We are not the only ones safeguarding the gains

In the previous post I mentioned McLaren who said, that movements are organizations which call institutions to new social gains and institutions are organizations which conserve the gains made by past movements.

If this is a fair representation of the church as an institution  the question becomes what social gains are being conserved made in the past?

To put it another way, if the UMC ended tomorrow, what social gains would be lost?

I am not a huge scholar in this area but here are just a few I thought of:
The UMC conserves gains and deficits in ecumenical work (see the denominational unification)
The UMC conserves gains made in workers rights (see the UMC's involvement in the Fair Labor Standards Act and the National Labor Relations Act)
The UMC conserves gains made in women's rights (see John Wesley ordaining women back in 1760's)
The UMC conserves gains made in eradicating global disease (see efforts in eradicating malaria)

Not a bad list really for thirty seconds of thought. 

Glide Memorial UMC - An institution conserving new gains

The UMC should be very proud of this, but the fact of the matter is the UMC was once one of the few institutions to conserve gains, but now we are one of many institutions conserving the same gains.

Take for instance women's rights. Where the UMC was once one of the only institutions to advocate and protect women, now there are hundreds of institutions conserving the gains made by and for women.

Perhaps the way forward for the UMC is to let go of working to conserve some gains because we no longer have the major responsibility to conserve these gains. 

What does it look like for the UMC to seek out new gains to preserve?

What would it look like for this institution (and lets not kid ourselves, no matter how much "movement" rhetoric is out there we are and will be an institution for a while still), moved toward the frontier of social gains? 

Can we conserve social gains made by the "green" movement? The LGBT movement? The "99%" movement? The "Tea Party" movement?

Church is a there to meet my needs. Right?

It is a common way to understand the church as a place where someone goes to have their needs met. This is in part why we look for a church that has a good children's area, biblical preaching/teaching, solid small groups that are not full of crazy people.

And so churches work to ensure that we are meeting people's needs. And we want to ensure people's needs are met because that is what we are supposed to do. Right?

Well, if the church is under the impression that we are to meet people's needs, then yes, we should work to meet people's needs. However, this not only creates environments where churches do not know what they are called to do but it also creates environments where churches will do everything for the sake of someone's needs.

Rather than meeting people's needs, shouldn't a church be in the position to change people's needs?

The church that is under the impression to change people's needs will have a much different way to do ministry. This church will be a place where people are changed, not just satisfied. This church might be smaller and less "full" in the pew on Sunday. This church might also be the most nimble and life changing place in the community.

So let me ask you, is your church set up to meet your needs or change them?

I want the church to be a bullion cube

When I was a kid my mother would make roast. There would be carrots and potatoes as sides along with some bread and the occasional ice cream desert. It was a fine meal, no complaints.

As I think about this dinner, that was a common set up for my childhood, I cannot help but think about how this is a representation of how many of us grew up thinking about church. That is to say, every area of our lives had it's own area on the plate.

There was the place where we worked (carrots). There was the place where we lived (potatoes). There was the place where we attended church (roast) and there was a place we attended school (bread).

Every aspect of our lives was separate and distinct from other areas of our lives.

And this is where the struggle lies. We have a growing generation of people for whom all aspects of life are becoming intertwined.

We work at home and we play at work.

For many people, there is a desire for church to be done in the other areas of their lives as well. Not just on Sunday.

That is to say, some people are not looking for a church to be like a roast - separate from the other elements on the plate. Rather the desire is that church would be like a bullion cube - infusing itself into all the other elements on the plate.

I desire a church that will be willing to melt or die to itself - to give up being a separate space in my life. I desire a church that infuses itself into all the areas of my work, play, school and life.

I don't need more on my plate, I just want my plate to be flavorful.

Give me the bullion, you can keep the roast.

It is called Fort Worth Dish Out, but I call it church

About a year ago I was fortunate to be a part of the first ever Fort Worth Dish Out (website, facebook, twitter). It was crazy fun to be associated with such an event and I am blown away at where the board is taking it these days. Frankly, it is a  source of great personal pride. 

For those who do not know what the Fort Worth Dish Out is, it works like this:

1. Everyone puts in $20 to get access, a meal, booze, fellowship and the ability to hear about 3 local non-profits.
2. Everyone hears the non-profits speak for 5-7 minutes to tell what they do.
3. Everyone votes on the non-profit they would like to support.
4. The winner of the vote gets 60% of the funds, the other two split the remaining 40%.

We can talk about this as an event or a function or a fundraiser or even as a non-profit in its own right. 

But I call it an expression of Church I want to be apart of. 

When we gather for a common cause, break bread, learn, share, have fun, fellowship, encounter new people and new ideas, give, grow and support those around us - I call that Church.

So for those of us who want the Church to continue into the future and ensure that it remains relevant, I would submit that we look at the essence of what is done on a Sunday morning, take those core elements and see what expression of church you will get. 

What can you create with some combination of these elements:

• Learning new things
• Meal
• Meeting people (old and new)
• Giving of resources
• Celebration
• Sharing
• Group participation
• Music
• Dance
• Wine

Sounds like a recipe for Church to me.

The next Fort Worth Dish Out will be held on November 4th at 809 @ Vickery (809 W. Vickery Blvd., Fort Worth, 76104) from 5:30 to 8 p.m.