The Future of The United Methodist Church: Real Discipleship

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Steve LaMotte





This spring, delegates from The United Methodist Church will gather in Tampa, Florida for General Conference, which is held every four years. It is a time of conferencing and legislation which will affect the people of the denomination for years to come. As we prepare for General Conference, this is a great time to have some dialogue about what some positive changes might look like for the future of The United Methodist Church.

Today, I want to talk about Real Discipleship.

The Mission Statement of The United Methodist Church is: to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.  I’ve come to wonder if we really are series about making disciples.

In this history of The United Methodist Church, Methodism began with John Wesley (In England) and Francis Asbury (here in America), who encouraged people to be growing in their faith.  They attended Class Meetings (like small groups) where they were asked questions like, “How is your soul today.”  They were held accountable for their lifestyle and faith development.

In a time where we the Call to Action report is giving us 16 drivers of vital congregations- one area that seems to be left out (at least without specifically mentioning it) is intentional discipleship.  In my own experience in the Methodist Church- I have seen very few settings where Pastors and Leaders are intentionally replicating themselves.  Yet, if we are to fulfill our mission (to make disciples of Jesus for the transformation of the world)- we need to first make disciples.

While I am not aware of any specific legislation in this regard at General Conference, this is our DNA as Methodist and if we are not engaged in the making of disciples, of replicating followers of Jesus, then what are we doing as Pastors and Leaders in The United Methodist Church?

Some thoughts-

  • Discipleship is not a program. Simply having a Disciple Bible Study is not creating disciples. It may be part of it.  We need Pastors and Leaders who will empower people to surrender their lives to Jesus and follow wherever Jesus leads.
  • Pastors- who are you mentoring?  Who do you meet at 6:30 a.m. in the Diner, or at the coffeeshop for a weekly cup of coffee?  Are you intentionally inviting them to go deeper in their walk with God?  Are you teaching them to replicate themselves?
  • Pastors- mentor someone half your age.  We all know how our average clergy age is skewed to the older generation- think of the possibilities if our 50, 55, 60, and 65 year old clergy were intentionally mentoring young people who were 25, 27, 30, and 32! For our clergy in their 20’s and 30’s – what a difference it makes to pour our lives into teenagers.  The die would be cast for these young adults to begin mentoring someone half their age because it was done for them. (I believe I heard Andy Stanley give this suggestion- just want to give credit where credit is due!)
While the style of our music, or the kinds of programs we offer can help us to grow “vital churches” the Biblical model of growth is holistic discipleship that calls people to surrender their lives to Jesus, walks with them as they grow like Jesus- and releasing them into ministry to proclaim the Good News.  If we want the future of The United Methodist Church to be healthy and viable- it begins and ends with discipleship.
What are some ways that you are discipling someone? Any tools you’d recommend? Any great stories of being discipled by someone older than you? Does your church have an intentional discipleship ministry or track?
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Living Like Lazarus

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Steve LaMotte

I’ve been thinking lately about Lazarus in John 11. You likely remember the story- Lazarus, a friend of Jesus, gets sick and ultimately dies. Jesus was called to come to Lazarus before his death but decided to stay put- leaving Mary and Martha filled with grief and maybe frustration at Jesus for not coming sooner because they believed that Jesus could intervene in Lazarus’ sickness. In verse 43, Jesus calls Lazarus out of the tomb, and to everyone’s amazement- Lazarus came back to life and emerged from the grave. While we get a few glimpses of Lazarus in John 12- after that we don’t hear from him again. What happened to Lazarus?

He died.

This friend that Jesus loved and brought back from the dead ultimately died a second time- this time for good (physically). The question I’ve been pondering is this: Does the fact that Lazarus died lessen the impact of Jesus raising him from the dead? My answer is no. God still worked in miraculous ways to bring healing into Lazarus’ life through Jesus- but the bottom line is that Lazarus was not going to have a physically immortal life.

