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wings
Let's be 'closers' on this case
There is a new crime show, "The Closer," on cable TV. I haven't seen any episodes yet, but I love the commercials. The line I like the most is, "We bring them in, and she closes the case."
I wish we could say that about our congregations. I wish our clergy and laity worked together as a team to tackle the mission of "making disciples for the transformation of the world." If the laity could see and passionately engage the people who need to experience the transforming power of Christ in their lives - and the clergy had equal passion to close the case - we could go a long way toward fulfilling God's mission for the church.
The United Methodist Church today must begin to rediscover its dual emphasis of personal piety and social holiness. We must be gripped with a strong love for others who do not know Christ, a love so strong that we are willing to share our story of the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ. But, we must move beyond introduction to Christ, to helping people be nurtured and trained to serve God as witnesses and advocates. We are called not only to tell people about the transforming power of Jesus Christ in their lives - we are also called to transform organizations and institutions that do not always exhibit Jesus' love in their actions.
This is not always easy, but the church has a history of rising to the occasion. There was a time when child labor was fully accepted, but the church challenged this and changed it. There was a time when people were settling the New World and people lived on the frontier without pastors and priests. The Methodist Episcopal Church deployed circuit riders to ensure that new Christians and babies could be baptized, weddings performed, Holy Communion served, and the Gospel preached.
Our church woke up one morning and discovered that it had allowed tradition and cultural norms to sanction slavery. We fought with each other until we did what God wanted us to do: Stop slavery, mend a broken church, and finally began to work toward full racial inclusion. We once recognized that we had been guilty of not hearing Joel and the writer of Acts tell us that ..."I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and daughters will prophesy..." when we excluded women from ministry. And so, almost 50 years ago, we closed the deal when we gave full clergy rights to women.
Today, there are still practices not only within the church but also outside the church that need transforming. This year at Annual Conference, we recognized that too many people are living without health care coverage. In fact, by the time you read this column, thousands of TennCare subscribers may have already lost their insurance. The church is beginning to "transform" this! All across Holston, congregations and ministries are extending themselves to serve those in need. In this edition of the newspaper, you will read about some of those efforts, and you can find more information at http:// tenncarecrisis.holston.org.
I challenge you to seek ways that your congregation can help during this health care crisis. Remember: As you reach out, don't forget to do this in the name of the Lord, so that people may know it's not about us, but the Savior. Who knows? Maybe we can become "closers" on this case.
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Bishop James Swanson
Resident Bishop
Cover Stories:
Chattanooga clinic ministers to the 'medically underserved'
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Swanson decries London attacks
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