by Steve | May 31, 2024 | Home Page Hero Slider
Côte d’Ivoire votes to leave denomination
Only few days before the 2024 General Conference of the United Methodist Church was held in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bishop Thomas Bickerton of New York told his fellow bishops that they should be prepared for big changes – utilizing phrases such as “seismic shift” and “next expression of United Methodism.”
“Needless to say, this is a moment in time when we will not only see some of the dust settle, but we’ll also see new dust storms arise,” Bickerton predicted.
One month after the closing of the 2024 General Conference in Charlotte, “Members of the Côte d’Ivoire Conference, meeting in special session on May 28, voted to leave The United Methodist Church” reported UM News. What follows is the full news brief.
ABIDJAN, Côte d’Ivoire (UM News) — Members of the Côte d’Ivoire Conference, meeting in special session on May 28, voted to leave The United Methodist Church. The decision comes after the denomination’s General Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, where delegates voted on several changes, including the wording of the church’s definition of marriage and the removal of restrictive language regarding LGBTQ people, as well as approved a regional structure that now will go to the annual conferences for a vote. The Côte d’Ivoire Conference was provisionally received into the denomination at the 2004 General Conference and fully received in 2008. It automatically became one of the denomination’s largest conferences and last reported more than 1 million professing members. (links added)
According to news reports, the annual conference passed a resolution stating — among other things — that the “new” United Methodism “stands on its own socio-cultural context and has compromised its doctrinal and disciplinary integrity,” and that it “has walked away from the Holy Scriptures, is no longer compatible with the Ivory Coast Annual Conference.”
The May 28 resolution goes on to state that the “Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire) Annual Conference … by reason of conscience and following God and his Word, supreme authorities in matters of faith and life, resolves to leave the United Methodist Church.”
In 2019, Good News magazine utilized Heather Hahn’s fantastic UM News reporting for a cover story Where Methodism Flourishes, for further background, please read Tim Tanton’s UM News piece A brief history of Methodism in Côte d’Ivoire from 2009.
by Steve | May 5, 2024 | Home Page Hero Slider, In the News, Perspective / News
A Tale of a New Church
By Thomas Lambrecht
The story of the 2024 General Conference meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, is the story of a new church being born. Two years ago this month, the Global Methodist Church was born, and it is growing and maturing quickly. This month a new United Methodist Church was born, one that is wedded to a more progressive understanding of the Bible and theology. As the conference ends today, it is appropriate to assess how that took place.
In years past, the UM Church was deeply divided between traditionalists and progressives. The 2019 General Conference in St. Louis demonstrated this divide by approving the traditional understanding of marriage and human sexuality by only 53 to 46 percent. By contrast, the new definition of marriage passed by the 2024 General Conference received 78 percent support.
What caused the shift?
First, in the aftermath of the St. Louis conference, many U.S. annual conferences made a concerted effort to elect progressive delegates to the next General Conference. This was a reaction to, and rejection of, the traditional direction chosen in St. Louis. It was accompanied by widespread avowals of disobedience to what the General Conference had decided and fostered the realization that the UM Church was in an untenable impasse.
Second, the General Conference was postponed, not once or twice, but three times. The third postponement was widely seen by traditionalists as a ploy to avoid the adoption of a plan of amicable separation. It led directly to the formation of the Global Methodist Church in 2022. In response, over 7,600 U.S. churches disaffiliated, leading to a dramatic decline in the remaining number of traditionalist delegates to General Conference, as many strong leaders exited the denomination.
Third, the General Conference staff did not do the work necessary to gather the information on delegate elections from annual conferences in Africa. Due to a variety of challenges, including the illness of key persons and slowness (or lack of understanding) in responding to requests for forms, the staff did not have the necessary information to send out letters of invitation soon enough to enable delegates to secure visas to travel to the U.S. for the conference. The staff could have done more to gain the needed information, including trips to Africa to meet with leaders there, but declined to do so. As a result, between 70 and 100 African delegates (most of whom would have been traditionalist voices and votes) were not able to obtain visas to attend the conference.
As a result, instead of the previous 53 to 46 percent majority, traditionalists at this General Conference were outnumbered, 78 to 22 percent. This gave the progressive-centrist coalition the votes they needed to run the table on their LGBTQ-affirming agenda.
What changed?
