United Methodist Reporter Blog

Nursing home ministry

Missy Buchanan, who writes the Aging Well column for the Reporter, has done much to raise awareness of the spiritual needs of older adults. So when I read a blog entry by a friend of mine across the pond, I thought of Missy's ministry, too.

My friend Kathryn is a vicar in southwest England. I'm delighted to have met her in person two years ago, and it has been interesting to learn about her ministry context. She pastors two congregations, and one of them has a nursing home nearby -- in fact, the facility was once the vicarage (parsonage) of one of the churches she serves, and it recently became more receptive to the ministry she and the churches can offer.

Read here about Kathryn's most recent visit. Her stories convey the history of the relationship as well as the uncertainty and hope behind providing spiritual care for another. I believe her telling of the second experience can serve as a powerful reminder that even when we don't quite know what to do, God goes with us.

Mark Beeson keeps asking the tough questions

Several weeks ago the Rev. Mark Beeson, pastor of the United Methodist congregation Granger Community Church in Indiana, began a "Methodist Mondays" series on his blog. So far, his questions have provoked some thought and discussion. (If you need to backtrack and catch up on what's been written so far, here are his first, second and third posts.)

Today's post asks the question, "What would happen if the United Methodist Church changed the formula for placing voting delegates in the Annual Conferences?"

Having been a member of different sizes of congregations, as well as a lay member of Annual Conference, I keep seeing this topic from multiple perspectives. I'm not ready to offer comment at this point, but for those of you who are, visit Mark's blog and see how the conversation is taking shape.

Sharing the love

Will Deuel will be ordained this year at the Illinois Great Rivers Annual Conference. On his blog, he has been pretty transparent about bureaucratic bumps in the road to becoming an elder in full connection in the United Methodist Church. In today's post, he acknowledges that history, then goes on to tell readers how much he loves the UMC.

There's a lot of complaining about the church out on the web. Much of it falls in the category of constructive criticism; some of it is downright destructive. But here, Will presents an honest picture of who he is and what the denomination means to him. Here's a summary line: "My strongest experiences of God have happened in and through ministries of the United Methodist Church."

Go read the whole thing. I think his perspective probably strikes a chord with many folks in United Methodism.

Thanks, Will, for sharing the love today.

Help Mark Beeson help you!

Calling all United Methodists: Today is the beginning of "Methodist Mondays" on Mark Beeson's blog. Mark is senior pastor of Granger Community Church (a United Methodist congregation), and he's going open-source with a book project. Today and the next seven Mondays, he's posting questions that he wants you to answer.*

And he's not starting out by lobbing softballs at us. Today's question: Could you give a friend a few good reasons to be ordained in the United Methodist Church?

Yikes. And there are more questions coming? That's a lot to ponder, in and of itself. Go have a look at the conversation already happening around that topic.

*If you want to answer Mark, please do so over at his place, not on the Reporter blog comment thread. It'll be more effective that way, I promise.

Confirmation remembered

In many United Methodist churches, we're approaching the traditional time when confirmation class students decide whether to join the church. (In my memory, joining the church after confirmation classes was a privilege, and thus a foregone conclusion; I've since learned that for every confirmand, there's a different memory.)

I don't recall the exact date of my confirmation and joining the United Methodist Church, but I do remember I was in fifth grade, I wore a white cotton dress, and I'm pretty sure it was the first Sunday of May. I also remember my pastors at the time, the Rev. Dr. John B. Hays and the Rev. Carlos Martin, and the calligraphy-inspired handwriting of Dr. Hays on my confirmation certificate.

My friend Mary Brooke remembers her confirmation on Palm Sunday, 45 years ago. Read about it at her blog; she shares fascinating details from her memory of that day, including a particularly tender one of her father, the Rev. Oliphint (who would later become known as Bishop Oliphint).

Mary Brooke now serves as Executive Secretary of the Connectional Table of the United Methodist Church. I wonder, in this year's confirmation classes across the church, are there those in whom the memory of that day will live as vividly as it does for Mary Brooke, not just in her head, but in her heart and daily life? I pray that it's so.

What if we really pruned?

Well, Dan Dick has once again gotten some good discussion going over on his blog, United Methodeviations. His most recent post reflects on answers to one question he asked various people over a period of years: "The United Methodist Church wants to... what?"

