Dude, young men will NOT want to associate with effeminate leaders who sit with their legs crossed. Just saying…try re branding by demonstrating biblical masculinity
@Steven-et9hs15 күн бұрын
The UMC wokeness was open for the world to see at general conference 2024. Folks are in many churches are running for the exit doors. The future of the UMC is a much smaller denomination that is a woke liberal echo chamber like the United Church of Christ!!
@paulroland638718 күн бұрын
As a young person who grew up in the UMC, one issue that I have had with the UMC (and I have met other people who grew up and have left the UMC who expressed the same sentiment without me bringing it up) is that most of the time the UMC feels more like a charity group than a church. It feels like a Rotary Club, Lions Club, Masons, VFW, American Legion, etc., etc. It's a charity club. That's cool for people who have the energy, time, and/or money to be volunteers and who really enjoy that kind of stuff, but that tends not to be young adults and it begs the question of why the UMC instead of Rotary/Lions, etc.? It just doesn't feel like a church, or (being very generous) it's a church that has prioritized "Love your neighbor" over "Love the Lord your God" and just has it's priorities out of order. There are a lot of other issues too, but I think they often boil down to the UMC simply being a "boomer" denomination. Not to be "okay, boomer" about it, but it's true - as a generation the baby boomers were just able to shape and mold the UMC to themselves more than just about any other denomination, so it is just distinctively a liberal-leaning baby boomer denomination. Too much about the messaging, worship, and environment of the UMC has been and is still shaped by the sentimentalities of the boomers to really appeal to younger generations, but that's sometimes hard to specifically identify and correct for. A combination of factors has just pushed the UMC out of the market. It has grown hostile to or anti-evangelical, so it's not really an option for most evangelicals anymore. Along those lines, the worship service and capabilities of most UMC congregations just can't match the praise & worship rock-show experiences that so many nondenominational churches have now. The UMC also isn't the place for people who are charismatic nor is it a place for fundamentalists, and those all mean that the major cores of American Protestantism just don't belong in the UMC. That alone rules out most people, and most young people, in rural America. On the other hand, the UMC doesn't have a consistent theological or liturgical tradition, so it doesn't appeal to Mainline Protestantism anymore. Lutheranism and Calvinism (Presbyterianism) have their own systematic theologies that can draw in and appeal to people. Anglicanism offers a lot theologically and they offer a substantial, consistent, and historical liturgical tradition that appeals to a lot of people. Methodism just doesn't have those - Wesley wasn't a systematic theologian... Methodism was a movement, and that movement isn't needed anymore frankly. Anglicans (and pretty much everyone else) have picked up on the practices that made Methodism unique and other charismatic denominations have continued on further the spiritual charism that started with Methodism. We just don't fit in with the Mainline anymore, so we don't appeal to mainliners. I found that the lack of consistent, mature theology and liturgy of the UMC made it a very religiously shallow place. There just wasn't any room to grow and nowhere to dig roots. I left to be able to do those things. Other people leave for "big eva" churches with the shows to catch their attention. Others just drop out entirely because the discipleship of the UMC was just too shallow to build or sustain anything. After the split with the GMC now, the UMC is even more stuck in liberal baby boomer world. It's very obviously a politically liberal denomination (it feels like just a spiritual wing of the Democratic Party - I've even seen in person and on Facebook/Twitter UMC-ers reject that we should do anything special, acknowledge, or celebrate in any way Independence Day in Church because we are supposed to be global and un-national... even the Catholic Church has a "Mass for Independence Day"! So does the Episcopal Church! How much blander and out of touch with society can we get?), so if a young person (or anyone of any age) has conservative leanings, then the UMC is just not a welcoming or attractive denomination. The theology that is expressed or presented usually leans in progressive/modernist directions, which doesn't appeal to people seeking anything deeper than poetry or who want something connected to history and tradition - anything that's bigger than themselves. Likewise, the worship, especially the liturgies of the Book of