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I don't know if you all saw this new item -- http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/05/24/lambuth -- but it was a little surprising and a little disturbing.

If you have read my own blog, you know that I am from Memphis which is just down the road from Jackson and Lambuth University.  My own college choices had been pretty well set when I graduated in 1968 so I never considered Lambuth as a college.

But I had friends who did and one friend of recent times went there to get her Bachelor's Degree in preparation for the ministry.

And now we read that the school is being sold to private investors.  The primary reason given in the article is financial so we can just add "so what else is new?"

But what does this say for the future of Methodist-based education in this country?  Will Lambuth still be a Methodist-related institution or will it give up its affliation?  In light of other comments being posted about the direction of the church as a whole, what does it say about being a Methodist (United or otherwise)?

Recently I asked a successful youth minister, “What is the chief factor in the growth of your ministry with youth?” He replied, “the spiritual needs of students match up perfectly with Wesleyan Christianity. They want to be transformed and they yearn for connectedness with others in their walk with Christ. Methodists know how to do that!”

Click here for more…

My strongest experiences of God have happened in and through ministries of the United Methodist Church.

Check out Will’s love story with the UMC here.

I stumbled today on the recent controversy in British Methodist circles about the comments made by David Gamble, President of The Methodist Church in Great Britain. Folks across the pond seem bent out of shape over a speech he made to Church of England’s General Synod which is being interpreted as an expression of desire to merge The Methodists Church with the Church of England. Commentators have focused on these words exclusively as a sign of capitulation to the mother church:

Methodists approach the Covenant with the Church of England in the spirituality of that [Wesleyan] Covenant prayer. So when we say to God “let me have all things let me have nothing”, we say it by extension to our partners in the Church of England as well. We are prepared to go out of existence not because we are declining or failing in mission, but for the sake of mission. In other words we are prepared to be changed and even to cease having a separate existence as a Church if that will serve the needs of the Kingdom.

I confess confusion over the vehemence in which folks have attacked this statement, for I would think that we all would agree that the call to mission outweighs any institution. The goal is not the maintenance of an institutional church, but the spreading of the gospel and the bringing forth of God’s kingdom into our world. And yet, the words above are seen as a clear sign of an intention to shut down Methodism in Great Britain, losing the gift of the Wesleyan heritage as the church is subsumed into the larger, more powerful Church of England.

The problem is that the critics and commentators are (as so often happens) pulling these word out of context and missing the point that Gamble was trying to make (in conjunction with his co-presenter, Dr. Richard Vautry, Vice President of the church):

I suppose my last question – at least for this morning – is how do we together respond to the challenges of the 21st century.  A society of different faiths, different cultures, different histories. A society where many have no history of involvement with a faith community but where the big questions still remain on the agenda.       Questions of meaning and purpose.     Of how we shall live together.   Of life and death.  Of the future of our planet.  Of right and wrong and the value of each person.

 

Throughout the history of churches working together, as I have experienced it, one of the major and oft-repeated texts has been John 17.21, where Christ prays for the unity of his followers not because it’s a nice idea, not because it’s financially a better use of scarce resources, but that the world might believe.  It’s mission led.   We only exist to glorify God, to ensure that the word is duly preached, the sacraments duly celebrated, and the people duly formed in discipleship for worship and mission.

 

For Methodists, the word ‘covenant’ is very important – part of our spirituality and our understanding of our relationship with God.    Many of you may have shared in our annual Covenant Service, with these powerful words:

 

I am no longer my own but yours. Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will; put me to doing, put me to suffering; let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you, exalted for you or brought low for you; let me be full, let me be empty, let me have all things, let me have nothing; I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to your pleasure and disposal.

 

Methodists approach the Covenant with the Church of England in the spirituality of that Covenant prayer. So when we say to God “let me have all things let me have nothing”, we say it by extension to our partners in the Church of England as well. We are prepared to go out of existence not because we are declining or failing in mission, but for the sake of mission. In other words we are prepared to be changed and even to cease having a separate existence as a Church if that will serve the needs of the Kingdom.

 

Are we willing to take our covenant that seriously?   It’s quite a challenge – for both of our churches.

Gamble isn’t making a statement of intention for merger, in fact, his comments have little to do with any formal arrangements with the Church of England. No, Gamble is asking a question we all should be asking, “How do we most effectively minister in the 21st Century?” In that context he remembers Jesus’ prayer in John 17, a prayer that institutional cheerleaders conveniently forget, which recognizes that the disunity of denominationalism can and sometimes does work in opposition to the will of God, that our disunity keeps some from believing. Gamble acknowledges that the ultimate goal of the church is our mission, not maintaining power or supporting a denominational structure that my be unwieldy in a new world.

