An Open Blog 6: Distractions from "The Main Thing." (Part One)

My friend and former conference Lay Leader, Larry Fagan, had a fondness for quoting a particular phrase.  Every Annual Conference included his reminder that we were being called upon to "Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing."  It's taken me a while to fully appreciate this concept, however I've come to realize that, as a pastor, this is my job.  I make it my task to be the person on point for the main thing.  Every congregation has a mission statement, that's the main thing.  As a pastor my job is to live out the mission statement in my daily life in such a way that I am both the example as well as the chief educator, equipper, and motivator moving the congregation toward the fulfillment of that mission.  My job is to keep the main thing the main thing.
At New McKendree I found that the mission statement was to "Make new disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world." As the leader of the main thing, if I find that the mission statement doesn't fulfill the gospel, then I should lead the congregation to change their missional focus.  In working with New McKendree, I've encouraged them to change their mission statement to drop one word.  I think it's become a more Wesleyan statement now.  It's become one I can lead toward.  It now reads "Make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world."  Did you catch the difference?  We'll come back to that difference in a little bit.
If it's my job to lead in the direction of the mission statement then it is fair that I should be measured by my fruitfulness toward it.  At the end of a day, how have I made disciples or led the congregation to do so?  At the end of a week, how have I made disciples or led the congregation to do so?  At year's end, how have I made disciples or led the congregation to do so?  That's how you lead in the direction of the mission, measure it.  But not only measure it, hold me accountable to it.  The Pastor Parish committee sets disciple making goals for me and every time we meet we ask how I'm doing.  At the end of the year, my effectiveness in the task is evaluated.  I not only have the job, but I'm accountable to it and measured by it.
Our Annual Conference has a mission statement. (When I speak of the Annual Conference here I'm referring to the Bishop, Staff, Mission Council, Teams, Committees and Boards.)  That mission statement is "Leading congregations to lead people to active faith in Jesus Christ."  I think it's fair that congregations ask about the effectiveness of the Annual Conference (AC) in accomplishing the mission.  Is our AC leading us to lead people to active faith in Jesus Christ?  In a lot of ways, I celebrate with a resounding "YES!"  Bishop Schnase's books have been the content of his messages to us, and his messages have become his books.  These words of wisdom have given our congregations very clear and measurable "practices".  Those practices are transferable to the individual as life practice, a modern day offering of the "Ordinances of God" in my interpretation.  He has pointed to which "levers" will effect change for the future of the collective of congregations as a whole and therefore, effect change for the individual congregation to be better able to lead people to active faith in Jesus Christ, the main thing.
I would point out that Bob Farr's work with congregational development has been nothing short of transformative.  New congregations are reaching new people in under served places.  HCI is changing our local churches from aimless decline to purposeful, missional serrvice.  I, and the congregations I've served, have benefited from the office of Pastoral Excellence through Pastoral Leadership Development.  These on-going learning experiences have done more to enhance my ministry leadership than the "continuing education units" we're required to accrue.  The office of Connectional Ministries has provided Safe Sanctuaries upgrades that are woefully under appreciated and the sessions of Annual Conference have become both a joy to attend and relevant to everyday ministry.  If you were to ask me if the AC is leading toward it's mission, I'd have to say "yes" and there are both measurables and reportables to show for it.
BUT.  Isn't there always a "BUT"?  I have an issue with our AC that has been a sticking point for a long time.  It's illustrated in New McKendree's mission statement and my edit.  It's "New."  My issue is with "New."  Is it that I am not interested in new disciples.  Of course not.  Ask the people at New McKendree, some would accuse me of having little other focus.  That would be unfair, but if perception is reality, I guess I'll lose that argument.  My issue with "new" is that it isn't Wesleyan.  Ours is the faith of a three-fold understanding of grace.  As such our ministries should be prevenient; actively bringing God's love out of the church building and into a world that has yet to embrace God's loving grace.  Our ministries should be justifying.  We should seek to present the Good News of God's atoning sacrifice through Jesus Christ.  Our message should seek ways to be so compelling that people would "flee from the wrath to come."  We should also be sanctifying in our activities, looking for ways to move our congregants deeper in their faith.  This movement toward Christian perfection is a hallmark of our theology and should be our ecclesiology as well.
I understand this push toward "new".  It's fair to say that our congregations have spent far too much time and energy on their own sanctification that they've missed the other two movements of grace.  I would also say that a great many of our activities in church were more about serving the self-centered focus of our membership than about real movement toward God's perfecting grace.  That feigned and shallow self-righteousness has fallen far short of God's sanctifying grace.  The way to move us back to real sanctification has been to swing the pendulum far away from self and put a laser focus on the people who haven't been recipient's of the churches purveyance of prevenience.  The feigned systems of sanctification need to be exorcised and the valuable systems of prevenient and justifying grace need to be exercised.  (Bob Farr's two books are great illustrators of what this should look like.  I commend them to you.)
The issue for me is that a truly Wesleyan ecclesiology would never swing a pendulum but insist upon all three.  Our congregations should be training grounds for God's grace.  Grace is the unmerited love of God.  That love is to be lived out in our lives through the great commandment to love God with our whole being (the self made up of heart, soul, mind and strength) and to love our neighbor with that very same being (the same self we have offered to God.)  The truth is that we can't parse out the difference between when prevenient grace ends,justifying grace kicks in, and sanctifying grace takes over.  That's because there isn't three graces.  There is one grace that we describe in three different ways.  The most mature of all Christ followers experiences God's prevenient grace in their daily life.  The most mature of all Christ followers recognizes their own deep need for the atoning sacrifice.  The most mature of all Christ followers seeks God's perfecting grace at all times and longs for nothing more.
So, tell me, with that theological construct, when does a "new" follower become less important?  When do they shift away from our focus?  "Making disciples" means focusing on all three.  If I seek only to make "new" disciples, I'll make a few; quite a few if I'm good.  But if I seek as my mission to make disciples "new" and not so new, then I'll be creating a whole congregation that is focused upon the task of the newness of a person just having that dawning of God's love, as well as aiding each other in the pursuit of being perfected in God's love.

What in the world does this have to do with camping and retreat ministries?  My sixth post will have to come in more than one part.  Stay tuned.... Oh, and thanks for reading.