Evangelism. We progressive Methodists often shudder at the sound of this word. There are many reasons why, many of them good. Yet I believe evangelism is at the core of our faith. In the Great Commissioning, Jesus commands:
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matt. 28: 19-20).
As Rev. Troy Plummer recently preached, so often we confuse evangelism with saving souls and getting people baptized as if what it means to be a Christian ends there. Yet we come from the Wesleyan tradition and so we must ask ourselves, how has becoming a Christian transformed our lives and how are we transforming the lives of others?
My personality does not lend itself to door knocking or the direct inquiry evangelism of “Have you accepted Jesus into your life?” Thankfully, I think there is a place for this in Methodism but our tradition has a history of evangelism through works of righteousness and relationships. We know that no amount of deeds will make God love us any more or less but often our neighbors notice when we do acts of loving kindness and humility, especially in a world so often devoid of them. I think the best form of evangelism then is when we praise God, follow the commandments, and live as the living sacrifices we proclaim ourselves to be during every celebration of Communion. Thus my form of evangelism is to try to be the man that God wants me to be - a living example of Christ - as well as to tell my story to others.
Telling one’s story, though, is not an easy task and is quite a vulnerable act. You open yourself up to criticism and even harm.
I have the utmost respect for Joey Heath. Joey is a modern day evangelist: he has the courage to preach the Gospel – God’s unfailing love for him as God’s creation. Joey spreads the Good News by telling his own story – his struggles to be the kind of human being God wants him to be, his longing to be accepted by our institutional church which denies him, and his hopes and dreams that the United Methodist Church will soon accept him for whom he is – as God already has – as God’s own and beloved.
My own life story and coming to terms with my sexuality and my faith greatly parallel Joey’s and yet our stories diverge because I come from an extraordinarily privileged position. I live in a Reconciling Annual Conference with a Bishop who in the first years of his episcopacy openly welcomed gay and lesbian folk by name. I have the luxury of attending a Reconciling United Methodist congregation where we openly and regularly affirm the sacred worth of all people. I had the privilege of being able to run as a delegate for General Conference as an out, gay, young adult and more or less unknown candidate and then actually be elected.
This comes with its own dangers as well though. I can comfortably forget that there are many congregations in my own conference that still have not heard the Good News that Christ has opened the invitation to all people of every human category. I can comfortably forget that there are GLBTQ children of God and their allies in my own conference who do not feel like they have the support they need to be and feel fully human. This leads me to regularly question: As a member of a reconciling annual conference and congregation, how can I as an individual and we as a community of faith better nurture those within our own regional community as well as reach out to those like Joey who live in congregations and regions and communities that have yet to recognize their sacred worth? I lift this up as a prayer and hope that God might use me and others to transform it into action.
Reconciling Ministries Network mobilizes United Methodists of all sexual orientations and gender identities to transform our Church and world into the full expression of Christ’s inclusive love.
Dear United Methodist Church
Dear United Methodist Church,
How to express how I feel right now, hurt, disappointed, disgusted, ashamed, sad, heartbroken. These are only a few of the words that describe how I feel about our church right now. I have spent the past week at our General Conference in Ft. Worth. I have to say I was really hopeful for the future coming to Ft. Worth and the change I felt coming in the UMC. Maybe that was because this was my first General Conference and I have not experienced the hurt and heartbreak of previous General Conferences. Or maybe it is because I believe at its heart our church is a good and loving church. Things started off well with good policies coming out of the committees. The church seemed like it was finally ready to start being inclusive of LGBTQ people, but then came the floor debates. It went downhill from the time the delegates began to debate the primary issues facing the church about homosexuality. I heard people demean and insult myself and other LGBTQ people by retelling the same misinformation that has been used for decades to oppress and belittle us. Then came the votes, a couple went our way but for the most part they were against creating a more inclusive church, including voting down a resolution that would have made the United Methodist Church membership truly open to all people. I didn’t expect to become emotional because of the votes but after the vote on membership I found myself angry and then my heart broke and I just cried. Several more times during the rest of the evening I found myself crying. And it wasn’t just me, a number of members of my church family had similar responses. We are all heartbroken that our church would not vote to be inclusive of all those that are loved and created by God, all those of sacred worth, that we would choose to remain a broken church instead of a church united as we claim to be.
As I sat here contemplating the events of the past week a song began to play. It’s called “Grace and Love” by a band called Kutless. This is the chorus, “It’s by grace and love I am saved. It’s by grace and love you’ve forgiven me. It’s by grace and love I am free.” This inspired me to write this. It reminded me of the truth of the Gospel. Even if our church is not ready to begin the process of reconciling with our LGBTQ brothers and sisters, God has always been ready with arms spread wide open in love. He is the source of salvation and forgiveness because of his great love and grace. This is important to remember because no matter how our church runs itself God is always in control and shows us his power through love and grace. United Methodist Church, I leave you with this challenge. Over the next four years until the next General Conference I encourage to seek God on these issues and to seek to find if Christ’s table is really open to all. I hope we can grow as a church so that in four years more heartbreak will not happen and we can finally reconcile ourselves as one church united under God and we can truly live out our mission of making disciples of all the people of the world.
Joey Heath
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