Your Church Can Grow

I have been following the blog of my good friend, Marcelle, as she has gone on the pilgrimage of St. James in France and Spain. I made reference to this in an earlier blog entry (see July 22nd entry entitled “El Camino de Santiago de Compostela“). I learned today that her journey is complete. She made it to Santiago de Compostela and beyond to the Spanish coastal city of Fisterra. As Marcelle reflected on her journey in her blog, she made an insightful comment on ‘imagination.’ Marcelle wrote,
“As I began the Way of St. James, last year in France, and continued this year, the comment I often heard was,
‘I cant´t imagine ever doing something like that.’ In journeying along the Camino, a major lesson for me has been
if I can imagine it, and can be open to the possibility, it is only a few steps before the possibility becomes reality.
I have come to believe that imagination is our ability to be open to the dreams and possibilities God places in our heart.
If I am open to the possibilities, God usually has a way of making the possibility a reality. I have learned to not place
limitations on God by saying, “I can´t imagine doing…,” because once I make that statement, I close myself to
whatever dreams and possibilities God has for me.”
What an empowering statement of truth! If we can imagine, if we can be open to possibility no telling what God will place in our hearts and what blessings we will experience along the way.
Thank you, Marcelle, for sharing your journey to Santiago with us and for the gift of your insight about imagination.

Last night I met with the Church Health Team from one of the many churches in the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference that has engaged the Natural Church Development process. NCD measures the strengths and weaknesses of a church along the lines of eight quality characteristics (for more information, see the NCD page on this website). I felt privileged to be part of the conversation as this church began to address issues, perhaps long neglected, on how to become healthier. The church is trying to discover why they lack passion about their spirituality. Why don’t people in the church enjoy reading the Bible? Why don’t they pray? As the conversation grew around the table, I felt so grateful that the conversation itself was taking place. I am confident that they will indeed address the concerns and unleash potential to grow.

One of the most painful critiques of Christians is that we are mean-spirited and judgmental. The perception of many younger adults (see Kinnaman’s UnChristian) is that Christians have little tolerance for those who don’t think and act as they do. How awful! Can we at least listen to younger adults? We may learn from what they have to say.

Last weekend I attended a wedding and sat at a table with friends of my son who just turned 30 years old. My wife and I were the only old folks. We were also most likely the only ones to notice the grand diversity at the table. Sitting with us were Latino-Americans, an African-American, a Korean American, Jewish Americans, and Euro-Americans. The others at the table saw the diversity as normative. Other tables also reflected the great diversity of New Jersey. The wedding was between a Jewish woman and a Protestant man. Neither were active in their respective religious traditions. The liturgy was a fusion of Jewish and Christian marriage ceremonies. The officiant pronounced the seven blessings; The groom broke glass with his foot. They exchanged rings and vows in the same fashion as a Christian wedding. And the celebration lasted hours with dancing and music and all of the traditional elements of an American wedding: first dance, bride and groom dancing with their parents, cutting the cake, throwing the bouquet. It was a grand celebration made all the more festive by the rich tapestry of people present.

I did not take a poll of participants–it would have been rude. Knowing many of the friends at my son’s table, though, I knew that not one of them attended religious services regardless of their background. This was their community. The party was their gathering time. What would it take to communicate the gospel effectively to this group? Robert Wuthnow, in his book, After the Baby Boomers, describes the younger generation of Americans as “tinkerers” when it comes to religion. They borrow from this tradition or that tradition whatever fits and whatever works. Is there something that our United Methodist Church could do to connect with this generation? Inviting them to be like us and worship like us doesn’t seem to cut it.

One of my challenges as a Christian is to maintain balance among the various “pulls” of life: work, family, rest. I have always been a great proponent of trying to keep balance in body, mind and spirit. Am I reading enough? Am I keeping a daily office of prayer? Am I eating healthy and making time for exercise? For me, exercise is the key. If I make time for exercise the other aspects of life fall into balance more easily. When I neglect the body I find it harder to stay healthy in mind and spirit. Does that make any sense? I try to swim a mile at least three times a week. I would prefer to swim five times a week, but seldom make the time to do so. Between swims I try to walk for about an hour. Between walking and swimming I have been able to maintain a good blood pressure.

Keeping healthy is a concern for me as United Methodist. Our health care costs are high because many of us do not follow healthy practices in eating and exercise. If we were to walk a half hour a day I think we could make a huge impact in how healthy we were. and over time could reduce health care costs. The Mississippi Annual Conference has made a concerted effort to do this. Laity and clergy wear pedometers to measure the steps they take. There is competition among the districts in the conference to see which district walks the most. They are cognizant that Mississippi has the unfortunate distinction of being the state with the highest obesity rate. The United Methodists in Mississippi are trying to do something about it. How about us?