Willimon on Preaching

"Preaching is a debilitating activity; preaching is hard, and most of your work is invisible."

- Bishop William Willimon

Why I Dislike Contemporary Worship

The Missional Conundrum

"Jesus told us to go into all the world and be his ambassadors, but many churches today have inadvertently changed the 'go and be' command to a 'come and see' appeal. We have grown attached to buildings, programs, staff and a wide variety of goods and services designed to attract and entertain people.

"Missional is a helpful term used to describe what happens when you and I replace the 'come to us' invitations with a 'go to them' life. A life where 'the way of Jesus' informs and radically transforms our existence to one wholly focused on sacrificially living for him and others and where we adopt a missionary stance in relation to our culture. It speaks of the very nature of the Jesus follower."

- Rick Meigs

5 Reasons Teens Are Avoiding Church

The daily newspaper USA Today recently published an article detailing why teens generally don't "go to church". While the article makes some good points, Shane Raynor disagrees with the article's take and offers five additional reasons why many teens have failed to make "church" a priority. In my opinion, Shane hits the nail on the head.

Shane's suggestions:

* Teens don’t show up because they don’t think God is showing up.
Our desperation to be "hip", "current", and "relevant" has often resulted in a shallowness that must be offensive to Jesus...shallow preaching, shallow music, shallow language, etc. The truth is that depth matters; relationships matter. Ministry is more than simply pizza and volleyball...

"Sooner or later, everyone wants substance, and if it isn’t there, they’re going to bail. There’s always going to be a church (or someplace else) with better pizza, a more talented band, a better gym and bigger crowds with hotter people. It’s okay to use draws, but you’d better have a good foundation for your ministry and back up the draw with something real."

* Teens don’t make church a priority because their parents don’t make it a priority.
As in every aspect of life, we lead by example. It is crucial for parents to be involved in worship and ministry if they desire to see their children involved in worship and ministry....weekly...daily.
Additionally, parents must begin to say, "Sorry; worship of Almighty God is more important than soccer or basketball or sleeping in. You can't participate in that league if they require Sunday morning participation." Shane adds, "I’ve realized that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with making teenagers go to church."
That's Christian parenting. It's a shame if the kids have to miss out on sports or other activities, but what if...what if their souls are at stake? Is that a possibility? Parents ignore this piece of parenthood at their own peril, and at the possible expense of their children's spiritual walk. Priorities matter, and your children are watching...and learning.

* Teens are very connected to each other now and don’t need church to hook up anymore.
More could be said about this. We have largely forgotten in the church what real, authentic "community" is all about and why relationships founded on Jesus are far deeper than others. Shane makes the point that, "...there’s probably somewhere or something else that does community better than church." Penitence is needed on the part of the church. We need to be in prayer about this one.

* Unchurched teens see no significant difference between church kids and everyone else.
This was certainly true when I was a teen. The cruelest kids in my high school were often myself and other members of my church youth group. That isn't to say we didn't take Jesus seriously, but living that out is extraordinarily difficult.
As a parent and as a pastor, I see that teen members of the church I am serving are often just as drama-driven and hormone-driven as those who are "outside the church". It's heartbreaking but it's true. I certainly need to be more intentional about mentoring these fine young people, whom I truly love. We all need to do better and be more more faithful.

* Many teens get impatient with churches that major on the minors and try too hard to seem relevant.
Welcome to life in The United Methodist Church, where we have made this into an art form. We often teach our young people - either directly or indirectly - that aspects of the faith such as Jesus, his Lordship, Biblical study and reflection, and/or doctrine are secondary to ridding the world of malaria or to having an open heart, an open mind, and an open door.
Please don't misunderstand me. Fighting malaria is a noble cause, and if a pastor or congregation is passionate about it, then I am all for it. Likewise, it is appropriate to be available to discuss "out of the mainstream" ideas and approaches to life.
But these ministries should not be emphasized at the expense of other pieces of our journey in faith. Teens are not stupid. They can see when we are "majoring on the minors" and, if necessary, they'll find a community where all the means of grace are taken seriously, rather than just a few which have been carefully selected to be as least offensive as possible.

I commend to you Shane's original post, and urge prayerful reflection on this important subject.