Worship, reek of "sunshine and rainbows" style boomer, hippy sentimentalities. A LOT of young people are actually starving for tradition. Our world (& technology) are constantly changing, and a lot of young people look to religion to offer them something timeless. The "new & cool" attitudes of the UMC only appeal to the boomers who were all about that in the 60s-80s. The UMC would do better if it actually used the liturgies of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer like John Wesley told us to (if we did that, we'd at least offer something unique in every small town that has a Baptist & Methodist church, so instead of trying to compete with the Baptists, we'd actually be able to offer something they can't & won't do!). We're also supposed to celebrate communion every Sunday according to Wesley, but most churches I know of don't do that and either refuse to or don't see any reason to do so, which underlines the poor theology that exists in the UMC. It also means that church services aren't really worshipful... there's no reason to show up in today's world. You can listen to or sing music whenever, you can pray whenever, you can listen to sermons whenever, you can listen to scripture whenever, you can even tithe whenever... there's no reason to get out of bed early on Sunday to go to church for most people, and I would say that's largely because we don't regularly offer the sacraments or emphasize their importance. We've lost the message Wesley had. Not to rain on the parade, but I don't have much hope for the UMC. I think the showboating at general conference made the UMC lose a lot of credibility with a lot of people, and I don't think the changes and directions that the UMC wants to throttle will actually result in growth or discipleship among any demographic. People seeking religion will go to other denominations, and the UMC is still just going to be competing with the charity groups (all of whom are also experiencing similar problems of aging membership with few young people joining...)
@bensmith983216 күн бұрын
Thanks for joining the conversation. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and agree with much of the analysis you give of the current state of the UMC. I do think we often look too similar to social clubs and charity organizations. The UMC has a long history of serving communities in our backyards and around the world. Sometimes, maybe even often in recent decades, that principle of service comes at the expense of personal pity and discipleship. But... where my belief differs from yours is in my hope for the future. I do believe we have a strong theological foundation. One that is not only still relevant for today's world but NECESSARY for the revitalization of the church in our western world. The Wesleyan understanding of grace on which our denotation is built is, I believe, unique. If we preach a gospel of grace the way Wesley did in his time, I truly belief the Lord will use us to breath new life into our communities. Yes, we need to recenter ourselves on a strong foundation of personal and congregational discipleship. Yes, we need to be serious about preaching the gospel with honesty and urgency. I often lament the apathy and lack of speed with which the UMC grows towards the Church I believe we are being called to be. But even in my lament, I see hope for a future. I believe the UMC has God-ordained prophets and teachers working towards the renewal of our denomination and I for one am committed to being a part of that work. - Ben Smith, re:Brand Host
@paulroland638714 күн бұрын
@@bensmith9832 Thanks for your response. If you have the time to read: My sincere challenge to you (not being argumentative, but honestly trying to help achieve your goal from my own experience with the UMC) is that the UMC needs to be more specific and uniform in what the UMC means by grace, and to be more intentional in our actions relating to grace. I have heard a position similar to yours for most of my life from the UMC, and in recent times due to disaffiliation struggles, I’ve heard many people say that the UMC needs to broadcast its message of grace more to the world. Yet, I have rarely in my life heard anyone be clear on what exactly this is and what we’re supposed to do with it. If it’s just the theological ideas of Prevenient, Justifying, and Sanctifying Grace, then it’s not all that unique to Methodism. The Wesley’s didn’t invent these ideas (which I think is good - they gathered it from the Church Fathers, which is great), and although different terminology is used, the same concepts are found in Orthodoxy, Catholicism, and modern Anglicanism (maybe Lutheranism too?). The threefold terminology is perhaps uniquely Wesleyan, but not the underlying ideas. So, in terms of the higher education/theology, the Wesleyan doctrines of grace aren’t quite the