MLK, The Church, and Poor People

January 16, 2012

Today we honor the life and work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Today countless people will read and listen to his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC in the summer of 1963. There will be peaceful marches and speeches about his advocacy for equality and non-violence.

The Dr. King celebrated by the media and dominant culture is stuck in 1963. It seems the culture has embraced the message of racial equality. However, I suspect we will hear nothing about Dr. King’s opposition to the war in Viet Nam. We certainly will not see or hear anything about the Poor People’s Campaign he helped to lead when he was assassinated in April 1968.

Dr. King is a prophet for our time. Poverty is endemic today. The economic crisis in which we live has resulted in an inordinate increase in the numbers of people earning incomes below the “poverty line.” And yet our political leaders are not talking about poverty or poor people. Frankly, these days, in the current polarized political culture, I don’t expect political or government leaders to talk or care about poverty or poor people. But I do expect the Church to be a voice for the poor. Christians are baptized to follow and serve with the Triune God who came among us as a poor, homeless, itinerant carpenter. The Scriptures tell us that God has a preferential option for the poor. Why then is the Church silent on the increasing rates of poverty and increasing numbers of poor people living in our neighborhoods, towns, and cities?

MLK shared John Wesley’s concern for the plight of the poor. He understood that God always take the side of the poor. Therefore, the church and Christians must always be with and for the poor. The church must reject and resist the cultures worship of wealth, power, consumerism, materialism, and individualism. Holiness of heart and life calls Christians to be with the poor because when we spend time with them, know their names, listen to their struggles, support them in their efforts to simply live in dignity.

A good way to honor this holiday is to read and contemplate Wesley’s sermon, “On Visiting the Sick”,

One great reason why the rich, in general, have so little sympathy for the poor, is, because they so seldom visit them. Hence it is, that, according to the common observation, one part of the world does not know what the other suffers. Many of them do not know, because they do not care to know: they keep out of the way of knowing it; and then plead their voluntary ignorances an excuse for their hardness of heart. “Indeed, Sir,” said person of large substance, “I am a very compassionate man. But, to tell you the truth, I do not know anybody in the world that is in want.” How did this come to pass? Why, he took good care to keep out of their way; and if he fell upon any of them unawares “he passed over on the other side.”

Disciples or Consumers?

Alan Hirsch discusses why a church cannot be built by appealing to consumers or consumer culture.

The Meaning of Membership in The United Methodist Church

Following are paragraphs from The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church – 2008 pertaining to membership. On Sunday, January 8, many United Methodist congregations will read and hear the gospel account of Jesus’ baptism by John. I pray that many congregations will re-affirm the Baptismal Covenant (see The United Methodist Hymnal, Baptismal Covenant IV on pages 50-52).

Church membership is established in the Baptismal Covenant. This is reflected in the paragraphs that follow. Membership is shaped Christian discipleship which requires intentional support and accountability for following and serving with Jesus Christ in the world.

What is striking to me is that in every United Methodist congregation in my experience membership is much more akin to a voluntary association in which people expect to be served rather than to serve with Christ. I have yet to find a congregation that is intentionally living as  a community of discipleship found in the Book of Discipline and the Baptismal Covenant. What is your experience?

THE MEANING OF MEMBERSHIP

¶ 216. 1. Christ constitutes the church as his body by the power of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13, 27). The church draws new people into itself as it seeks to remain faithful to its commission to proclaim and exemplify the gospel. Baptism is the sacrament of initiation and incorporation into the body of Christ. After baptism, the church provides the nurture that makes possible a comprehensive and lifelong process of growing in grace. Becoming a professing member requires the answer of faith of the baptized person made visible in a service of profession of Christian faith and confirmation using the of the Baptismal Covenant.
a) Baptized infants and children are to be instructed and nurtured in the meaning of the faith, the rights and responsibilities of their baptism, and spiritual and moral formation using materials approved by The United Methodist Church. Using the services of the Baptismal Covenant, youth will profess their faith, commit themselves to a life of discipleship, and be confirmed. Confirmation is both a human act of commitment and the gracious action of the Holy Spirit strengthening and empowering discipleship.
b) Youth and adults who have not been baptized and who are seeking to be saved from their sins and profess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are proper candidates for baptism in The United Methodist Church. It shall be the duty of the congregation, led by the pastor, to instruct them in the meaning of baptism, in the meaning of the Christian faith, and in the history, organization, and teachings of The United Methodist Church, using materials approved by The United Methodist Church for that purpose. After the completion of the period of nurture and instruction, the sponsor(s) and pastor shall bring the candidates before the congregation and administer the services of Baptismal Covenant, in which people are baptized, confirmed, and received into the Church.