The General Conference has changed the denomination’s definition of marriage. Previously, we “affirmed the sanctity of the marriage covenant that is expressed in love, mutual support, personal commitment, and shared fidelity between a man and a woman.” Now, our Discipline “affirm[s] marriage as a sacred lifelong covenant that brings two people of faith (adult man and woman of consenting age; and or two adult persons of consenting age) into union with one another.”
This new, confused definition of marriage allows for multiple options. It preserves the ability of some to say marriage is the union of one man and one woman, while at the same time opening the door to say marriage is between any two people, including those of the same gender. This second definition is a direct contradiction of Scripture (Genesis 2:23-24; Matthew 19:4-6). It puts the UM Church in the situation of having conflicting, incoherent definitions of marriage.
The conference made further changes to our understanding of human sexuality and its proper role. Previously, we stated that “Although all persons are sexual beings whether or not they are married, sexual relations are affirmed only with the covenant of monogamous, heterosexual marriage.” This language was taken out of the Discipline at this conference, and it now reads, “We affirm human sexuality as a sacred gift and acknowledge that sexual intimacy contributes to … nurturing healthy sexual relationships that are grounded in love, care, and respect. … We further honor the diversity of choices and vocations in relation to sexuality such as celibacy, marriage, and singleness. We support the rights of all people to exercise personal consent in sexual relationships, to make decisions about their own bodies.”
It seems the new moral guidelines for sexual relationships are love, care, respect, and consent. Gone is any understanding of the moral purpose of human sexuality to cement the marriage bond and enhance the relationship between husband and wife.
In addition, the qualifications for clergy previously required “fidelity in marriage and celibacy in singleness.” This has now been changed to “faithful sexual intimacy expressed through fidelity, monogamy, commitment, mutual affection and respect, careful and honest communication, mutual consent, and growth in grace and in the knowledge and love of God.” While all these qualities are good, this removes the requirement for sexual abstinence before marriage and further dilutes the church’s moral standards. It is unclear how “fidelity” or “monogamy” applies to single persons or what the sexual ethic for single clergy persons is.
The chargeable offenses for immorality and not being celibate in singleness or faithful in a heterosexual marriage were removed. There is therefore no formal way to hold clergy persons accountable for committing immorality.
Homosexuality
Previously, our Discipline stated, “We affirm that all persons are individuals of sacred worth, created in the image of God. All persons need the ministry of the Church in their struggles for human fulfillment, as well as the spiritual and emotional care of a fellowship that enables reconciling relationships with God, with others, and with self. The United Methodist Church does not condone the practice of homosexuality and considers this practice incompatible with Christian teaching. We affirm that God’s grace is available to all.”
That language has now been removed, and the church takes no formal position on the morality of homosexual relationships. However, in other changes, the church now allows for “the full inclusion of LGBTQ people in church life,” as reported by UM News Service.
- Married or partnered gays and lesbians may now be ordained as clergy, appointed as pastors, and consecrated as bishops.
- Pastors may perform same-sex weddings and churches may host such services.
- Pastors may not be penalized for performing same-sex weddings, nor may they be penalized for refusing to perform them.
- Church funds may now be spent to promote the acceptance of homosexuality. However, funds may NOT be spent in a way that “rejects LGBTQIA persons” or in dialogues where the traditional perspective is presented. This provision seems to exclude church participation in ministry that seeks to help persons deal with unwanted same-sex attractions, and it certainly inhibits the traditional perspective from being perceived as a viable alternative in understanding Scripture.
- LGBTQ persons must be included in the membership of all general church boards and agencies.
The cumulative effect of all these changes is to change the UM Church from a denomination that stood on the scriptural position that sex is for marriage between one man and one woman to a denomination that affirms sexual relations between persons of the same gender and also outside of marriage.
Regionalization
There is a definite disconnect between the understanding of sexual morality by the progressive-centrist United States and the traditionalist understanding of Africa and the Philippines. Progressives and centrists believe that the way around this is to adopt a regionalized form of church governance. This would allow each region of the church to adopt its own rules and policies, including those related to marriage, sexuality, and clergy qualifications.
In conjunction with our African partners, Good News has argued that this approach is misguided and could lead to the weakening of the United Methodist connection. It certainly imposes a burden on Africans and Filipinos to develop their own Discipline, while still being tainted by being part of a libertine denomination.
However, these arguments were rejected by the delegates in Charlotte. They passed the regionalization proposal by a 78 percent margin. It still needs ratification by two-thirds of the annual conference members, which may or may not happen. If ratified, it would go into effect in 2026.
