My First, EVER, Disclaimer Regarding Joining the United Methodist Church

For the first time ever, I had to offer a disclaimer to some youth who chose to confirm their faith in worship on April 28, 2019. 

Today, April 28, 2019, through vows that they are going to asked to affirm they will become members of Christ Universal Church:   

• In the first vow they are asked, "Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness and reject the evil power of the world and repent of their sin.  In other words, do they turn away from anything that would distract them from loving and serving God. 
• They are then asked, "Do you accept the freedom and power God gives (we don't have to depend upon our own resources, God provides) them to resist evil, injustice and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves"--and I encourage them to remember their answer to this vow.) 
• Then they are asked, “Do you accept Jesus as your Savior and promise to serve him as your Lord in union with the church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations and races?”  
• And finally, they're asked, “Will you remain faithful members of Christ’ holy church and serve as Christ Representatives in this world?”

These ancient vows are asked of every follower of Christ, and as they affirm them they become part of the church universal.    

Next, together with the people gathered we will reaffirmed our faith as contained in the Old and New Testament by reciting the Apostles' Creed.  While our denomination isn't creedal (meaning we do not have to sign on to specific statement of beliefs into order to be a member of our denomination) we do use the Apostles' Creed as a statement of faith in our hymnal and occasionally in our worship services.

The highlight of the service is when we invite the youth to be confirmed to come forward and we (pastors, families and mentors) will lay hands upon them and pray that, "The Holy Spirit to rest upon them that, having been born through water and the spirit, they will be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ."  I celebrated that at this moment there will be “Amens” and clapping as we welcome these newly confirmed into Christ’s Church.  

Everything up to this point has focused on Christ, Christ's Universal Church and their commitment to this new direction in their life!  I then explained that at the end of the confirmation rite, they, as members of Christ Universal Church will be asked two more questions. 

Now, back in the day, we were asked ,“As members of Christ’s universal church will you remain loyal to the UMC and do all in your power to strengthen its ministries.”

Full disclosure now!  I am glad that we no longer ask this question in this format.  Over this last year, we have had conversations that our UMC is undergoing a particularly difficult season.  None of us know what the UMC will look a year from now when I will stand before a new set of confirmands.  For you see, we have people who disagree how some interpret scripture, doctrine and understand God’s grace, openness and inclusion of all persons to enter in the full of opportunities including marriage and ordination in the UMC.  Specifically, we are excluding LGBTQAI persons from these opportunities.

      

Now we ask, “As members of Christ universal church will you be loyal to Christ through the UMC and do all in your power to strengthen its ministries.” 

The difference is subtle but important.  We are asking if they will be ”loyal to Christ through the UMC”, and not “loyal to the UMC.”   We aren’t encouraging them to be disloyal to the UMC but to understand that when we are loyal to Christ that sometimes it is necessary to disagree with the denomination in order to strengthen the ministries of the Church.      

This is not without precedence, At one time the people called Methodist supported slavery.  And it was nearly a century after the civil war ended, in 1968, when the Methodist Church merged with the Evangelical United Brethren that resulted in the merging of the Central Conference into the Jurisdictional conferences in the United States which abolished a previously racially segregated conference structure.  And while women were awarded the right to vote in the United States in 1920, the Methodist Church didn’t ordain its first clergy woman until 1956 and the consecrate the first female bishop until 1980.  Today, one quarter of ordained clergy are female and nearly one quarter of the active bishops are also female.

As you can see, it takes a long time for change to take place in the church. And it takes people a long time to bring about change even when society has made the move in that direction and the church lags behind.  Therefore, I want you to understand that your loyalty, our loyalty is first and foremost to Christ and the universal church and that where there remains injustice and oppression of a people (which you said you would resist in the second vow of joining Christ Universal Church) in the denomination our loyalty to Christ trumps our loyalty to our denomination.  We need to understand that just because something is “the way it is now” doesn’t mean that “it will stay that way forever.”  It takes time for change to happen but when people put their hearts and minds and trust in God to guide them on the way that change will come and the ministries of the church will be strengthened. 

