Faithful Fridays - "American Methodists (Christians): Do We Look Upon ALL the World as Our Parish?"

The United Methodist Church mustn’t lose sight of the vision declared by her missional founder,   “I look upon all the world as my parish; thus far I mean, that in whatever part of it I am, I judge it meet, right, and my bounden duty to declare unto all that are willing to hear, the glad tidings of salvation.” 

ALL the WORLD is our parish means the people called Methodists are to impact EVERY people group with the glad tidings of salvation. If we are to accomplish our Jesus calling, care is to be taken in our messages and actions. When American Methodists sound and act more like politicians, we have failed to judge what is meet, right and our bounden duty. 

Holy Spirit guided Followers of the Way aren’t narrow-minded, dogmatic, myopic protectors of the status quo. Like Jesus, his disciples are disrupters who embrace the Kingdom of God as expansive. Christ-like believers confront practitioners of Empire by overturning tables of injustice and evil. And certainly, Jesus' Followers point ALL to the Gospel of wholeness and reconciliation to Adonai – Our God who is the Master over ALL. 

When Christians are fully submitted to the will of God, she/he produces fruit, Jesus says, “My Father cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.” In short, the faithful Christian is life giving.

Is it possible that our decline in (attendance and membership of) 
the United Methodist Church 
and other branches of Zion is indicative of 
God’s cutting off these branches due to our failure to produce fruit? 

We, American United Methodists, might ask ourselves what kind of branch are we? 

·      Are we an American politics driven by the status quo branch? 

·      Are we a Gospel, Kingdom of God disruptive force, Great Reversal driven branch? 

·      Are we a branch who has forsaken their identity? 

Whether we answer or choose to dismiss these questions, our fruit or lack thereof reveals who and whose we are! Jesus and John Wesley dared to push the boundaries of the accepted norms and what it meant to fulfill God’s commandment(s). Both defied popular, stagnant, oppressive religious and political practices of their day. 

As we, United Methodists examine our personal and corporate lives:

·         Let us judge what is meet and right, 

·         Let us examine our fruit or lack thereof, 

·         Let us forsake religiosity and abandon exploitative politics,

so that we faithfully embrace our "bounden duty to declare unto all that are willing to hear, the glad tidings of salvation.”

The world awaits and needs the People called Methodists

to bear fruit proving that we too,
“Look Upon All the World as My (our) Parish”!

-- 

INSPIRED BY LOVE, 

Pastor Marcus J. Singleton 

Correct Faith Practice: Do What Jesus Would DO

As the Church continues investing in the politic of exclusion and white supremacy, it decimates the (dunamis) power and love ethic of the God (of Abraham, Ishmael, Moses, Tamar, Rahab, the Prophets, Mary – Jesus’ mother, Simon of Cyrene, Mary Magdalene, Jesus, etc.) while legitimating and elevating their chosen idols of hegemonic power, division, greed, hatred, scarcity, and subjugation of God’s creation to name a few.

The Kingdom of God and the love of God rightly practiced is meant to demolish evils of oppression, injustice, the numerous isms, poverty, power-mongering, war, etc. Thereby, opening floodgates to opportunities for wholeness – unconditional love, freedom, forgiveness, abundance, access to wellness and wealth, and peace.  In short, ensuring the ability to lead a life without obstruction and absent of walls (unjust laws and prejudices) enabling all people to become fully human and live into the Imago Dei. 

The Kingdom of God which is inclusive and impartial (Galatians 5:6) is the only rising tide that lifts all boats (people) leading to spiritual, economic, physical and relational mobility.  The mission of all life-giving resources is providing accessibility for every human being to live abundantly (John 10:10). 

Believers who truly understand the Gospel know the redemptive work of Jesus is incomplete when only saving souls into life after death.  The fullness of the Gospel and salvific purpose of Jesus’ life and resurrection also includes overturning oppressive systems (Isaiah 61, Luke 4:16-21) and providing resources for the overlooked and least within a society (Matthew 25:31-46) insuring “God’s Kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven”. 

Until the body of Christ – in America – repents (that means have true sorrow, turn away from wicked/sinful actions and follow the ways of Jesus) of choosing the world’s governing system, i.e. politics over the Kingdom of God, we will continue to experience the reign of hatred and the furthering of wealth-income gaps, educational disparities, harrowing violence, racial and gender genocide, poverty, the military-industrial complex, etc. 

Our failure to address our own sins and others is leading us on a course to kill and desecrate humanity.  Largely, due to our adherence to worldviews and political beliefs which aren’t aligned with the Gospel or the cause of Jesus Christ.

Christians!!! Jesus reminds us to render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s but never instructs us to embrace or surrender to the methods of Caesar. Jesus urges us to remain Kingdom focused which will make us enemies of the Empire (Caesar) – John 15:19, “The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.”

Each day we must examine our actions and beliefs to determine

 are we children of God or children of the devil (I John 3:10). 

Joshua implores us to “choose this (each) day” whom you will serve. May we strive everyday toward responding “As for me, I will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15)!  Jesus states his family, his mother, his brothers are: “Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!” 

So, we must keep asking ourselves, is my worldview, are my actions in alignment with the Kingdom message of God that Jesus preached or akin to messages of my chosen political party or religious affiliation? Jesus clearly states there are differences and implications, John 8:43-44, “Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Hence, we who profess faithfulness to Jesus are to have the daily goal – for our life and character to parallel Jesus’ commands, actions and outcomes.  Thus, we mustn’t ask what would Jesus do, WE MUST DO WHAT JESUS WOULD DO – which is loving God and your neighbor, resisting Caesar and overturning corrupt systems of oppression! 

This is the unequivocal orthopraxy of Jesus’ followers! 

-- 

INSPIRED BY LOVE, 

Pastor Marcus J. Singleton