RETHINKING CHURCH - PART 1 OF 'MISSING PIECES'

RETHINKING A CHURCH- 

Three Keys to the Future from Dr. Hudson

As a church engages itself in the process of re-thinking church, there is an awareness of many ideas, obstacles and dead ends. It is not an easy task.  It is akin to pausing at the edge of a vast wasteland with mountains in the distance.  You know you want to be ‘there’, but it is not clear just how to get from ‘here’ to there.  

There are always leaders and hopers who will be hard at work trying to deal with such realities.  There will always be those who resist change.  No matter what master plans from other churches are reviewed, there always seems to be three common elements.  These three keys spell the successful future for a congregation if they have the courage.

Key One: Spiritual Direction 

A church has to have a clear understanding of what their foundational ideology is or they will be like a lifeboat adrift on a turbulent sea of societal change.  The Bible calls it being blown here and there by the contrary or competing wind of doctrine.  No matter how we choose to act out that spiritual conviction, having it firmly enmeshed in our lives as the yardstick we measure success on is crucial.  We have to believe in something, know what we believe and what it means to live out what we believe.  There must be clear spiritual direction and vitality in a church if it is to grow and be in mission and service.

Key Two:  Unity of Purpose

There has to be a group of people who stand united behind the identified purpose of the church.  The Bible expresses repeatedly that unity of spirit, mind, and vision are part of the work of God among a people.  The pronounced presence of disunity, fracture, and fragmentation is evidence that the ‘mind of Christ’ is not at work among His people.  As children, we learned that we could express our views in a class election, but then we had to unite behind the decision made and act as a cohesive whole.  I heard a children’s story one time about a small town trying to pick a giant turnip. One person tried and failed.  Another person tried and failed.  The solution came when EVERYONE got involved and pulled the giant turnip out of the ground.  Sometimes it is true; everything we need to know we really did learn in Kindergarten.  Unity of purpose is a must for a church to achieve its true purpose.

Key Three: Committed Achievement

Perhaps you have witnessed a group make a decision in a meeting, shake hands and then leave, and never return to the subject of the decision.  A major key to success is a two-part step.  There must be the act of decision-making but then there must be the intentional follow through to accomplish the goal contained within the decision. 

Many churches across the country go into each New Year with unfulfilled goals of action plans never achieved through committed work.  Those goals and plans are like the ponderous chains of Marley that Dickens wrote about and rattle in the background of every meeting and event.  A church and its people must be committed to achieving what they plan.

These questions (among others) should guide us as we think about what we do, how we do it and why we do what we do.  Do we see the spiritual signposts on our journey and follow their direction?  Do we strive to find and keep unity of purpose in all we do as a church?  Are we committed to not merely planning but achieving what we plan?

[Originally based on a series from 2014]

Memories of the Journey - Abbey Street Methodist Church (Dublin)

Abbey Street Methodist Church (Dublin, Ireland)

Dr. and Mrs. Marvin J. Hudson, at the Dublin Central Mission
and the Abbystreet church in 1997.

The Abbey Street Methodist Church, 9c Lower Abbey Street ,  Dublin (Republic of Ireland) is in the heart of downtown Dublin. It is just a short detour off one of the main streets (O'Connell).  It is a place rich in history since it lays claim to some 200 hundred years of worship at that location.

Methodism's founder, John Wesley, preached in a location on Abbey Street in 1747 (see "The Methodist Chapels in Dublin" by D. A. Levistone Cooney, Dublin Historical Record, Vol. 57, No. 2 (Autumn, 2004), pp. 152-163).  The church location on that street is mention also in the  Minutes of The Methodist Conferences 1744 Volume XIX (online here).

You can read about John Wesley visiting in Dublin in the 18th century here.  Additionally, several of his journals chronicle his often fascinating adventures as he journeyed across predominately Catholic Ireland preaching and visiting.

Reflections on the Subject of Schisms

Schism and Reunion in the Methodist Church

 

In 2015, I wrote this article. Oddly, still appropriate today.

Schism is defined generally as a 'split or division between strongly opposed sections or parties' and this is usually 'caused by differences in opinion or belief.'

In the 1820's a group of Methodists broke away over the issues of church government and the role of the laity.  This group felt the clergy and bishops were too powerful and made decisions and then expected the local church to simply abide by these decisions with no input from the lay persons of the church. This group formed The Methodist Protestant Church.

In 1844, conflict emerged between the abolitionist northern churches of the Methodist Episcopal Church and the slave owning and permitting M.E. churches of the southern states (primarily). As a result,  the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South developed from a formal split.

