March 2006
“WHO ARE WE? WHERE DO WE STAND?”
A few weeks ago, I went back to Kentucky for a few
days to attend a minister’s conference. The weather
was clear and the temperature was in the mid to upper
60’s for the first two days and that was wonderful.
Unfortunately it was short lived as the temperature
dropped into the 20’s and 30’s for the rest of my time
there. Even though the weather didn’t hold, I had a
chance to reconnect with some old friends and
classmates I hadn’t seen in a couple of years. It was
a time of celebration and remembering. It was a time
of renewal, but it was also a time of challenge.
At the Ministry Conference, I attended a plenary
panel discussion on the direction that worship was
heading in the 21st century. The meeting was filled
with ideas and opinions about what is the key
component for the vitality of the Christian faith from
those who are currently in the forefront of Christian
worship. They discussed various types and styles of
music and their impact on worship. They discussed
visual aesthetics within the worship space and how
they could add to (or detract from) the worship
experience. They talked about interpretive dance and
how its use could add to the worship experience. The
panel analyzed and theorized about seemingly every
conceivable aspect of the worship experience and it
was all very interesting and informative.
But during the discussion, there was one panel
member, Bishop Scott Jones of the Kansas conferences
of the UMC, who asked a simple question that cut to
the very heart of worship and the essence of who we
are as Christians. He asked all the pastors there “Is
your church a club that exists for its members or is
your church a mission station ready to be used for
God’s Kingdom as part of the church universal?” Out of
all that was discussed that morning that one question
still rings in my ears and pierces my heart.
“Do we, as a church, exist as a club for our
members?” That question beckons us to dig deeper; to
ask other questions. What is truly important to us?
How do we spend our time? Where do we spend our money?
Do we focus our attention on ourselves and what we
have? Do we find ourselves, as a church, in a state of
perpetual maintenance-mode with little or no impact on
the world around us? Is it our church or does our
church really belong to God? Are we really living out
our lives as our faith calls us to do?
“Are we a mission station ready to be used for the
work necessary for the Kingdom of God?” Are we ready
and willing to accept the costs that faithful
obedience to the word of God often brings? What do you
sense that God is calling us to do in our community
and our world? Our mission as the Union City United
Methodist Church is to love God, love one another and
make disciples for Jesus Christ. How are we as a
church (and as individuals) living out our mission
where God has placed us? Are we ready and willing to
take in those who are lost and broken and hurting;
those who so desperately need to know and experience
the love of God through God’s people?
In 1786 John Wesley wrote “I am not afraid that the
people called Methodists should ever cease to exist
either in Europe or America. But I am afraid, lest
they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form
of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly
will be the case, unless they hold fast both the
doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first
set out.” Have we held fast to the doctrine, spirit
and discipline of our church? Do we really know what
that is? On Sunday mornings we join together in the
Apostles Creed or the Lord’s Prayer; do we really
believe what we say or do we simply say the words in
empty repetition? Do we exist as a dead sect with the
form of religion, but without the power?
March 1st, Ash Wednesday, marks the beginning of the
holy season of Lent. If we take this season seriously,
it is a time for all of us to reflect upon whom we are
and where we truly stand in our relationship and
dedication to God through Jesus Christ. It is a time
for all of us to ask ourselves the hard questions and
not be satisfied with trite, superficial answers, but
to search deeply within ourselves and truly humble
ourselves before the Almighty God of Creation. It is a
time to truly repent and seek genuine restoration as
God’s holy people. It is a time to seek the truth and
healing and love and power that only God can give.
1 John 3:18 says, “Dear children, let us not love
with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”
There is no greater joy and fulfillment in this world
than walking in obedience to our Lord and Savior.
Nothing that the secular world offers can even begin
to come close to a genuine relationship with Jesus
Christ. Brothers and sisters, let us move out into our
world from this day forward and live out our
profession of Jesus Christ in all that we do and all
that we say and all that we are. Let us share the love
that God has shown us, becoming conduits of God’s love
for others in need; in action and truth. And let us
do all in the power of God’s Holy Spirit that lives
within us. Let us move forward as an “army of one” –
one body, one church universal, into the darkness of
this world to shine forth the magnificent light of
Jesus Christ to the glory of God.
Grace and Peace, The Rev. Rob Hughes
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O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing