Prominent evangelical United Methodists touted biblical beliefs and spiritual revival at a “Rekindling the Flame of the Laity” conference at Lake Junaluska on June 30 – July 3, 2011. They urged the 158 attendees to remember that Jesus Christ is the foundation of the United Methodist Church, and that as the Church, they should not seek new agendas in lieu of biblical truth.
The unique conference was organized by the Southeastern Jurisdiction of the Methodist Church, and its purpose was “to provide an opportunity to experience Jesus Christ and to grow in the Christian Faith.” A number of speakers shared messages on the theme, “Christ’s Mission and Ours,” including Dr. Eddie Fox, Director of World Evangelism for the World Methodist Council, and Holston Conference Bishop, James Swanson. Retired large church pastors John Ed Mathieson and Bill Bouknight also preached.
The running theme of “Rekindling the Flame” was the necessity of active faith in Christ for a living church. Dr. Fox preached from Matthew 6:13-20, where Jesus says that Peter is the rock his church will be built upon, and that Hell shall not prevail against it. He said that “we must have a living foundation to have a living church … if our movement is alive, it will rest upon Christ Jesus the cornerstone,” and that is an “absolute necessity or else we are simply a dead sect.”
Fox explained that resting upon Christ Jesus requires adherence to biblical truth, but “we live in a culture that thinks that if you get enough people that have the same opinion, that equals truth.” What matters though, “is whether we are faithful to the authority of scripture and the teaching that is given to us in this book.” Unfortunately, “there are places in our movement that suffer from truth decay,” and this has disrupted the church’s biblical purpose. Fox said that he was “rather tired of political jargon in the church,” and urged attendees to be faithful to the call of the Great Commission. There is hope though, as Fox said he has “believed for a long time that if we teach people what Jesus taught, if we baptize them in the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, this world will be transformed.”
Dr. Bill Bouknight, former pastor of Christ UMC in Memphis, TN expressed similar concerns about the current state of United Methodism. He said that “all of us are equally sinners,” so “why is it you so seldom hear the word ‘sin’ anymore from Methodist pulpits?” He explained the urgency of the situation, as “sin is the only disease on earth that can not only ravage us here, but separate us from God for all eternity.” He said that “some modern folks are offended by talk about the blood of Jesus … they wish God had found a more antiseptic way to save the world.” Bouknight asked, “If you take the heart of the Gospel out, what have you got?” To renew the United Methodist Church he said, “We must stop denying the atonement.”
Instead of denying the existence of sin and humanity’s need of a savior as many do today, Bouknight emphasized that “the ground is level at the foot of the cross,” and that “our Lord Jesus is an equal opportunity savior.” He spoke from Romans 3:9-19, which clearly states that all are equally under the bondage of sin, and said that “all of us need the forgiveness and transformation that only Christ can bring.”
Bishop James Swanson of the Holston Conference preached a lively sermon on the necessity of a “serving faith.” He stressed that the “reason we do what we do is not just because we want to be good, but because a good man died.” He emphatically said that “if we are really serious about rekindling the flame [we need to] use what God has already placed in us.” Serving others is not about creating new agendas and programs, but Christians ought to serve “because Jesus has touched your life, you now cannot get away from the responsibility that God is calling you to touch the lives of somebody else.” Swanson urged the congregation to recognize that they “are called to serve God,” and that there are many hurting people in their own communities who need to know God’s love. This service need not be hindered by things we perceive as obstacles, Bishop Swanson said, as God will “remove those things stopping you from doing what you want to do.”
The conference theme, “Christ’s Mission and Ours,” was apparent throughout the messages as the speakers stressed that affirming the truth scripture is essential for a living and growing United Methodist church. Although the stakes are high, the tone was optimistic, as Dr. Fox reminded everyone that “evil never has the last word.”
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