Disaffiliation
The primary goal of Good News at the General Conference was to advocate for an exit path for local churches. Churches outside the U.S. were not given the same opportunity to disaffiliate that we had in the U.S. At the same time, about a dozen annual conferences in the U.S. imposed very high costs for disaffiliation that prevented most churches from leaving. There was also a proposal for a streamlined process for annual conferences outside the U.S. to disaffiliate as a whole annual conference.
Unfortunately, all attempts to include a formal disaffiliation pathway failed. The removal of Par. 2553, the local church disaffiliation pathway, prevailed with 72 percent in favor. We had hoped that some fair-minded centrists or progressives would be willing to support some form of disaffiliation. In that hope we were disappointed.
There is no question that the UM Church is a new and different denomination today than it was in 2019. The General Conference actions have formalized an evolving consensus among the progressive and centrist parts of the church, and reveals they are completely in control of the denomination. Pastors and church members will need to decide if the new direction of the denomination reflects the church they want to belong to and support. Unfortunately, avenues for disaffiliation that allow churches to keep their property (especially in the U.S.) are limited. Some congregations may need to be willing to walk away from their buildings in order to pursue ministry in the way they feel called by God to do so. The fight may be over in the UM Church, but the struggle to carry on biblically faithful ministry is just beginning.
Thomas Lambrecht is a United Methodist clergyperson and vice president of Good News. Photo: Over 700 delegates to the 2024 United Methodist General Conference work on church business in Charlotte, N.C. Friday May 3, 2024. Photo by Larry McCormack, UM News.
by Steve | Apr 11, 2024 | Home Page Hero Slider, In the News
Fondly Remembering Carolyn Elias (1931-2024)
The Good News staff and board of directors were saddened to hear of the passing of our longtime friend and treasured colleague, Carolyn Parrish Elias (1931-2024). The Good News Board of directors presented its eighth annual Edmund W. Robb, Jr. United Methodist Renewal Award to Carolyn Elias at its fall meeting in November 2010. The award, named after long-time Good News board member and renewal leader, Dr. Ed Robb, is given to a United Methodist who has made a significant and lasting contribution to renewal within the United Methodist Church.
“Carolyn was a thoroughly unique woman of deep faith with a zest and flare for life – she was a joy to be with. She loved her husband, Barney, and their entire family, studying the Bible, reforming the Methodist church, and cheering for Razorback football,” said Steve Beard, editor of Good News. “She will be deeply missed by all of us who loved her.”
Elias was a leader in the evangelical Methodist renewal movement in the Central Illinois Conference before she and her husband, Barney, moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 1991. She became active in the First United Methodist Church. She worked with the Good News General Conference team in 1988 in St. Louis, 1992 in Louisville, and 1996 in Denver.
In 2000, Carolyn was elected a lay delegate to the General Conference—in fact, she was the first lay person elected in her delegation. “Carolyn’s election as the first lay delegate in the North Little Rock Conference after a decade of serving as a member of the Good News board and being actively involved with the Renew Network was really remarkable! It spoke clearly about her ability to be a firm and gracious witness to her evangelical faith while also working effectively with others who might not necessarily agree with her theological commitments,” said the Rev. James V. Heidinger II, Good News President and Publisher emeritus, who made the presentation to Elias at the board meeting banquet. (Elias became an honorary life member of the Good New Board of Drirectors in 2001.)
Carolyn served as Chair of the Conference Episcopacy Committee for Bishop Janet Riggle Huey and also was on the South Central Jurisdiction Committee on Episcopacy, the group charged with the important quadrennial task of assigning bishops for the entire jurisdiction. She was again elected a General Conference delegate in 2004.
Ever since moving to Hot Springs, Elias has been an important part of the leadership of the Evangelical Fellowship in the conference, which now is referred to as the Arkansas Confessing Movement. She has had the responsibility of arranging the morning breakfast meeting of the fellowship at annual conference.
In addition to her United Methodist involvement, Carolyn was, for 13 years, a leader in Bible Study Fellowship in North Little Rock. She also started a spin-off of BSF, called Explorers Bible Study, with as many as 300 women involved at one time. That Bible study continues.
