May 25, 2007
I am in Atlanta, Georgia for budget hearings of the United Methodist Church. It is a busy time at Christ Church and I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t extremely important. This meeting takes place once every four years, and this year it seems more important than ever. There is something stirring in Methodism. I have been here for two days, and so far there has been very little talk about money. But there has been lots of talk about mission and ministry.
I do not know this for a fact, but I hope that there is a revival taking place in Methodism. The “Nothing But Nets” program seems to have reintroduced us to an old notion, and that is that we are stronger together than we are alone.
There are lots of great churches in America, but how many of them have the global infrastructure of Methodism? How many of them have hundreds of “retail outlets” (churches) in Africa? Isn’t that why the United Nations Foundation wanted us as partners in the Nets campaign? If we can all pull in the same direction, imagine what the potential is.
There are four “provocative propositions” being discussed here: 1) Develop a new generation of leaders; 2) Build more churches; 3) Become more intentional in partnering with the poor to bring Hope to all people; 4) Help to eradicate the diseases of poverty that kill over a million children a year.
Who but the United Methodist Church could adopt such a bold vision? It is, I believe, a vision that has the potential to ignite the passions of the people in our pews. I am working as hard as I can to help shape this vision over the next year so that it will do precisely that. My great hope is that Christ Church can help make United Methodism stronger while United Methodism makes Christ Church stronger, and together we will help to bring the Kingdom of God just a little bit closer.