2. a) Formation in the Baptismal Covenant and in the call to ministry in daily life is a lifelong process and is carried on through all the activities that have educational value. The pastor gives specific leadership that prepares youth for their profession of faith and commitment to discipleship and for the Holy Spirit’s action confirming them in their faith and empowering their discipleship. This preparation focuses attention upon the meaning of discipleship and the need for members to be in mission in all of life’s relationships.
b) There are many occasions as people mature in the faith when the Holy Spirit’s confirming action may be celebrated, such as in the reaffirmation of the Baptismal Covenant or other services related to life passages. Unlike baptism, which is a once-made covenant and can only be reaffirmed and not repeated, confirmation is a dynamic action of the Holy Spirit that can be repeated.

3. Preparation for the experience of profession of faith and confirmation shall be provided for all people, including adults. Youth who are completing the sixth grade shall normally be the youngest people recruited for such preparation. When younger people, of their own volition, seek enrollment in preparation for profession of faith and confirmation, such preparation shall be at the discretion of the pastor.

¶ 217. When persons unite as professing members with a local United Methodist church, they profess their faith in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; in Jesus Christ his only Son, and in the Holy Spirit. Thus, they make known their desire to live their daily lives as disciples of Jesus Christ. They covenant together with God and with the members of the local church to keep the vows which are a part of the order of confirmation and reception into the Church:
1. To renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of the world, and repent of their sin;
2. To accept the freedom and power God gives them to resist evil, injustice, and oppression;
3. To confess Jesus Christ as Savior, put their whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as their Lord;
4. To remain faithful members of Christ’s holy church and serve as Christ’s representatives in the world;
5. To be loyal to Christ through The United Methodist Church and do all in their power to strengthen its ministries;
6. To faithfully participate in its ministries by their prayers, their presence, their gifts, their service, and their witness;
7. To receive and profess the Christian faith as contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.

¶ 218. Growth in Faithful Discipleship—Faithful membership in the local church is essential for personal growth and for developing a deeper commitment to the will and grace of God. As members involve themselves in private and public prayer, worship, the sacraments, study, Christian action, systematic giving, and holy discipline, they grow in their appreciation of Christ, understanding of God at work in history and the natural order, and an understanding of themselves.

¶ 219. Mutual Responsibility—Faithful discipleship includes the obligation to participate in the corporate life of the congregation with fellow members of the body of Christ. A member is bound in sacred covenant to shoulder the burdens, share the risks, and celebrate the joys of fellow members. A Christian is called to speak the truth in love, always ready to confront conflict in the spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation.

¶ 220. The Call to Ministry of All the Baptized—All members of Christ’s universal church are called to share in the ministry which is committed to the whole church of Jesus Christ. Therefore, each member of The United Methodist Church is to be a servant of Christ on mission in the local and worldwide community. This servanthood is performed in family life, daily work, recreation and social activities, responsible citizenship, the stewardship of property and accumulated resources, the issues of corporate life, and all attitudes toward other persons. Participation in disciplined groups is an expected part of personal mission involvement. Each member is called upon to be a witness for Christ in the world, a light and leaven in society, and a reconciler in a culture of conflict. Each member is to identify with the agony and suffering of the world and to radiate and exemplify the Christ of hope. The standards of attitude and conduct set forth in the Social Principles (Part IV) shall be considered as an essential resource for guiding each member of the Church in being a servant of Christ on mission.

¶ 221. Accountability—1. All members are to be held accountable for faithfulness to their covenant of baptism.

2. If a baptized member neglects faithfulness and discipline in terms of the Baptismal Covenant, every means of encouraging that member to return and of nurturing him or her to assume the vows of professing membership should be made.

3. If a professing member should be accused of violating the covenant and failing to keep the vows as stated in ¶ 217, then it shall be the responsibility of the local church, working through its pastor and its agencies, to minister to that member in compliance with the provisions of ¶ 228 in an effort to enable the member to faithfully perform the vows and covenant of membership.

4. In the event that those efforts fail, then the professing member and the local church may agree to voluntary mediation in which the parties are assisted by a trained, neutral third-party mediator, mediation team, and/or their district superintendent in reaching a settlement or agreement satisfactory to all parties.

