Wish List for the Next Methodism

Permit me to dream a little, or maybe a lot.

The debacle at last week’s General Conference was heartbreaking and tragic, yes, but it’s also an opportunity. Even though the United Methodist Church appears to be irretrievably broken, maybe something new is going to burst through the cracks of the old structure.

I mentioned that there is lots of talk going on at the moment about the possibility of creating a new Methodist movement, a brand-new denomination.

So while we’re talking about it, let’s sketch the contours of what might be ahead, first by considering what we could (finally) leave behind, and second, by dreaming of what we could actually incorporate in a new system.

What of United Methodism could we leave behind?

Obviously, my first answer is that we could leave our homophobia behind. We could leave behind the ridiculous statement that “homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.” But there are other things we could do without, or at least reconsider:

— Our obsession with paperwork, forms, and counting things: Do I really need to say more?

— Lifetime terms for bishops: I would propose that bishops be allowed to serve up to 12 years, then must return to an appointment in their Annual Conference. This would require a true sense of humility and servanthood among bishops, and would equalize their relationships with other clergy.

— Legislating by Robert’s Rules of Order: There are other ways to run meetings besides voting, preferably something which favors spiritual discernment and consensus.

— An appointment system which favors white males: There is an unspoken “ladder of success” in appointments; somehow only white guys end up with the biggest pulpits and biggest salaries.

— Structural racism: See above, but also note that there is an amazing lack of UM resources devoted to south and west Dallas in our own conference.

— Emphasis on buildings and properties: I’ve noticed that appointments in our conference congregate around already-existing buildings, instead of recognizing that the best evangelistic opportunities in our society require being outside of the walls of a physical church.

What should we include in a new Methodism?

Again, my first response would be that a new church must fully affirm and include LGBTQ people. This is a non-negotiable. But there are other things that we might consider:

— Equalized clergy pay: In the Methodist Church of Great Britain, all pastors make the same salary, with only slight adjustments based on years served. This would completely eliminate the competition that pastors in the US feel about “moving up the appointment ladder.”

— Greater flexibility in pastoral appointments, including those outside of traditional church settings: Over the last few years, younger clergy candidates are consistently opting out of ordination because they feel called to ministry outside of the local church. We must find a way to allow them to follow their call while supporting them with a network of accountability.

— Greater flexibility in local church organization: If you’ve ever served on a church committee, you know that we are required to have a Board of Trustees, a Finance Committee, a Staff Parish Relations Committee, a Church Council, as well as a host of other committees or groups to effectively get things done. Small churches often have a difficult time filling all the positions required, so it makes sense to widen the options for organization.

— Conferences to be gatherings for corporate prayer and worship primarily: Every year, our Annual Conference provides numerous experiences to worship together, and these are the moments we remember. We don’t go home with fond memories of the pension report. More worship, less reporting and voting, please.

Those are some of my dreams for something new. What about you? What would you propose we leave behind? What do you hope we could include?

Methodists and Strangely Warmed Hearts

As we draw near the General Conference which will determine the future shape of the United Methodist Church, it would serve us well to reflect on the theological and spiritual legacy which John Wesley left us.

It would be easy to list all the good things that Methodism has done since the 18th century; from schools to hospitals, homeless shelters to civil rights movements, from UMCOR to UMW. However, all the good work that Methodists have done is really the fruit of the spiritual foundations that John laid.

As a young man, John was a perfectionist. He grew up under the strict watchful eye of his priest father and loving mother, and imbibed their piety and concern for good order. He wanted to be a good Christian, to the extent that he and his brother formed a “holy club” while students at Oxford. While his peers were enjoying the freedoms and excesses of university life, John and Charles Wesley spent their extra time in prayer, Bible study, visiting prisoners, and receiving communion in evening chapel services.

Once ordained as an Anglican priest, John took the opportunity to become a missionary to America. He took a post in Georgia, and started making plans to evangelize the Indians. But he discovered that his parishioners weren’t as interested in the Christian life as he thought, and he made virtually no inroads into Indian civilization. After a brief romance ended in bitter disappointment, John set sail for home, dejected and broken.

The months following his return were filled with anxious searching. John felt driven to lead a good, Christian life, but he worried that he simply wouldn’t be able to do so. He came face to face with his fragile psyche and soul.

That’s why what happened on May 24, 1738 was such a pivotal moment for him. While at a Bible study somewhere on Aldersgate Street in London, John felt his heart “strangely warmed” as he came to a sudden realization: “I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”

What happened that hadn’t happened before in John’s heart?

For one, John finally believed the gospel. He had “known” it before; he had even been ordained into the church, meaning that he assented to the church’s teaching and creeds. But he hadn’t really internalized it.

One way to put it is that the truth of God’s love and forgiveness was in his head, but hadn’t made the “longest six-inch journey” to his heart. He didn’t really act as if he believed it, until that fateful day.

