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