Bishop Huie is inspiring we United Methodists of the Texas Annual Conference to explore our “Why?” Why is the United Methodist Church, the Texas Annual Conference, and our local church useful to the people of Texas and the world? I am thrilled that we are asking what I consider to be the right question. Bishop Huie’s compelling aspiration shares the marketing strategy of Simon Sinek. Sinek’s insights can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA in a thought provoking TED talk that I recommend also. This exploration of “why” can potentially be very fruitful within the church. Answering the why question is not a new innovation in the Christian faith. Bishop Huie is joining the great chorus of saints asking the why question of the Christian faith in each generation. Why was essential to the formation of the early church found in the biblical witness.
As protestantism and United Methodism struggle with statistical decline in a radically altered American religious landscape, clarity on our “why” can help the church focus on the future. As early Christians had clarity on why, future Christians need clarity on why to help them with the task of evangelism in a more hostile religious landscape. In addition to why, Bishop Huie eloquently reminded us Methodists about the distinctive focus of John Wesley on grace. The traditional image of the house as a way to understand grace educated the gathered assembly on the Wesleyan understanding of prevenient, justifying, and sanctifying grace. At many district and conference gatherings, I have not heard bishops so clearly teaching doctrine. I thought it was refreshing to hear our bishop teaching and preaching basic doctrines of the church. Statistical decline may not be the enemy of the church it is made out to be, it may be the purgation of the church that will lead to new possibilities as suggested by Dr. Ellaine Heath in The Mystic Way of Evangelism. But, returning to Sinek... and our early Christian heritage...
If we take Sinek’s argument that the ability to articulate “why” provides the essential formula for product attraction, seeking our why will be essential. In reflection and prayer after hearing the bishop’s presentation twice, I feel that the WHY that we need to present to the world is found in the writings of the early church. It certainly seems present in the writings of Paul.
For example, Paul’s letter to Titus particularly makes the WHY clear (2:11-15). “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds. Declare these things; exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one look down on you.” The “For” is following a discussion of how people at each level of Cretan society are to act in ways that will bring glory to God, irregardless of their social position. According to Paul's assertions, even the Cretans can be transformed because of what God has done, but it will take work. The self-giving or willing sacrifice of the people of God. “For” in this instance could also be translated as “Because.” Paul’s argument answers why.
Why should the people of God give themselves over to earthly authorities and submit to horrible cruelty from those they are trying to convert? BECAUSE Jesus is Lord and the power of this world is nothing compared with the glory of God. Why do the martyrs need to die for the faith so that others may come to believe? BECAUSE the truth has been made known in the person of Jesus, the incarnation. In fact, the why provided by Paul seems even more existential than our United Methodist search for why. Most of us in the United States will not risk death for our faith.
But maybe, Paul’s reminders to the saints of the early church with the help of the Holy Spirit might just be radical enough to reinvigorate the sleeping giant. Why do United Methodists act in the way that we do in the world? We act BECAUSE “the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all...” Why are we adopting a school, BECAUSE we are“a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.” Why does going to church matter to how we live our lives, BECAUSE in church Jesus is “training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
I picked Titus because I’m preaching on it currently. The WHY for Christians is found throughout the Pauline corpus (we can have a separate discussion on Pauline authorship. But, yes I believe that Paul wrote Titus). These why statements of what God has done are so ubiquitous in the New Testament that they led John Wesley to claim that every commandment of God is a veiled promise. It is in these promises and ordinances of God that the United Methodist Church needs to stand. They give us the WHY that has transformed our lives and can transform the lives of the world.
I read with interest your blog on "Titus' Why" as amplified by your sermon Sunday--in my opinion among your best. Several thoughts: First, you suggest in your sermon the decline of the church is a result of our speaking with our mouths and not following through with the action of our lives--with the assertion that such decline may not be all bad since it could lead us to churchmen and women who are serious about living out their Christian faith. I realize that is a little fast and loose with your words. I think what you say is true in part. It seems we almost feel reticent to proclaim our church-hood because, what sadly may be the predominate culture out there thinks of Christians as judgemntal and hypocritical. While I understand why that is said, it is far from the truth in many cases. True, many of us fail to follow our Christian precepts on occasion, but I think there is more to it.