selling points that I think most Methodists think they are. However, they do differ from Calvinists, and to many evangelicals perhaps, but (as I sort of mentioned in my first comment) I don’t think the UMC is really evangelical-friendly (which I’m not saying is a bad thing at all), so I just don’t know that it will sway people inclined in those directions. On a more local level, in my experience most Methodists have essentially boiled down the doctrine of grace to simply “being nice.” Something like “God loved us first, then we accept God’s love, and we continue toward perfection by loving our neighbors” [*cue generic niceness and the charity complaint I had in my first comment*]. It’s not that it’s totally wrong, but it’s just not substantial. A personal critique I have to the “just be nice” attitude is that it often seems to result in an attitude of: God loves everyone just as they are + because God loves people as they are, so should we = therefore nobody needs to change (maybe even there’s not really sin, or no need for repentance). Not only do I think that’s just theologically wrong, but on a practical level there’s no challenge - if there’s no challenge to arise to, nobody will rise to the challenge. “Pick up your cross and follow me” just doesn’t seem to be present in that attitude, and I think that results in a lack of appeal to people, especially younger people who are (whether they know it or not) searching for meaning and purpose. So when it comes to reaching the unaffiliated/nonreligious, the UMC just isn’t offering that challenge that speaks to the heart. To use Discipleship Ministries’ handy graphic, the UMC focuses a lot on Works of Mercy (Acts of Compassion & Acts of Justice). That certainly is part of our progress toward Christian Perfection, and it may indeed be how many people encounter grace from God, but the Wesleys and Church Tradition inform us that the sacraments are the primary means of grace, and communion is the more frequent/accessible sacrament. The UMC needs to spend time focusing more on the Works of Piety (Acts of Devotion & Acts of Worship) and being very intentional about celebrating communion every Sunday in a disciplined, liturgical fashion, and emphasize the Sacrament of Holy Communion as the primary means of God’s grace given for us. If the church is trying to emphasize grace but not frequently and seriously engaging with the primary means of grace, then what is it even doing? Methodism does have open communion with sacramental theology, and that is a very unique position(!), but I don’t think I’ve ever heard UMC-er’s preach the transformational, perfecting power of communing directly with God and becoming one with God by partaking of Christ’s Body & Blood and receiving the grace of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross restoring us to the health of the Garden… Methodists do have the ability to preach actual altar calls to communion all the time, whenever, wherever, open to absolutely everyone (Taste & See - Psalm 38:4), but I’m not sure it’s hardly ever done even in the UMC’s own churches, and most UMC communion experiences I’ve had were lackadaisical. If doubling down on grace doctrines is the way, then put some meat its bones. Give it some teeth and bite with them! Hopefully some of that is helpful or worthwhile
@donnapalmer678021 күн бұрын
shout out to Tiffany
@ALRojas-rd8iw25 күн бұрын
He SO said that last part backwards.
@plainspokenpodАй бұрын
I can't figure out why your subscriber count is so low. You guys do a really decent presentation. Looks and sounds good. You work hard to have a good pace and decent content. Decent thumbnails. Very strange, guys. Considering that y'all have been at this a while, your subscriber count should be over 1K, easily.
@CanadianAnglicanАй бұрын
We’re happy for the UMC here in Canada.
@Gablesman888Ай бұрын
Do you believe in the pre-Tribulation rapture of the Church? If you do, take a good look at this video. This church will look and sound the same way as you see it here the Sunday following.
@hwaynecookАй бұрын
Thank you for mentioning getting back to the basics of the Wesleyan movement. I’ve been interested in reviving the class meeting model for the 21st century for some time. Perhaps in retirement I can work on that.
@wlbridwelIIIАй бұрын
STFU “it’s time” “inclusive “ it’s time to be exclusive bitches.
@merlemyersАй бұрын
UMC trying to rewrite the Bible.
@bobharford5643Ай бұрын
Good luck! And when you fail, as liberals , you can always look around for someone else to blame…
@ericasfreind2 ай бұрын
Yes
@jomacorjr2 ай бұрын
The people of Sodom and Gomorrah did not leave anyone out. They included everyone and everything…except God. How did God respond to that?
@Gablesman888Ай бұрын
KaBoom!
@jeremeysimerson82932 ай бұрын
Practice what Jesus preaches in the Bible not what you preach.