This brings us to the present day. What does it mean to pray for healing in someones life? How do we respond when we believe that healing has taken place- yet our loved one gets sick again? I have a friend who was diagnosed with cancer and began treatments for the cancer. While he pursued medical treatment, his church family surrounded him with prayer. At one of his check-ups- the scan showed that the cancer was completely gone. The doctors even expressing surprise about the results. The churches and Christians who had been praying for him gave thanks to God for the healing that took place. A year later he was dead as the cancer returned- more aggressive than before. We mourned the loss of a friend and some questioned God about whether healing really took place. Did healing take place- my faith says that it did. My faith says that God is in the healing business still today. Like Lazarus, my friend, at some point, would again die.

I’ve always wondered about what Lazarus’ life was like after his resurrection. I can imagine that Lazarus was ready to tell the story of his resurrection to everyone he met. I imagine that he had a new perspective on living life and on following Jesus. The challenge for us is to live as those who are prepared to die…and to die as those who are prepared to live. You can throw out any cliche you want: Live life to the fullest, live like you were dying, life’s short-play hard…the reality is that we likely won’t get a second chance like Lazarus did- so we need to make the most of each day- to be satisfied in the presence of our God- and to share the story of how we were once dead (spiritually) but through Christ have new life now and a new life to come.

For those of us who know someone battling cancer, heart disease, HIV/AIDS, or some other disease where we’ve prayed for healing- let’s take each day as a gift from God. Each moment as an opportunity to experience the joy of the relationships we’ve come to love. Let us realize that even a complete healing on earth will ultimately result in death- that through Christ we might experience true healing where sickness and death will be no more, where we will experience healing from our sinful nature, and where we will be made new. (Revelation 21:4-5)

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The Future of The United Methodist Church

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Steve LaMotte

In just a few weeks, United Methodist Clergy and Lay delegates from all over the world will take over Tampa, Florida for General Conference 2012 (#gc2012 for those of you following along on Twitter).  For those of you not familiar with The United Methodist leadership structure- General Conference happens every four years and is the place where legislation and policy are made for the churches and people who make up the denomination.  Each conference (I’m in the Peninsula-Delaware Conference), holds an Annual Conference every year (think Annual Business Meeting)- and of course there are Jurisdictional Conferences where we elect Bishops and so forth.

General Conference is the place where changes to our United Methodist Book of Discipline can be made- and every four years brings the opportunity for debate, both big and small, about the direction of The United Methodist Church.

After a brief discussion on Twitter with Matt Lipan (@mattlipan on Twitter, or you can read his blog here), we both are hoping that the UMC moves in a direction of change for the better.  The question I posed is “What does change for the better look like for the UMC?”  The answer to this question can be as diverse as the people who make up The United Methodist Church.  In the coming days and weeks, I’ll be doing a series of post (and interacting with a few other people) about what changes we’d like to see in the UMC.  While I don’t profess to be an expert in any of these areas, my post will include, but not limited to…

  • The Global Nature of The United Methodist Church- restructuring is on the table in 2012 and it has wide reaching implications for our denomination and who exactly are “United Methodist.”
  • Are we really “making disciples for the transformation of the world?”
  • Generation Lost? Where are the young adults in The UMC?
  • Can we regain our missional DNA?
Those are just a few thoughts that I have had in thinking about this series.  Of course, others will come up.  There are the usual hot button issues that can be/should be discussed.  
What would “meaningful change” look like for you in The United Methodist Church?  What issues do you care most about?  Leave some thoughts in the comments below and check back often!
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Sunday Review: 1/22/12

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Steve LaMotte

It was a great morning of worship at Hope Church yesterday.  We are in the second week of our sermon series, Weird.  You can go to our website to listen to the first two weeks of the series in case you missed it.  You can also read the book, Weird, by Craig Groeschel, which has encouraged the series.

This Sunday, we looked at 1 Peter 1:13-16 as our jumping off point for our message.  Peter writes,

“Therefore prepare your minds for action discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formally had in ignorance.  Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Here are a few thoughts about this passage and the sermon on Sunday:

  • Holiness is not a word that we hear too often- but it is something that we are to pursue.  John Wesley called it “Christian Perfection” and it was the idea that we would be “sanctified” (made holy) by pursuing God in our life.  If we are calling ourselves disciples of Jesus- then we need to be pursuing holiness- that we would be more like Jesus each day.
  • Like last week when we talked about Romans 12:1-2- Peter reminds us that we are not to conform to the desires we had when we lived as the world did.  Following Jesus means that our thinking, acting, and speaking is transformed and always transforming.  
  • We get to do this in community!  We are not Lone Rangers in our life as Christians.  We get to share this journey on the narrow path with each other. Just the other day I heard a couple people from our church talking about how they are reading the same books and discussing them as part of their spiritual growth.  That’s exciting!   
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Adopted By God

