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wings
What makes you so strong?
DR. JEREMIAH WRIGHT, senior pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, is one of the premiere preachers in the United States today. In a sermon entitled, "What Makes You So Strong?" he addresses primarily African Americans. In light of the history of sons and daughters of Africa in the United States, Wright seeks to understand how people born in slavery have produced so many great men and women.
As I reflect upon my first full year of service in this conference, I want to ask the same question of the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. I have witnessed remarkable ministries and remarkably gifted persons in Christ Jesus. I have walked in the communities where many of these leaders were raised and where many of these ministries are taking place. I have seen vibrancy, vitality, strength, and a faith that is to be celebrated and commended.
In many circles, it is popular to criticize the church and to point out our faults and failures. I will admit there is room for improvement. However, I have repeated many times throughout Holston – from southwest Virginia to Dade County, Ga. – an expression that I heard from my mother, "It is a poor frog that won't praise his own pond." Yes, despite our shortcomings and our need to improve, there are wonderful things happening in the Holston Annual Conference.
I have witnessed people minister with zeal to people whose own sins led them to prisons and places of incarceration. We have United Methodists reaching out in the name of Jesus to newly released prisoners, assisting them with jobs, homes, and new friends as they re-establish families and reclaim their lost dignity. I have witnessed congregations using church-owned property to house women and their children. I know of pastors who visit prisons and jails in their communities, seeking to be conduits through which the Holy Spirit reaches those abandoned by society.
I have experienced the spirit of missions in this conference as we continue to break records in sending flood buckets, school kits, health kits, and a myriad of other supplies. I have seen people get downright angry because they had to wait to give their sweat in a clean-up effort. I have seen Holston give $649,822 in tsunami relief, $19,585 for the Russian seminary, $111,557 to Latvia, and at last count, $986,398 to relief for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Yet, these totals do not begin to scratch the surface of the work and gifts given for conference and local missions.
I watched with pride and joy as more than 11,700 teenagers praised God and raised the roof in Gatlinburg Convention Center. I have seen 629 young adults praising God at the same time in Pigeon Forge. In March, I met with 282 older adults at Jubilation in Gatlinburg. I have witnessed the excitement of congregations as they commit themselves to reaching children and making their churches Safe Sanctuaries.
I have witnessed congregations in declining communities experience tremendous growth through outreach. I have witnessed the excitement of pastors and laity starting new congregations, catching a vision of what God is doing and rushing to be with God in his great work. I have watched large, medium, and small membership congregations filled with God's glory as they praised and worshipped him – inspiring others to come see God in action among his people.
I have witnessed congregations struggling with how we can be one in Christ despite racial, economic, and class barriers. I have seen churches excited and joyful after they were willing to work with the cabinet in the appointment of a woman pastor. And I have seen those clergywomen smile and sometimes cry because of the acceptance and support they received from congregations they faithfully pastor.
I watched 12 men and women struggle to be led by the Holy Spirit while making appointments with their new bishop. I have seen those same men and women agonize over the failings of both clergy and laity to be the body of Christ. And oh! I have heard great singing all over Holston – from bluegrass and southern gospel to urban hip-hop gospel, from Negro spirituals to great anthems, from choirs and quartets to soloists and entire congregations, swelling with the spirit's movement as they sing great hymns of the church.
So I ask Holston, "What makes you so strong?" I believe that though we want to celebrate those visible evidences of our strength, we must recognize that strength comes from an unseen source. When we lift high the cross, and when we allow the Holy Spirit to breathe on us, we are powerful people.
I have enjoyed this first year, and if what God has done is any indication, then I leave you with this: You haven't seen anything yet, because the best is yet to come! Hallelujah!
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Bishop James Swanson
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