5. In the further event that those efforts fail to effect reconciliation and reaffirmation of the vows and covenant of ¶ 217 by the professing member, then the professing members of the church may pursue the procedures set forth in ¶¶ 2702.3, 2706.5, and 2714.

 

Small Group Ministry podcast

On Friday, December 9, 2011, I recorded a podcast for the Baltimore-Washington Conference. The topic was “Small Groups.”

Here’s a link to the podcast: http://www.bwcumc.org/resources/podcasts/smallgroupministry

Here are my notes:

What is a small group?

A small group is 3-12 people who desire to live and grow in holiness of heart and life as disciples of Jesus Christ.
Small groups are the incubators of discipleship.
Small groups are how disciples have historically been formed, especially in the
Wesleyan/Methodist tradition.
Small groups are the method of Methodism.

Why are small groups important to disciple-making and discipleship?

Human beings are created in the image of the triune God.

The triune God, known by the relational name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is relational.

To be created in the image of this relational God means that humans are essentially relational creatures. We are made with the capacity, even the need, to give and receive love.

Small groups are where the Christians form relationships of trust and love with others. They are where the Church helps Christians to obey Jesus’ “new commandment” to “love one another. Just as I have loved you, you should also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).

Small groups provide the support and accountability people need to live and grow in holiness of heart and life.

Discipleship is hard and it does not come naturally. It requires support and accountability in small groups because discipleship cannot be an individual effort. It requires a community. This is what John Wesley meant when he said “there is no holiness but social holiness.”

How does small group ministry fit into the Call to Action?

It seems to me that Call to Action is all about what needs to be done to support vital congregations. One of the marks of vital congregations is participation in small groups. The Call to Action recognizes the importance of the method of Methodism. It recognizes that participation in small groups are necessary if The United Methodist Church is going to be faithful to its mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

How can a congregation get started with small group ministry?

Congregations can begin by recognizing they already have small groups. They are called “The Church Council”, “SPPRC”, “Trustees”, “Finance/Stewardship Committee”, “Worship Committee”, etc.

A good place to begin is to help every group to be a community that helps its members grow in holiness of heart and life and contributes to the congregation’s mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

Another important place to start is for the congregation to adopt and teach the General Rules as the United Methodist Rule of Life.

A rule of life is a pattern of spiritual disciplines that provides structure and direction for growth in holiness. It fosters gifts of the Spirit in personal life and human community, helping to form us into the persons God intends us to be.

How do we prepare people to lead small groups?

Covenant Discipleship

What is the pastor’s role in small group ministry?

The pastor must lead in small group ministry. He or she must participate in a Covenant Discipleship group with laity in the congregation.

The pastor helps to identify, equip and support leaders in discipleship who lead small groups.

How does the congregation support small groups and small group leaders?

The congregation must embrace small group ministry as integral to its mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. It must understand that small group ministry is more than a program, it is essential to Christian formation and mission.

Covenant Discipleship groups are a proven way of forming and supporting persons as leaders in discipleship. The congregation needs to make Covenant Discipleship an integral part of its disciple-making infrastructure

Where can a church find ideas or resources for starting or expanding their small group ministry?

The General Board of Discipleship is a good place to start.
The Upper Room,

Advent, Christmas, & Covenant Discipleship

Advent and Christmas help us understand discipleship.

Advent

In Advent the church reflects on the need to be prepared for Christ’s return to consummate his reign on earth. How do Christians prepare for Christ’s return? We love God with all that we are and all that we have and love those whom God loves. We witness to Christ and his kingdom in the world. We follow him and his teachings through acts of compassion, justice, worship, and devotion under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Covenant Discipleship helps congregations form disciples who habitually follow and work with Jesus and his mission of preparing this world for the world that is coming. Covenant Discipleship acknowledges that preparing for the coming reign of God on earth as it is in heaven is a way of life. It is too important to be limited to a few weeks in December. That is why the practice of weekly giving an account of what I have done to participate in Jesus’ work of preparing this world for the coming reign of God is so vitally important.