“In Carolyn, we see a mature, gracious, theologically-grounded, and discerning United Methodist laywoman. She is highly respected by all who have worked with her. She has a warm, kind spirit but Carolyn can also be firm when firmness is needed,” Heidinger said to board members, family, and guests attending the 2010 banquet on the campus of Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky.
-Good News Media Service. This is adapted from a story about Carolyn in hrt eJanury/February 2011 issue of Good News. Archive Photo: James v. Heidinger II, Carolyn Elias, and Rob Renfroe in 2010. Photo by Steve Beard.
by Steve | Dec 22, 2023 | Home Page Hero Slider, In the News
Mary’s Devoted Heart
By Dick McClain
Growing up, I don’t recall having heard a sermon on Mary, the mother of Jesus. She did get dusted off every December for the Christmas pageant. But apart from her annual appearance reincarnated in the form of a budding young thespian, she hardly existed. Perhaps the folks in my evangelical Protestant circle felt that the Catholics went a little too far.
While I’ve never been accused of tilting toward Rome, somewhere along the line I began to suspect that we were being robbed by our silence about Mary. After all, the woman God chose to become the mother of our Lord just might have something to say to us today.
Which brings up another point. Not only did I not hear much about Mary; I didn’t hear much about any of the women of the Bible. When they were presented, it was only in the context of their being a model for women, never for men. The implication was that the male heroes of the faith – Moses, Joshua, David, Peter, and all the rest – were role models for all Christians, men and women alike. But the female heroes of the Bible – Deborah, Naomi, Ruth, and Priscilla – were only models of Christian womanhood.
I ditched that idea.
All of this leads me to suggest two things. First, Mary’s life is worth studying and emulating. Secondly, she is a good model for my entire family, both male and female.
In the first two chapters of Luke, there are fascinating insights into the quality of Mary’s life and faith. Her godliness was evident in a number of traits that we would do well to pattern.
Faith in God. Who comes to mind when you think of biblical examples of faith? I’ll bet you immediately thought of Abraham. Not a bad pick, considering the fact that he believed some rather unbelievable things God told him. But have you thought about the message Gabriel brought to Mary?
Mary was a teenage girl from a poor family who lived in an obscure village in a tiny nation which itself was under subjection to a foreign power. One day an angel came to her with a message from God.
She had found favor with God; she would give birth to a Son whom she was to name Jesus; her baby would be called the Son of the Most High and would sit on David’s throne forever; his kingdom would never end; and all this was going to happen without her ever having sexual relations with a man.
Now, be honest. Would you have believed that?
The remarkable thing is that Mary did! In fact, her cousin, Elizabeth, greeted her as “She who believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished” (Luke 1:45).
That’s real faith! She was willing to take God at his word, even when what he said didn’t square with anything her experience told her to be true. We too must choose to believe God if we are to be godly people.
A surrendered life. Perhaps you have read Mary’s story, sensed the unparalleled excitement of what she was experiencing, tried to put yourself in her place, and concluded, “Wouldn’t it have been glorious to be Mary!”
But stop and think about it. How could she tell Joseph, to whom she was already legally betrothed? Although they had not yet begun living together, they were considered married and could be separated only through divorce. Don’t you think the prospect of suspicion flashed through her mind? It must have. Under similar circumstances, most of us would have asked the Lord to find someone else to do the job.
But not Mary. Her answer to the angel was a model of submission. “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said” (Luke 1:38).
Why was she so ready to submit? Because she understood herself to be God’s servant. Maybe the reason we are so prone to resist God is that we see him as our servant. We’ve got it backwards. We need to come to see, as Mary did, that God is God and not just some spiritual genie that we hope will magically fulfill our every whim.
A life of unassuming humility. One thing about Mary in those Christmas pageants that always struck me was her willingness to go without complaint to the stable.
Not me! If I had been Mary, I probably would have said, “Listen here, buster! This baby I’m about to have is no ordinary child. He is God’s Son and your King. We deserve better than this!”
In Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor” (Luke 6:20). Mary was poor. We know that because of the sacrifice she and Joseph offered when they presented Jesus at the temple. Since they fell below the poverty line, they qualified to give a pair of doves or two young pigeons, rather than bringing the customary lamb (see Luke 2:24 and Leviticus 12:8).
I don’t buy into the notion that God loves poor people and hates rich folks, or that the impoverished are constitutionally spiritual, while the wealthy are hopelessly ungodly. But I do know that amidst our affluence we have adopted an inflated sense of our own importance, rights, and prerogatives. Consequently, we have concluded that the world owes us a lot; other people owe us a lot; and God also owes us a lot. We have a bad case of inflated expectations.
