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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodists together |
March 2006 |
Welcome
Let us speak and act with humility and conviction
Our faith needs to exhibit care and concern for individuals just as Jesus cared for those whom he met and taught. |
This Lent, the church I attend asked me to lead a six-part discussion series on "Confronting the Controversies: Biblical Perspectives on Tough Issues" based on a book by the same title written and revised by Adam Hamilton, pastor of The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in suburban Kansas City, Mo. Because of my ongoing interest in social issues and how we, as the church, influence the society in which we live, I agreed to lead the group.
Upon reading Hamilton's book, I found that I don't agree fully with him on all of these issues - separation of church and state, creation and evolution, the death penalty, euthanasia, prayer in public schools, abortion and homosexuality - but I wholeheartedly agree with his approach. He approaches each issue, originally as a sermon in a series of sermons, with humility and conviction. Each is approached in a biblical perspective and engages Scripture, tradition, experience and reason - more commonly referred to as John Wesley's Quadrilateral.
During this six-week series, I also will introduce the Social Principles of the church. Through the years, I have found that many of United Methodists don't know about our Social Principles which contain the official stance of The United Methodist Church on the major social issues that confront us today. Those principles are found in The United Methodist Book of Discipline and also online at www.umc-gbcs.org - the Web site of the General Board of Church and Society.
Too often, we, as the church, tend to divide ourselves on controversial issues, rather than hearing each other with understanding. Too often, we are more concerned about voicing our view or winning the debate than being concerned about the church, its members and those whom we have pledged to make disciples for Jesus Christ. Remember the word the Apostle Paul who wrote, "now faith, hope and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13). He wrote these words to a church in conflict about speaking in tongues - a first century church issue.
Humility with conviction also means open to God's Holy Spirit, open to listening to others and open to change. I believe the faith Jesus gave to us was a dynamic living faith rather than static dogmatic beliefs. Our faith needs to exhibit care and concern for individuals just as Jesus cared for those whom he met and taught. Loving our neighbor, loving our fellow United Methodist is not waiting until he fixes himself up enough to merit our attention, or giving her more time to come around to our point of view. Our stance on social issues needs to be secondary to God's reign in our lives.
Lent provides us with an annual opportunity to examine our ways in light of the Gospel. Lent provides us with an opportunity to reflect upon our convictions and share those convictions with humility, not that our viewpoint becomes the dominant viewpoint but that God's reign may be realized in our church and reflected as an example to our society.
For 240 Hoosier United Methodists, Lent means assisting a congregation and community in D'Iberville, Miss., in building the Seashore District Volunteer Center. Our prayers go with these volunteers in mission as we support them financially with our gifts. Through our good works of the future, this volunteer center also may become an evangelistic center for Heritage United Methodist Church on whose property it resides. Workers pour the slab as we go to press.
In this issue, you also will find stories about the new operating room and surgical ward at Kissy Hospital in Sierra Leone built by Hoosier United Methodists; the forwarding of plans to each of our two annual conference sessions for a new United Methodist Indiana Conference to replace our existing North and South Indiana Conferences; words of encouragement from the recent World Council of Churches Ninth Assembly in Porto Alegre, Brazil; and a new church-wide program to call young people into ordained ministry.
These are the fruits of the Spirit that make differences in the lives of people. Let us be passionate about what we believe and how we show our belief by our good works, and let us do so with humility as Jesus gave himself humbly for our salvation.
Welcome,
Daniel R. Gangler
Editor's Note: Confronting the Controversies: Biblical Perspectives on Tough Issues by Adam Hamilton is available through Cokesbury by logging on to www.cokesbury.com or by calling toll-free 1-800-672-1789.A leader's guide is also available.
Last updated on 25 Apr 2008