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October 2004 |
Letters to the Editor
Disappointed
I drove up to Monument Circle from Southeastern Indiana Aug. 25 to attend the gathering calling attention to the genocide in Sudan. I was anxious to meet other United Methodists who had been following this tragedy and grateful that someone in the church was acting upon this need. However, I was sorely disappointed in United Methodism in Indiana. There were NO pastors that I recognized in the small group that gathered except for the pastor who convened the event.
I wrote to our District Superintendent when he first arrived about the lack of leadership in the church. He was not courteous enough to reply. This is quite different from the caliber of pastors I grew up with in Indianapolis. I am an eighth generation United Methodist, and belong to Ebenezer United Methodist Church (Jennings County) which was established in 1816. Seven generations of my family are buried there. I am 60 years old.
Perhaps the presence of Muslims and Jewish dignitaries kept these pastors away. I can only speculate on their lack of wisdom for not supporting this effort. It is hard to find any reason except my heritage to remain a United Methodist.
Susan Hall Heitzman
Jennings County, Ind.
Igniting what?
A few years ago our church got on the Igniting Ministry bandwagon. It was new, and the emphasis was on providing a place of hospitality to those who were searching. A collage of small faces comprising the face of Jesus welcomed guests as they made their way to church on Sundays. Television commercials filled the airways telling folks that The United Methodist Church welcomed them with open hearts, open minds and open doors. A new ministry had been ignited.
During a small group exercise one day, a family new to our church was sharing how their daughter in college had not found a United Methodist Church in which to worship. After attending three different UM churches, the young student finally decided on a non-denominational campus fellowship group. Citing the lack of hospitality at the churches as a reason for not returning, she simply began searching for a community where she could belong and grow. She now worships in this community of faith with other young adults.
Unfortunately, the above incident is not uncommon. Despite efforts by United Methodists to invest over 13 million dollars in Igniting Ministry, few congregations are ignited by God's Spirit to welcome guests. A commercial blitz to get out the word about openness has not translated into the actual practice of hospitality. A gulf remains between good intentions and rightful actions.
Supporters of Igniting Ministry will point out that the United Methodist Church is making an effort to become visible in the religious market place. After all, competition demands action. We must get out the word: The United Methodist Church does exist for you!
However, we also need to recognize the following factor: to think that churches are going to welcome the stranger without extensive training in evangelism is simply an illusion. Without heartfelt hospitality at the local level the general campaign at the national level is futile. How many persons are participating in church-life as a result of Igniting Ministry? How many on Sunday mornings are there because of a slogan? If our college student is an indication, not many.
The point is clear: our investment in Igniting Ministry is misguided. Monies we could use for equipping churches and leaders in evangelism are simply being funneled into an empty container. Our Annual Conferences would be wiser to pull the plug than watch for appearances of growth. If the Annual Conferences are going to invest in a television campaign, the least they can do is find ways of publicly supporting those agencies that are having a direct impact on the un-churched. Why stop with the churches? Why not include in a television campaign those ministries the church supports through its apportionment dollars (e.g., Lebanon Children's Home, Franklin Home, etc.)? It's simply a thought.
To be sure, the ministry of hospitality is ongoing. At this moment in history, it remains both an urgent task and a hopeful goal. Igniting Ministry may have started out with the intention of stoking the flame of hospitality, but it forgot that what truly ignites the church is not a commercial but the Spirit who breathes new life and purpose (John 20:21-23). A church ignited by this Spirit will empower others to do the same.
Andrew D. Kinsey
Vincennes, Ind.
Editor's response. It's not one or the other - promoting and evangelism - it's both. As you have rightly pointed out, if United Methodists intend to lead people without a church home into our pews with a TV campaign, our congregations need to be welcoming at the other end. Barna Research has discovered that those churches that have a welcoming ministry in place when the Igniting Ministry TV spots are run, also have increased attendance and membership. Unfortunately, as you have pointed out, those churches are few.
The Igniting Ministry television campaign has significantly raised the visibility of The United Methodist Church in popular society. Now more congregations need to ready themselves to welcome those who seek a more dynamic spiritual life, a relationship with Jesus Christ and a community of faith that they can call home. We need to be about making disciples for Jesus Christ with open hearts, open minds and open doors.
As part of the network of communicators across the country working with congregations on welcoming skills, I invite congregations to take the steps needed to be welcoming through the Igniting Ministry program. An introduction of that program can be found by logging on to www.ignitingministry.org. For more information about Igniting Ministry in Indiana: in the South Indiana Conference, call Bert Talbott at 317-848-8928 or by e-mail at nltalbott@aol.com, and in the North Indiana Conference, call Chet Mayflower at 317-837-5108 or by e-mail at cmayflower@indy.rr.com .
Last updated on 25 Apr 2008