This encouraging email arrived in my inbox today. It was sent by a friend in Cape Town, Mike Crocket, and tells of the United Methodist Church's drive to revitalise the denomination.
Many of us would be aware that mainline denominations have decreased their membership in recent decades. The Methodist Church of Southern Africa is not yet on a fast decline (we have only lost 0.9% against population growth since 1910), however, it is sure to come if we continue in our rigid, disconnected, manner.
What the world longs for is a Church that brings hope in struggle, light in darkness, and life in the midst of the crises of living!
Mike entitled this mail 'Wouldn't it be nice if...?' I agree, wouldn't it be nice? Wouldn't it be nice if we were less concerned about stipends, the re-election of Bishops, the constitutions of 'uniformed organisations'? Wouldn't it be nice if we worried about the world and created a Church that sought to meet the world and offer it what it needs? Wouldn't it be nice if there was a Church that welcomed everyone, where the Gospel of Christ was not just preached, but seen!
Wouldn't it be nice if......?
[ps. please forgive any formatting errors, this is forwarded via email].
January 18, 2008 Dear Resurrection Family, I just arrived back in town last night from a series of meetings in
Houston focused on the revitalization of the United Methodist Church. The first two days were spent with a gathering of pastors of the 20 largest churches in Methodism. Organizing this group was a part of our strategic plan here at the church for 2007. We held our first meeting last year with the 10 largest churches. In the fall we'll gather the pastors of the 100 largest churches. The aim of the group is to look at the ways the largest churches in our denomination can work together for the revitalization of the church.
The second set of meetings began Wednesday night and continued through Thursday afternoon. Those meetings included key leaders in our denomination also concerned with the revitalization of the church and specifically focusing on inviting outstanding young adults to consider God's call to ordained ministry.
Here's why I believe this is important, and why I am investing my time in it: Since 1964 the population of the United States has increased by 54% while the membership of the United Methodist Church has declined by 27%. A more telling statistic in predicting thefuture is that the number of children involved in Sunday School in our churches has declined from 1,500,000 in 1964 to 318,000 in 2005. And, as this would indicate, the average age of our membership as a denomination is now close to 60. We're also seeing this trend in our clergy. In 1985 when I started seminary over 3,000 of our pastors were under 35. In 2005 that number dropped to only 850. Of our 17,000 active clergy, only 5% are under 35.
These two groups are seeking to turn these trends around. This is a part of our vision here at the church, and I think this vision can become a reality. I'll tell you more about the meetings in Houston next Friday evening at our All Church Gathering (see below). There are some exciting things coming up this weekend at church I want to make sure you know about…
1. This Weekend in Worship: How Should We Live? The Ethics of Jesus
2. Don't Miss This: Authors of Same Kind of Different As Me Here Saturday at 2:00 pm
3. Register to Vote in the Narthex This Weekend
4. Opportunity to Change the World: Leaders to Help with Annual Missions Auction
5. Resurrection Night at the Movies Monday Night
6. All Church Gathering - Fellowship, Inspiration, Voting, and Vision Casting
7. New Sunday Night Choir - How cool is this?! And Still Room for You!
8. Martin Luther King workday/FaithWorks
Monday, January 21, 2008 at 9:45PM 