Unfortunately, not all Methodists these days have come to a similar realization. Some Methodists have never made that journey from the head to heart, and that may be the fault of the institutional church, which tends to favor the head in most matters. Even our worship tends to be intelligence and knowledge-based. We sing from books, read prayers from bulletins, and assume a certain level of education.

I realized long ago that it doesn’t matter how many times I say, “God loves you and forgives your sins,” because some people don’t really hear it, don’t know what to do with it, don’t truly believe it. Until that becomes rooted in your heart, you won’t live the Spirit-filled life that is the birthright of us all.

Which brings me to a second thing that John Wesley gifted us. The Aldersgate experience taught John that he was not accepted by God as a result of all the good things he did, but was a free gift of grace. He also discovered that, suddenly, he was motivated to do good works as a response to God’s grace. And he found that grace was a free-flowing, ongoing gift.

He called the process of growing in grace, “sanctification,” and the doctrine of sanctification which he developed is one of the hallmarks of Methodism. For the rest of his life, John preached that we are made right with God by grace, and that this is not a one-time experience, but an ongoing process by which we draw closer and closer to God. He stressed the importance of staying close to each other for support and accountability, while also availing oneself of all the means of grace.

This message was radical for his time, and I believe that it remains radical, particularly in 21st-century America, which seems to inject a kind of individualistic, pull-yourself-up-by-your-own-bootstraps, punishment-and-reward ethos into all things, even religion.

As a result of John’s preaching, Methodists have been doing very good things for over 250 years. But it’s important to remember — we don’t do good things hoping that God will love us; we do them because we know that God already does, and we want to pass on the good news to others.

So my fellow Methodists, here’s the question that John leaves for each of us to answer: Do you trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and do you have an assurance that he has taken away your sins, even yours, and saved you from the law of sin and death?

Signs of Hope in the Catskills

There’s an old church tradition that, when you go on vacation and miss Sunday services at your home church, you must bring a bulletin from the church you attended while out of town, back to your pastor. Ken and Colleen Kelley have been especially diligent about doing this while I’ve been at KPUMC, but I’ve received bulletins from others, too.

And so, in case you’re wondering, I have in my possession the July 16th worship bulletin from Roxbury United Methodist Church in Roxbury, New York.

While Leah and I were on vacation last week in the Catskill Mountains, we stayed at the summer home of Otto Wagenbach. He and Pat were gracious hosts, and we had a marvelous time of rest and relaxation.

But we went to church on my Sunday off! For one, Otto and Pat wanted us to meet their summer pastor, Donna LeRoy, who turns out to be a dynamite preacher and warm personality. Donna works hard on Sundays, because she is responsible for three different churches; in Methodist terms, she has what’s called a three-point charge. She preaches at Roxbury only on the first and third Sundays at 9 am; then she’s off to Margaretville UMC to preach at 10:30 am.

I was extremely glad that we went to church on that Sunday; the four of us practically doubled the congregation! There were ten of us in attendance that morning, not counting Donna and the organist.

I suppose one could be disappointed or distraught at the decline of Methodism in upstate New York; after all, this is historically one of the strongest bastions of Methodism in America. One could conclude that Christianity is slowly dying in the northeast, which is a narrative that is certainly being spread by some pundits.

The truth is that these small towns and villages are themselves in decline. Dairy farming was the primary industry in Roxbury and Margaretville at one time. Times have changed; big factories now do dairy work on a large scale. Jobs have shrunk, and most kids who grow up in these small towns move off to raise families elsewhere. Otto told me that, unfortunately, drug use has become a problem as opportunity has passed these places up.

Thus, the shrinking church is merely a symptom of what is happening in the larger community. There are fewer people around, so of course there will be smaller congregations.

But numbers are never the true sign of a vital church. The sign of a healthy church is the kind of mission it embraces, and the fruit it bears.

Fortunately, it appears that Roxbury UMC is a healthy church, and not just because Otto and Pat are there! That little historic church knows that they don’t exist merely for themselves, but for the good of the whole community. Earlier in the month, Roxbury UMC participated in the Celebrate Roxbury Festival; later in the summer they plan to have a joint service with a neighboring Reformed church. During announcement time, Pastor Donna shared that the churches in the parish were planning a joint Vacation Bible School for the children in the area.

In the sermon, which centered on Jesus’ Parable of the Sower, Pastor Donna emphasized the fact that the church was responsible for sowing the seed of the Gospel. She challenged all ten of us to be diligent in sharing God’s good news with other. She even dared to remind the church that its mission was to “make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”

The church of Jesus Christ only prospers when it recognizes that it is part of God’s mighty work in the world, and wants to participate. We are part of a movement, the unveiling of God’s kingdom on earth, and we have a deeply important role to play in that movement.

It was incredibly encouraging to see signs of life at Roxbury UMC, but I confess that I am even more excited about getting back to church at Kessler Park UMC, because the same thing is happening here.

Let’s get back to work!