SCD Ideas

Nightline is one of few mainstream news shows that fairly portrays religious life in America.  This week the spotlight is put on Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill in Seattle.  Reaching over 8,000 on a weekend, he is delivering a message that is reaching young people in an area of the country that has the lowest worship attentance in the nation. 

One of the more controversial comments from the show states the following: 

Driscoll calls the mainstream church’s portrayal of Jesus “a hippie-Christ. A neutered and limp-wristed popular sky fairy of popular culture that would never talk about sin or send anyone to hell.” According to Driscoll, Jesus was an outcast who didn’t play by the rules.

“Jesus is typically portrayed as very effeminate guy, kind of long, flowing hair wearing a dress, always smiling, [making] pithy Zen statements that read like fortune cookies at a Chinese restaurant,” he said. “And the truth is that he was a construction worker. He was very controversial and got murdered.”

The image of Jesus as a rebel seems to strike a chord because the Mars Hill Church isn’t just growing by leaps and bounds — which it is — but it’s drawing in people who otherwise didn’t have much interest in organized religion.

Discoll’s comments is a challenge to mainstream congregations who are aging and losing young people rather than attracting them.  One thing that comes through loud and clear that what many might see as edgy comes off as “real” to those who are coming to his church.

So what do you think?  Link up to Nightline and watch the interview.  Then come back here and offer a comment.

Link to Nightline: http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/FaithMatters/Story?id=6711206&page=2

The U.S. Census has released new information that has great implications on the way we create new churches and transform the ministry of existing congregation.  Here are some facts that get your attention:

 - By 2042 the U.S population will reach 400 million, an increase from 305 million.  In short, we will increase 25% in the next 31 years.

- Also, by 2042 non-Hispanic whites will lose their majority status, much sooner than previously expected.

-  The growth in the immigrant population is much larger than previously reported, with dramatic growth among Hispanics/Latinos and Asians.

The challenge for the United Methodist Church is to gather our resources in such a way that we create new faith communities that connect to this growing population.  Both new churches and existing churches have great potential to connect with these growing populations. 

Next year’s School of Congregational Development which will be in Chicago, Wednesday, July 29 to Sunday, August 2, 2009,  is the next opportunity for congregations to bring teams so they can create the strategies they need to connect with the American reality of rapid population growth throughout much of our country.

Go to the link at USA Today to find interesting charts and information about the growth of the U.S. Population.  Also check out 7 Myths of the United Methodist Church (www.gbod.org/7myths) and Chapter Three: We Have Too Many Churches which talks about the 10 Megapolitians where most of the growth will take place.

Link to USATODAY:

 http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/census/2008-08-14-census_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

For those of you who will participating in this year’s School of Congregational Development, you are asked to bring information with you about the community where your church is located.  Using www.zillow.com, the real estate site that tells you an estimated value of homes in your area, you can easily find information about your community.  Use the instructions below and fill in the template to paint a quick picture of your community.  This is only a starting point.  Through the Research Office of GBGM  (http://new.gbgm-umc.org/about/us/ecg/research/profiles/) and other companies that provide demographic information you can get more detailed information about your church and your community.  So using this as a starting point, fill in the data below and bring the information with you.  This is material you will be able to use as you develop a Ministry Plan for your church.  You also can go to the Page button on the sidebar of this site, and get the chart as well.

Your Community Profile

1.  Go to www.zillow.com
2.  Type in your address or an address of a house in your
target area
3.  When you see the street address on the map, click on the address to see a
report on the value of the house
4.  Scroll to bottom where it says, “The main types of people are.”
Click on See  more   _________ data.
5.  On the left-hand side you will see a box.  Click on People and fill in the data  below:

Relationship Status:          Homes with Kids:
Married   _________       With Kids    _______
Single       _________     Without Kids _______
Widowed _________
Divorced  _________

Age Distribution        Commute Time
-10 _______            10 min or less    _______
10s _______            10-20 min.         _______
20s _______            20-30 min.        _______
30s _______            30-45 min.        _______
40s _______            45-60 min.        _______
50s _______            60 min or more _______
60s _______
>70 _______

                                                      Your Town    National
People Data
Median Household Income:____________/__________
Single Males:_______________________/__________
Single Females:_____________________/__________
Median Age:_______________________/__________
Homes With Kids:___________________/__________
Average Household Size:_____________/__________
Average Commute Time:_____________/__________

Who Lives Here? The Main types of people are:

In this neighborhood, a larger number of people have these
characteristics than in surrounding neighborhoods:

www.scdumc.org

The newest results of the Pew’s U.S. Religious Landscape Survey show an American populace that professes belief in God without having to pay the price of discipleship.  While 92% of people say they believe in God and 58% pray once a day, when it comes to living it out with others the numbers drop dramatically.  

