Spiritual Hypothermia

There continues to be a conversation within the UMC about the need for or the emphasis on different metrics. More often than not, the conversation about metrics and numbers is quickly tampered with the need for accompanying narratives. That is to say, that it is not just numbers but the stories in tandem that are important.

However noble the goal of marrying metrics and narrative, in practice the metrics win out. In part because they are easier to capture and they are easier to read and digest. It is why the USA Today has those little numbers on the bottom of each section highlighting something newsworthy. It is also why the internet is full of “top ten” lists and perhaps is the only reason that “10 weird things kids do at communion I wish more adults would do” is my most popular post - ever.

Numbers are easily digestible and give us a sense that we understand something about that which is measured. Stories are even more powerful than numbers, but that power is a slow build. It takes time to read the story and it takes imagination to understand the power within the story. Thus stories are often lost in the effort to marry metrics and narratives.

Recently I was in a conversation with a District Superintendent from New Mexico, Dr. Eduardo Rivera, who used the phrase “spiritual hypothermia” to describe the state of the UMC. Here is what he said:

Spiritual hypothermia: the gradual decline of vitality and of resources given to the extremities of the church that keep its witness and presence in the world (we often speak of the church being the hands and feet of Jesus - In spiritual hypothermia those are the first to go). What happens next is a church that enters a survivalist mode that only keeps its vital functions alive (sadly, only for a reduced time).

There is much to consider in what Dr. Rivera says for us as a denomination. How do we know if we are in a state of spiritual hypothermia? What one might call an extremity of the Church another might call that same thing vitally core? How do we know the difference?

Those suffering from hypothermia highly privilege knowing the number of heartbeats in a minute and know their core temperature. In a state of hypothermia there is a hyper focus on the vital signs of your body: heart beat, breaths per minute, temperature, etc. It is much less important in such a state to take a stock of the inner life of your soul or even how your actions affect the lives of others. The narratives take a back seat to the numbers when in suffering from hypothermia.

As the UMC considers her future structure and make up, pay attention to what information is privileged in the conversation. Is the conversation focused on the numbers of people in worship or the amount of money the denomination is loosing? Does the conversation focus on the numbers of churches or people that might leave? Or even who gets what amount of money?

Or will the narratives and stories be what we privilege as we consider the future of the UMC? Will we focus on the what God might be doing in and through us? Will we focus on the reality that the UMC is on the precipice of discovering a different way to live together that is different from other denominations that have only found the way to the courtroom? Can we privilege the knowing of how the UMC is being used by God to draw people closer into relationship and converting hearts?

When you visit a doctor, they look over your vital signs. However, when we are healthy, the doctor only looks at these signs once or twice a year. It is only when we are sick that we need a doctor to look at these signs every day or week. It is not that these metrics are unimportant it is only the degree of privilege given to them that is a symptom of possible spiritual hypothermia.

God Cannot Become Present

Invocations have always puzzled me. I value prayer and I would hope that we all would “pray without ceasing” but invocations seem a bit off. Contributing to my unease with invocations is the idea that we give the impression that we “summon” God to the gathering. Maybe this is not what others feel is happening, but many invocations I have heard use phrases like, “we invite you into this place” and “be here, O God.” These prayers are not evil or “bad” they do however hold an implicit theology of where God is.

There is a story in the Bible where a prophet named Elijah is in a weird contest against different prophets of a different deity to rain down fire. These other prophets cut themselves and yell for a long time in order to “invoke” their god. After a while, Elijah jeers them and suggests… well just read how the Contemporary English Version tells it in 1 Kings 18:27:

At noon, Elijah began making fun of them. "Pray louder!" he said. "Baal must be a god. Maybe he's daydreaming or using the toilet or traveling somewhere. Or maybe he's asleep, and you have to wake him up.

This god never shows up. Elijah then prays that God would answer his request to light a fire and the fire is lit.

Elijah knew something that invocations fail to understand.

God cannot become present because God is never absent.

Examine our prayers and listen for the implicit theology. Is this person praying that God would “please, just be present”? Are we aware that God cannot become present - God is presence.

The Temptation to Eradicate Inefficiency in the Church

The allure of the Silicon Valley approach to life is that we can eradicate the inefficiencies of life, moving us to a friction-less society. They build apps and technologies that make things as efficient as possible. You don’t have to go to a bank to get cash to pay someone, just use the app to transfer money. There is no need to go to call an order in, just use the delivery service app. There is no need to answer the door, just look at your phone when the visitor presses the doorbell.

The inefficiency of the labyrinth walk, mirrors the inefficiency of Grace

The stereotype of the socially awkward computer person who would dream of a world where you don’t have to engage with people, but only a computer is not very fair to many computer people to bring us together. However, there is something to a world that values efficiency to such a high degree that we ought to consider why this is.

One can easily imagine that if the rest of our world places such a value on efficiency, it is not a wonder that we would desire the same for the Church.

In the Church the primary justification to work on efficiencies is a matter of being a good steward of resources. And of course the Church needs to be faithful stewards of resources given to the Church. These are noble efforts to be sure. However, being efficient runs directly into another value in the Church: Grace.

Grace is anything but efficient. God’s grace is prodigal. It is abundant. It overflows. It gluts the market, if you will. This amazing grace is not measured out in efficient doses. Grace is messy and gums up the wheels of the efficient.

The temptation to eradicate inefficiency in the Church is a temptation to limit grace.

Church people often say we want to become more understanding, more patient, more forgiving. The things you find inefficient in the Church you are opportunities to practice the very virtues we claim we want.

Communication is slow? Patience.

Too many meetings? Understanding.

Too much conflict? Forgiveness.

Being inefficient is not an excuse to neglect communication or a reason to remain opaque. Churches need to be clear in communication and as transparent as morally possible. Be careful of the temptation to eradicate inefficiency in the Church for we may unintentionally erase the inefficient Grace of God.