Monday, June 15, 2020

WE, not I: A Plea from our NGA Bishop


“But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the part with less honor so that there won’t be division in the body and so the parts might have mutual concern for each other.  If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part gets the glory, all the parts celebrate with it.  You are the body of Christ and parts of each other.” (1 Corinthians 12:24-27, CEB)


As we approach the time on June 28 when we will re-open our facilities for Sunday morning worship, there are some important topics and concepts that I believe we as a church need not only to consider and be aware of, but to practice even more intentionally than before.  I talked about one of them in my previous blog article from last week titled “LOVE, not FEAR” (read it HERE if you haven’t yet). 

But late last week, Sue Haupert-Johnson, the Bishop of our North Georgia United Methodist Conference (aka “Bishop Sue”) shared a video plea for another concept that I believe is equally essential for our future as God’s church.  If you have not already watched/seen it, I want to invite, encourage, and in fact urge you do so.


In her video, she addresses not only issues related to the regathering/re-opening of our churches for in-person worship, but about the vital work that we must do as God’s people to end the scourge of racism.  She does this by calling attention to the important practice and understanding of the concept of “WE,” not only by the early church, but also by early Methodism, and by the church in America during the “Spanish Flu” pandemic of the early twentieth-century.

When we resist the cultural urge to think (and live) in terms of “I, me, and my,” it radically changes our perspective not only on life, but on the issues and relationships around us.  My prayer is that all of us can increasingly learn together to be a people that practice more “WE,” and less of a people who insist on “I, Me, and My” – to put the needs, cares and concerns of the those among us who are most vulnerable and who are hurting before our own.

While it's 24 minutes long, I urge you please to take time to watch the entire video, and then let the Holy Spirit speak to you about what she says. As you do so, please also remember that God loves you and I do, as well!

No comments:

Post a Comment