My friend, our newly confirmed sisters (we only had young ladies this year) in Christ, this is why it is so vital for you to say, “I will “ to this vow.  Your voice matters!  You can't change the structure and dynamics of the church if you choose to remain outside of the membership.  Therefore, having made this full disclosure, I hope that you will say yes to being Loyal to Christ through the UMC and together we can continue to strengthen the ministries of the church. 

Dust to dust

Last evening we spent putting ashes on our foreheads as a sign of repentance.  It is in the baptismal water that God marks us and we become part of the church and a community of faith but when we leave the doors of the church the followers of Jesus Christ can then blend in with the rest of society. God's baptismal mark evaporates away and we look like everyone else.   One hopes that just perhaps our actions will be evidence of our distinctiveness in this world as a follower of Jesus.  

But on Ash Wednesday, a black smudge is there for all to see.  It is a visible sign that marks us as a follower of Jesus Christ and as we enter the season of Lent we commit to go deep with God pledging our love and disciplined devotion to pray and to serve.  There is an inward and outward movement that takes place in those who seriously take this forty-day journey.  We go inward with God and outward to serve others.  We breathe in God's Spirit and we exhale Jesus' words. 

Yesterday, I shared ashes with our preschool students in Preschool Chapel, it is the one monthly meeting that I love!  We talked about how we love God and can serve others and as a sign of that love and service, we accept the ashes which we marked on their hands ... and even a few on their heads.

  

Later that day, I see an image of a mother marked with ashes in the form of a cross holding a student who I assume to be her daughter outside of a Floridian school as other loved ones wait with empty arms. 

Last evening, people came forward, their eyes stoically fixed on my own and I wipe dark ashes, again in the sign of the cross on their heads and vary my comments, "Repent a believe the gospel" or "To dust you are and to dust you will return." 

In the lobby, I jump into a group picture of our confirmands who attended the Ash Wednesday service ... each bearing the mark of Christ for all to see.  

In the Friendly's, I join four of our senior-friendly ladies" for a scoop of ice cream, each of us bearing Christ's mark and folks quizzically glancing at our dark smudges.  

All images that flash across my mind this morning.  Each a profound image of Christians in our society ...  may Christ's actions and words be equally as present in our lives as the marks are washed away and we journey in the shadow of the cross. 

Seeing Visions and Dreaming New Dreams

Day one - Doctorate of Ministry (DMin) Project

Two and a half years ago, following a succession of two lead, two interim and two associate pastors in five years, I was asked to return to Westminster United Methodist Church and serve as the lead pastor.  Return?  Yes!  It is unusual to be asked to return to the church you are called out from but it seems that resident bishop decided to set aside tradition and send me back home. 

Six months into my new appointment, I enrolled in a Doctorate of Ministry (Dmin) program at Wesley Theological Seminary which teamed up with Wesley House of Cambridge England.  The program is titled, "Creative Ministry for Church Renewal in Changing Times."  It seemed that the program's focus would work well with my opportunity to return to Westminster.

Last evening, I received word from Wesley's doctorate that my DMin project proposal was approved.  My coursework is completed (well, nearly completed as I have one more final paper to write) and now the work begins to work on my own project.  I have truly enjoyed coming home to Westminster UMC, we have seen God moving mightily as together we are seeing God's vision and we are dreaming new dreams in Joel-like fashion.  We have put into practice some time-honored techniques to revision our congregation and we are seeing 'a new thing' come to light.  I am so excited about what God is doing, the faithfulness of our leadership and congregation that I.have asked and sought approval for our story to become the basis for this DMin paper (more on this in future blog entries) In many ways this is a case study of our congregation and yet it is intended to provide a witness to God's action that may inspire other congregations that find themselves desiring to do a new thing for God and the community they are called to serve.
 

This blog is for the benefit of all of us.  For me to share with you our journey together, to share with you the work of our leadership and our congregation's continued work in our community.  You are welcome to comment on the way as this is our story.

Peace,

PM