But what really got my attention was the discussion in the comments. Fellow Methoblogger John Meunier suggests that if we had the courage to make it a denominational goal to significantly shrink our membership, we might do a much better job of making disciples. From there, the comments really do get interesting, as Dan adds his "Cosmology of Church Participation" into the mix. Which of the five levels he describes fits your current discipleship behavior? Would you prune yourself out of the equation if the radical pruning did begin? Would I? Lots of stuff to ponder.

Health care: Where are we in the story?

I can usually count on the Rev. Ken Carter for a thought-provoking, but not argument-provoking, perspective on just about any issue he addresses on his blog. Today's entry is no exception, as he draws readers into the parable of the Good Samaritan. Check out his post, "Who is my neighbor? Why health care is always being reformed" for some thoughtful reflection, including this snippet:

A last question: Where do we locate ourselves in the story? What if you are the person who is suffering? The orientation for most of us is that, if it is someone else, we want care that is good but limited and efficient. If it is for someone we love--my daughter or sister, your father or grandmother, no expense is too lavish. When it becomes personal, it is different.

And because the health care debate has brought to light many failures at maintaining civility amid disagreement, I thought I'd include a reminder on that subject, too: Here's a link to Robin Russell's recent Q&A with the author of Christian Civility in an Uncivil World.

Real Live Preacher's new calling

The first Q&A I ever did for the Reporter was with Gordon Atkinson, the guy behind the blog Real Live Preacher. I had followed his writing before that opportunity, and I still do.

Gordon recently resigned from his job as pastor of Covenant Baptist Church in San Antonio. While he remains a Real Live Preacher, doing some guest preaching here and there, he's feeling called to direct more of his energy to his writing, and he is still exploring what that role shift will look like. If you haven't checked out his blog before, or if it's been a while, you might enjoy moseying on over there as this new chapter begins.

Advice from a former United Methodist

Over the weekend a friend pointed me to Kevin Watson's recent blog post. Kevin and I have corresponded before, and the Reporter recently printed a commentary of his. In this post, he shares links to a blog series by Craig Groeschel, founder of the wildly successful LifeChurch.tv and a former United Methodist.

Craig has written half a dozen blog posts to offer suggestions for the United Methodist Church. And really, they are worth the read. So are the comments -- some from United Methodists, some not. A word of caution when you get to post number 6, though: Remember the lens Craig uses to view the UMC. Craig left the United Methodist Church, and he seems to see a clear divide where many current United Methodists would not. A few UMC folks posted comments saying that his categorization of liberal and evangelical is a false dichotomy. Of course, other commenters, both UM and not, agree with him and do see the division as cut-and-dry. Reminds me of a phone survey I participated in a month or two ago. The person conducting the survey asked me, "Would you consider yourself evangelical or born again?" to which I answered, "Yes." The questioner then informed me that it wasn't a yes-or-no question; I had to choose whether I was one or the other. "You mean they are mutually exclusive?" I asked. "I think someone should take a closer look at your survey questions."

So, in summary: Go read the series. Learn from it. Maybe even ask some hard questions of our leadership because of it. But think a little harder about Part 6. I, for one, believe the perceived division is a lot more nuanced than Craig Groeschel does.

Dessert-making and foot-washing

I never would've connected the two things, myself. But Rev. Mike Lindstrom did, in his blog entry today.

(Hint: The common thread has to do with serving.)

Nativity wisdom out of the mouths of babes

I'm generally not the best choice if you need someone to corral or entertain a room full of preschoolers. Which is one of many reasons why I'm glad people like the Rev. Andy Bryan exist. In a recent blog entry, he writes that one of the great joys of this time of year is getting to tell the Christmas story to the kids who attend the preschool at the church he serves. A snippet of his experience:

Hearing it as they do always refreshes my own love for the story, and I always hear it in a new way.

They are always appalled that there wasn’t any place for Mary and Joseph to stay, and someone often asks why they didn’t just go to the hops-pistal, and you have to explain about Bethlehem being so crowded and that there weren’t really any hops-pistals, anyway, so they just had to try the best they could, and they understand about that.

Then there’s the part about putting the newborn baby Jesus in a manger, and then you’ve got to explain to the kids that it was a box that animals ate out of, and then you reassure them that no, the animals did not eat the baby...

Read more. Seriously. It gets even better, and can teach us all a thing or two.

