Can you imagine?
Imagine worship that doesn’t match our expectations of Sunday mornings in sanctuaries lit by a mix of stained glass and sunshine and pianos playing familiar hymns that repeat in our minds even as we spend the remaining day at the grocery store and meeting with friends. While the connection with deeply held traditions of worship we hold closely is Church for many United Methodists, if we have the imagination, we have the potential to reach new people for Christ, people who may not find the same joy and comfort in sanctuaries, narthex gatherings, or Sunday school rooms that we do.
Connecting with Jesus can (and should) spill out in unexpected places and in ways that perhaps do not align with a worship order or the United Methodist Hymnal. The Fresh Expressions movement, which focuses on new expressions of church, is only limited by our imagination and should be guided by the interests and desires of our community. A Fresh Expression can be meeting over dinner and having conversations about how to pray, sharing scripture as part of a yoga class, or biking on a sunny day and discussing who God is. Essential in this interaction is our connection with new people in new ways and spaces so they can explore faith and build community.
Pastor and United Methodist Fresh Expressions leader Michael Beck spent a day with over 125 clergy and laity gathered, sharing about the inherited church (think stained glass and hymns) and the emerging church (think dinner church and tattoo parlor church) to encourage us to create a blended ecology, where we celebrate and support both forms of church.
In a world where we are faced with dichotomies of either/or decision-making, a both/and understanding and practice are liberating. Beck challenged our UM leaders to listen to the community before jumping in, using our imagination, and then trying a Fresh Expression.
Though a blended church ecology may feel foreign to those of us who find comfort in a church service, the emerging church, focused on Fresh Expressions of acceptance and embracing new ideas, can be a safe harbor for new people to engage with faith. We can choose to lean into the movement in our contexts. We have a role and responsibility to help others explore faith and to disciple others. After all, what does Jesus call us to do?
Leah Wiebe-Smith
Director, Center for Leadership Excellence