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Steve LaMotte

I had a great conversation with my dad recently. We had just had breakfast together, which is no small feat since we live about seven hours a part. Breakfast consisted of myself, Dad, Uncle Jerry, and two of dad’s cousins who I know but haven’t seen too much of during my life. In our phone conversation, Dad was telling me some of the LaMotte family history.

My dad’s grandmother had her son (My dad’s dad- and my grandfather) out of wedlock. To my understanding, no one is real sure of who my grandfather’s biological father is other than a last name and a location. Eventually, Dad’s grandmother married her husband (a LaMotte) and they began their life together. My grandfather (Dad’s dad) began using the LaMotte name early on even though his biological father’s last name was on his birth certificate. Granddad was in his late 20’s/early 30’s when he applied for disability for his failing eyesight and found out that legally he still had his biological father’s last name even though he had been using the LaMotte last name for 30 years. So as a young adult, Granddad was adopted by my Great-Granddad LaMotte- making the name change official.  (My dad was already born and using the LaMotte name even though it wasn’t “official”)

This means that I have no real “LaMotte” genetics. Neither does my father, or my sister, or my two daughters. But because of the love of my great-grandfather for my great-grandmother- I have the last name of LaMotte- and no one can take that away from our family. (*Ironically, my great grandmother on my grandmother’s side (Hovis’) was also adopted, but she didn’t find out until she was in her 80’s!!!)

I am reminded of Romans 8:14-17 where we are reminded of our new identity through Jesus.

“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.  The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.  And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.  Now if we are children, then we are heirs- heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”

 When we receive the Spirit of God through through Jesus- we become adopted children of God. We are no longer slaves to sin. We are no longer unwanted.  We have gone from having no rights (slaves) to having the full rights and benefits of a child of God. Just as a biological child- we are heirs of God- brothers and sisters with Jesus to receive the fullness of God’s love and blessings.

This is truly Good News! When we are adopted by God, one of God’s children, our past is wiped clean.  We are given a new name. So that whenever we feel worthless or unloved- we know that we have serve a God who calls us His children. And we are given the right to call God our Abba, Father, and Daddy.
 

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The Hand-Off

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Steve LaMotte

Last week, I was reading in Acts 6 when complaints began to arise among the believers in the early church in Jerusalem. The problem was that the Greek speaking widows were being overlooked in the daily food service. The Twelve called a meeting and said, “It isn’t right for us to set aside proclamation of God’s word in order to serve tables.” So seven well-respected men were chosen from the early believers who were well respectd and who would foucs on the daily food distribution so that that no one was being left out. This left the Twelve the freedom to focus on prayer and the proclammation of the word.

This is the struggle of a small or maintenence church. Most of the ministries revolve around the pastor. This is usually a result of the pastor not being able to let go- or of a consumeristic mindset of the congregation rather than a service/ministry mindset. Often it is the combination of the two. Reading the passage, I’m struck by the Twelve being able to focus on what they were best equipped to do- pray and proclaim the word. The food service was a ministry that others could do.

I went to a Catalyst Oneday event in Baltimore a few years back. I remember Craig Groeschel’s words about delegation. He encouraged the crowd of pastors/leaders/worship leaders/youth pastors/and hipsters who love Jesus that we should delegate everything that only we can do. Groeschel said that there are only four things that only I can do. They are…

1. Be the best husbad I can be to my wife: If not, someone else will fill that void
2. Be the best father I can be to my children: If not, someone or something will take my place
3. Takes care of my body. It’s the only one I will get and only I can decide to treat it right.
4. Take care of my spiritual life. No one can get up and pray for me- or study my Bible.

If we are equipping and releasing people in ministry- then we afford ourselves the space to work on that which only we can control. By delegating, we grow the faith of the people around us while growing our own faith. As 2012 begins to move forward, I want to equip others to share in ministry with me, to call men and women to minister in their passion so that I might be able to do the same. I want to hand-off important parts of ministry so that I can serve out of my passions and strengths for a great impact for the kingdom.