Coming back for seconds

"Children are members of the covenant community and participants in the Lord’s Supper.... Children of all ages are welcome to the Table and are to be taught and led to interpret, appreciate, and participate in Holy Communion."  -- This Holy Mystery: A United Methodist Understanding of Holy Communion, page 16

We don't celebrate Communion every week at the congregation where I'm a member, but we (and many other congregations) will be celebrating it this Sunday. For a perspective on the sacrament, here's the latest blog entry from Questing Parson. It might create a little more anticipation for you, too.

John Wesley and Guinness Stout: the connection

I feel as though I should preface this revelation by citing Paragraph 162. III. L. of the 2008 Book of Discipline:

We affirm our long-standing support of abstinence from alcohol as a faithful witness to God’s liberating and redeeming love for persons. We support abstinence from the use of any illegal drugs. Since the use of illegal drugs, as well as illegal and problematic use of alcohol, is a major factor in crime, disease, death, and family dysfunction, we support educational programs as well as other prevention strategies encouraging abstinence from illegal drug use and, with regard to those who choose to consume alcoholic beverages, judicious use with deliberate and intentional restraint, with Scripture as a guide.

Okay, now that we're clear on that, here's the cool part: One of the many people who heard John Wesley preach was Arthur Guinness, founder of the brewery that bears his name. It seems that Wesley's perspective helped shape the young man's business practices. From a blog entry by USA Today columnist Stephen Mansfield:

This rising entrepreneur hears and allows Wesley's words to frame a vision for his fledgling company: a vision for producing wealth through brewing excellence and then for using that wealth to serve the downtrodden and the poor.

I just might have to raise a glass to Wesley and Guinness tonight.

(Hat tip: Jennifer Rodia, via Twitter)

Friday Linkfest

Thought I'd give a roundup of interesting stuff around the Methoblogosphere this week:

Tony Jones, one of the more prominent voices in the Emergent church conversation, has been raising some issues surrounding ordination processes. Taylor Burton-Edwards of the UM General Board of Discipleship enters the discussion via the emergingumc blog. That's just one entry point into this particular issue; you could probably spend all day following links if you wanted. (Earlier this year at Missouri Ministers' School, Tony had a sometimes-tense discussion with one of our episcopal leaders... just one moment that shows he's certainly into stirring the pot.)

Steve Heyduck wants to know what you think about whether Christians should be rich. And, following the announcement that the UMC's active U.S. bishops will take a pay cut next year, Shane Raynor over at Wesley Report asks whether bishops are overpaid. (As usual for potentially controversial topics on Wesley Report, there's quite a lot of debate in the comments section.)

Jeremy Smith is one of the clergy who'll be moving to another church in this season of appointment changes. He's put up a Google Form to collect words of wisdom and recommendations of resources for his new pastoral role. 

Also, if you missed Robin's blog post from yesterday, go back and read it.

Have a good weekend, y'all!

Digital community overload

I left my regular level of computer access for a few days over the Christmas holiday. Even though it's happened before, I'm still amazed at how quickly things started to stack up in my various inboxes. I don't have everything totally cleaned out and caught up yet.

Then, to complicate matters, I broke down and joined Facebook on New Year's Eve -- and I'm glad I did it on a day off, as it was extremely time-consuming.

Methoblogger/Twitterer meetup in Nashville

I'm at Congress on Evangelism, which this year had a lot to do with Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, Bishop Robert Schnase's book.

Here's the group of Methobloggers, Twitter types, and friends who met up Wednesday night at Congress On Evangelism. Gavin has more pics and a good roundup of our discussion, which went on for more than 3 hours. Thanks, Wayne (TNRambler), for suggesting the meetup in the first place, and thanks to everyone else who jumped in, especially Bishop Schnase, one of the newer bloggers in the group that gathered. (Others pictured include Mid-Life Rookie, Reverend Mommy, Jay Voorhees, RileyByrd, Erin Richardson, and Amy Shanholzter.)

As effective as blogging can be at building relationships, being in the same room makes an immeasurable difference. I have tons of notes on the lectures and workshops, which I'll eventually distill into a Reporter article, but that evening session that wasn't on any official agenda is the one that meant the most to me as an individual.

Now, off to the last sessions of the event, and back to Dallas this afternoon. Hope your weekend's wonderful. (Saturday morning I'll be helping to lead a workshop at my local church on the first of the Five Practices discussed in the book: Radical Hospitality. Yet another reason I'm glad I came.)