@jeremeysimerson82932 ай бұрын
Yoga Symbolism in the back ground. The Lotus pose invoking the Tara the a Hindu Goddess. Pantheism.
@markboland11812 ай бұрын
The apostasy is amazing. How spirit denying can a people be. Deut 28 says “I have put before you blessing and curses”. The UMC has chosen curses.
@martinospitaletta81982 ай бұрын
The maggots eating on a dead corpse are dreaming of revival...oh Lord of Flies, have mercy on them!
@martinospitaletta81982 ай бұрын
They say they do not believe what God has revealed and they are rebelling against God. So at least they are practicing their unbelief.
@troypowell49312 ай бұрын
Legalizing sin in your church won't get you nowhere.
@mr.c97702 ай бұрын
The Holy Spirit will not lead you in a direction.That's contrary to scripture. Get back to scripture that is that is your foundation
@darrendavis47312 ай бұрын
The Holy Spirit aint in that room.
@trkyhntr91212 ай бұрын
With the changes the UMC is making I can safely say God and the Holy Spirit is not with you.
@dustingillham83942 ай бұрын
The UMC has codified itself as an apostate church.
@johnbriscoe59322 ай бұрын
Watching the death of a church that I left decades ago because it had utterly lost it's way. Very sad.
@thomassandoval80252 ай бұрын
What are they reviving? They seem to be going their own unbiblical way. Its more of a reinventing of the UMC in their own image. Truly sad, we need to pray for them.
@kylekrober23212 ай бұрын
Wrong. Read the Bible.
@hectorlaporta37872 ай бұрын
I do think so church have to move on
@thomassandoval80252 ай бұрын
Pray for the UMC they follow the culture, not the bible.
@curtisdavis25412 ай бұрын
Revival is marked by repentance and a return to Holiness. Revival will come to the UMC when they repent for turning their back on God.
@fredmiller64822 ай бұрын
Truley amazing commentary. Mind numbing but amazing. Your ilk have destroyed the Episcopalians, the Presbyterians and the Anglicans and you still try and peddle the same old line. You should be ashamed. The Bible tells us about false teachers and the end result is not very pretty.
@dr.tomstanton14642 ай бұрын
Loving our neighbor, as did Jesus, involves speaking the truth in love.😊
@Roosimpson2 ай бұрын
We cannot be silent! How powerful! What is the speaker’s name so I can find the whole speech? Man was preaching 🔥
@keithjohnson76132 ай бұрын
“Jesus claimed” as if Jesus might lie from time to time UMC is hell bound
@DefinedFaith2 ай бұрын
Why is “forcing you to have a gay pastor” always the example? I’ve heard multiple people use that exact example. A better concern is: Will they force a traditionalist church to have a pastor who affirms LGBT ideologies? I think the answer is probably yes.
@keithjohnson76132 ай бұрын
Wide is the gate broad is the path to destruction You people are clueless your church is no longer righteous Your church is falling apart right before your eyes and all you can talk about is revival it ain’t gonna happen It won’t be long before yall merge with the universalist at act like your church is growing lol it’s over
@keithjohnson76132 ай бұрын
You see only God builds satan destroys it’s going to get worse now that the godly people have left the church
@keithjohnson76132 ай бұрын
I’ll bet George Soros has something to do with this
@keithjohnson76132 ай бұрын
This humanism agenda is blasphemous. Climate change fear = godless So sad a once great church is no more This is all probably orchestrated to take over SMU and insure generations of hod hating liberal weirdos
@keithjohnson76132 ай бұрын
Revival? You liberals aren’t through destroying yet !! UMC church lost its way !! You think you can revive it with the lgbtqxyz? That’s a satanic revival so sad
@keithjohnson76132 ай бұрын
Santan the great destroyer has worked his magic on the UMC
@keithjohnson76132 ай бұрын
You people have totally destroyed the UMC. Satan can’t build he can only destroy it want be long until the UMC is just a memory.
@dr.tomstanton14642 ай бұрын
What I value is the Word of God and Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever!
@dr.tomstanton14642 ай бұрын
😊A believer's hope is in Jesus Christ and Him alone!
