Can United Methodism or Mainline Christianity be Renewed? :: A Guest Post from Matt Lipan

Today, Matt Lipan is my guest.  I have been fortunate to connect with Matt via Twitter, and have come to admire his commitment to theological dialogue, to pastoral ministry, and innovation within The United Methodist Church.  His voice is one I have come to respect.  In corresponding with Matt regarding this blog post, I said:

I would like to ask you to address what you see as a formula for renewal within mainline Christianity. You can focus on Methodism, since that is your home, but I'd like you to name your convictions on what it might take for churches in the mainline tradition to experience new life in a changing culture. What does the church need to repent of? What does the church need to focus on? What is the greatest hope for Methodism in particular and mainline Christianity more broadly?

Matt and his wife Tai live near Indianapolis with their 7 month old son. He is on staff at Castleton United Methodist Church in Indianapolis as the Pastor of Family Ministries and the  Lead Pastor of their second campus. You can connect with him on Twitter or find more of his writings at his blog.  His reflections are as follows.  Enjoy.  Converse.  Debate.  Agree.  Join in. 

Renewal. What a great word. The thought of being made new again is one most people can appreciate and need. Renewal is also something the Church not only needs to seek but to experience from time to time. When I think about ways The United Methodist Church (and mainline Christianity) can experience new life amidst a changing culture, three things come to mind. You can let me know if you agree. 

• Howard A. Snyder, in The Community of the King, writes, “Too often the Church has been seen more as a collection of saved souls than as a community of interacting personalities. Christian growth has been a matter of individual soul culture rather than the building of the community of the Spirit.”  We are a society of individuals. Our culture holds individualism as one of our highest priorities and I believe the Church has the same mentality. We talk about an “individual’s faith” and a “personal relationship with Christ” as if the greater faith community doesn’t matter. It seems as though the individual has become the end, not the means. As I look through Scripture, one’s discipleship journey is the means by which the larger faith community is supported and challenged. We must move our focus off the individual and begin to see the value of the greater community, both inside and outside the church walls. Scripture describes us as parts of a body, not just a bunch of body parts lying around.


• The way in which we engage theology leaves people wanting. The worship services of fog machines, lasers, and feel good messages are insufficient. Individuals want to be taught about the Bible and challenged to think about what it means for their lives today. People in our pews want to engage theology but we have to do our part to give them something worth chewing on. We spend so much time focusing on our numbers we forget there is something very attractive about Jesus and His ability to draw people to Himself. I wonder what our numbers would look like if our message became Christ crucified, raised, and glorified.


• The Church, especially the United Methodist denomination, has struggled to embrace change. I am not talking about doctrinal changes but rather bringing about change in the current way we do church. I believe there are ways to relevantly engage culture without compromising theological truths, but in order to do this, we must be willing to change. To remain stagnant is to die.

Despite these challenges and many others, I continue to have hope for the Church and The United Methodist Church because of the message of God’s grace, where hope not only resides but also thrives.