So, all in all things are off to a fairly good start. I have tried to heed Rev. Camphouse's words of wisdom and have tried to come in without a vision but instead to listen and to help the people try to figure out just what in the heck God wants to do here. So I have been visiting like a crazy person, making trips to the hospital, catching up on House season 4 and most of all, learning the tricks of the trade that operating a riding lawnmower involves.
As I have been listening and preaching and pastoral caring what I have discovered in many ways is that its much easier to think about how the church and how the pastor should do things than it actually is to do them. One of the things that I have been thinking most about and trying to figure out how to do well is invitation.
Much of my thinking on this issue starting in a conversation with my Baptist-leaning dad over dinner. My churches have a history that involves a weekly altar call (Those of you who remember my time at the Candler Office of Worship will find this full of karma). Not surprisingly, we are currently not doing an altar call. I was explaining this to my father and he getting quite concerned; and he challenged me to think about how to invite people to consider salvation.
Now I explained to my dad that as a United Methodist Mr. Wesley would never talk about one moment of being saved but that our whole lives we were in the process of being saved, but that didn't seem to answer it. And as I have walked away from our dinner conversation, I have been thinking a lot about what it means to invite people to live the Christian life, in worship, in Bible study, in pastoral care and in our life together as a church.
I don't think that the traditional altar call or even the invitation to Christian discipleship that most of us have somewhere in our bulletins really get the whole thing, but I am having trouble visualizing what not just welcoming folks to hang out with us or even serve on one of our committees but inviting them to participate in the Christian life looks like.
This thought has been kicking around my head for a couple of weeks and I still don't have a clear direction about it. I think part of it is probably creating space for responses to the word that include silence and contemplation. I imagine part of it is creating some space for a public response, because our faith is public. And I imagine part of it is inviting folks into small groups that wrestle with the practices. And I imagine another chunk of it involves inviting folks to participate in justice in our community. I'm not sure how it fits together and my guess is that I won't have it all figured out for a while.
It turns out this stuff ain't easy. Maybe its time to go back to school.
1 year ago
3 comments:
Maybe you could go to school at Asbury to help you with this, but I wouldn't go back to Candler.
Seriously though, I think this is a great topic. In South Dakota I only experienced alter calls at church camps and Christian concerts. Then I moved South where even some Methodists and liberal-leaning Baptists did weekly alter calls.
I think we should have two approaches to the invitation to Christian discipleship. First, it should be a sort of an ongoing practice that gets weaved into our sermons, the liturgy, and our conversations--not all of them, but many of them. Second, I think there should be times when we should really make an intentional effort to do the sort of alter call thing. Unfortunately I'm not really good at either of those approaches.
I know that for me to move forward I need to overcome the methods, the language, and the theology of Christians who have abused and distorted this practice. Then I need to replace that. Let me know when you get the details figured out:)
This is school now friend!!!! I do think it is important to offer the occasional altar call...even in a UMC....for a congregation that is unfamiliar, I do it with a special sermon or event so it's not so odd to them. I also try and offer opportunities for reaffirmation of faith.
many many blessings my friend!
Ogle,
For a starting place on your questions of what you involve them in I recommend Acts 2:42
42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Glad to hear some of what you're doing,
Matt
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