The Future of the United Methodist Church: 7 Vision Pathways

By Gregory V. Palmer, Sharon A. Brown Christopher, Bishop Scott J. Jones and 6 more

This book offers a renewed vision and practical steps for United Methodists to work together in mission and ministry. These bishops of The United Methodist Church urge congregations to stand together, under God’s grace, to lead others to vibrant faith, steadfast hope, and joyful living. The authors call for a new partnership with God to bring God’s reign to fruition for all God’s people. With concrete guidance about how to create and transform disciples, readers are invited to travel the path that leads to the abundant living that Jesus talked about. This book will also inspire and motivate congregations to work together to be a vibrant presence in their neighborhoods and communities.

The Seven Pathways were created by the United Methodist bishops and presented at the 2008 General Conference as a vision statement for the Church. Contributors include: Bishops Sharon Brown Christopher, Gregory Vaughn Palmer, G. Lindsey Davis, Robert Schnase, Scott J. Jones, Hee-Soo Jung, E. James Swanson Sr., Minerva G. Carcano, Thomas J. Bickerton, and Bruce R. Ough.

The seven pathways are: Planting New Congregations, Transforming Existing Congregations, Teaching the United Methodist Way, Strengthing Clergy and Lay Leadership, Children and Poverty, Expanding Racial/Ethnic Ministries, and Eliminating Poverty by Stamping out Disease.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Abingdon Press
• Release date: May 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9781426730092

Gregory V. Palmer

Gregory V. Palmer is Resident Bishop of the Iowa Area of the United Methodist Church. He earned his M.Div. from Duke University Divinity School.

Book preview

THE FUTURE OF THE UNITED

METHODIST CHURCH

The Future of

The United

Methodist

Church

Seven Vision Pathways

Edited by

Scott J. Jones and

Bruce R. Ough

Abingdon  Press

Nashville

THE FUTURE OF THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

SEVEN VISION PATHWAYS

Copyright © 2010 by Abingdon Press

All rights reserved.

No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed to Abingdon Press, P.O. Box 801, 201 Eighth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37202-0801, or e-mailed to [e-mail].

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The future of the United Methodist Church : seven vision pathways / edited by Scott J. Jones and Bruce R. Ough.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4267-0252-5 (trade pbk. : alk. paper)

1. United Methodist Church (U.S.) 2. Mission of the church. 3. Theology, Practical. I. Jones, Scott J. II. Ough, Bruce R.

BX8382.2.Z5F88 2010

287'.609051—dc22

2009048828

All scripture quotations unless noted otherwise are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked THE MESSAGE are taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19—10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Contributors

Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton is resident bishop of the Pittsburgh Area and chairs the Global Health Vision Pathway Team of the Council of Bishops.

Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño is resident bishop of the Phoenix Area.

Bishop Sharon A. Brown Christopher, retired, delivered the Episcopal Address at the 2008 General Conference.

Bishop G. Lindsey Davis is resident bishop of the Louisville Area and chairs the Path One Vision Pathway Team of the Council of Bishops.

Bishop Scott J. Jones is resident bishop of the Kansas Area.

Bishop Hee-Soo Jung is resident bishop of the Chicago Area.

Bishop Bruce R. Ough is resident bishop of the Ohio West Area.

Bishop Gregory Vaughn Palmer is resident bishop of the Illinois Area and President of the Council of Bishops from 2008 to 2010.

Bishop Robert Schnase is resident bishop of the Missouri Area and is the author of Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations and Five Practices of Fruitful Living.

Bishop E. James Swanson Sr. is resident bishop of the Holston Area, the only conference with all of its churches serving Appalachia.

Contents

Foreword

Gregory Vaughn Palmer

Introduction

Sharon A. Brown Christopher

Focus Area 1: People: Creating New Places for New People by Starting Congregations and Renewing Existing Ones

Path 1:Planting New Congregations

G. Lindsey Davis

Path 2: Transforming Existing Congregations

Robert Schnase

Focus Area 2: Leaders: Developing Principled Christian Leaders for the Church and the World

Path 3: Teaching the United Methodist Way

Scott J. Jones

Path 4: Strengthening Clergy and Lay Leadership

Hee-Soo Jung

Focus Area 3: Poverty: Engaging in Ministry with the Poor

Path 5: Children and Poverty

E. James Swanson Sr.

Path 6: Expanding Racial/Ethnic Ministries

Minerva G. Carcaño

Focus Area 4: Health: Stamping out Killer Diseases by Improving Health Globally

Path 7: Eliminating Poverty by Stamping out Disease

Thomas J. Bickerton

Walking the Pathways

Bruce R. Ough

Foreword

The United Methodist Church has a clear and cogent mission statement to frame, guide, and shape its life. The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world(¶120, Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church, 2008). No matter how well stated the mission of any movement or organization, it must also have a way to be embodied. It must be accessible to a wide audience. It must have legs. This book is a timely, significant, and much-needed contribution to giving legs to the mission of The United Methodist Church. Bishops Scott J. Jones and Bruce R. Ough are to be commended for conceiving this volume and laboring tirelessly to bring it to fullness. Seven other bishops of the church have written sections of the book and rightly join their work to that of Bishops Jones and Ough.

It is fitting that all of the contributors to the current work are bishops. This is not the case because others could not have written well on the subject at hand. After all, every one of us in the church has a stake in the future of The United Methodist Church. It is fitting because it is a way in which the bishops of the church can bring to life several key aspects of the responsibility that the church has entrusted to us individually and collectively. Regarding this collective responsibility The Book of Discipline says, The Council of Bishops is charged with the oversight of the spiritual and temporal affairs of the whole Church (¶427.3). Elsewhere the words entire Church are used to make a similar point. What is important to pay attention to is the emphasis on the big picture that I believe is being made by the use of the terms whole and entire. Your bishops are asked to hold the whole and to lead with that in mind.