The answer is not quitting our jobs and signing up for welfare. But if we are serious about godliness, we, like Mary, must relinquish our rights, surrender our demands, and accept whatever God gives.
Faithfulness in spiritual disciplines. Unlike many people today, Mary didn’t treat spiritual things casually.
When it came time to present Jesus at the temple, Joseph and Mary headed for Jerusalem (Luke 2:22). Only after they “had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord” did they return home (2:39). And when Passover season came, they went up to Jerusalem “every year” (2:41).
The implication is that Mary wasn’t one to shirk her spiritual responsibilities. It’s easy for us to neglect spiritual disciplines. Average annual worship attendance in the United Methodist Church typically limps along at less than half the membership. Many Christians would recoil at the suggestion that we should actually part with 10 percent of our income. I’m reminded of a cartoon that pictured a church sign that read: “The Original Lite Church: Home of the 3 Percent Tithe and the 45 Minute Worship Hour – 50 Percent Less Commitment Required.”
Sincerely godly people don’t neglect the Word or worship, prayer or tithing. They don’t treat spiritual disciplines cavalierly.
Spiritual sensitivity. Read Mary’s song, recorded in Luke 1:46-55. It’s more than magnificent. It is the overflow of a heart that was accustomed to communion with God.
How did Mary come to be so spiritually alert? Luke gives us a clue.
Following the shepherds’ visit, we are told that Mary “treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart” (2:19). And when Mary and her family returned to Nazareth from their trip to Jerusalem for Passover when Jesus was twelve, we read that she “treasured all these things in her heart” (2:51).
Mary managed to carve time out of her busy life to ponder the deeper significance of what was taking place. She took time to pray, to meditate, and to reflect on what God was doing.
Most of us do not decide one day that we don’t want to be in tune with God. We don’t decide not to pray. We just let the priceless treasure of communion with God slip unnoticed through our fingers.
Spiritual sensitivity is not inherited, it is acquired through spending time with God. To borrow Terry Teykl’s phrase, Mary “prayed the price.” If we want to experience true godliness, we must do the same.
In trusting God, surrendering her life, giving up her rights, and learning to listen to the Spirit, Mary set an example for us all to follow.
Was she a super saint? No. Did she demonstrate sinless perfection? Not likely. But a devoted follower of God? You can be sure of it.
We can be the same.
Dick McClain is the former CEO of The Mission Society (now TMS Global). He is retired in Leadville, Colorado, with his wife Pam. This article originally appeared in Good News in 2003. Art by Kateryna Shadrina (Iconart-gallery.com).
by Steve | Dec 8, 2023 | Home Page Hero Slider, Nov-Dec 2023
Prison Evangelism Transforms Inmates –
By Kudzai Chingwe –
HARARE, Zimbabwe (UM News)
Editor’s note: For security purposes, only the first names of incarcerated individuals have been used.
In an effort to share God’s love with those in need, The United Methodist Church brought hundreds of prisoners at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison to Christ. The prison is known for incarcerating men who have committed violent crimes such as murder, carjacking, human trafficking, sexual offenses, treason, and robbery.
The Church and Society committee of The United Methodist Church’s Harare East District in Zimbabwe led the prison fellowship ministry.
The Rev. Timiyo Chuma, the provincial prison chaplain, said he is grateful for the church’s outreach. “The transformation of inmates is a process and is a culmination of the work of many stakeholders and interventions. However, the effort of The UMC was amazing. It was physical, material and spiritual.”
The Rev. Oscar Nyasha Mukahanana, Harare East District superintendent, said after preaching and worshipping and receiving supplies from the church, 200 inmates offered their souls to Christ. “Two weeks later, the church was invited to witness their fruits as 350 inmates were baptized,” he said.
“The event was very emotional and exciting as I preached to the inmates from Matthew 25:35-37, which defines why we were at the prison as a church,” Mukahanana said. “The purpose was to evangelize and encourage them to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, regardless of the gravity or heinousness of their crimes, geographical location and age.”
He said it is the church’s mandate to express God’s love through visiting and sharing with those in prisons. “It was through God’s grace that in my 25 years in ministry, I experienced such a response of 200 people (inmates) offering their souls to Christ at once. What a big catch,” he said.
