Bitter Medicine: Conservative Lack Of Connectionalism
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- Being connected together is a hallmark of being a Methodist, unfortunately we as conservatives can sometimes forget that. Rather than banding together and tackling issues head on we've isolated ourselves in our smaller communities, its time for that to change.
I'm looking forward to this series
I look forward to large conferences in the GMC that will be more about operation than governance. How do congregations better serve the poor in our communities? How do we reach out to community youth? What does good youth programming look like? How do we build our Sunday School culture?
I'm hoping for a future in which we all intentionally add to our shared ministries, and that the annual conference apparatus will spend itself intentionally building up its member churches rather than speaking for them and extricating funding from them on threat of declaring exigent circumstances. If we claim and maintain a shared sense of identity, purpose, and mission, then there's no reason why we could not spread scriptural holiness over the land again...
If conservative churches get trapped, we should do what we neglected. I applied to serve as delegate at large from our district to the N. Georgia Annual Conference this year. The last question on the application is, "Are you committed to remaining with and supporting the UMC?" You cannot submit the form electronically without answering that question. Our Admin Council Chair, who had served in that role before, approached our DS and indicated uncertainty as to how to answer the question. He was advised by the DS that they were looking for delegates who were more "vested in the UMC" indicating that he would not be a good candidate. There was no space to qualify my answer, so I answered in the affirmative. I'm in until I'm out, and we deserve a voice.
That really frustrates me. It's overt manipulation. It puts people in the position of lying or selling out their congregation. Manufactured consent. If we don't get on board, they'll just run us over...
Connectionism, as you define it, is not unique to Methodism; it's just plain Biblical. And, yes, many larger congregations are the least connected...and this isn't just a Methodist phenomenon.
As a small church pastor in another denomination, it frustrates me how large churches can without blinking spend mind-boggling utility bills, programs, salaries, landscaping, etc. but are offended by the notion they might partner with smaller congregations. Oh, you may get them to seem interested, but that interest ends when they realize their contribution won't wear their congregational brand (i.e. as a satellite campus).
Keep pressing, my OK friend, for an awakening.
You're totally right to offer these critiques here. I would still say it is especially shameful for Methodists. John Wesley's understanding of Methodism was that we were simply reclaiming the biblical ways of the early church. In that sense, yes, all Christians should be connectional!