What are some things that you can delegate in 2012? Re-read the list above, which of the four areas have you been neglecting? How will you grow those areas in 2012?

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The Beauty of Grace

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Steve LaMotte

I have two amazing daughters.  Abbie will be five in June.  She is funny, caring, and very aware of other people’s happiness. Chloe just turned one in December and is headstrong, adventurous, and loves music. (Abbie loves music too- which is good because we often have a variety of music playing.  Both girls favorite toys have been, at some point, those musical birthday cards.  The current one getting play features Wang Chung’s “Everybody Have Fun Tonight.”)  Both girls bring Andrea and I a tremendous amount of joy and love.

But they are not perfect.

Abbie is in pre-school this year, and because of Andrea’s work schedule I have been the one to take the girls to daycare and preschool.  This is generally not a big deal.  But today, Abbie didn’t want to listen when it was time to put her coat on.  In fact, she had four or five opportunities to get out of her chair to put her coat on.  So she was punished.  The consequences for not listening was losing her TV privileges.  (Don’t read into this, we rarely have the TV on in our house- so when we do it is a treat and a real punishment to lost that right.)

As you can imagine, Abbie cried.  She groaned.  She whined.  She even screamed.  All the way to the car- and continued to cry for the first five minutes or so of our ride north to Dover.

I was nearly in tears.  I hate punishing our kids.  I hate it when they choose not to listen.  It tears me apart to see Abbie (in this case) crying and screaming.

And then I think: Isn’t God like that with His children?  God has laid out the expectations for us.  Told us how to live and behave.  Yet time and time again, we choose not to listen.  We fall short of the standard of God’s holiness.  We sin.  And there are consequences for our actions.  Sometimes those consequences are immediate.  Sometimes the consequences don’t seem too severe.  Other times they feel overwhelming.

I believe that when I sin, when we sin, that God is moved to sadness- just as I felt sadness in punishing my daughter.  Why would God be moved to sadness?  Because God loves us so much.  Because God wants to give us a life abundant.  Because God has shown us the most excellent way to live through Jesus Christ.  But time and time again, we turn our backs on God.

Part way up to pre-school, I reached to the backseat of my car and held Abbie’s hand.  She began to show me how see could now reach the ceiling of my car while sitting down (which is better than standing up while the car is moving).  When I dropped Abbie off at school she held my hand, gave me a kiss good bye and we both said, “I love you.”

Again, tears nearly filling my eyes.  But this time because grace is such a beautiful thing.  Even as we turn our backs on God- God reached down to earth and gave us Jesus- the fullest displays of God’s love.  It is through Jesus that God is continually saying to us, “I love you.”

Grace is a beautiful thing.

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2012 Reading Plan

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Steve LaMotte

One of the great joys that I have in being in ministry in a larger town (at least larger than my previous location) is connecting with our pastors, leaders, and Christians who are pursuing a life with God.  I’ve been wanting to get back on the blogging horse for awhile, but haven’t done it.  Thanks to a blog post and conversation with Paul Bowman– I have the inspiration for a post and hopefully the catalyst for more regular blogging.

So here are some of the books that I plan on reading in 2012 and a brief explanation of why.

American Saint: Francis Asbury and the Methodist:  It’s a biography of one of the most important leaders of American Methodism.  It is said that he rode over 30,000 miles on horseback- and that more people recognized Francis Asbury than Thomas Jefferson in his day. Why do I want to read this?  Well, I did attend Asbury College (his namesake) and I am a Methodist Pastor.  But above all, Methodism was a dynamic movement during and after Asbury’s time- which may come as a surprise for those accustomed to the institution called The United Methodist Church.  Here’s praying that we can, through the Holy Spirit, regain the movement!

The Pastor: A Memoir, by Eugene Peterson:  I can remember when The Message came out in sections back in the 1990’s as a teenager.  The advertisements made me want to read The Message- and I wasn’t disappointed as it has brought fresh insight on my spiritual journey- as well as Peterson’s many other books.

