I think that we can all agree that our world is changing and it is so easy to dwell on the negative and to worry about things we cannot change. The reality is that God created a beautiful world with good people and it is our job as Christians to share the Good News with others and ensure that they know that we have a loving, caring God and with Him all things are possible. Now, the method of sharing and communicating with others is ever changing and we must consider and engage in changing with it.
That being said, we must embrace the reality that Christ was not passive during His ministry. Christ reached out to and fought with and for the unchurched and the unloved. It is time, as leaders of His churches, to fight for everything our churches stand for and the services they provide. A few cannot make this happen it takes an entire village (you and your membership). 2 Timothy 4:7-8 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. Christ did not live a passive life, he fought for us when we were at our lowest. Our individual churches, congregations and as United Methodists we are worth uniting and fighting for. We may have to look at church differently and try new things to diminish the fear left by the pandemic, to bring people back to church either via the traditional setting, Facebook, YouTube, or whichever electronic venue you select, it is truly a wonderful time to think outside the box. So, lets try a new approach and share the ideas that were successful and also those ideas that did not work so well. We need to reconnect with our mission bringing people to Christ. Let us remember 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come!
In Christian Love,
Dawn D Levey
District Lay Leader