BONUS BLOG: The New UMC, “Beyond Better”
Steve Harper represents much to me, and for many reasons. Steve Harper and I share much that is good (very good, actually) in our heritage, and again for many reasons. Here’s what he wrote and shared today, with my highlights—
| When God removed Adam, Eve, and their children from the garden of Eden, “winged creatures wielding flaming swords” were stationed to prevent them from returning. As the new UMC emerges, I wish God would station similar creatures to keep us from returning to the past, and trying to recapture it. The new UMC is in our future, not in our past. Our call is not to make things better, but rather to make them different. We must move beyond better. But to be clear, the word ‘beyond’ is crucial. The future is not about the rejection of the past, but it is about not trying to return it. There are good things in the UMC, many good things. These must remain and improving them is important. But the improvements must be seen in relation to a new awakening. The improvements must be made in the larger context of a transformed church, not just a better one. Two statements converge to create this vision. First from Jesus, who said that leaders in the kingdom of God bring forth “treasures old and new” (Matthew 13:52). Second, from Charles Wesley, “To serve the present age…” (Hymn, ‘A Charge to Keep’). Taken together, we are called to “engage ourselves unto the Lord” in the task of making the church different. New wineskins to hold Gospel wine. If you ask me, “So what needs to be different?” I would reply, “Everything.” That is, all that we are and do must be put on the table for discernment. Nothing must be exempt. That’s the only way to see the treasure-blend Jesus called for, and the only way we can serve the present age. Nothing can be omitted from a beyond-better endeavor. That’s why in this post I am not going to suggest specifics. Beyond better means there are no sacred cows. No assumptions. Nothing gets a pass. Beyond better occurs when we say, “Everything must change,” and then begin to do the detailed and difficult work of figuring out what the mix of changed (the blend of treasures old and new) will be. The location of “beyond better” is the prayer room. *[1]* When Jesus told the disciples to go into world (Luke 24:47l he did not say, “And get out there first thing tomorrow.” Instead, he told them to stay in Jerusalem “until you have been furnished with heavenly power” (Luke 24:49). They obeyed Jesus and “all were united in their devotion to prayer” (Acts 1:14). Here is the new UMC: a body of disciples furnished with heavenly power, born of prayer. This is the prayer-energy center that will lead us to develop the specifics on the circumference. This is the new UMC beyond better. *[1]* This is why I am so pleased to see the “Prayer Partner Program” being launched by Discipleship Ministries under the direction of Rev. Motoe Yamada Foor. The DM website (discipleship.org) has more about this, and an introductory webinar on September 13th will launch the ministry. This ministry is a sign of beyond-better visioning. I hope you and your congregation will be part of it |
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