BeUMC Collage
United Methodist Communications Illustration
October 23, 2023
The past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to be in a variety of meetings with clergy and laity having to do with the emerging United Methodist Church. Each meeting has included the spirit of revival, revealing clearly that ours is a future filled with hope (Jeremiah 29:11) as God does a new thing in our midst (Isaiah 49:13). The meetings have provided me with a fresh look at foundational characteristics that are enabling us to abound in hope.
Resolve…As the song says, “We have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back.” We are en-couraged and engaged. We are not canceled or caricatured. We are here. We are not going away. We are determined to bear witness to Christ in word and deed. The opposition we have faced through misinformation and lies has only clarified our vision, increased our intention, and multiplied our means of offering Christ to the world.
Roots….As devoted Christ followers, our foundation is Jesus and our message is the Gospel. We express the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3) through the lens and life together offered us in the Wesleyan tradition. In the words of John Wesley, “we are fixed as the sun concerning the main branches of Christian doctrine,” centered in the love of God, neighbor, and ourselves (Matthew 22:34-40) through the manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) in personal and social holiness. As students of the reign of God we bring forth treasures old and new (Matthew 13:52), weaving our heritage with fresh expressions of ministry.
Relevance….As Charles Wesley penned in his hymn, "A Charge to Keep," we are called “to serve the present age.” We do not put our hand to the plow and look back (Luke 9:62), but rather we raise our sails so that the Spirit can fill us and move us in directions that glorify God in our day (Acts 2:2). Relevance honors what Eugene Peterson called the pastor’s question, but which is also the church’s question, “Who are these particular people, and how can we be with them in such a way that they can become what God is making them?” [1]
Realization….As those given eyes to see and ears to hear (Mark 8:18), we recognize the multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-human (identity, gender, orientation), multi-cultural nature of reality. We recognize the BIPOC nature of the church, and we intend to deepen this vision so that the new UMC becomes a microcosm of the reign of God. Included in our realization is the recognition that God is raising up a new generation of lay and clergy leaders, and those of us who are elders can become their cheerleaders as they run the race set before them (Hebrews 12:1).
Relationships….As a diverse people, freed from deformative colonialism and demeaning language, we find ourselves “one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). In that unity, we form Beloved Community that does justice, loves kindness, and walks humbly with God (Micah 6:8), simultaneously “watching over another in love” (John Wesley) and “resisting evil in whatever forms it presents itself” (baptismal vow). In this life together, we bear witness to Jesus in ways that enable the world to “know we are Christians by our love.”
Resources….As those seeking to have Christ formed in us (Galatians 4:19), we join Christians in every age who desire the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5-11) and the emancipation that he provides (Galatians 5:1). We understand that the formative task is as formidable in the future (perhaps even more so) as it has been in the past. We achieve this in part through media and resources which teach the faith in the Wesleyan context. [2] Resources are the tangible sign that we understand we are disciples (learners), “Christians in the making” (E. Stanley Jones), beginners all our days (Thomas Merton). We are pupils in Teacher Jesus’ school.
Reassurance….As those living in Christ (John 15), we experience the reality of Christ’s promise, “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20). Far from being sidelined, we are with the One who is the Way (John 14:6), being led by Christ into a future beyond what we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). In this parade (2 Corinthians 2:14), we journey by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) and serve with the fruit and gifts of the Spirit. We are confident in him.
Rejoicing….As the people of God, we overflow with joy (Philippians 4:4). We have wept through a night of travail, but the morning of joy is dawning (Psalm 30:5). The new UMC is a people walking, leaping, and praising God (Acts 3:8). We invite whosoever will to join the dance!
[1] Eugene Peterson, ‘The Contemplative Pastor’ (Word, 1989), 11.
[2] On the Oboedire home page, at the top, there is a “New UMC” icon with suggested resources. And more, the United Methodist Publishing House (Amplify Media) has a growing list of Wesleyan resources.