The Rev. David Mupaya, Harare East District connectional ministries chairperson, said evangelism is about using every opportunity to spread the Word. “Together with inmates, we danced (and) beat the drums as we praised and worshipped God, and we got instant results.”
Charity Nhira, Harare East District Church and Society chairperson, said after the service, gifts were distributed to the prisoners. The church brought toilet paper, toothpaste and toothbrushes, soap, lotion, footwear, books, buckets and food valued at $5,000. “There was wild cheering as the inmates appreciated our intervention,” she said. “When under incarceration, society shuns them, relatives desist from visiting them, uncertainty about the future engulfs many. Stress and depression develops, and the church becomes the family.”
Dr. Andrew Chigudu, Harare East District lay leader, said the donations show the love of Jesus. “Those who have wronged society and been rehabilitated needed another chance to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior. The church came to accommodate all people, because all sinners were only saved by the blood of Jesus Christ,” he said. “The UMC’s gesture was a sign of love.”
Maplan Kakoto, Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison superintendent, said the donations are appreciated. “As government, we are facing a host of challenges, including lack of access to basic needs like water and utensils for inmates. Without the support from stakeholders, life will be very difficult for inmates, hence we treasure UMC’s contributions,” he said. “By wanting to be baptized, it means they want to be identified by Jesus Christ … (and) transformed for the better.”
Kakoto said the work of the church helps with the rehabilitation of inmates and their re-entry into society. “Remember, after the sentence they will join the society which they need to blend well with,” he said.
Gibson Munangwa, Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison chief correctional officer, agreed. “Activities such as the baptism of inmates helps them to fear God as they are prepared to be law-abiding citizens,” he said. “We are very grateful to the partners who are funding programs, especially in terms of the needs in the rehabilitation of inmates. Your support as UMC has been so generous and appreciated,” he said.
Peace, 22, who is serving a jail term of eight years, appreciated the baptisms and said he wants to be a righteous person before God. “If I go out, I will go to church and desist from evil things.”
Martin, 50, who is serving 20 years, said he is born again. “I want to be a pastor when I go out in the society.”
Phillip, 44, is serving a life sentence. “When I was in the society, I was doing evil things. Therefore, the teachings and sermons which we received led me to accept the sacrament of baptism. This makes me a new creation.” He said, however, the prison does not have enough Bibles and other reading materials. “We would be very grateful if we could have reading materials because we need to know more about Christ,” he said.
Tenson, 47, who was sentenced to 80 years in prison, said he has been transformed in jail. “I did not believe in Jesus Christ and now I am a believer. I want to help others as well in knowing Jesus Christ,” he said.
Partson Majoko, Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison chaplain, said he was impressed by the number of baptisms. “This is an indication of one’s personal identification with the greatest act of human history: the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You become a new creation.”
Edington, 24, who is serving a 10-year sentence, said his family doesn’t visit. “I committed a heinous crime within the family and no family member is willing to be associated with me,” he said, adding that the church’s involvement is an answered prayer.
Ranch, 40, who is serving a 13-year sentence, said he does not have any visitors so he is happy with the intervention of the church. “The coming of (The) UMC is like a messenger from God, who follows the Word with action.”
Kudzai Chingwe is a communicator for the Zimbabwe East Conference. To donate money for Bibles for inmates at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison, contact The United Methodist Church’s Harare East District by email, hedumc@comone.co.zw. Photo: Chaplain Jefat Zhou baptizes one of 350 inmates christened at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison in Harare, Zimbabwe, on July 28. The baptisms were part of a United Methodist prison ministry led by of the Harare East DistrictÕs Church and Society Committee. Photo by Prudence Choto, Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison.
by Steve | Dec 8, 2023 | Home Page Hero Slider, Nov-Dec 2023
Following the Lead of the Healer –
By Stephen Seamands –
Healing played an essential part in Jesus’s three-year earthly ministry. In fact, along with teaching and preaching, it was one of his three major activities. The Gospel of Matthew sums up Jesus’s ministry in Galilee like this: “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness” (9:35, emphasis added; cf. 4:23-24).
Not only did Jesus heal, but he insisted that his disciples and followers heal as well. Sending them out two by two, he “gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness” (Matt. 10:1), and he commanded them to “heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons” (Matt. 10:8). And they did.
