We have the lamentations that the church is not inclusive because it does not embrace the gay agenda that is seemingly pervading our national culture. We have the defenders of the the many institutionsand agencies that have become entrenched over the decades and that literally drain the local church of funds that could be used to evangelize. So, what’s left? What’s left is the segment of the church that truly wants to evangelize and win people to Christ. That’s the segment that gets lost in the shuffle, and consequently the UMC is looked upon as a dying church more caught up in the “social justice” movement than in the Great Commission.

Having been raised in a Methodist home and still being a member of a Methodist church, I have increasingly looked across the church aisles at other denominations. I can’t see myself going to any other dying, mainline denomination, and the free-for-all nature of the independent evangelical churches doesn’t attract me. I miss the great Protestant churches of the past that were commited to Christ and His call to go out into the world and preach the gospel. I am surprised to find myself looking at what might be the re-vitalization of the Roman Catholic Church and being intrigued by the committment of certain Catholics to Christ and their fervor with bringing others to know him. I’m just not ready to “cross the TIber” as they say.

For now, however, I remain in the UMC pew — confounded by the forces assailing this once great denomination, resisting strongly the pull of the national culture to dilute — and, in some instances — displace — the Gospel being preached in the church, and wondering how long the UMC will remain before it, too, like other mainline denominations, is torn asunder.

Whether it would help or not, I doubt that Andy’s suggestion will be allowed to take hold, at least similar attempts in the past have not. I prefer giving the general conference five percent of local church revenues. Let them live and die, rise and fall based on the giving of local churches. The same for the Annual Conference budgets.

Can dry bones live?

If our denomination is powered by money, rather than the Holy Spirit, then it should fail. I’m very sorry to say that I did not find much evidence of the Holy Spirit emanating from our denomination’s leadership or delegates during my two weeks at General Conference. The Holy Spirit was there, but outside the bar.

So why not listen to those people who have stated the ideas, missions, and works that they are focused on locally, and stop the “horn tooting” with all the “money money money” speeches?
If the local churches cannot do the mission within their communities, regions, etc, there will not be any reason to discuss money at any level – local, all the way up to general. =(

It is easy to blame the other general agencies for our decline, but they are not prohibiting bishops from organizing their conferences to foster congregational vitality, or keeping bishops from holding pastors accountable for effectiveness. I see no one holding the seminaries accountable for not training transformational leaders for the local church.