ReplyDeleteAs you sugguested in your sermon, we live in a new and different age--"post-modern" seems to be the buzzword. As Rev. Dr. James Logan says in his book, "How Great a Flame": "In many ways the truly grace-filled life is counterculture to the marketplace. The logic of the marketplace is the logic of exchange.....of acquiring, getting, and achieving. The logic of grace is the logic of receiving which ushers in a lifestyle of giving and sharing." So maybe, at least partly, the decline of the church is a product of the culture changing around us faster than we have been willing/able to change. We have embraced the laudable concepts of inclusiveness and tolerance but gone to such extremes that we have oblitgerated our core beliefs. There was a story on radio this morning that LSU posted a photo of a grouup of students all of whom had small crosses on their clothing and the university had photo-shopped out the crosses so that no one would be offended! John Wesley would not recognize our world. In his day the church was the hub of the culture, today, in many ways, we are much more like the first century church than ever before. Are there lessons we can take from that? In your sermon you spoke of the 70 or so disciples afraid in the upper room on Pentecost who became became intoxicated on something far more powerful than wine at 9 a.m. and stormed out into the city and ultimately shaped the world for the next 2000 years! There is hope in your reference.
Secondly, I heard another encouraging word in your sermon. You stated that perhaps one day a child would grow up to be a better person because of the accident of location being near the church (St Paul UMC)and not becoming a member or even knowing by whom they were lifted up. That was subtle but I liked it. As part of the marketplace mentality I think we sometiomes worry too much about the WHY of evangelism being getting membership. Not that the two are necessarily at war but I have too often in the past heard church people opposing action out in the neighborhood for the reason that those people will never become members (or, worse yet, we may not want them as members). Did I just make an argument for your basic premise of Words vs. Action?
Thank you for your thought provoking ideas. When do you publish? Jerry
Jerry,
DeleteThank you for the supportive response and ideas for me to consider.
You are right, there is more to the decline of the Western Church than simply our failure to live like we mean it. But, as you reveal in your comments, there is more to my claim than first appears. My pastoral concern is to avoid a common problem I see often among humans. We blame other people for our problems. So, as Christians, instead of being focussed on how we live and treat others, we turn our anxiety toward how others are doing wrong to us. And sometimes, we don’t even act like God may be at work in who is or isn’t in the church. Now that I think about it more, there was more at stake for the early church and more working against them than we can fathom in our cultural context. Yet, Paul did not tell Titus to give up and come home. He reminded Titus and the Cretan church of who they were and what God had done for them to encourage them in what God could do for others through them. I think that this Holy Spirit empowered living like we believe it has more relevance than it first seems. And, your comments help me see the strength of it. Thank you.
Additionally, as you assert there are forces working against people’s belonging to or participating in the church and they are often outside of our control. So, how do we as Christians proceed? I think that we can try to pick non-offensive, common good that we engage in. This was the way of Augustine in the City of God, he recommended that Christians work together with non-Christians to create what they both seek in society. Others think that we should withdraw from the public square altogether. This approach does not seem responsible to me. And locally, some would like their religion and politics shaken together in a potent cocktail. To me, this often seems like they are using politics and religion for their own sordid gain that seems to be an admonishment in Titus.
In Titus, Paul seems to encourage a non-offensive, common good approach that surprises me a little bit since he seems so ready to overturn the order of the day in other places. Paul is at times so polemic in other places that I am surprised when he is non-offensive-ish (chapter 3 gets a little more assertive). And at the same time, he expects so much sacrifice from the people of God. We really become a people set apart by Christ for his very own. It is a beautiful and inspiring image really. It is a truth worth giving our lives for. Titus 2:11-15 really captures the why I am in ministry eloquently.
Yet this Pauline pragmatism may just be a part of the subtext of my sermon that was easily missed... I think I asserted that evangelism is contextual. What Paul advocates in one congregation may look very different in another, with certain basics on which he insists. I saw my task as asking what would authentic evangelism look like in twenty-first century Orange County, Texas. I am for transformative engagement in the public square, wether it offends or not. Engagement in our local schools, as Bishop Huie has argued, seems a good place to start.
Grace and peace,
Brad.
P.S. Just yesterday “How Great a Flame” arrived, so I look forward to discussing it further with you in the future.