Why There Is Hope for the Church

Let’s be clear. Renewal will not come to the United Methodist Church through General Conference. As it always has, spiritual renewal will come through the relationships between people in their local communities. Like a forest fire, spiritual renewal can spread from one community to another, but it cannot be started or stopped by legislation from a group of people who meet once every four years. It is simply not feasible to think that a group of a thousand people have the ability in a short amount of time to get to know each other enough to gain trust. And it is very difficult to trust someone you don’t know. Trust must come first for renewal to happen.

The Bible gives us an example of renewal in the story of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit connected people to God and also to each other. The initial group met together for worship, study and prayer. They shared meals and resources so that no one was left in need. The Methodist movement also began with a small group of people who were touched by God and were connected to each other. God moved in one relationship that touched another relationship that touched another and so on. So for renewal to come our worldwide church, it must first happen in smaller congregations and communities. That is why it is so important that we help each other to see Jesus so that we can become more like Jesus.

As one of the leaders in my area for the United Methodist Church, I am gaining clarity about the process that we need to follow to make disciples here. That includes; first earning the trust of the people around us; then casting a vision of God’s preferred future; and then helping each other do whatever it takes to make the vision become a reality.

Whenever someone asks about the direction of our global church, I want to ask them about the direction of their relationship with God and other people. Because that is where renewal will really make the difference for them. Everybody needs someone else walking with them to help them see their blind spots and how they can improve. Every follower of Jesus also needs to be helping someone else become more like Jesus. So how are you doing? Do you have someone who is helping you to see Jesus so that you are becoming more like Jesus? Are you helping someone else to see Jesus so that they can become more like Jesus as well?

Making disciples involves earning the trust of the people around you, casting a vision of God’s preferred future and then helping each other do whatever it takes to make that vision a reality. That must happen in our congregations and communities regardless of what happens at General Conference.

I have hope for our church, not because of what happened at General Conference, but because of what God can make happen here in northwest Iowa. It is only hopeless when you give up. And I am not giving up. How about you?