a mindful distraction: Up From Methodism by Herbert Asbury
I was surfing around the blogosphere and found this interesting book review on mindful distraction. I think that I will have to check out the book.
The review also mentioned that Asbury didn't paint a very pretty picture of Southern Methodism. I suspect that there are plenty of folks in the Western Jurisdiction and the North Eastern Jurisdiction that would agree. I sometimes wish that we could kick out the Southeastern Jurisdiction myself. The South Central (in my observations)& North Central Jurisdictions follow the via media a little better the ones on the coasts.
I think that there are a lot of folks in the South Eastern Jurisdiction that would just as soon the Methodist Church was a little more like the Southern Baptists.
I know they are the largest jurisdiction, of which they love to remind the rest of us, but they also like to steamroll General Conference to their agenda.
I don't really think that the UMC is shrinking due to the liberal shift of the church. I know a lot of people that have left the UMC to the Episcopal Church because they feel we have shifted to the right. I also know people that have left the UMC for more conservative denominations. I think that we have spent too much time looking in at ourselves and not enough time looking out to the world.
Maybe we would be better off splitting yet again. If there were a progressive/traditional split than the two denominations could move forward with a distinct vision. Our lack of perceived vision has been a part of the problem.
I personally have felt that the "big-tent" aspect of United Methodism was one of the best parts of being in the UMC. People with quite different beliefs could come together and worship. I would like it to be this way, but I am growing quite tired of all the in fighting. I have no issue with the more literal folks being in the same church as me, I just wish they would quit acting like I am a blasphemer.
John Wesley said "though we may not think alike, may we not love alike" and I have long felt that this attitude was a big part of what makes the UMC such a great place.
I pray that we may all love alike.
I was surfing around the blogosphere and found this interesting book review on mindful distraction. I think that I will have to check out the book.
The review also mentioned that Asbury didn't paint a very pretty picture of Southern Methodism. I suspect that there are plenty of folks in the Western Jurisdiction and the North Eastern Jurisdiction that would agree. I sometimes wish that we could kick out the Southeastern Jurisdiction myself. The South Central (in my observations)& North Central Jurisdictions follow the via media a little better the ones on the coasts.
I think that there are a lot of folks in the South Eastern Jurisdiction that would just as soon the Methodist Church was a little more like the Southern Baptists.
I know they are the largest jurisdiction, of which they love to remind the rest of us, but they also like to steamroll General Conference to their agenda.
I don't really think that the UMC is shrinking due to the liberal shift of the church. I know a lot of people that have left the UMC to the Episcopal Church because they feel we have shifted to the right. I also know people that have left the UMC for more conservative denominations. I think that we have spent too much time looking in at ourselves and not enough time looking out to the world.
Maybe we would be better off splitting yet again. If there were a progressive/traditional split than the two denominations could move forward with a distinct vision. Our lack of perceived vision has been a part of the problem.
I personally have felt that the "big-tent" aspect of United Methodism was one of the best parts of being in the UMC. People with quite different beliefs could come together and worship. I would like it to be this way, but I am growing quite tired of all the in fighting. I have no issue with the more literal folks being in the same church as me, I just wish they would quit acting like I am a blasphemer.
John Wesley said "though we may not think alike, may we not love alike" and I have long felt that this attitude was a big part of what makes the UMC such a great place.
I pray that we may all love alike.
posted by Conrad at 11:29 AM
3 Comments:
When I first married my husband, I converted to Catholicism. It was Jesuit run church and the thing I most loved about it was that every type of person worshipped there - liberal, conservative, fundamentalist, mystic. It was an amazing place. They even had forums every Thursday morning for people to talk about what they didn't like about being Catholic - like birth control, abortion issues, etc. And there were any number of ways to get involved and help out in the community at large.
Of course, somebody must have said the wrong thing about abortion or who knows what so when the monsigneur died, it was taken over by the more conservative administerial people and is no longer the open place for dialog it once was.
I so agree with you. I don't mind worshipping side by side with people who believe much more fundamentally than I do. I think it is so sad that churches are becoming so divisive. But maybe that's just the nature of the beast.
As a member of the Southeastern Jurisdiction and as a Lay Delegate to my annual conference, I would disagree with you that there are lots of folks that wish we were more Baptist in thinking, I, for one, am definitely NOT one of those folks. I know many, many more people who think as I do. One small problem Methodism has *as my pastor has pointed out* is that Methodism tends to take on the characteristics of whichever denomination has the largest population in that particular location. In the case of the Southeastern Jurisdiction, unfortunately the Baptist population is huge, therefore Methodism within the SEJ tends to take on a somewhat Baptist slant. I think it partly comes from the "circuit rider" days when a church wouldn't have the pastor but every other sunday, if that, and the lay people were placed in charge. My church is more UM today than it ever has been, we never participated in Advent, or Lent or anything else even slightly liturgical when I was growing up, and yes we had more "fire and brimstone" style (Baptist) preaching. Now, we're all about sharing the love of Jesus and reaching out with that love into our community and world. Which, I believe is what the Gospel is all about.
There is a definate truth to Methodists taking on the characteristics of the dominant church in the area.
There are also some churches that attempt to be a completely different option to the surrounding area. I have been to churches that were very liturgical in non-liturgical areas. I have been either attending or a member of Methodist churches since you were a tot and I am surprised that you went to churches that didn't participate in Advent or Lent. I can remember Arkansas Methodist churches celebrating Lent & Advent since the 1960's.
I have however been mostly in more urban churches except when I was a local pastor. One of the churches on the circuit changed the colors of the paraments without even knowing why until I mentioned why we had changed colors in a childrens sermon.
I did a whole lot of childrens sermons explaining liturgy and the liturgical calendar for quite a while after that.
Thanks for your comment. We are a church with a big tent... and mostly I would like it to stay that way.
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