Die to cool. Why the UMC won't talk about our faith.

Jesus tells us that we are to die to ourselves and in doing so we will find life. Preachers preach this and we all hear the words. Some of us even nod our heads when we hear it because we affirm this and know it to be true.

The message of dying to self cannot happen these days very much because most of our Christian faith is working hard to look coo.

We want buildings that look modern and sleek. We want our leaders to be young and hip. We want a tidy message with slick publicity that advertises the weeks "message". We want to be seen as a place that has answers and is really "nice". We avoid conflict (more people leave the church when they are angry than seem to stay and work toward reconciliation). We avoid being uncomfortable (even to the point of complaint if the sanctuary is too hot/cold). We make our spiritual growth a priority when we find it convenient and there is nothing else to do. We desire the church to be in service of our needs first. We ensure membership has "perks" like reduced rates for weddings. We allow our children to choose to be apart of religion but not formal education.

I could go on, but the point is we as a religion are generally working to ensure that church is a cool place to be. And this may very well be why the UMC has no idea or interest to be evangelistic with our faith.

We could come off looking like "those crazy Christians you see on TV". Or worse we could come off looking dorky, nerdy, or uncool.

In our efforts to be "relevant" what we really are saying is we want our church to be "cool". So, in a effort to be relevant we discard anything that might not be trendy, because let's face it if it is not trendy it is not relevant.

The perhaps the UMC biggest hurdle to sustainable growth is not our mission statements or lack of theological rigor or our in ability to retain clergy, but we Christians are very concerned about how cool we come off.

When we are more interested in inviting people to events than to relationships of meaning, we are worried about cool.

Die to self? How about we just die to cool to start with?

What prayer has to do with Jello, eggs and restaurants - Part 3 of 3

Have you ever gone by a restaurant and seen a line out the door? Have you ever been in a conversation and they tell you about a restaurant that you "have to go to" because it is "so good". Oh, and when you are there be sure to order this and sit in this location.

When we pray and are changed by our prayers, people will see that we are different and changed. As we pray and our concern for our neighbor and concern for the world impacts our actions, others see that we are of a faith that matters. More and more people become curious about our actions.

I know I am curious about a restaurant that everyone talks about, so too I become curious about a faith (or a church) that I hear everyone talking about.

We live in a time when culture is suspicious of the Christian religion. Much of the time we Christians are portrayed as militant, xenophobic, anti-intellectuals who are reject science and believe everyone is going to hell except us. We live in culture that is suspicious to even come to the church because all they see are Christians they don’t want to be like. They see followers of a Jesus that is not compelling. So they reject the faith and reject the Church. We already have a restaurant effect going on, we are just thought of as a bad restaurant.

The more we we pray and are forced out of our little comfort zones, the more we become ambassadors of reconciliation, peacemakers, advocates of love sharing a voice of hope, the greater chance we have at displaying for the world that Christianity (or a local church) is a good restaurant. A place where we find good company, share in good meals, encourage sustainable life, and are nourished by the Bread of Life.

What prayer has to do with Jello, eggs and restaurants - Part 2 of 3

Every Easter we take eggs and put them into vinegar and dye. After a few moments the, previously white egg is now vibrant green, orange or blue. However, if you were to take an egg and put it into vinegar for two days, do you know what happens?  

The hard protective shell breaks down and you are left with an egg that is soft, squishy, and a bit bouncy. And if you did not hard boil the egg, then shell less egg will still be liquid on the inside.

As we move through our world and pray, chances are we will encounter a few of our neighbors. As we encounter our neighbors and get to know them, both of our hard protective shells will soften, we become more flexible and less rigid. We still have ourselves in tact but we are a bit more transparent with each other.

We are still eggs, if you will, but we are changed in a dramatic way. Whereas before we could not get too close to each other for fear of our hard shells breaking, now we can become closer to one another without fear. Whereas before our hard shells would not allow us to give in to ourselves even just a little bit for fear of breaking, now we are able flexible enough so that we each give without breaking.

Prayer is like that vinegar on that egg. If we pray even for a short time, just like eggs at Easter, we can be changed. If we pray for an extended period of time, just as the Scripture says, our prayers are powerful and effective.

Prayer changes us and it changes our community.