Along with preparing for the coming of the Lord, Advent is about hope. It’s important to understand here that Christian hope is not wishful thinking. Rather, it is active anticipation of the promised reign of God on earth as it is in heaven. The practice of preparation leads naturally to such hope. I like what theologian Jürgen Moltman has to say about hope:

“Hope is nothing else than the expectation of those things which faith has believed to have been truly promised by God. Thus, faith believes God to be true, hope awaits the time when this trugh shall be manifested; faith believes that he is our Father, hope anticipates that he will ever show himself to be a Father toward us; faith believes that eternal life has been given to us, hope anticipates that it will some time be revealed; faith is the foundation upon which hope rests, hope nourishes and sustains faith” (Theology of Hope, p. 20.).

Covenant Discipleship forms disciples who practice and witness to hope in Christ. They trust in God’s promises because they walk with Christ in the world. When they practice acts of compassion, justice, worship, and devotion they catch glimpses of the reign of God that is breaking out in the world. When people practice the discipline of discipleship their eyes and ears and hearts are opened to the reality of God’s kingdom around them. Discipline sets us free to be a people of hope.

Christmas

Christmas is the church’s celebration of the incarnation of God in the birth of Jesus Christ. In the words of Charles Wesley, God “emptied himself of all but love” and became one of us. In Christmas we celebrate the truth that “the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. … From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace” (John 1:14, 16).

The theological term for what we celebrate in Chrismastide is “incarnation.” God became flesh, bone, and blood. God became a living, breathing human being. He became one of us, fully human, in every way; and yet, at the same time, fully God. The angel who spoke to Mary’s husband, Joseph, in a dream describes the incarnation by quoting Isaiah 7:14, “’Look, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,’ which means ‘God is with us’” (Matthew 1:23). Incarnation means “God is with us.”

Christmas tells us that Christianity is incarnational. It is concerned with flesh and blood human beings, communities and systems. It acknowledges that we are embodied persons who are loved by the God who became one of us to be one with us. Therefore, Christians are persons who are called to be with one another and with others whom God loves everywhere in the world.

Covenant Discipleship equips Christians to live incarnational lives. When we make acts of compassion and justice holy habits we become more and more reflections of Christ in the world. Being incarnational means obeying Jesus’ command in Matthew 28:19 to “Go” into the world to train everyone we meet in his way of love and justice.

Alan Hirsch describes incarnational living in his book The Forgotten Ways

“The Incarnation not only qualifies God’s acts in the world, but must also qualify ours. If God’s central way of reaching his world was to incarnate himself in Jesus, then our way of reaching the world should likewise be incarnational. To act incarnationally therefore will mean in part that in our mission to those outside of the faith we will need to exercise a genuine identification and affinity with those we are attempting to reach” (page 133).

Christian discipleship, therefore, is much more than agreeing with a set of doctrines or creeds. It is more than believing Jesus Christ is my personal Lord and Savior. It says believing doctrines and creeds are important because they compel us to follow and live the way of Jesus in the world. The incarnation tells us that Christian faith and hope are meant to be lived in, with, and for the world that God loves. Covenant Discipleship provides the accountability and support people need to make sure they live their faith where they live their lives outside the walls of the church.

Covenant Discipleship helps Christians keep Advent as a season of preparation and hope in Christ and his promise to return and complete his reign on earth as it is in heaven. When disciples live Jesus’ way of cross-shaped love they become channels of his grace for the world. Their eyes, ears, and hearts are opened to the reality of God’s reign in the world now and they give others a glimpse of that reign whey they see or experience compassion and justice.

Covenant Discipleship helps Christians embody the miracle of Christmas when they help the church be the incarnate body of Christ in, with, and for the world that God loves.

 

Dr. Elaine Heath on A New Vision for Wesleyan Community

The second annual Wesleyan Leadership Conference was held in Nashville October 13-15, 2011. Dr. Elaine Heath was the featured speaker. She presented her vision for new Wesleyan community in her work with New Day new monastic communities in Dallas, TX and the Missional Wisdom Foundation.

Videos of Dr. Heath’s presentations are now available!

Presentation 1

Presentation 2

Presentation 3

Sermon

Holiness: The United Methodist Way

Pursue peace with everyone,
and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
Hebrews 12:14

This is a passage John Wesley frequently cites in his journal. Given his life-long quest for holiness of heart and life it is no surprise that he would be drawn to this verse. As we begin a new year and move toward another General Conference Hebrews 12:14 is a valuable guide for The United Methodist Church.

The United Methodist Way is the pursuit of peace with all people and, most important, holiness of heart and life. Our tradition is too often said to be defined by particular beliefs, programs or polity. However, according to Wesley, the distinguishing mark of the people called Methodists was their singular striving after holiness of heart and life. Beliefs, programs and polity exist to move the people toward the goal of holiness.

