Florida crowd
Florida Conference attendees received inspiring messages and music (Florida Conference Photo by Lance Rothwell).
June 12, 2023
When St. Francis heard these words from God, he initially took them literally. He set upon the task of restoring the San Damiano chapel. He never abandoned the tangibility of that call, carrying a broom with him and often sweeping out a church building before he began ministry there.
But it was not long before he recognized that God’s call included the invitation to rebuild the Church intangibly. The soul of the Church, not just its structures, was in need of repair. What we today call the Franciscan movement is the result—a combination of tangible and intangible renewal, the edification of both the institutional church and the mystical Body of Christ.
The Wesleys were heirs of this vision, intentionally launching Methodism as a Third Order movement that sought to do good to the souls and bodies of individuals and to the spirit and structure of the Church. [1] As heirs of Francis and Clare, and John and Charles, we are once again hearing God say, “Go, rebuild my Church,” and in the light of their discernment, we see and accept that call in both tangible and intangible ways.
The recent Annual Conference in Florida is an example of the both/and renewal that’s called for today. Even though I was unable to attend because of illness, watching the FLUMC Annual Conference livestream showed both the tangible and intangible in play in ways that revived our hope. I have begun to hear similar stories from other Annual Conferences—stories that are rekindling the flame in the emerging UMC—the holy blend of the tangible and the intangible.
Tangibly, a bevy of elected and appointed leaders and delegates are at work to rebuild the polity of the UMC so that it reflects and facilitates the theology and mission which enables us “to serve the present age.” Movements and meetings are engaged in this necessary rebuilding work. General Conference 2024 will officially commence the rebuilding of the structures. But signs of tangible rebuilding are already occurring. Changes are already being made.
As this occurs, we recognize and accept God’s call to rebuild the Church intangibly—to “restore its soul” (Psalm 23:3). Another identifiable group is at work on this kind of rebuilding. Visionary conversations are occurring that are taking us to restorative resourcing. The new UMC will represent the Wesleyan tradition in the larger work of God that is one of new awakening, ecumenism, and interfaith cooperation. Evidences of this can already be seen.
Taken together, the intangible and tangible rebuilding of the UMC will be proactive in seeing that the Body of Christ is in the building, so that we can care for the souls and bodies of people, and make disciples for the transformation of the world. The emerging UMC is being renewed in structure and spirit.
Because God issues this call, we receive it as a sacred mandate, and one that is attainable as much now as it was when Francis/Clare, John/Charles heard it. Some of you reading this post are more engaged in the tangibles. Others are more involved in the intangibles. Some are active in both. Let us pray for one another, believing that the two dimensions of rebuilding are like the left-and-right-foot walking, moving us forward on a journey into a better-than-ever UMC—into a future filled with hope.
[1] I will write more soon about early Methodism as a Third Order movement, and how that understanding can inspire and inform our renewal today.