@kamidsjournee2 ай бұрын
I love my neighbor. I also want to be taught and led by a person who strives to follow the infallible word of God. Living in sin is NOT obedience to God.
@stevesafety67432 ай бұрын
Apostate Bishop
@astrolexz59952 ай бұрын
They're allowing gay marriage now... are they truly letting the holy spirit lead them or something else?
@richardcowart32272 ай бұрын
It's not in the teachings - our teachings comes from the word that became flesh. "The Word" - if you try to find those words in the bible - your going to feel like a one legged man at a butt kicking contest - Prostitution is legal too in some states and in many countries - get the girls together and sell some tickers to fund the church your talking about !
@lisahannah31752 ай бұрын
Let justice flow down like waters ❤️
@johnschulteis73042 ай бұрын
Compromising truth is neither godly nor the gospel.
Пікірлер
Dude, young men will NOT want to associate with effeminate leaders who sit with their legs crossed. Just saying…try re branding by demonstrating biblical masculinity
The UMC wokeness was open for the world to see at general conference 2024. Folks are in many churches are running for the exit doors. The future of the UMC is a much smaller denomination that is a woke liberal echo chamber like the United Church of Christ!!
As a young person who grew up in the UMC, one issue that I have had with the UMC (and I have met other people who grew up and have left the UMC who expressed the same sentiment without me bringing it up) is that most of the time the UMC feels more like a charity group than a church. It feels like a Rotary Club, Lions Club, Masons, VFW, American Legion, etc., etc. It's a charity club. That's cool for people who have the energy, time, and/or money to be volunteers and who really enjoy that kind of stuff, but that tends not to be young adults and it begs the question of why the UMC instead of Rotary/Lions, etc.? It just doesn't feel like a church, or (being very generous) it's a church that has prioritized "Love your neighbor" over "Love the Lord your God" and just has it's priorities out of order. There are a lot of other issues too, but I think they often boil down to the UMC simply being a "boomer" denomination. Not to be "okay, boomer" about it, but it's true - as a generation the baby boomers were just able to shape and mold the UMC to themselves more than just about any other denomination, so it is just distinctively a liberal-leaning baby boomer denomination. Too much about the messaging, worship, and environment of the UMC has been and is still shaped by the sentimentalities of the boomers to really appeal to younger generations, but that's sometimes hard to specifically identify and correct for. A combination of factors has just pushed the UMC out of the market. It has grown hostile to or anti-evangelical, so it's not really an option for most evangelicals anymore. Along those lines, the worship service and capabilities of most UMC congregations just can't match the praise & worship rock-show experiences that so many nondenominational churches have now. The UMC also isn't the place for people who are charismatic nor is it a place for fundamentalists, and those all mean that the major cores of American Protestantism just don't belong in the UMC. That alone rules out most people, and most young people, in rural America. On the other hand, the UMC doesn't have a consistent theological or liturgical tradition, so it doesn't appeal to Mainline Protestantism anymore. Lutheranism and Calvinism (Presbyterianism) have their own systematic theologies that can draw in and appeal to people. Anglicanism offers a lot theologically and they offer a substantial, consistent, and historical liturgical tradition that appeals to a lot of people. Methodism just doesn't have those - Wesley wasn't a systematic theologian... Methodism was a movement, and that movement isn't needed anymore frankly. Anglicans (and pretty much everyone else) have picked up on the practices that made Methodism unique and other charismatic denominations have continued on further the spiritual charism that started with Methodism. We just don't fit in with the Mainline anymore, so we don't appeal to mainliners. I found that the lack of consistent, mature theology and liturgy of the UMC made it a very religiously shallow place. There just wasn't any room to grow and nowhere to dig roots. I left to be able to do those things. Other people leave for "big eva" churches with the shows to catch their attention. Others just drop out entirely because the discipleship of the UMC was just too shallow to build or sustain anything. After the split with the GMC now, the UMC is even more stuck in liberal baby boomer world. It's very obviously a politically liberal denomination (it feels like just a spiritual wing of the Democratic Party - I've even seen in person and on Facebook/Twitter UMC-ers reject that we should do anything special, acknowledge, or