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Commentary
COMMENTARY: Sins of nomission afflict many churches Dan Dick, Feb 18, 2010
Dan Dick
By Dan Dick Special Contributor
A large number of United Methodist congregations are struggling with money, members, commitment and leadership. Many of these churches aren’t doing anything wrong—in fact, they aren’t doing much at all. And that’s the trouble.
For years, I have been curious about the large number of United Methodist congregations that do essentially nothing beyond their walls. This is not in any way to ignore the incredible mission work the United Methodist Church does at all levels. Missional outreach and Christian service is in our DNA and helps define us as “United Methodist.”
But that’s the point. About one-in-five (20 percent) of our churches do nothing, or next to nothing, for those outside the church. Another 20-30 percent limit their missional focus to whatever is done through apportionments. And a significant number support mission work passively—giving money so that other people might do it.
Our healthiest congregations, however, are those with active and committed engagement from a large number of people in a large number of good works. The outward and visible signs of our inward and spiritual graces is not merely a nice poetic turn—it is evidence that we are truly engaged in the will of God and the work of Christ.
Yet for years, I have received resistance to the idea.
When I wrote the Bible study FaithQuest in 1996, based on Luke, Acts, Ephesians, the teachings of John Wesley and the United Methodist theological task and Social Principles, I received angry e-mails challenging my reading of Scripture.
The thesis of FaithQuest is that we are formed in the faith, equipped to be disciples of Jesus Christ, that we become through the empowerment of God’s Holy Spirit the body of Christ, and then continue to serve and function as Christ for the whole world. This is the sweep from Jesus’ invitation to “Follow me,” through the formation of the “church” to Wesley’s vision of the world as our parish.
To this day, I don’t believe I imposed much of an interpretation on the biblical and theological materials (beyond selecting books that illustrate the servant/service nature of the church), yet many were angry.
One pastor from Michigan wrote:
“How dare you imply that it is not enough that we take care of one another in the church. Our world is a hostile and dangerous place. There is a reason we call our places of worship ‘sanctuaries.’ It is all we can do to cope with the sin and corruption of our modern age. We welcome people to come in out of the darkness and trouble for comfort and security. It is unfair of you to place a burden of guilt on us because we don’t share your liberal agenda.”
It always breaks my heart when I hear people link the notions of kindness, healing and helping to a political agenda. I feel this woman’s pain. Life is indeed difficult and the world can be a scary place. We do need a faith that protects and defends, but that alone is an incomplete faith.
We’re not the only ones hurting, and we do not have the luxury of receiving the blessings of Christ and holding onto them for ourselves. What we have received, we are expected to share with others—whether we think they are deserving or not.
Churches that do for others tend to be healthier churches. Giving is higher. Levels of participation and engagement tend to be higher. Morale and spirit tend to be higher.
A few years ago, I visited one of the poorest congregations I have ever seen. They lacked funds for paying a full-time pastor or paying their apportionments in full, but just about every member served in some mission-focused capacity in the community.
The spirit and energy in that congregation was infectious: a congregation with constant money worries, yet every person was smiling and singing and sharing stories of the power of Christ to touch and change lives. It was refreshing.
I often liken congregational life to breathing and ask, “Which is most important—breathing out or breathing in?” (Answer: depends on which you did last). Health depends on balance—inhaling (inward practices that develop us in our faith and abilities to serve) and exhaling (applying what we learn in service to others).
Evangelism isn’t just about the words we say to get others to come to us. True evangelism is the integral message of our entire lives—what we say and do (faith without works is dead).
A number of years ago, I met with a church that was considering closing its doors. The once-thriving congregation of more than 400 had dwindled to less than 50. They could no longer afford a full-time pastor and struggled to pay bills month-to-month.
In all their discussions, not once did church leaders talk about the mission of the church or the work they could do. They had no vision of the present, let alone the future. Yet they were located in a community struggling with high unemployment, low-income families, a high percentage of older adults and a large, poor Native American population within just a few miles.
The leaders decided that they would work to close the church—but in three years’ time. During that period, they would select one ministry to focus on: They would offer help to the Native Americans; they would open the fellowship hall to mothers with young children; they would work to help the elderly and the homebound.
They began this plan in 1995—and the church still functions today. Though still small, they are strong, stable and making a difference in the lives of hundreds of people.
We all need reminders that the church isn’t ours, it’s God’s. And it exists to fulfill God’s will and purpose, not our own. When the church really takes off, it’s because what we do is a clean match for what God wants done.
We often talk about sin as an individual act, but throughout the history of the Hebrew people and the earliest Christian history, “sin” was the “missing the mark” of the whole community.
When we are not engaged beyond our own needs and desires, we are missing the mark. But when our life together bears fruit that feeds a starving and struggling world, we are right on target.
The Rev. Dick is director of connectional ministries for the Wisconsin Conference. Excerpted from his blog, doroteos2.wordpress.com.
Dan Dick
