Join the Witness to Jesus Happening Beyond the UMC

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Hard as it can be to lift our eyes from the travails now besetting The United Methodist Church, an even greater moral, theological and political crisis faces American believers. Two developments this week have manifested calls to faithful witness that I commend: The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call to Moral Revival, and Reclaiming Jesus.

The Poor People’s Campaign seeks to carry on the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Right now, the campaign is conducting 40 days of daily events “to challenge the evils of systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, ecological devastation and the nation’s distorted morality” on behalf of the 140 million people in America living in poverty. The “Moral Action” events, which began May 13 and continue through June 21, are being livestreamed on PPC’s national Facebook page. There are also Facebook pages for statewide campaigns.

The campaign officially began Dec. 4, 2017, 50 years after Dr. King began his Poor People’s Campaign. Its “fundamental principles” read a lot like Matthew 25, when Jesus commands his disciples to care for “the least of these.” The Rev. Dr. William Barber II of Goldsboro, N.C., one of the architects of North Carolina’s “Moral Mondays” demonstrations, and the Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, a Presbyterian minister from New York City, serve as co-chairs of the campaign. According to an interview with them in the New York Times, “Drs. Barber and Theoharis say that the campaign is not a partisan undertaking, and that they will not allow candidates for office to piggyback on its events.”

PPC’s “40 Days of Moral Action” has united thousands of people across the United States in daily demonstrations against public policies that perpetuate poverty and harm poor people. Drs. Barber and Theoharis crisscrossed the United States for a year making connections with churches, synagogues, faith-based and community organizations, social services, labor unions and other groups serving the poor to mobilize participants. United Methodist Women and The United Methodist General Board of Church and Society are endorsing partners, along with the United Church of Christ; Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); the Union for Reform Judaism; Dr. Barber’s denomination, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); and Dr. Theoharis’ organization, the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights and Social Justice, based at Union Theological Seminary in New York City.

Parallel to the Poor People’s Campaign, Reclaiming Jesus offers an interdenominational opportunity for Christians to speak out against co-opting Jesus for personal and political gain, resisting the moral decay that has enveloped public life. A video of leaders of many denominations, with a good mix of races, was unveiled this week by Sojourners, the independent evangelical social justice community in Washington, D.C. Featured in the video are noted socially conscious evangelical leaders such as Rev. Jim Wallis of Sojourners; Bishop Michael Curry, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church; author Dr. Tony Campolo; Dr. Ron Sider, founder of Evangelicals for Social Action; and Fr. Richard Rohr, popular spiritual director. On the website, retired United Methodist Bishop William Willimon is listed among the signers of Reclaiming Jesus’ statement.

Frankly, comparing the confessions listed in Reclaiming Jesus’ statement to recent actions – and in some cases, inaction – of The United Methodist Church made me squirm. Consider:

  • I. WE BELIEVE each human being is made in God’s image and likeness (Genesis 1:26). That image and likeness confers a divinely decreed dignity, worth, and God-given equality to all of us as children of the one God who is the Creator of all things. Racial bigotry is a brutal denial of the image of God (the imago dei) in some of the children of God. Our participation in the global community of Christ absolutely prevents any toleration of racial bigotry. … THEREFORE, WE REJECT the resurgence of white nationalism and racism in our nation on many fronts, including the highest levels of political leadership.
  • II. WE BELIEVE we are one body. In Christ, there is to be no oppression based on race, gender, identity, or class (Galatians 3:28). … When we fail to overcome these oppressive obstacles, and even perpetuate them, we have failed in our vocation to the world—to proclaim and live the reconciling gospel of Christ. … THEREFORE, WE REJECT misogyny, the mistreatment, violent abuse, sexual harassment, and assault of women that has been further revealed in our culture and politics, including our churches, and the oppression of any other child of God.
  • III. WE BELIEVE how we treat the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the stranger, the sick, and the prisoner is how we treat Christ himself. (Matthew 25: 31-46) … THEREFORE, WE REJECT the language and policies of political leaders who would debase and abandon the most vulnerable children of God. We strongly deplore the growing attacks on immigrants and refugees, who are being made into cultural and political targets, and we need to remind our churches that God makes the treatment of the “strangers” among us a test of faith (Leviticus 19:33-34). We won’t accept the neglect of the well-being of low-income families and children, and we will resist repeated attempts to deny health care to those who most need it.
  • IV. WE BELIEVE that truth is morally central to our personal and public lives. Truth-telling is central to the prophetic biblical tradition, whose vocation includes speaking the Word of God into their societies and speaking the truth to power. … THEREFORE, WE REJECT the practice and pattern of lying that is invading our political and civil life.

Reclaiming Jesus will hold a service of prayer and gospel proclamation at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 24 at the National City Christian Church (5 Thomas Circle, Washington, DC 20005). The service will be followed by a procession to the White House and a silent candlelight vigil. The website also includes downloadable resources such as the full statement and a Bible study.

These Christians are proclaiming the full, authentic gospel of Jesus Christ in the face of twisted theologies such as the false end-times prophecies of some extremists who claim Christianity. They are doing what Jesus did: putting their lives on the line for the poor, the marginalized, the oppressed, and God’s creation. More of us should join with them.

Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011.