celebrate in any way Independence Day in Church because we are supposed to be global and un-national... even the Catholic Church has a "Mass for Independence Day"! So does the Episcopal Church! How much blander and out of touch with society can we get?), so if a young person (or anyone of any age) has conservative leanings, then the UMC is just not a welcoming or attractive denomination. The theology that is expressed or presented usually leans in progressive/modernist directions, which doesn't appeal to people seeking anything deeper than poetry or who want something connected to history and tradition - anything that's bigger than themselves. Likewise, the worship, especially the liturgies of the Book of Worship, reek of "sunshine and rainbows" style boomer, hippy sentimentalities. A LOT of young people are actually starving for tradition. Our world (& technology) are constantly changing, and a lot of young people look to religion to offer them something timeless. The "new & cool" attitudes of the UMC only appeal to the boomers who were all about that in the 60s-80s. The UMC would do better if it actually used the liturgies of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer like John Wesley told us to (if we did that, we'd at least offer something unique in every small town that has a Baptist & Methodist church, so instead of trying to compete with the Baptists, we'd actually be able to offer something they can't & won't do!). We're also supposed to celebrate communion every Sunday according to Wesley, but most churches I know of don't do that and either refuse to or don't see any reason to do so, which underlines the poor theology that exists in the UMC. It also means that church services aren't really worshipful... there's no reason to show up in today's world. You can listen to or sing music whenever, you can pray whenever, you can listen to sermons whenever, you can listen to scripture whenever, you can even tithe whenever... there's no reason to get out of bed early on Sunday to go to church for most people, and I would say that's largely because we don't regularly offer the sacraments or emphasize their importance. We've lost the message Wesley had. Not to rain on the parade, but I don't have much hope for the UMC. I think the showboating at general conference made the UMC lose a lot of credibility with a lot of people, and I don't think the changes and directions that the UMC wants to throttle will actually result in growth or discipleship among any demographic. People seeking religion will go to other denominations, and the UMC is still just going to be competing with the charity groups (all of whom are also experiencing similar problems of aging membership with few young people joining...)
Thanks for joining the conversation. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and agree with much of the analysis you give of the current state of the UMC. I do think we often look too similar to social clubs and charity organizations. The UMC has a long history of serving communities in our backyards and around the world. Sometimes, maybe even often in recent decades, that principle of service comes at the expense of personal pity and discipleship. But... where my belief differs from yours is in my hope for the future. I do believe we have a strong theological foundation. One that is not only still relevant for today's world but NECESSARY for the revitalization of the church in our western world. The Wesleyan understanding of grace on which our denotation is built is, I believe, unique. If we preach a gospel of grace the way Wesley did in his time, I truly belief the Lord will use us to breath new life into our communities. Yes, we need to recenter ourselves on a strong foundation of personal and congregational discipleship. Yes, we need to be serious about preaching the gospel with honesty and urgency. I often lament the apathy and lack of speed with which the UMC grows towards the Church I believe we are being called to be. But even in my lament, I see hope for a future. I believe the UMC has God-ordained prophets and teachers working towards the renewal of our denomination and I for one am committed to being a part of that work. - Ben Smith, re:Brand Host