While worship attendance tells one part of the story (see links to survey results below), the amount of influence religious belief has on daily living seems to be in decline.  For example, while 78% of Americans say there are “absolute standards of right and wrong” only 29% rely on their religion to determine these standards.  Only 14% say religion is the “main influence on political thinking.” Other questions in the survey talk about heaven and hell, preserving religious tradition, and salvation.

When seen as a whole, the answers point to a population who embraces the concept of spirituality without absolutes.  Belief is a good thing, but what you believe is up to the individual.  The final arbiter of what is right is not the church or the religious institution, but what seems to work in the moment. 

While this may appear to be a minefield for the leaders of Churches, this also gives the leader of a local church a unique opportunity to shape the spiritual life of people who participate in the life of his or her congregation.  Rather than coming with preconceived notions of what it means to be a Christian, people who participate in the life of the local faith community are open to learn what you have to offer.   The church finds itself in the teaching mode rather than the caretaking mode. 

Fifty years ago the assumption was that everyone was a Christian and all you had to do was to remind people to do the right things and to remember the creeds and prayers of the historic church.  Today it is normative for people in church to be surprised to learn about different kinds of prayer, or about the Trinity, or how a daily devotion can shape the spiritual life of their family.  The life of John Wesley and his brother Charles becomes a witness to those who have never heard the story.  The Book of Acts is a eye-opening account of the power of the Holy Spirit as the church was born.

What becomes attractive is a congregation who strangely enough is living what they are teaching.  It’s no mistake that many of our largest congregations have a well thought out strategy for teaching the basics of the Christian faith, for helping people experience many different types of worship, small groups, and prayer, and offer multiple opportunities to be in service to their communities and in mission to the world. While the results of the survey may appear to be discouraging it challenges the local church to step up its efforts to communicate the gospel message in a way that connects with people so that they may know the joy of Christian fellowship and following Jesus as part of a community of faith.

Go to these links to find some great interactive tools relating to the survey: 

http://usatoday.com/news/graphics/2008_pew_religion/flash.htm

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-06-23-pew-religions_N.htm

As United Methodist leaders gather in Fort Worth, Texas for the 2008 General Conference they will focus on a number of key issues related to the ongoing vitality of the denomination.  While the number of United Methodists has grown outside the United States, the U.S. Church has continued to decline in numbers.  In a paradoxical way, this ongoing loss of members is bringing leaders to a critical juncture in the life of the largest of the mainline denominations with just under 8 million members and over  34,000 local churches in the United States.  In order to connect with a younger, more diverse population it will need to have a major focus on starting new churches and revitalizing existing congregations. 
If you already have thousands of churches, why would you need more?  Because the population of the United States will grow by over 100 million people by 2050 and without new churches the UMC will not have an opportunity to offer ministry to a population that increasingly lives in urban America.
In 7 Myths of the United Methodist Church, I point out that in the best-selling book, The Tipping Point, the strategy of the John Wesley is highlighted.  Wesley realized that in order for people to grow in faith and practice as followers of Jesus Christ you have to create a community around them that would nurture them and encourage them in their faith journey.  Because of his strategy the Methodist movement exploded in the 1780s from 29 thousand to 90 thousand in the course of six years.  This principle holds true today.  Whether we are talking about Christian discipleship or educating our young people, without a community of people who care individuals easily get lost in our rapidly changing society.
The UMC is at another tipping point in its history.  While it is still strong and has great resources, by focusing on sharing the gospel to new generations of people both in the United States and around the world, it can create communities where individuals can flourish and mature in faith.  A choice for the future means focusing our efforts in a way that creates new faith communities that embrace newcomers with the grace and love of Jesus Christ.
For additional resources go to www.gbod.org\7myths