Author: Wick

From Gateway Conference Leadership Summit, distributed by Bishop David Kendall. These are important questions for our churches, and the Church to be praying over….

Does the community know we are there? Would they miss us if we suddenly weren’t? How long before they noticed?

What kind of press has church had AS church lately?

Are we known for joy and hope, even and especially in hard times?

Are we known for God’s standards of morality & righteousnses? Do WE take them seriously, insist on them, hold ourselves accountable to them, and restore our own when they violate them? (or are we just telling everyone else how to live?)

Does the church engage in finding people – lost but cherished missing so far as God the Father is concerned?

Is the essential flow outward toward people in need of what only their God provides?

When people visit, do they detect God, something they can’t explain which though weird still intrigues and draws them? (Do WE sense this when we’re together?)

Do we make a place that convinces we are not alone? That God is real, present, and taking us somewhere?

When we work on budget, or make hard decisions, is the atmosphere sweet or tense?

Can we be REAL here?

Is it OK not to be perfect, and not OK to be unforgiving?

Can we laugh AND cry together? Laughing at ourselves, and anguishing over what Jesus cried over?

Are we praying for the Church’s sanctification with Paul? (1 Thess. 5:23)

Does our work trace back to the presence and power of the God who created all things out of nothing and resurrects the dead?

Something Bishop Kendall said last week caught my attention. He was speaking on the topic of the health of a church. It was surprisingly simple, as far as phrases go. But it struck a chord in me.

It’s probably obvious by the title of this post, the two-word phrase he used was “Supernaturally Natural”.

That our churches, that our conference, our denomination, but even more so that the Church would become a place, and a people, where things once considered “Supernatural” become regular, but still not common. He may have even said that, I’m not sure.

I may have latched onto it, simply because of the sermon I was going to preach that Sunday, about us being “awe-full people”. But it’s something I’ve thought about a lot lately, especially in regards to what is missing in much of the work of the Church. And it is not necessarily about blind people seeing, or lame people walking. It’s about existing from, loving towards, and allowing the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ to bring resurrection Life to our moment by moment existence.

The interactions we have with our friends, or family, strangers, and even our enemies – can be sourced in, and flow from and towards, Jesus Christ. Our response/reaction in any given situation can be influenced greatly, and wholly in supernatural ways – if we have invited the Spirit of God to be our source.

When is the last time you or I were involved in something that could only be explained to others by something to the effect of, “The Spirit of God/Love of God/Grace of God/Holiness of God compelled me to do it.”?

Because there are certainly other people out there making these claims. We’ve seen enough abortion clinics bombed, enough (teen moms, divorced Christians, unfaithful spouses, homosexuals, smokers, untucked shirt wearers, smelly people, etc.) made to feel unwelcome to attend or serve a church, enough people killed, enough publicity stunts and political moves made – all in the name of God’s love.

There was a moment during Leadership Summit (previously called “Annual Conference”), which is similar to “District Assembly” for you Nazarenes out there, when one of our Missions spokespeople came forward. He began to share about our activities in various places.

Many of us know that the roots of Free Methodism, and the heart of Holiness Churches in General, usually involves a great deal of ministry to the poor and disenfranchised. The widow. The orphan. Those without a voice. We believe the gospel gives that emphasis, and we see it embodied in Jesus Christ.

For a long time, “those without a voice”, etc. referred to inner cities. The poor. The ones who lived on the streets. The homeless. The hungry. These remain still, as the “least of these” we find a call to solidarity with. But as the world has become more and more connected, with information and travel itself becoming more and more available worldwide, we see that the best parts of some other countries – are still worse than our darkest hidden inner cities.

It is with that in mind, that I was very encouraged by what our missions guy was saying about our denomination. Denominations world-wide generally are all involved in overseas mission work. Most of these have rations of 1 to 2, or 1 to 3…sometimes 1 to 4. That means for every “one” person here in the US, there are 2 or 3 or 4 members overseas.

The ratio for members in the Free Methodist Church is 1 to 10. Now, I realize this is no guarantee we’re in these “least of these” areas overseas. But it does feel good to be a part of a denomination that recognizes where large amounts of effort should go towards caring for the sick, the broken, those without a voice, etc…