Wesley’s definition of holiness is Scriptural: “the loving God with all our heart and soul, and our neighbour as ourselves. It is love governing the heart and life, running through all our tempers, words, and actions.”  The purpose of the societies, class meetings, bands and corresponding “rules” was to form communities of social and personal holiness.

In their striving after holiness the Methodist societies became channels of grace for the world. They pursued peace, the shalom of God, as they followed Christ in their world by feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, welcoming the strangers, caring for the sick, and visiting the prisoners.

As we engage in the practices of holiness it is important to always be reminded that they are only the means to a goal. Too often we focus on what we are doing for Christ and end up taking our eye off of Christ. We end up confusing the means (works of piety and works of mercy) with the ends (holiness of heart and life). The emphasis shifts from witnessing to Jesus Christ in the world to how I am blessed.

Therefore, we need to always remember that the General Rule of Discipleship and Covenant Discipleship groups exist to form communities of holiness. They do not exist for the personal benefit of individual members. The Rule and the groups are designed to equip congregations to participate in Christ’s mission in, with, and for the world.

In the United Methodist Way Covenant Discipleship groups are a means that lead congregations to “pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”

Dispatches from the 2011 Wesleyan Leadership Conference

The second annual Wesleyan Leadership Conference adjourned at noon today (October 15th). It was a Spirit-filled event. One of the participants has blogged about her experience. She is Jen Unger Kroc, a lay woman from the Northern Illinois Conference:

Preface

Day One

Day Two

Day Three

Discipleship and the Church

I am currently reading an excellent book by Mike Breen and Steve Cockram titled, Building a Discipling Culture. Early in the introduction readers see the following quote printed in all capital letters:

IF YOU MAKE DISCIPLES, YOU ALWAYS GET THE CHURCH.
BUT IF YOU MAKE A CHURCH, YOU RARELY GET DISCIPLES.

The authors use the capital letters in much the same way people who regularly use electronic communication. In e-culture the use of all caps in a message tells the recipient that the sender intends to be screaming his or her message at the top of his or her lungs. It is meant to convey urgency.

Clearly Breen and Cockram are trying to get the reader’s attention. They want to make sure we understand the central argument of their book and their approach to pastoral leadership. As I read Building a Discipling Culture it is abundantly clear to me that the authors are trying to wake up the church to the fact that it has got things backwards.

We’ve convinced ourselves that the church makes disciples. Therefore, we need to build up the church so that disciples can be made. The church is the factory, people and programs are the input, and disciples are the product. Disciple-making is a mechanical process similar to building automobiles, computers, or any other complex machine. The important thing is that we need to build and maintain the factory (church) in order to make the desired product (disciples).

The problem with this thinking is that it is not Scriptural. Here’s another insightful and challenging quote from Breen and Cockram:

Effective discipleship builds the church, not the other way around. We need to understand the church as the effect of discipleship and not the cause. If you set out to build the church, there is no guarantee you will make disciples. It is far more likely that you will create consumers who depend on the spiritual services that religious professionals provide.

When we focus on building the church we too often end up with an institution that seeks to grow and sustain itself. Its mission is church growth by developing and providing programs and services that attract large numbers of people. Conventional wisdom tells us a church that can attract large numbers of people to its programs and services is successful and vital. Success and vitality are then seen as faithfulness to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The problem with this focus on building the church is that discipleship always gets short shrift. It becomes one of the program options provided to members. Membership is then equated with discipleship. Faithful consumption of church programs and services is all that is expected from disciples. Making disciples, therefore, is the process of turning “un-churched” people into faithful consumers of church programs. We end up with people who are ardent admirers of Jesus but who have little interest or time to “deny themselves, take up their cross daily” and follow him.

Breen and Cockram remind us that Jesus commissioned his disciples to “Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life…” (Matthew 28:19a, The Message). Jesus never told his disciples to build the church. Building the church is his job (see Matthew 16:18). Our part is to obey his command to go into the world and train everyone we meet in Jesus’ way of life. Disciples are Jesus ambassadors who are given the task of inviting and training the world in the way of holiness. The church emerges when we focus on doing what Jesus taught his disciples to do.