In 1939, the Methodist Protestant, the M.E. and the M.E., South reunited to form the Methodist Church.

In 1968, The Methodist Church, the United Evangelical Church united to form the United Methodist Church.

John Wesley was greatly apposed to the idea of schism. He was so committed to the idea that 'love' and 'grace' should so infuse the hearts of men and women dedicated to seeking after God and living a life of faith that it was his understanding that to do less than live in harmony was sin. His sermon "On Schism" is filled with the scriptural admonitions to live in peace and harmony. He specifically mentions the 'petty' issues that might encourage divisions and urges Christians to rise above such actions.

This aspect of his sermon is often offered when issues of deeper significance arise that serve to challenge the reach of harmonious unity.  The base issue often seems to be a question of how scripture is viewed as authoritative to life and how applicable its injunctions are held to modern life.

In reading his sermon it is clear that there are two classes of issues creating schism. One were those interpersonal issues that are revealed in squabbles, jealousy, malice, unkindness and similar issues of the life half-heartedly given over to God's love and the transformation of the repentant life.  The other class was the issue of schism stemming from being forced to do something held to be against the scriptures and a violation of conscience.

"But perhaps such persons will say,[in this issue of leaving or schism] "We did not do this willingly; we were constrained to separate from that society, because we could not continue therein with a clear conscience; we could not continue without sin. I was not allowed to continue therein with breaking a commandment of God."

This clear distinction illustrates that not all schism was bad.
"If this was the case,' [a violation of conscience or perception of sin] "you could not be blamed for separating from that society. Suppose, for instance, you were a member of the Church of Rome, and you could not remain therein without committing idolatry; without worshipping of idols, whether images, or saints and angels; then it would be your bounded duty to leave that community, totally to separate from it. Suppose you could not remain in the Church of England without doing something which the word of God forbids, or omitting something which the word of God positively commands; if this were the case, (but blessed be God it is not) you ought to separate from the Church of England. I will make the case my own: I am now, and have been from my youth, a member and a Minister of the Church of England: And I have no desire, no design to separate from it, till my soul separates from my body. Yet if I was not permitted to remain therein without omitting what God requires me to do, it would then become meet and right, and my bounden duty, to separate from it without delay -"

It can be implied that over the issue of church governance, part of Methodism deemed schism appropriate in light of a threat to a violation of conscience and/or s committing of sin. The same can be said regarding the issue of slavery.  The examination of the arguments used in both of these situations might be very illuminating in light of what was considered a violation of conscience and/or the committing of a sin.  Learning why something was so important and what elements served as the tipping points might serve to address current issues and future challenges for any religious group facing inner turmoil and conflict significant enough to threaten schism.


See more at: http://www.umcmission.org/Find-Resources/John-Wesley-Sermons/Sermon-75-On-Schism#sthash.gTLg4QlP.dpuf

Observations: Resisters and Insisters

In our culture today we see a lot of people talking of reformation, rebellion, and resistance to perceived slights and injustices.  They carry signs, wear bold banners or shirts or hats to proclaim their cause.  That led me to thinking about how we view these reformers in the midst when they do not reflect a common view. They are momentum filled, dream fueled and vision motivated. Language plays a huge part in any cultural or social struggle. Propaganda and strong rhetoric have been used since Romans gossiped that the early Christians were cannibals eating the flesh of their God!  The words used take on great weight. Words are redefined to reflect new or different views.

A truth is that 'reformers" are a;ways seen as active, moving, momentum filled, vision driven and dream enabled.
"Conservatives", "Traditionalists" or as I call them the "Insisters" are seem as static, nonmotive, 'sticks in the mud' and their 'standing firm' seen as mere inaction.

"Making a Stand" was once seen as rock solid resistance to the inroads of evil, sin, corruption and all things negative. When we can do nothing else - we stand firm.  Today this action tends to be viewed as a lost cause huddle at the Alamo, a last ditch statement of doom and failure by a lonely few.

The marching horde, smiling, flags waving, marching upward with the rays of a smiling son filling the sky were favored symbols in decades of popular Marxist, Socialist and Communist posters and illustrations. They saw the value of reformers being seen as future focused, active, positive, mobile and engaged.

Controlling the image, the dialogue, reinterpreting terms and rules and symbols are all tools of corporate and institutional climate change.

In the culture struggles of changing times make sure that all terms used have an agreed upon single meaning, make sure that both the ones wishing change and those who do not wish that change are favored with equal and balanced rhetoric. Who is the resister and who is the insister can shift on a dime. It encourages caution, temperance, tolerance and kindness.

Today's Resister could be tomorrow's Insister.