T.O. reports to Cincinnati

Can't say that I blame him; I'd cry, too...

Clint Webb for Senate

Western PA Annual Conference 2010in Review

We had a tremendous Annual Conference last week! From June 10-13, the people called United Methodist in western Pennsylvania gathered at Grove City College in Grove City, PA for our annual gathering. It was a time filled with grace, peace, and joy. For me, it was a time of challenge, renewal, and great affirmation. The "best" Annual Conference session in which I've been a participant was likely 2005, our first with Bishop Thomas Bickerton. This year will rank for me as a close second.

Some highlights for me:

(Pictures courtesy of Richard Pearson)

The pre-Conference healing service was wonderfully affirming (and healing!) for me as I saw and connected with several folks I've met in my ministry journey who have gone on to great ministries. If I share in the smallest part of their own journeys, I am thankful and thrilled. It was great to worship Almighty God led by Jeff Painter, an outstanding musician who was a vital part of my initial commitment to Jesus in 1980s at Jumonville.

It may have been the best, most positive Clergy Session in which I've ever participated. The 2010 Class of the Order of Elder is one of the finest I've seen, and, having worked with them as a retreat leader for the provisional program, I was very, very proud of them. They are an oustanding bunch.

We also nominated folks from among us to serve as candidates for election to the 2012 General & Jurisdictional Conferences. While I was honored to be one of 41 nominees, I was even more proud when every eligible Elder was nominated by motion from the floor. I love these people!

Additionally, there was a "painful moment of grace" when a former Elder, who had resigned due to legal trouble stemming from inappropriate conduct, joined us to apologize for his behavior. We prayed for forgiveness and healing; may that continue to be our prayer.

Annual Conference then started in earnest with prayer, worship, and work. The signing of a covenant between our Conference and the two Annual Conferences in Zimbabwe was a beautiful highlight of the week. Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa of Zimbabwe was a powerful, inspiring speaker. This relationship will, in my opinion, bear great fruit for the Kingdom of God. We will help Zimbabwe with material goods and resources; they have much to offer us in terms of mission and renewal. Kudos to Bishop Bickerton and all who helped put this agreement together; it's a great thing.

Each morning, we started with Bible study as Rev. Steve Cordle took us through some of Luke's Gospel. Steve serves as senior pastor at Crossroads UM Church, a multi-site community of faith which Steve started in 1991. Steve, his associate pastor Rev. Jonathan Fehl, and their team are doing phenomenal, transformative work throughout the Pittsburgh area (and the world), and it was fantastic to hear from one of our own who is doing things well. The Bible studies challenged me a great deal. I can't wait to take my family to worship the Lord at Crossroads in a few weeks when we're on vacation!

There were, of course, many other highlights...connecting with sisters & brothers I don't see often enough...three youth pages from JUMC, all of whom did a terrific job...enjoying the USA vs. England World Cup soccer game @ a local tavern with some friends...challenging speakers...a good bit of "down time" to enjoy fellowship...praying for folks and being prayed for...budget discussion that was murky at times but ultimately fruit-bearing...the always amazing Youth Ministry Team...some good legislation passed...keeping pension benefits for clergy widows, largely thanks to Youth delegate Joel Peterson...on and on and on.

Like every Conference, this one had its moments of chaos, confusion, and concern, such as the bizarre new security procedures, too much on the "Imagine No Malaria" campaign (it's a good thing, but it's just become such a dominant part of our conversations, sometimes at the expense of other urgent issues...overkill is not far away), a grotesque rewrite of the Drifters' classic "Under the Boardwalk" which ably demonstrated all that is wrong about "contemporary worship", and the completely out-of-touch "Rethink Church" commercial, which sounded like a lost cut from Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em (I kept waiting for my brother Greg Cox to hold up his uninjured hand and yell, "Stop! Rethink time!").

But, all in all, our gathering in Grove City was a great gathering; I was extraordinarily blessed. May the positive spirit we enjoyed last week carry us through the year ahead, which holds many challenges and opportunities. Thanks to Bishop Bickerton and our Conference Sessions Team for a job very well done. Annual Conference 2010 was certainly a means of grace.