Discipleship and the church are organically related. They are symbiotic. One emerges with the other. They cannot be complete without each other. The important thing to always remember is that discipleship comes first. When we get that right, then Jesus will be at the center of the church. When Jesus is at the center the church is clear that its mission is his mission: preparing this world for the coming reign of God. When Jesus is at the center the church proclaims and is good news to the poor; hungry people are fed; thirsty people find what they need to quench their thirst; people who are homeless and strangers find welcome; people who have nothing receive warm clothes and are helped to put on Christ (see Colossians 3:12); the sick are healed and prisoners are visited.

John Wesley understood this very well. When asked what was the purpose (mission) of the Methodist societies he replied, “To reform the nation, particularly the Church; and to spread Scriptural holiness over the land.” His way of reforming the church was to make disciples of Jesus Christ, known as Methodist, and send them to be salt and light (see Matthew 5:13-16) the Church needed to faithfully participate in Christ’s mission in the world. He wanted to shift the Church’s focus from itself to Christ and his mission. Wesley’s method was making disciples of Jesus Christ whose lives were characterized by holiness of heart and life.

Covenant Discipleship groups are a contemporary adaptation of Wesley’s method of making disciples who make disciples. When congregations embrace the ministry of Covenant Discipleship they begin to make the shift from church growth to Jesus and his mission in the world.

Disciple-Making

This is the final installment of a series of articles based on Bible study sessions I lead during the 2011 South Georgia Annual Conference held at Tifton, Georgia in June. This article is in the second of two parts. In part 1 I addressed the problem of “programitis” in which the church has confused study and discussion about discipleship with discipleship itself. The following is my attempt to describe a disciple-making system that will help a congregation become the church Paul describes in Ephesians.

In Ephesians 4:1-16 Paul assumes that the way of Jesus is different than the way of the world: “… lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” First of all he is saying that all Christians are called. Call is not limited to women and men ordained to the work of a pastor. Some are called to be teachers, lawyers, carpenters, plumbers, computer programmers, maids, daycare workers, nurses, physicians, scientists, politicians, etc., etc. Paul is talking about a way of life. He is saying that what we say we believe should shape how we live. He describes the essential character of the way of Jesus:

• Humility-knowing that God is God and you are not. Seeing the image of God in others and in yourself. Knowing you are no better, or worse than others, especially people who are poor, outcast, sick, or prisoners.
• Gentleness—imitate Jesus by generous kindness to others, especially the poor and  members of the household of God; prone to forgiveness and placing the needs of others ahead of your own.
• Patience—longsuffering and slow to anger
• Bearing with one another in love
• Unity of the Spirit

Paul is fleshing out Jesus’ commandment to his disciples in John 13:34-35

 “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

The baptized are called to love as Christ loves. In the waters of baptism Christ calls you into his house, his family, his way of life. The church’s job is to be a community centered in the life and mission of Jesus and to help Christians to live out their calling in the world.

A community centered in the life and mission of Jesus, that helps its people to live out the calling of their baptism needs Christ-centered leadership. Paul tells us that leadership is shared between apostles (those sent to serve), prophets (those who speak God’s truth), evangelists (those who proclaim the good news of the reign of God), pastors (those who proclaim the word, administer the sacraments, and order the communities life), and teachers (those who teach Scripture and tradition to all). The mission of leadership is “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.”

Shared leadership transforms members from consumers of religious goods and services into missionaries—servants with Jesus Christ in the world.

Shared Leadership helps members to become missionaries who live out the baptismal covenant in the workplace and the marketplace.

Christians “grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” when congregations develop and support an integrated disciple-making system akin to that developed by John Wesley and the early Methodists:

1. Clear Expectations: The mission of the congregation is directed toward making disciples of Jesus Christ and equipping members to live as his witnesses in the world. Members are expected, according to their ability, to follow Jesus’ teachings through acts of compassion, justice, worship, and devotion under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The congregation’s vision is to become a Christ-centered outpost of the reign of God. To that end, strives to be

• Missional: “A missional church faces outward toward the world, not like a porcupine stands against its enemies, but like water fills every container without losing its content. … The church is measured, not by its seating capacity, but by its sending capacity.”
• Relational: The gospel is all about the formation of community. The individualistic ‘meet my needs’ orientation is seen as antithetical to the ministry of Jesus. The African word ubuntu is used, which means ‘I am because we are.’
• Incarnational: means Christianity does not go through time like water in a straw. It passes through cultural prisms and historical periods, which means that Christianity is organic. And like with any living thing, in order for things to stay the same, they have to change. The church is a living, breathing, moving, changing organism that lives in, with, and for the world.

