Nearly 1,000 United Methodists are gathered this week at the grandly cavernous Opryland Hotel in Nashville for the annual United Methodist Congress on Evangelism.
Bishop Robert Schnase of Missouri discussed the ingredients of a growing church, opining that churches practicing “radical hospitality” don’t just set up a committee. Instead, they must integrate hospitality throughout the congregation’s whole life, proclaiming that people are “pardoned and redeemed.”
“Passionate worship strives to be faithful to the Gospel and life-changing,” Schnase said. It should be the “most important hour of the entire week” for worshippers.
Schnase warned against a “performance based mentality” in the church that divorces programs from their Gospel focus. He also emphasized that the “stuff of the faith is best learned in community” and through “getting along with other people.” Risk-taking and service to others are central, he said.
“If you love those that love you, what credit is that to you?” Schnase asked, paraphrasing Jesus. “The stretch is having to love people that takes something out of you.” As an example, he noted that collecting canned goods for the needy on holidays might be admirable but is hardly very risky.
Noting that we live in a “materialistic, commercial society,” Schnase insisted the church must cite generosity as a central aspect of Christian character. The Gospel commands not just charity but also investing and spending money in ways that glorify God.
“Every church thinks they’re friendly because they’re friendly with each other,” Schnase said. But successful and faithful churches are intentional in focusing on the unchurched. Such churches cannot rely on good techniques without an ultimate “reliance on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ,” he said.
In a vein similar to Schnase, the Rev. Tyrone Gordon of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Dallas preached against complacency in the church.
“How many are saved?” should be the primary question for churches, Gordon exclaimed. He stressed that proclaiming the Gospel will meet resistance. But “if we take care of the Lord’s work, the Lord will take care of our work.”
Authority for proclaiming God’s Word does not comes from the United Methodist General Conference, Gordon smilingly said. The Gospel does not need “permission” because the authority comes only from Jesus Christ. Effective evangelists who want to follow the apostles must “stand in the authority of the name and power of Jesus.” Gordon said the apostles were never afraid of opposition.
“The Devil is always trying to block what god has initiated,” Gordon warned. “But the Devil is a liar. He can’t stop what God has started.”
Gordon fretted that Methodists like to “study everything to death.” And the United Methodist Church does a lot of good deeds but “we don’t want to tell anyone we’re doing it for Jesus.” But “there is salvation in no other name,” Gordon declared.
“His name can save a lost soul and can wipe away the tears from your eyes,” Gordon concluded. “God is not through with the United Methodist Church. There are still more souls to be saved.”
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