All reasons that when Christians disagree they should follow different rules than the culture - they should be more charitable, more loving and tolerant. If differences develop creating deeply held theological canyons of disagreement they should celebrate their common ground even as they move apart.

In the end - God will sort us all out - his criteria is in the Bible. Did we accept the work of Christ? Did we love? Did we work on behalf of God to witness of God through words, deeds, and actions? Did we place God first and ourselves last? Did we depend on political maneuvers or did we depend on God? 

THE LAST CONFERENCE

The 2019 Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church of Oklahoma opened and I was on hand in an observing mood. It was –in many ways- a year of transition and a time of sadness tinged with the relief of laying down one task to gain energy to take up the next one. So in that mood I interviewed, watched, and listened with a more objective attitude and weighed things against a backdrop of past events, current struggles and future possibilities.

What I missed.

I recall the nervous first conferences where clergy and spouses met and mingled in “Hospitality Rooms”.  Here were the people we could ‘let our hair down’ with and kicked back to laugh and share news of events and happenings around the conference in a relatively ‘safe’ environment. Safe in the sense of being able to complain, let off steam and not feel you were going to get a quelling look from a supervisor (called a District Superintendent) or later be called on the carpet for ‘anti-company’ attitudes. These were the rooms where people who understood your struggles with less than stellar church people, hardships from less than perfect housing, poor jobs, too much to do, or the struggles of children labeled with the expectations of being a ‘preacher’s kid’.

For me, I recall visiting with older and more experienced spouses (mostly women then) who shared the struggles of their day. I heard of parsonages that had to pack up every year as their spouse when to conference, and waited for the appointments to be announced. If they moved, they were ready. If they stayed, then did a hurried spring cleaning and unpacked.  I heard of Bishops who demanded all women wear hose to conference, along with a hat and gloves. I heard with laughter and shock tales of the first women who  - younger or coming from other conferences – dared to wear the new pantsuits sans hats and gloves! I heard the warmth of kinship and comrades in arms as we all struggled to be this odd, shifting and ever complex thing called a ‘church spouse.’  How much was too much? How much was too little? Most all how to retain a sense of self and individualism in a world that often expected church spouses to be instant leaders, helpers or role models?  We worked through those issues with a helping a watery punch and cookies made by women across each district and sent to the Hospitality room. 

Even then, though, the times were changing. New ideas, attitudes, and behaviors were being seen as more spouses – and church women in general – were forced to work to make ends meet or selected to work to utilize their education or training. This was, it should be noted, only a major issue to female spouses. The then rare male spouses had no expectations that they would remain at home. In that sense their struggles to adjust were a little easier.

I miss that Hospitality Room and the deep sense of ‘connection’ it represented and provided.

Of course, conference still offered opportunity to ‘connect.’ Now it is in hallways, in passing and between sessions. Ships – people who might have been friends had they been given the opportunity to meet and mingle - passing in the midst of real or perceived busyness.

When I first attended conferences my husband was going through the steps on the way to Full Elder. Along the way, name badges were different colors with elders one color, deacons another, and local pastors yet another. Laity had their own specific hue as well. While this made approving voting elements easier it also led to behavior some of watched with secret delight. We noted a peculiar species emerged and some of us coined these people “Badgers.” This was based on their tendency to not look at your face when greeting you but at your badge. If you were not the ‘right kind of badge’ the greetings were brisk and quick while another badge wearer collected effusive greetings right and left.  I recall one year of this and some of us – lower rung badge wearers – wore ours upside down and made jokes about being in solidarity in our state of “nonbeing.”  

I was reminded of this as I stood in the “Problem Resolutions” line because being directed to the “laity” check in while my husband headed toward the “clergy” check in site (in another building) I discovered they did not have my name or badge. I was once more a ‘nonbeing.” Worse, I recalled a book I had once read about ‘Ministerial Problems and Procedures’ that – gasp! – included the pastor’s spouse but failed to categorize if the spouse was to be considered a problem or a procedure! 

“Clergy spouse? They probably put your badge in his packet.” Non-being alert and possible rant ahead; cute the violins. After years of being in feminist UMW circle’s, reading and hearing women proclaiming in the church the need for individual rights and status, here I was being a category: clergy spouse. 

Not a lay person (although I had been a Lay Servant for six years).Not a clergy. I was that neither fish nor fowl – the spouse.  So, although properly registered to attend annual conference I was ‘odd human out’.  A mere appendage in the equation. Segregated by a marital connection to a member of the clergy but not recognized as part of either the laity population or the clergy. As a person whose professional life (yes, the one outside the church) had focused on areas of customer service and relations, assessment and missional strategy, I had a lot to think on as I finally climbed into the bleachers to sit. 

