Image by Wikimedia Commons user Kfengler. Cropped from original.
Cliff Diver
99 Problems
The church has problems. The United Methodist Church has problems, the universal church has problems, and every other broken piece of this tattered and beautiful body of Christ has problems.
Count the ways: We care more about who gets to be on the “inside” than about spreading a message of love. We have more passive “members” than people passionate about following an off-kilter Jewish rabbi with some intensely unlikeable ideas. We don’t have the money to do the things we should, and we don’t do the things we should with the money we have. Most of us stay in the institution because it feeds our ego more than it feeds our souls.
We got problems. Let’s just establish that from the outset.
The question being asked by UMC LEAD, bishops across the world, and Jesus-followers who don’t wear fancy stoles is: How do we solve the problems?
As it turns out, when smart people with good intentions and an open heart ask that question, they receive some really good answers.
How do we solve the problems of the church? By making “disciples” instead of “members,” says Gil Rendle. Now that is a good idea.
How do we solve the problems of the church? By “casting aside” our non-essential prejudices against the LGBTQI community and choosing instead to stand for love, at all costs, says Jon Copeland. Yes! Preach it!
How do we solve the problems of the church? By writing blogs that always use the “rule of three” and lots of “scare quotes.”
The ideas are out there, and God is moving in the hearts and minds of people all over the world. No doubt about it.
All About the Benjamins
Ask how to implement these ideas, however, and things get complicated. You want my local church to stop making members and start making disciples? Well, get ready for our attendance to drop and the district superintendent to ask some hard questions.
Unequivocally affirm the beloved nature of every human being, even when it comes to marriage and ordination? Well, there are a lot of people who just aren’t quite ready for that. Maybe wait a few years to deal with that one. Let culture take care of it, and then we can jump on the bandwagon once the threat to attendance is gone.
For every choice that has the potential to lead us in a better direction, there are twenty reasons why we should not make that choice. And if we are being brutally honest, the biggest reason we don’t take bold action is because we are scared of losing money.
Come on, you were thinking it anyway. Break it all down, and the number one reason we discourage innovation is because it might scare off big givers. And for good reason: it is hard to be effective without the money to back up your good intentions.
Let’s not mince words, though: This rationale is 100% based in fear. It starts with the fear of change, it melds into a fear of losing members, and it culminates in the big fear of financial insecurity.
Fear-based rationales – while they may help a sinking ship stay afloat longer – ultimately go down along with the rest of the ship. They do not offer a long-term solution, only a futile stopgap. (That’s a clichéd metaphor for the dying church, but you get it.)
Have a Little Faith
The alternative to this fear-based stifling of innovation is called risk. Risk some of these good ideas, knowing full well the possible negative consequences, and see what happens. Choose to stand for love when we know it will turn people away. Choose to call people to the harder path when we know many will choose no path at all.
When we choose to take a risk, we replace fear with faith. We start making decisions based in trust: discerning a path forward with God’s guidance, and then trusting that God will show us where to turn next.
Take a risk, and what do we have to lose? A ship that’s going down anyway. Who knows, maybe we need to sink that ship to the bottom so we can finally see a new ship rise up in its place. (That’s a bad metaphor for the church dying and rising again, but you get it. Resurrection and such.)
Continue along the path of fear, and what do we stand to lose? Nothing short of God’s incarnate love made known in the living body of Christ. Nothing short of God working in our very midst.
For God’s sake – not for the sake of membership or tithes or power – for God’s sake, we need to take a leap. If God is love and love casts out all fear, then we need to let God do what God does best and let go of the fear that is holding us in stagnancy.
For God’s sake, somebody take a risk.
Gabe Horton is a student at Vanderbilt Divinity School and a pastoral intern at Belle Meade United Methodist Church in Nashville, TN.