Audience Question - Should Conservatives Invite People to Our Messed Up Churches?
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- I get thoughtful questions from the PlainSpoken audience almost every day. Today, I decided to address one of them with respect to evangelism in a time of corruption. I give what is hopefully a nuanced answer. At publishing this, I'm thinking somewhere along the line I should have said something like, "If you are part of a church that you don't think you can bring a new prospective disciple to, that might be evidence that you need to seek a new church." I said a lot of things other than that. I hope it is helpful to many!
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I refused to invite anyone to my church from 2020 until the disaffiliation process was complete. Now, as a GMC church, I can enthusiastically invite others to join our church family.
If you won't invite someone, why are you there?
A church without sound doctrine is merely an event center. That's the UMC right now. I didn't bring anyone in with such dissesnion. They're not preaching the Word!
Regarding conflict within a church...or within a marriage, the #1 question to ask yourself - "Am I a person of goodwill"? If I know that, while we may disagree, I know that I am not acting of self interest and pride, but in the interest of truth and the good, and health of our common institution, and I believe that to be true of you, too, then the conflict will be a good thing, and even redemptive in the end.
'Problematic, but not damnably problematic'. I hate to laugh, because the topic is serious, but that's a chuckle-worthy turn of phrase.
My thoughts would be that I could somewhat comfortably bring a person into a faithful church that's recently been through issues and is therefore a bit messy. But if I couldn't in good faith bring a friend to my church, because I feel my church is faithless, then I might need to ask myself whether I ought to remain any longer.
Certainly!!! Jesus invited anyone and everyone to follow him. He didn’t beg and plead for followers. And he didn’t give everyone a long drawn out explanation of all that this following entailed. People cycled in and out from the earliest days to the last day.
Jesus did not invite people to follow what God hates and wokism that buries people in guilt as perpetual oppressors.
Honesty on the front end is crucial. As a UMC traditionalist holdout, I can say that our church is not on board with the newer inclusionist policies, but were not in a position to satisfy the conditions of disaffiliation. I'd have no trouble inviting someone to our church since the gospel is still preached from our pulpit, despite the GMC rhetoric.
The false dichotomy that everyone's either a GMC fundamentalist or a UMC liberal isn't going to help either side any.
Thank you very much for saying this. The Young Methodists for Tradition are in a similar boat - traditionalist holdouts in the UMC.
There is a time to leave a church. There are lots of good churches and there’s one that will embrace you and your family and teach the Truth. I know you raised your family there, your grandfather bought a stained glass window. But the UMC has left you. Get out.
The question is why is a traditionalist still going to that church, it speaks to his invited guest that the message of the gospel holds little value, or that the inclusion of recent policy is acceptable, there are hills to die on. If his church is confirming of the new by laws concerning the LGBTQ established by general conference it’s an issue. Invite him to dinner first at your home, share a meal….you’ll plant, water and harvest a far better yield than dragging him into the circus the UM is becoming….. I just don’t see the greatest commandment being exercised effectively exposing one to gay clergy, pride flags and compromise. Just a thought, would you take someone to Andy Stanley’s church…peace
Meh. I think the question and your answer for all its sincerity is a fail. There are far to many scenarios that are in potential play and the idea that you spin the potential of damning someone’s soul or a communities souls to eternal hell over institutional conflict that the local congregation has little control over is a push that is neither traditionalist nor Wesleyan. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We are all condemned to hell traditionalist or other apart from the saving grace of Jesus Christ. If your committed to your local congregation and find yourself at odds with the institutional decisions then by all means invite others to you congregation. Make them aware of the situation and seek allies to speak directly to the governing leadership in the local congregation and then at the institutional level. If you care about that congregation and are convicted about its decisions then speak up and act out. No it won’t be comfortable but that is the way. As far as giving goes you can always have designated giving that is specified not to go toward institutional apportionments that support leadership and decisions that are contrary. I do respect the decisions of congregations that have disaffiliated but not every situation is the same or has the same dynamics. If your staying in the UMC for whatever reason that God has directed you and you disagree with the Institutional changes of 2024. Then that conviction should also carry over into you support of the congregation financially and evangelically. Invite people, educate them and step into leadership that can effect change. At this time in the UMC local congregations are not compelled or mandated by institutional law on the facing issue. You can still be a faithful follower of Christ “working out your salvation” in the UMC. And neither Jeffrey or anyone else outside of Christ can hold judgement on your eternal soul.