke 3:3)

But it wasn’t just about them as individuals getting right with God.

It was so that all humanity would see God’s salvation. (Luke 3:6, Isaiah 40:5)

“What should we do?” the people cried out.

“If you have two coats, give one away” he replied.

Our faith, our salvation, is not just about what we are saved from.

It is about what we are saved for.

We were saved to be disciples, and to make disciples of Jesus Christ, for the transformation of this world.

Friends, through the love and grace of God, the Holy Spirit is ready to descend onto your life…

Whether you are just getting started in the faith and are still unsure of what your next steps are…

Or whether you are finally ready to accept the gift of God’s love…

Or whether you have long ago given your life to God and are ready to keep growing in faith…

God’s grace is here.

You are God’s beloved.

And the Holy Spirit is ready to wash over you…

To fill you…

To empower you…

To transform you…

So that this world might see and know and experience the good news of God.

Do you hear that summon?

Do you hear that call to experience the grace of God? To grow in the knowledge and love of God?

If you have never been baptized, I’d love to have a conversation with you about what that next step might look like in your life. Fill out one of our cards – either from the pew or online – and let me know about that nudge in your life.

For the rest of us, this is an opportunity to remember.

To recommit.

To respond.

So that we might not only be redeemed and restored, but so that we might reform the nation.

digging deep into Plan UMC #gc2012

Posted on May 4, 2012Leave a comment

I admit… I may not have done my due diligence in digging out the details of Plan UMC. Not that as a reserve delegate I got to vote on it. Not that we had enough time to absorb it. Not that there was enough time and attention given during plenary to truly perfect it.

But I knew that when I went home, I was going to have to explain what we did, so I’ve been digging deep through it so I could share honestly and truthfully.

Here are some discoveries:

1) There is absolutely no process listed for the election of the new Executive General Secretary of the board… none whatsoever. Not who elects, not where from. Nothing.

2) Any cobbled together piece of legislation is messy… it jumps all over the place… it took me hours to figure out what everything was and make sense of it.

3) There are inconsistencies in the number of reps the boards will have. I may be a preacher, but I once was good at math, and my addition leaves me with one extra member on almost every board.

4) The numbers for the representation for UMW are different than what we passed on consent calendar and because it was passed afterwards thus supercede the request and approved numbers from the UMW themselves.

5) Faith and Order moves from being a committee that reports to General Conference to a committee under that Council of Bishops. This, I believe, is one of the most amazing changes in this legislation… it means that the theological and ecclesiological questions of how we live together now rest where (I believe) it should… with those we have chosen to lead us and with those who are set apart to offer prophetic witness and to move the church to where the Holy Spirit calls.

6) A new General Secretaries Council is created that is a gathering of all of the general secretaries from the boards and agencies + the executive general secretary. This is for the purposes of collaboration and sharing. But, it is also stated very clearly that if the direction from the new General Council on Strategy and Oversight conflicts with the intention of a specific board, that General Secretary is obligated to follow the direction of the board and not the GCSO. There is freedom here

7) I was worried about young people. Previously, there were specific spots mentioned in the discipline regarding membership of each board/agency and representation. In the Book of Discipline… under the description of membership on each of the boards, an item regarding diversity WAS RETAINED. It actually calls for diversity in gender, clergy/lay, race/ethnicity, and mandates 10% of the board members be young people. On a board of 30… that is at least 3 seats. On the GCSO, that is at least 5 seats at the table.

8) As the new Committee on Inclusiveness is described, I am not so fearful as I once was when we seemingly lost the work of GCSRW and GCORR… there are some hopes that the monitoring, ethical, and prophetic work they do might actually have a stronger voice in it’s new location… only time will tell.

As you can see, I have a positive feelings and negative feelings. I’m not sure how it will all shake out, but some pieces of this plan give me reason to hope that maybe we didn’t just restructure money… but might have done some small adaptive changes… God help us!