John Wesley understood the importance of clear expectations in the disciple-making process. This is why he developed a “rule of life” for the Methodist societies. “A rule of life is a pattern of spiritual disciplines that provides structure and direction for growth in holiness. … God calls us to be holy as God is holy, to grow into greater intimacy with the One we are created to resemble (see 1 John 3:2). A rule of life allows us to cultivate and deepen this growing likeness. It fosters gifts of the Spirit in personal life and human community, helping to form us into the persons God intends us to be.”  Wesley created his rule of life to set clearly before the people who desired to be Methodists expectations for the life of discipleship. He believed that the evidence for salvation is shown by a new way of life shaped by the teachings of Jesus Christ and summarized by him in the Great Commandment:

… you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these (Mark 12:30-31).

Wesley’s rule of life is “The General Rules.” It is simple and practicable. In it the community finds a common set of expectations and practices that guide its life. The General Rules provide the means by which persons exhibit “evidence of their desire for salvation,”

First: By doing no harm, by avoiding evil of every kind …
Secondly: By doing good; by being in every kind merciful after their power; as they have opportunity, doing good of every possible sort, and, as far as possible, to all [people]. …
Thirdly: By attending upon all the ordinances of God; such are: The public worship of God; The ministry of the Word, either read or expounded; The Supper of the Lord; Family and private prayer;  Searching the Scriptures; Fasting or abstinence.

The General Rules provided a framework around which the community was organized. Its goal was to cooperate with the dynamic of grace (prevenient, justifying, and sanctifying) to form persons in holiness of heart and life. Congregations today, therefore, must adopt a simple, coherent rule of life to guide its life and mission. The General Rules provide a good model.

A contemporary adaptation of the General Rules is available in the General Rule of Discipleship:

To witness to Jesus Christ in the world and to follow his teachings through acts of compassion, justice, worship and devotion under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Disciple-making begins with expectations and trust in Christ and his grace. A congregational rule of life is the historic way congregations set before the people the expectations of discipleship. The rule of life then guides the congregation in organizing to help members live and grow toward holiness of heart and life.

2. The congregation provides an intentional disciple-making system designed to provide the means to live the Baptismal Covenant and grow in holiness of heart and life. This system includes practices and structures through which the congregation cooperates with the dynamic of grace and leads to the formation of “holy tempers” (see Galatians 5:22-23):

• An interconnected, intentional system of small groups for mutual support and accountability for Christian formation. The congregation will provide groups that meet people where they are—seekers, new Christians, growing, and mature Christians—and help them to grow in holiness of heart and life. The small group system of early Methodist societies provides an excellent model.  Such a system is how the congregation will cooperate with the dynamic of grace that seeks to draw people to Christ, awaken them to who and whose they are, accept the gift of God’s love through faith, and live and serve as daughters and sons of God who are channels of grace for the world.

• Worship that is sacramental and evangelical in which Christ in all of his offices (prophet, priest, and king) is proclaimed.

• Every member participates in a curriculum for Christian initiation and formation. This is integral to the small group system discussed above. The “entry level” groups will focus on catechesis, similar to the early Methodist class meeting. The leaders for this catechetical process will be seasoned Christians who can be trusted with the care of souls. An essential element of the catechesis will be teaching and encouraging the practice of the means of grace: works of piety and works of mercy.

• Mission and witness in and with the local community, especially with poor and marginalized people.The congregation understands that “the church doesn’t have a mission; the Mission has a church.” Mission is not primarily something the church does. Mission is the church’s identity and purpose.

3. Practice evangelism that is Biblical and invitational. The congregation and its leaders understand that evangelism is the responsibility of the whole people of God. It is not a program that is delegated to “professionals.” Evangelism is witnessing to the good news of God’s reign given to the world in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and initiating persons into new life in the kingdom of God. The evangelical task is to share Christ’s good news in ways that those who hear it receive it as good news indeed.

In the letter to the Ephesians Paul gives the blueprint for a church that is Christ-centered and missional. The challenge for congregational leaders today is to resist the temptation to quick growth that leads to programitis. The Wesleyan tradition gives powerful compass headings that help us to steer clear of programitis and move toward mission centered in Jesus Christ; mission that removes the blockages to grace and helps the congregation to grow in holiness of heart and life.