But what happened after Jesus died, rose, and ascended into heaven? Did his ministry of healing come to an abrupt end? Definitely not. It merely assumed a different shape. Now Jesus’s healing ministry, like his preaching and teaching ministry, continues on earth through his body, the church.
The healing ministry to which we are called is not primarily our ministry but Christ’s. What we are called to do is to participate in the ongoing healing ministry of Jesus Christ.
Luke emphasized this at the very beginning of the book of Acts. In his first book (the Gospel of Luke) he said that he wrote about “all that Jesus began to do and teach” (Acts 1:1, emphasis added). Notice he didn’t say “all that Jesus did and taught” as we might expect. That’s because Luke was convinced that Jesus’s ministry on earth didn’t end when he ascended into heaven. In reality, it had only just begun. The reason Luke was writing this second book (Acts) was to tell the story of the ongoing ministry of Jesus through his apostles and his followers.
So this seemingly insignificant phrase – “All that Jesus began to do and teach” – is actually extremely significant. We are called to participate in his ongoing ministry of healing, to join him in his ministry rather than asking him to help us carry out ours. He is the healer – not us. Our job is to follow the Healer.
Because of our deep-seated tendency as fallen human beings to put ourselves at the center of everything, to make things about ourselves, we must be constantly reminded of this. Healing ministry is not primarily your ministry. It’s not about Jesus helping you as you minister to others; it’s about you joining him as he continues his ministry of healing through you.
Why this matters so much. This foundational truth about healing ministry has profound practical implications. I’ll tell you about four of them.
First, it shapes the way we pray as we engage in healing ministry. As we prepare for healing ministry, we often pray “Lord, help me” prayers. For example, “Lord, they’ve asked me to pray with people who come forward to request prayer for healing during the Communion service this Sunday at church. Would you help me as I pray for them?”
To be sure, there’s nothing wrong with “Lord, help me” prayers like that. There are many in the Bible, especially in the Psalms. But when you realize that it’s more about you joining Jesus than him helping you, then it’s better to pray, “Lord, help yourself to me. Lord, use me. You are here working. What do you want to say or do? Let me join you. Don’t let me get in the way of what you are doing.”
Someone once asked Mother Teresa the secret of her amazing, awe-inspiring ministry among the sick and dying in Calcutta. “I’m just a little pencil in God’s hands,” she immediately replied. “He does the thinking. He does the writing. He does everything and sometimes it is hard because it is a broken pencil, and He has to sharpen it a little more” (The Joy in Loving).
Mother Teresa understood that her job was to be a pencil – and notice she said a little, not a big pencil. She was willing to be little enough. And she also understood that it was God’s job to do the thinking and writing.
Like Mother Teresa, understanding whose ministry it is shapes the way we pray in preparation for healing ministry. We find ourselves praying, “Lord, help yourself to me. Help me simply to be a little pencil. Dull and broken though I am, use me to accomplish your work through me.”
Second, and perhaps most importantly, understanding whose ministry it is relieves us of the burden of ministry. For if, in fact, it’s Christ’s healing ministry, then ultimately he is the one who is responsible. It’s his burden, not ours. We don’t have to make it happen. He does. Our task is merely to let it happen.
A Christian leader who was in a class I taught several years ago shared with me what a difference it made as she began to grasp this. Here’s how she described what happened:
“I work at a mental health hospital as a clinical counselor. In the past, my prayer, as I entered work, was always to ask Christ to lead me and guide me through my ministry, helping me to be a vehicle instead of a barrier. For one week I prayed instead that Christ would allow me to accompany him, asking him to fill me with the Holy Spirit and allow me to piggyback on his ministry.
“It was the most exciting ministry with the most surprising results. The anxiety I usually experienced as I entered the building was gone. I was smiling and felt a power around me that felt unstoppable. My colleagues responded to me differently, often asking for guidance or consultations. And the clients prospered.
“My days were filled with something bigger than I ever could have imagined. I liked coming to work. My journey became bigger than I am because it was bigger than I am. I was tagging alongside Jesus through the Holy Spirit.”
Knowing whose ministry it is means knowing whose burden it is – Jesus’s not ours. Ultimately, we are not the ones who are responsible. We don’t have to lead or to heal. We just must follow the Leader and the Healer.
Third, understanding that healing is a participation in the ongoing healing ministry of Christ increases our confidence and boldness as we minister. Think of it this way: every time we enter a place to engage in healing prayer ministry with someone, we can rest assured that the risen Christ is there with us. Actually, he arrived there before we did and is waiting for us to join him.
