On Sunday a guest at worship told me they had been looking around for a new church. They had tried several churches representing several different denominations, and they kept coming back to the Methodist church. What was it about being Methodist that kept drawing them?
Is there something distinctive about being Methodist? I have been Methodist so long, I may have lost sight of what makes us, us. Her question prompted me to think again.
There are many approaches to faith. The Christian faith is a broad faith. Each denomination seems to have its separate “on-ramp.” For example in the Roman Catholic Tradition, the church and its rituals are at the core of the practice of Christianity. For Baptists, the Bible is at the core. (And Baptists know their bible!) Lutherans confess lots more than we do. Each tradition has its place of emphasis.
What is distinctive about us?
Grace is our core doctrine. That’s our on-ramp. That’s where we begin. God pours out grace, the love of God that we don’t earn or deserve and we receive that grace and share it with others. Our theology is formed around grace. Are the rituals of the church important the way they are in the Catholic Church? Yes. Should we read our Bibles like the Baptists? Absolutely. Should we worry about our sins and confess them to God? For sure. But in the Methodist church, grace is our foundation.
“Because God so loved the world….” That’s where we begin.
We are so immersed in grace, we have come know and feel its nuances. There is prevenient grace, the love of God that comes to us before we even are aware of it. God is pouring grace on my six-month-old grandson and he doesn’t have a clue. Grace can come to us in the form of justifying grace, a sense that we are worthy of God’s love. God accepts us. Sometimes we experience grace as sanctifying grace—God’s love filling us up and overflowing into the lives those around us. All of this moves us closer to the perfect love of God.
Grace is love and when you begin with love, it can take you amazing places. It rearranges relationships. It makes us eager for violence and conflict to end. Love manifests itself in all sorts of ways: mercy, compassion, respect, acceptance, commitment, courage, forgiveness, sacrifice. Begin with love and God can move mountains. As Methodists, we are called to speak up and speak out in places where grace is in short supply and people are suffering.
I suppose we can be criticized for this. Grace can seem too easy. One theologian warned of “cheap grace,” a sense that anything goes. I don’t believe that anything goes. I do believe that we have a responsibility to look for God’s grace in every aspect of our lives and in our community. We repent when we have turned our backs on grace. And we stand up for grace when grace is being denied.
This is all theology. It is actually better to live it than to dissect it.
Why does the woman who spoke with me on Sunday keep coming back to the Methodist Church? Why do you? I think its grace. When we are at our best, grace floods our lives and spills into the world around.
Today, hold out your hands, open your heart, and look around. Drop your defenses. There is love and God blankets the world and us with it. You are worthy of this love. Let the grace of God flow into your life until it overflows into the lives of others. Living grace is an exciting adventure.
Blessings
Pastor Cindy
Pastor Cindy Hickman
West Des Moines United Methodist Church
720 Grand Avenue
West Des Moines, Iowa 50265
515-279-0826
Like us on Facebook or visit us at wdmumc.org
We worship on Sunday mornings at 8:30 in a traditional way and at 11:00 in a casual way. You are invited!
This week at WDMUMC:
Pray for our youth mission team and their adult leaders. Our youth are serving in Pittsburgh this week. Keep them in your prayers as they grow in faith.
State Fair! We open our state fair food stand in just 13 days! If you haven’t signed up to volunteer and join in the fun, go to our website wdmumc.org and see how you might help. The funds we raise at the state fair support our mission work. (Mark your calendars! We will be building panels for a Habitat House in our parking lot on October 5th!)
Everybody eats! We have made a commitment to ensuring that our neighbors have the food they need this summer. The local schools provide hot lunch at the schools and in the parks this summer Monday through Friday. We supply food for the weekend. So far we have handed out 991 weekend packs. Thanks be to God for the gift of generosity that makes this possible. This is grace in action!
Reception for Robert Bayse This Sunday between worship services we will celebrate Robert Bayse’s work at WDMUMC.
Looking for a Director of Music Susie Holman, our director of music has accepted a position with the United States State Department teaching English to non-English speakers. She will be moving to Israel in August. We are grateful for the service she has provided for us! Now we are looking for a new music director. This is a half time position. If you know of someone who might be interested in this position, contact Pastor Cindy.
The church building will be closed on Friday, July 26.
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