Not What I Expected

“This is not what I expected”, the young man said as he grabbed my hand and walked out of our sanctuary recently.

He quickly shared that he had been to other United Methodist Churches before his visit (in other communities) and that it was with reluctance he had even attended here on this particular Sunday morning. What he had not expected, he confessed, was spirited worship, a vibrant congregation and a church that came across as being on a mission. “This church is actually alive”, he continued.

All of which got me to thinking, how in the world would this not be what you would expect from a United Methodist Church? Or from any church, for that matter.

We were founded, after all, as a movement (not a denomination or church!) on fire for Jesus Christ. John Wesley, our founder, could scarcely take time to eat or sleep or do anything else because he was so anxious to share his faith with others.

One scholar, Stephen Tompkins, estimated that during his lifetime Wesley rode 250,000 miles on horseback and preached 40,000 sermons. He led a movement that by his death numbered over 150,000 people organized under 500 preachers. Methodism, at the time of his death, was the fastest growing religious movement in the world, and it was really just getting started in America.

John Wesley expected his preachers to connect the gospel of good news to the daily living of their audience. He was unafraid to address difficult topics (such as slavery and the rights of all people). He loathed dull preaching and proclaimed famously, “I set myself on fire (when I preach) and people come to watch me burn.” Methodist preaching was, and should be, alive and vibrant today.

The Methodist movement focused on caring for the needs of the communities it served. Food pantries and clothing centers, visiting the sick and imprisoned, offerings for the poor, and opportunities for children have always been at the center of our movement.

On the morning this young man visited our church, we were collecting food for our own food bank, advertising for the new clothing center in town, plugging another opportunity for children to learn about Jesus in our VBS daycamp coming up in the city park this summer, and asked people to give money to support our youth who are going on a mission trip this summer to help a community devastated by the ravages of a tornado.

Finally, it has always been our tradition to welcome and care for one another. Methodism has always emphasized care for those both within the Christian community, and those outside of it. We should warmly greet each other, inquire about their welfare, and care especially for the “strangers in our midst”.

These were and always will be the hallmarks of our Methodist heritage. I am glad that this young man found them to be the case at the church I am blessed to pastor. I am glad that neither he, or John Wesley, was disappointed! And I'm hoping that Jesus wasn't disappointed either, because He was there, too!

So, how is it at your church? And you don't have to be Methodist to claim this royal heritage. It works anywhere, anytime. Maybe those were after all the best words I could have heard that day - "This is not what I expected."