Although, I can understand the logistics of managing legal voting – there is something to be said for the all one color name badges.

What I Liked

The theme of ‘living hope’ from 1 Peter 1:3 was appropriate. Bishop Nunn called us ‘Broken – but hopeful believers.’  He concluded his remarks by stating firmly and simply; “We need Jesus!” He likened recent struggles and divisions to the rival groups in the Corinthian church of Paul’s day. Some might say, he told the people of the conference, I am of the Traditional Plan. While another may cry, I am of the One Church Plan. And on and on… Like the church at Corinth, ‘has Christ been divided?’  He urged us to not lose sight of the essence of the Gospel (“Accept Jesus Christ and Him crucified”).

He also reminded us that prayer has power. The power to lives, hearts, and build churches, educate, to speak and share, and minister. 

The visit to the conference marked a last. A closure. A moving from one relationship with the conference to another as my spouse retired. Despite the wonderful and very apparent number of young adults in place for this conference – the generational shift is beginning – the youthful do not have a monopoly on hope. I treasure the things of the past – my history degree and research proves that – but I also look forward to the future and the things to come. I am hopeful of the future – regardless of what happens – because I know that God is still the master of the universe. With God in control there is always hope. Now to sit back and see what surprises God has in store for his people

"It Has Always Been in the Hymnal"

IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN IN THE HYMNAL was an atticle I wrote while working with a church to re imagine their future, rediscover their goals and reclaim their mission. It was an United Methodist Church and the hymnal is theirs (one they used for many years). The songs disappeared in a later edition and that opens entirely other avenues of exploration contemplating why?  Iin any case, other denominations, or traditions, might explore what is hidden in their own songbooks. In my experience, churches only utilize one-third of the total content in any hymnal - so surprises may be in store! Enjoy, Marilyn A. Hudson

"AS churches contemplate the present focus on rethinking church or redefining methods and clarifying mission, they can take hope in realizing the process is not new. It was hidden in plain sight in the UMC Hymnal (1989*).

In a church facing this challenge one of the hurdles faced was convincing people that the process was ‘Methodist’ or ‘approved.’  ‘Can we do that?’ was not just a punchline in a joke but a real struggle many were confronting for the first time.  As Mike Slaughter has correctly pointed out sometimes our methods have become our mission. All along, hidden in the hymnal were musical challenges, encouragements and inspiration for remembering that change was natural, healthy and needed for forward advancement of the church of Jesus Christ.

Starting on page 567 was the section “Called to God’s Mission” that starts with a song identifying our purpose as heralds of Christ and ends with page 593 and “Here I am, Lord.”    Here too are the songs that speak about the need for change. Jeffry Rowthorn’s 1978, “Lord, You Gave the Great Commission”  (page 584) cautions, “lest we neglect its mission…”and reminds “with the Spirit’s gifts empower us for the work of ministry.”

Fred Pratt Green’s 1969 words to “The Church of Christ, In Every Age” was prophetic about the need for change as generations shifted and our culture reshaped itself.  “The Church of Christ, in every age beset by change but Spirit led, must claim and test its heritage and keep on rising from the dead” (page 589).

The primary mission of the church as an agency outward focused is clear in Green’s 1968 “When the Church of Jesus” (page 592).  “When the church of Jesus shuts its outer door…Lord make us ten times more aware that the world we banish is our Christian care.” Ben Wren’s 1985 “Christ Loves the Church” reminds that God works through “earthen vessels” (page 590).

The necessity of having a fire to share, a spiritual vitality that draws people through authentic love and faith was present in this section of the hymnal. Kurt Kaiser’s 1969 classic “Pass It On” (page 572) was a gentle call for authenticity.  “This Little Light of Mine” (page 585) was an African-American spiritual highlighting the role every person has in bringing the light of the Gospel to others; and “Let My People Seek Their Freedom” (page 586) by T. Herbert O’Driscoll (1971) proclaimed “we are called to newer ways by the Lord of our tomorrows and the God of Earth’s todays.”

So when those dreaded words about “change”, “mission”, “rethinking”, ‘reimagining”, or ‘reinventing’ arise in church do not be afraid.  The church is not veering off course, it is not running after some newfangled idea, and it is not being ‘Un-Methodist”.  

*Interestingly enough -  https://hymnary.org/hymnal/UMH does not seem to show all these titles. A .pdf of first lines and common titles can be downloaded from https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/index-of-first-lines-and-common-titles-of-the-um-hymnal-1989 for those wishing to explore these truly intriguing songs of purpose and mission.

The hymnal has been pointing the way since about 1989.