In her wonderful book The Healing Presence, Leanne Payne captures this idea well: “He it is who comes and heals. It is he who befriends the sinner, releases the captive, and heals the lame in mind and body …. We learn to practice the Presence of Jesus within (our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit), without (he walks alongside us as Companion and Brother), and all around (he is high and lifted up, and we exalt him as Sovereign God). And we ask him to love the world through us. We learn to collaborate with him. We do what we see him doing … we simply trust in his Presence with us.”
Knowing that Jesus is present with us and will meet us also enables us to approach ministry with greater confidence – not in ourselves, but in who Jesus is and what he desires to do.
Years ago, when I had first begun to engage in healing prayer, I was ministering to the wife of a seminary student. As I listened to her unpack the tangled, sordid story of her life, I felt overwhelmed. There was so much trauma, pain, and baggage, so many complicated problems and emotional issues to deal with, so many layers that needed healing. As a result, I found myself desperately praying, “Lord, I don’t have a clue where to begin. But I know you do. You’ve been working in her life, and you’re here now. Come now and reveal yourself and your presence in our midst.”
I can’t remember what I said, what questions I asked, or even if I said anything, but before I knew it, Jesus had answered my prayer. He came into the situation, revealed himself to her, and put his finger on the exact place where she needed to begin her healing journey. Forty-five minutes later, as she left my office, she was effusive in thanking me over and over for how much I had helped her.
After she had left, I sat there stunned and silent, shaking my head in awe at what had just transpired. “Lord,” I asked, “how in the world did that happen? I didn’t do anything!”
“Yes, you did,” Jesus seemed to whisper. “You made yourself available to me. You invited me to come, and when I did, you didn’t get in the way.”
The key to fruitful healing prayer ministry is to be so open and available to the risen Christ that he is free to manifest himself as you listen and counsel and pray with people. Knowing it’s his ministry in which we’ve been invited to participate increases our confidence and expectancy. He really does want to show up!
Fourth, understanding whose ministry it is determines our primary calling. Abiding in Christ, not healing ministry, is what matters most. As Jesus stressed in his parable of the vine and the branches (John 15:1-8), branches bear fruit only as they abide in the vine. “Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing” (v. 5 NRSV). When we make abiding in him our top priority, Jesus himself will come and dwell in us. And then he will accomplish his healing ministry through us.
Often when I am taking time in the morning to abide in Christ through prayer, devotional reading, and meditating on Scripture, I will find myself thinking about a healing prayer appointment I have with someone later in the day. When that happens, my natural tendency has been to pray, “Lord, help me as I meet with so-and-so. …”
Most of the time I hear nothing. Instead of answering my prayer, Jesus seems to say, “Steve, don’t worry about that appointment right now. Just concentrate on me and your relationship with me. Abide in me. In fact, I really care more about that than anything you’ll ever do for me, Steve. So dwell in me, worship me, and love me. Receive my love for you. Enter into the joy of my rest.”
I’ve discovered that when I focus on that – when I make it more about abiding in Christ and less about asking for help concerning what lies ahead – then when I’m in the healing prayer session, he will have freer rein and will come and accomplish his healing work through me.
Abiding in Christ is our primary calling. And Jesus promised that if we abide in him, he will abide in us (John 15:4) and we will bear fruit (v. 5). This, of course, is why the various spiritual practices or disciplines, or “means of grace,” as John Wesley liked to call them, are so vital and indispensable. As many and as varied as they are, they are all ways of abiding in Christ.
I trust you are beginning to realize why it matters so much that you understand whose ministry it is you are entering. Knowing that it’s essentially Jesus’s ministry and not ours shapes the way we pray, relieves us of the burden of ministry, increases our confidence in his healing presence, and determines our primary calling.
Stephen Seamands is emeritus professor of Christian doctrine at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. He is the author of numerous books such as Wounds That Heal, Ministry in the Image of God, and The Unseen Real. This article is taken from Follow the Healer by Stephen Seamands. Copyright © 2023 by Stephen A. Seamands. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing. www.harpercollinschristian.com. Artwork: Parma, Italy: The fresco Jesus healing the ten lepers in Byzantine iconic style in Baptistery probably by Grisopolo from 13 century. Photo by Renata Sedmakova/Shutterstock.