Although this book is not a statement from the Council of Bishops in any formal sense, it is a faithful reflection of how the Council has tried to offer focus on and leadership to the mission of The United Methodist Church across the last several years. What is more, it is consistent with the Council's expressed intention to fulfill the mission in all the places where there is a United Methodist witness to the reign of God—in local churches, new faith communities, annual conferences, and institutions that educate and train as well as those that care for the body and psyche. Involving ten bishops in this project is an indication of the kind of conversations that have characterized the Council in the last several years and that will continue to do so.

If the mission is making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, we have to have a way to get there. The Council of Bishops, after careful listening to the church and deep reflection about the renewal of the church around the mission, identified seven vision pathways and invited the church in all of its expressions to prayerfully start walking down at least one of these pathways toward the fulfillment of the mission. That started a conversation with the general agencies of the UMC and the General Conference, which resulted in a formulation of four areas of focus. The embrace of the Seven Vision Pathways and the Four Areas of Focus has led to increased collaboration from many parts of the church and stronger and more fruitful missional activity.

Part of that process was the presentation of this vision in Bishop Sharon A. Brown Christopher's Episcopal Address and the presentation by four general secretaries on the Four Areas of Focus. The response of the General Conference and the rest of the church since May 2008 has been tremendous. Bishop Christopher's chapter in this book is a revised excerpt from her 2008 address.

Whether talking about the pathways or the areas of focus, this book is not a program in a kit that if adopted and implemented will guarantee success. This book is about a way of walking and seeing and being. It is an invitation to see the church and the world with the eyes of God and to walk with confidence and dispatch on paths that are not new but are for many untried. It is a conversation among the bishops about how best to lead our church. When all is said and done, it is an invitation to be the church. After all, as astounding as it may seem, the church is a part of God's bold plan to make all things new. And truly being the church is the only future worthy of The United Methodist Church.

Gregory Vaughn Palmer

President, the Council of Bishops

of The United Methodist Church

Introduction

Sharon A. Brown Christopher

The Hunger

There is a desperation in our times and an urgency about our mission as Christ's body in our world. All around this world, nations and individuals are caught in the grip of economic crisis. There are wars being fought for the advantage of a few and the annihilation of many. There are national leaders for whom power and control and self-interest take priority over the common good of the people. Children are left by the roadside, victims of human violence and deadly disease. Our climate is warming while our leaders bicker over financial profit and national interests. All round this world there is physical, mental, and spiritual hunger for the Bread of Life.

People hunger for food, craving even small morsels to nourish and sustain. They hunger for education, longing for knowledge that will empower self and others. People hunger for work and living wages, hunting for an economic viability that will support even a modest way of life. They hunger for freedom from the tyranny of oppression, desiring release from the chains that exploit and deny.

People hunger for meaning and purpose that cannot be provided by their material wealth. They hunger for relationship with God, reaching for that which satisfies and fulfills, the love of God made known in Jesus Christ. Our brothers and sisters in God's human family hunger for hope.

In the midst of the world's hunger pangs we, United Methodists, connected around the world, are the church of Jesus Christ together with Christians with names and histories different from our own yet bound with us in common mission. As we, the church, receive God's love—known in the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ—we are filled with hope. As we, the church, offer Christ to the world, we offer hope to the world.

In Christ, new life is born out of old, dying ways. We Christians set God's table of hope.

A Mission of Disciple Making and Disciple Living that Transforms and Reconciles

All around the world there are millions of people whose lives are being transformed as they encounter God made known in Jesus Christ. When they feast on the Bread of Life in Christian community, they receive hope.

Twelve-year-old Kent, born in a cemetery in Manila, has a chance for a brighter future because of a nearby congregation. The congregation built a church just outside the cemetery walls to be closer to the many poor people who live in its tombs. The congregation provides Kent and other children like him with food, shelter, clothing, and even the opportunity to go to school.

A young woman from Fairbanks, Alaska, in the United States, sought a relationship with Jesus Christ when her life was in upheaval at age thirty-one. Meningitis took her hearing, and she was struggling to find hope. Hope came when she started to get involved with worship services. Here I'm accepted. I'm excited to be part of a bigger vision. I've learned so much about God in a very real way. I feel closer to God. That gives me hope.

Joe's life as an addict on the street changed when he encountered the United Methodist faith community. And as a result of his transformation, more lives are being transformed in turn. Says Joe, I once lived on the streets hustling for the next high. Nothing mattered except a fix. Now six years clean and sober, Joe returns to the street advocating for the hooked, the hopeless, and the homeless. He credits his recovery to the faith groups that reached out to him, often over a hot meal with a healthy dose of humanity, during his years of addiction. Now an associate pastor, Joe opens doors to wandering souls and leads local and national movements that transform people's lives. His is a story from the gutter to God.

All around the world there are millions of communities, even nations, in which social relationships—human connections—are being reconciled as a result of their encounter with God through Jesus Christ. When they meet Jesus Christ, relationships rent by class, race, and political and ideological perspectives are mended, and justice is restored. When they feast on the Bread of Life in Christian community, they receive hope.

This reconciling power can be seen in a historic partnership that has brought Christians and Muslims together, focused on saving lives. The United Methodist Committee on Relief and Muslim AID struck up a partnership in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami, which has led to a worldwide alliance to deliver aid. The interfaith effort is now working in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and the Sudan. Through this partnership, pairing vast ideological differences in one common mission, the physically and spiritually hungry are fed and our world is reconciled.

A connection between United Methodists and Presbyterians is bringing God's reconciling power to the South Side neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Every Sunday the Hot Metal Bridge Faith Community, a new church start, fills a rented cafeteria with more