I frankly don’t understand the fuss, for Gamble’s comments seem perfectly consistent with the witness of scripture and the call of Christ on all of us. The Methodist Church (be it British or American) has been a force for good, and offers a way of thinking about God that has blessed many, but may be useless if it isn’t engaged in ensuring that “…the word is duly preached, the sacraments duly celebrated, and the people duly formed in discipleship for worship and mission.” To suggest that it may need to go away if it isn’t carrying out the mission of Christ is not capitulation, but a recognition that our structure may have outlived its usefulness and needs to be transformed into something new so as to carry out that mission. That may involve merger with someone else, renewal of the existing structures, or the creation of something entirely new. No matter how it happens, it recognizes that the goal is the bringing forth of God’s kingdom in the world, a kingdom in which all those structures and denominations will cease to be relevant, as we bow before our creator and offer praise.

What am I missing here? Explain to me again how Gamble’s statement was inappropriate.

There is a discussion going on in our district/conference about lay speaking and the changes in the curriculum for lay speakers. I have some idea about the lay speakers in our district and will be getting answers as to the courses that they have taken in the past. But I want to get some idea of the nature of lay speaking on a broader scale. So I have come up with these questions:
1. Are you now or have you ever been a local lay speaker? Are you now or have you ever been a certified lay speaker?
2. When did you take your first course to become a local lay speaker?
3. Describe the course or courses that you took when you became a local lay speaker?
4. When did you take your first course to become a certified lay speaker?
5. Describe the course or courses that you took when you became a certified lay speaker?
6. How much of your being a lay speaker (local or certified) is more leadership than speaking? (an approximate percentage of the total time)
7. How much of your being a lay speaking (local or certified) is leading worship rather than speaking? (an approximate percentage of the total time)
8. If you are a certified lay speaker, how many Sundays in a given calendar year are you at other churches?
9. Are you aware of the category of lay speaker known as “Certified Lay Minister”?
10. Is your conference aware of the category? Is your district aware?
11. Are there any individuals in your conference qualified as Certified Lay Minister?
12. If so, how are they utilized in this position?
Thought provoking question – “In your opinion, should a person be a lay speaker before they consider full-time ministry?”
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If you are not a lay speaker, can I be as bold as to ask why not? And would you mind sharing these questions with your friends who happen to be lay speakers? Thank you!
Answers may be posted to my blog (http://heartontheleft.wordpress.com/2010/02/13/a-questionnaire-about-lay...) or you may mail them to me at TonyMitchellPhD@verizon.net. I will try to have a summary of the answers up by the 1st of March.

Reports from Haiti indicated that three staff members of the General Board of Global Ministries have been found and are alive after 55 hours in the rubble of the Hotel Montana in Haiti. Sam Dixon, head of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), Clint Rabb, leader of the mission volunteer office, and James Gulley, an UMCOR consultant were among a group of persons found on the evening of January 14. They were in Haiti to extend health ministries when the earthquake struck on January 12.
—United Methodist News Service

There isn’t a lot of good news out of Haiti, but it is good to know that the leaders of UMCOR have made it out alive and we pray for their quick recovery.

Click here to make donations to UMCOR to help with relief efforts in Haiti

Our friend John Meunier has written an excellent post thinking about the Social Principles as doctrinal statements:

Maybe you disagree with these positions. Maybe you think the church should not engage in such advocacy of social engineering. Well, I’m sorry to say, the Book of Discipline has an answer for that, too.

We proclaim no personal gospel that fails to express itself in relevant social concerns; we proclaim no social gospel that does not include the personal transformation of sinners.

It is our conviction that the good news of the Kingdom must judge, redeem, and reform the sinful social structures of our tme. (Paragraph 101)

In other words, the General Conference of the United Methodist Church has made it a matter of church law that we engage with big social issues. That obviously does not require that every individual Christian and pastor do so – some are gifted for different ministries – but the UMC rejects categorically the idea that it leave government stuff to governments.

What do you think? Should the Social Principles be seen as doctrine? How do you approach these in your congregation — boldly as prophetic proclamations of God’s passion for justice, or with fear and trepidation, knowing that they can quickly get you in trouble with folks in your congregation? What difference does it make to see these statements as doctrine as opposed to a loose guide to ethics?

I recently conducted a workshop entitled “Technology in the Pulpit”.  It was designed to explore many of the ways that computers and its attending technology can be used not only in the pulpit but in other ways to facilitate evangelism and the work of the church.  This include exploring how to become a blogger.

For me, it was an interesting time because it allowed me to do what I am supposed to be doing, teaching, and in an area that I have explored since it became part of the educational and religious landscapes some twenty years ago.

More importantly, the two “graduates” of the workshop are now bloggers in their own right and a part of the Methodist Blogging community.  They are

1. The Odd Thought, and
2. Living Water

Please visit their sites and help welcome them to the neighborhood.

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