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Letters
cheers and jeers

Making disciples
I was sad to read Matt Linden’s letter published in the September/October 2003 issue of Good News. His New Jersey experience is not that of my Illinois Great Rivers Conference of the United Methodist Church. The emerging Hispanic congregations here do not in general “feel as though their experiences and opinions are marginalized within official United Methodism.”

I recently attended our Conference Hispanic Ministry Task Force where reports indicate growth in congregations, huge potential for future ministry, and a determination by the Conference Ministry Team and the Committee on Congregational Development to deploy our trained Hispanic Lay Missioners to additional areas where Hispanics live and work.

There are plans to offer in this district a Spanish Lay Speaking Ministries course. Local churches are becoming more acquainted with our Hispanic congregation and its spiritual leadership. A neighboring United Methodist Church has established a joint Sunday evening contemporary worship experience with the Hispanic congregation and recently hired a Spanish-speaking director of music for the experience. To generalize for the entire denomination from Mr. Linden’s experience is a grave error. We are making disciples!

Mike Eischen,
Champaign, Illinois
Iroquois River District
Illinois Great Rivers Conference

 

Do renewal people want renewal?
Duffy Robbins failed to give an adequate answer to the question, “What is Postmodernism?” Here’s my answer: A postmodern approach to the Bible would be to say that we read it as a document of its time, allowing contemporary science and cultural diversity to inform our interpretation of its meaning and relevance for our lives.

This means abandoning the outdated and ineffectual King James Christianity of our grandparents, and the Ptolemaic worldview that a literal reading of the Bible insists upon. It also means being accepting—as Jesus would—of people who are different from ourselves (yes, that includes those of other-than-heterosexual orientation), and being open to new revelations of the Holy Spirit’s work in the world.

Riley B. Case’s objections to United Methodism @ Risk amounted to just another whiney faltering protestation to the new movement of the Holy Spirit. The seven last words of the church are “We’ve never done it that way before.” I find it hard to believe that you “renewal” people really want renewal—I think what you really want is a return to ancient literalistic mindless obedience. I hear you saying “You Progressives have a lean and hungry look; they think too much; such people are dangerous.” Yes, the church is “@ Risk,” and stultifying conservative-evangelicalism is at the heart of that risk.

Ralph R. Barlow
First UM Church
of West Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California

 

Listen to the laity
I find it disturbing that the leadership of the UM Church has swept Bishop Joseph Sprague’s doctrinal belief under the carpet, and has applied pressure in wrongful ways to suppress complaints or charges against him. It certainly appears that way from the actions of the Supervisory Response Team to the group who had undertaken to complain against his beliefs. Who are these Team people? Are they not listening to the laity? Are they part of the “placement” of liberals into UM leadership as discussed in “Turning the Mainline Around” found in Christianity Today, July 25, 2003?

I judge no man, but feel compelled to question the beliefs Bishop Sprague, and others like him, espouses within our Body of Christ.

It amazes me that the common, ordinary folks of the church are allowing liberalism to gradually invade our churches and push God and the Word to the anteroom. Given enough time, parishioners will be told that if we want to learn more about God, or the Trinity, we can pick up a brochure in that same anteroom, next to the Upper Room subscriptions. Else, the sermon today will be on some political issue that has little resemblance to knowing God. Excuse me!

It’s sad that liberal leadership in our denomination, and others, is running rampant and using the current Episcopal homosexuality issue as a flashpoint to advance their cause. United Methodist pastors in my area are writing letters to the local newspaper editor saying that we should love our neighbor, no matter their belief or practice, and questioning the Word of God as authority for guiding our lives. I don’t buy that argument. We should love the person, but certainly not a practice that clearly contradicts God’s Word.

When, and how, do evangelical UM congregations stand up and profess that we have had enough of the “whatever-makes-you-feel-good” mentality of our leadership—national and local? Where is God, and the yearning of our members to learn more of the Bible, and Christ, in all of this debate? The liberals say love your neighbor, no matter. I say, love God, and teach his Word.

Jim Burgess
San Antonio, Texas

 

Goats’ clothing
If the United Methodist Church dies it won’t be because of the wolves in sheep’s clothing, it will be because of the goats in sheep’s clothing. Those who understand the problem and desert the church, instead of becoming leaders, are deserting the weaker sheep to be devoured by the wolves. Faithfulness is not avoiding the battle or finding where the battle has been won and going there, it is finding where the battle is and choosing to get into the middle of it. It is only then that we find out who’s side we are on and who we are and who’s we are (Matthew 25, The Sheep and the Goats).

Tom Sheets
Blue Ridge, Virginia



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