For Calvinism and Against Calvinism   This is certainly an era where New Calvinism is active in our culture.  From the Passion Movement, artist like Lecrae, and the influence of pastors such as John Piper, Calvinism has been making a resurgence.  The problem is- I’m not a Calvinist!  Growing up in the Methodist Church- I have a Wesleyan-Arminian background and find parts of Calvinism troubling.  But I want to read both books to have a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of Calvinism.

Arminian Theology:  Myths and Realities:  This piggy-backs off the previous books as I want to better understand my theological heritage.  I commented to a friend earlier about how muddied theologically we become as we begin to listen to podcast of various pastor’s of a variety of theological strains.  Part of the challenge for us as pastors, leaders, and Christians will be to coherently know what we believe.

Last Supper and Lord’s Supper, by I. Howard Marshall:  I am currently a Provisional Elder in The United Methodist Church.  Before now and next November, I have to write and teach a four week Bible study on communion/eucharist/Lord’s supper.  Having already done some research, this is on my list and I have begun to read as I prepare a study for our congregation.

There are several other books on discipleship and church leadership that I want to read in the coming months, but I don’t have the titles here.  Of course, there is the temptation that some book will come out in the meantime and work its way onto my list.

What are you planning on reading in 2012?

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Catalyst Review: Andy Stanley

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Steve LaMotte

Andy Stanley opens and closes Catalyst.  And since we had to leave early to catch the plane on Friday, I only heard Andy’s opening remarks (until I get the audio download of the main sessions).

Andy began by saying: “The more successful you are, the less accessible you’ll become.”  Now, when I first heard that, I wanted to recoil and fight with Andy because ministry is about people.  I would like to think that as my ministry grows, that I would continue to be accessible to people and be interested in what they are doing.

What Andy was talking about was quality over quantity.  In his words- “you can’t shut it all out, but you can’t take it all in.”  There are limits to the boundaries we set for ourselves- and as pastors and leaders, we need to be aware of those boundaries which enable us to focus on the most important tasks– and allow us to go deeper in our relationships by not spreading ourselves out too thin.

Stanley said these things which I think are worth repeating.

1.  First, “fairness ended in the Garden of Eden.  Don’t be fair, be engaged.”  We sometimes think that if we do something for one person, we have to do that for everyone else.  Stanley says we don’t.  We can choose to do one persons wedding while turning down another opportunity.  We choose (through God’s leading) who we are going to go deep in relationship with.

2.  Go deep rather than wide:  I kinda mentioned this already.  But choose a few deep relationships/ministry opportunities to develop rather than spreading yourself too thin.

3.  Go long term rather than short term:  Make it a point to invest in a few point in a sustained/long term relationship.  Mentor them, minister to them so that they might be able to do so for others.

4.  Go time, not just money.  Be personally invested in projects and missions.  Pick one spot around the world and develop a long term relationships with the people and your church.  Personally go and help others catch a vision for sustained ministry.

Finally- Stanley said “When you do for one, you end up doing far more than just one.”  When we mentor and disciple- we multiply as the people we disciples disciple others.

My Take:  It was not an earth shattering message- but it was a message that fit the theme of being present.  Stanley encourages us to be engaged in ministry.  To be fully present.

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First Thoughts From Catalyst

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Steve LaMotte

I had the opportunity to attend the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta, GA last week.  Catalyst is a leadership conference that draws in 13,000 leaders from the church and the marketplace from around the world.  This was my first Catalyst experience and it’s easy to say that it won’t be my last.

The theme of the two days was Be Present.  This is such an important theme because many times I find myself thinking ahead or worrying about something that happened in the past rather than being completely present in the moment.  This was an important reminder for me.  More important than my ministry is how I am “being present” with my family.  I am a thinker and a dreamer- so that means that my brain is running long after (or before) I leave the church office.  Being present means that I need to engage my wife and my two daughters relationally.  I need to stop, pause, and breathe slow when it comes to my family.  I need to not rush my daughter through their childhood- but savor every moment.

So here is to lingering, to taking things slow, using crock pots instead of microwaves, listening twice as much as I speak, engaging and asking questions, more date nights to just sit and talk- or to just look each other in the eye.  Here is to nurturing these important relationships and pass on the presence of Jesus the Messiah to my girls and be the Godly father and husband that they need and that I am called and committed to be.

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