No Future

I have a habit of printing off interesting articles and allowing them to pile up on my desk.  I was going through my stack yesterday and found an article entitled "No Future for Methodists Unless Change Occurs, Say Leaders."  It's an older article, from March of last year, but the message is one that needs to be heard by every leader and member of the local church.

I'm a first-generation United  Methodist.  My mother was raised in the Catholic Church and my father in the Southern Baptist Church.  Ever wondered what happens when you mix those two together?  You get a United Methodist!

I believe myself to be very ecumenical in my approach to ministry.  Jesus is Jesus, whether you're Catholic, Baptist, Episcopalian, Disciples of Christ, Lutheran, or Presbyterian - or non-denominational for that matter.  I also see value in the denominational structure because there are just some issues that we, as Christians, will never come together on.  I will always struggle with the Baptists because I believe in baptism as a sacrament that needs only be done once and infants are eligible.  I will disagree with Catholics because I believe that we should observe an "open table" in Holy Communion - that it is offered to all, just as the grace of God is offered to all.  You get the idea.

Back to the article.  It talks about how membership in Protestant churches has been down over the last several decades (since the 1950's actually).  United Methodists are the second largest denom to Baptists and we're still 8 million strong, but the only places we're showing an overall increase in numbers is in parts of Africa and SE Asia.

Half of Gen-Xers and Millenials have left the denom and some have found homes in other churches while others haven't found a need for the Christian community at all.  The UM's that remain are getting older and whiter.  Younger people aren't coming in and the future, according to the Council of Bishops, is looking bleak.

I sit in church meetings regularly and I have frequent conversations with church members.  Everybody's concerned with where the young people have gone.  Average age at Mt. Bethel is probably around 60 with very few young adults, youth, or children.  Survival is going to be painful for the long-time members of churches like Mt. Bethel.  In the first half of the 20th century, if you built a building with a steeple, people would miraculously appear and they would attend faithfully.  They'd put up with bad preaching and watered-down missions and evangelism.  Times have changed.

The churches that are growing don't wait for people to come to them, they are reaching out to people.  And they're not doing it in a way that promotes faded-out traditions but focuses on meeting the needs and interests of people that have either never been a part of the Christian faith or were once a part of the traditional church and were wounded or left unfulfilled.

Things will have to change.  No, not every church will need to convert to contemporary worship and not every pastor will have to figure out how to sport the untucked striped shirt and gelled hair (thank God).  We will have to take a look at our structures though - go from a hierarchy approach to a team approach.  Every member has to figure out how to be a minister to others, looking to the pastor for leadership (discipleship) and inspiration and encouragement.

People come to church because they're looking for something and their options are wide ranging with more churches in communities that offer more ministries.  People are hungry for what's missing.  If we refuse to feed them for the sake of tradition or for the sake of our own comfort or power, then we have a problem.  If that's the Methodist way, then I don't want to be Methodist.

--------

In the same vein, kudos to those pastors out there who are pushing limits and helping their people reach others.  Grace to the pastors that are planting new churches with the sole purpose of reaching the unreached.  And to the lay leaders that hear this call and have the desire to see things change, feel free to visit Mt. Bethel anytime - we have others who have the same desire, but you can never have enough voices.

Where is Your House Built?

This Sunday, I'm preaching from Matthew 7:15-29. We've all read it before and we've heard some preacher tell us not to be hypocrites. I'm getting fired up about this Sunday though. Partly because the things that have come into my wheelhouse recently, and partly because I could easily preach six weeks on this section of the Sermon on the Mount.

Here are my thoughts:

I remember being hung up on this text the first few times that I read it, years ago. In verses 21-23, Jesus talks about who's in and who's out and suprisingly, there are those who performed miracles who are on the outside.

Miracles?

OK, I get that the text was about authentic discipleship and having a real relationship with Christ, but if you don't have those things are you really going to be performing miracles? I guess so.

Jesus makes an interesting point by the way he chose his words. Could it be that he's discounting the value of miracles because God will use even the most evil to bring forth good? Could he be showing that those are things that we actually don't do ourselves and their sometimes things that can happen in spite of us?

Once I began to understand the complexity of Jesus' words, I found freedom in them. I remember, as a teen and even during my college years, I would give things the old college try, only to be disappointed that I wasn't making the difference that other Christians were making. None of that matters though. Jesus wants us to see that being his disciples doesn't make us religious superheroes - it makes us durable, solid as a rock, and able to withstand any pressure.

On the other side, I have seen friends that had the Midas touch when it came to their faith who, when the first winds blew and the flood waters rose in life, their faith was shaken. You may have seen this, or perhaps experienced it - it's heartbreaking. I'm nervous for some of the people I'm around everyday, who like to share the resume' of their faith and let people know how long they've been members of their church and what kinds of things they've accomplished. They don't realize that in many cases, they're living in a house of cards. When you ask the question, "What is God doing in your life right now?" and get a blank stare, be very concerned for this brother or sister and please, pray for them.

When someone asks you about your faith, what's the first thing you tell them? Do you present your resume' and maybe some pictures from your last mission trip? Do you tell them when your Christian birthday is (this is a pet peeve of mine by the way)? Or can you tell them what God is doing in your life right now?

When the day comes that Jesus asks you about your faith, what's the first thing you'll tell him?
Will it be your accomplishments and the length of time that you've been a Christian? Or will Jesus even need to ask? Will he know you so well that there are no questions?

I've got a song for you: Casting Crowns' "Stained Glass Masquerade." (By the way, their lead singer is a youth minister here in McDonough)