Church Growth = "We need more people like us." Really?

There are efforts in the UMC to talk more about church growth.  My cynical side will say that this focus on church growth is because the church is declining in terms of warm bodies in the pew and if the numbers of people in the pews were of the 1950's then we would not focus on church growth.

However, my non-cynical side of me says this is a good thing.

My only issue with this how church growth is defined.

If we define church growth meaning that we need to get more people into pews; that is to say if we define church growth as "getting more people to be like us" and become members - I do not think that is a great way to think of church growth.

Instead of thinking that church growth means "more people need to be like us", perhaps a healthier understanding is "we need to be more like Jesus".

When talking about church growth as primarily as getting more people, we are forgetting that the church is the Body of Christ and even people who are members of a church are part of the body of Christ.  Church growth includes those who are already members of the church.

If we redirect all the resources we spend on trying to get more people to be like us to use them on getting us to be more like Christ then the church inevitably grows!

Friends, let us be honest here, if the church is growing by becoming more like Christ not only is the Church growing, but also non-Christians will be more interested in the Christian life.

I am convinced the life of Jesus is more attractive to people than any event or sermon series in the world.

Called out of ministry

Much of the ordination process of the UMC is built on an idea that we feel called into ministry.  It took me ten years, from start to finish, to become ordained in the UMC.  There is a long and comprehensive process for identifying a call into ordained ministry.  

A mentor and friend whom I deeply respect and admire mentioned recently that we ought to consider the a process for those people who feel God calling them out of ordained ministry.  

As our lives change and we gain wisdom over and our sense of self change over time, so to would one's sense of call.  Are you the same person you were 10 years ago?  Will you be the same person 10 years from now?  

Of course not.  

What happens when a life of an ordained person in the UMC changes, and they no longer sensing a call in ordained ministry?  Do we allow them to continue to do ordained ministry and limp along?  Do we instead build into the system a process for transition out of ministry?  

What would a process of being called out of ministry look like?  Would that be something that would be an appreciated process for those ministers who can move out of ministry with dignity?  It has to be better than surrendering credentials with a sense of shame and/or disgrace.  It has to be better than "plugging along" until retirement.

Don't congregations deserve ministers we are called into ministry and not called out ministry?  

Worshiping worship - Part 1

Among many of the leaders of the area of the UMC which I am located in, there is a premium placed upon worship.  Worship is often described as the most important thing that we do as a Church.

A previous post touched on this idea which you can read if you would like.  

It is not clear to me that there is one thing in the Church that ought to be the most important thing.  To say such a thing seems more of a reflection of the priorities of the person saying it than of the reflection of God's priorities for the Church.

Can we really think that corporate worship is more important than working to eradicate slavery in our back yard?  Or that teaching about the message of Jesus is more important than prayer and meditation?  

How can one hold one aspect of the Church above another?  Did not Paul speak of the Church being a body that is made of different parts and no one part is greater than the whole?  Can the hands of service tell the heart of worship that they do not need it?  Of course not.  

When we elevate worship above the other aspects of Church I would submit that we are in danger of moving toward an idolatry of worship.  We worship worship.  

From the infamous golden calf to elevating sacrifice above mercy to worshiping Cesar, the Bible shares of of many stories of humanity struggling with idolatry.  

The Church also seems to struggle with idolatry in that different parts of the Church elevate one expression of God over the others.  Mainline Church elevates God, Evangelicals elevate Jesus, and Pentecostals elevate the Holy Spirit.  Try talking about the 'Holy Spirit' in the mainline and you will find it to be more uncomfortable than talking about 'God'.  

The Trinity is a teaching about the nature of God which says, of many other things, that no one aspect of God is greater than another.  Yet, our Churches fall into the idea that there are aspects of being Church that is greater than others - namely worship is the "most important" thing we do.  

What if we were to take the idea of the Trinity and apply it to the Church?  

The next post will explore this a bit more...