@@bensmith9832 Thanks for your response. If you have the time to read: My sincere challenge to you (not being argumentative, but honestly trying to help achieve your goal from my own experience with the UMC) is that the UMC needs to be more specific and uniform in what the UMC means by grace, and to be more intentional in our actions relating to grace. I have heard a position similar to yours for most of my life from the UMC, and in recent times due to disaffiliation struggles, I’ve heard many people say that the UMC needs to broadcast its message of grace more to the world. Yet, I have rarely in my life heard anyone be clear on what exactly this is and what we’re supposed to do with it. If it’s just the theological ideas of Prevenient, Justifying, and Sanctifying Grace, then it’s not all that unique to Methodism. The Wesley’s didn’t invent these ideas (which I think is good - they gathered it from the Church Fathers, which is great), and although different terminology is used, the same concepts are found in Orthodoxy, Catholicism, and modern Anglicanism (maybe Lutheranism too?). The threefold terminology is perhaps uniquely Wesleyan, but not the underlying ideas. So, in terms of the higher education/theology, the Wesleyan doctrines of grace aren’t quite the selling points that I think most Methodists think they are. However, they do differ from Calvinists, and to many evangelicals perhaps, but (as I sort of mentioned in my first comment) I don’t think the UMC is really evangelical-friendly (which I’m not saying is a bad thing at all), so I just don’t know that it will sway people inclined in those directions. On a more local level, in my experience most Methodists have essentially boiled down the doctrine of grace to simply “being nice.” Something like “God loved us first, then we accept God’s love, and we continue toward perfection by loving our neighbors” [*cue generic niceness and the charity complaint I had in my first comment*]. It’s not that it’s totally wrong, but it’s just not substantial. A personal critique I have to the “just be nice” attitude is that it often seems to result in an attitude of: God loves everyone just as they are + because God loves people as they are, so should we = therefore nobody needs to change (maybe even there’s not really sin, or no need for repentance). Not only do I think that’s just theologically wrong, but on a practical level there’s no challenge - if there’s no challenge to arise to, nobody will rise to the challenge. “Pick up your cross and follow me” just doesn’t seem to be present in that attitude, and I think that results in a lack of appeal to people, especially younger people who are (whether they know it or not) searching for meaning and purpose. So when it comes to reaching the unaffiliated/nonreligious, the UMC just isn’t offering that challenge that speaks to the heart. To use Discipleship Ministries’ handy graphic, the UMC focuses a lot on Works of Mercy (Acts of Compassion & Acts of Justice). That certainly is part of our progress toward Christian Perfection, and it may indeed be how many people encounter grace from God, but the Wesleys and Church Tradition inform us that the sacraments are the primary means of grace, and communion is the more frequent/accessible sacrament. The UMC needs to spend time focusing more on the Works of Piety (Acts of Devotion & Acts of Worship) and being very intentional about celebrating communion every Sunday in a disciplined, liturgical fashion, and emphasize the Sacrament of Holy Communion as the primary means of God’s grace given for us. If the church is trying to emphasize grace but not frequently and seriously engaging with the primary means of grace, then what is it even doing? Methodism does have open communion with sacramental theology, and that is a very unique position(!), but I don’t think I’ve ever heard UMC-er’s preach the transformational, perfecting power of communing directly with God and becoming one with God by partaking of Christ’s Body & Blood and receiving the grace of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross restoring us to the health of the Garden… Methodists do have the ability to preach actual altar calls to communion all the time, whenever, wherever, open to absolutely everyone (Taste & See - Psalm 38:4), but I’m not sure it’s hardly ever done even in the UMC’s own churches, and most UMC communion experiences I’ve had were lackadaisical. If doubling down on grace doctrines is the way, then put some meat its bones. Give it some teeth and bite with them! Hopefully some of that is helpful or worthwhile
shout out to Tiffany
He SO said that last part backwards.
I can't figure out why your subscriber count is so low. You guys do a really decent presentation. Looks and sounds good. You work hard to have a good pace and decent content. Decent thumbnails. Very strange, guys. Considering that y'all have been at this a while, your subscriber count should be over 1K, easily.
We’re happy for the UMC here in Canada.
Do you believe in the pre-Tribulation rapture of the Church? If you do, take a good look at this video. This church will look and sound the same way as you see it here the Sunday following.
Thank you for mentioning getting back to the basics of the Wesleyan movement. I’ve been interested in reviving the class meeting model for the 21st century for some time. Perhaps in retirement I can work on that.
STFU “it’s time” “inclusive “ it’s time to be exclusive bitches.
UMC trying to rewrite the Bible.
Good luck! And when you fail, as liberals , you can always look around for someone else to blame…
Yes
The people of Sodom and Gomorrah did not leave anyone out. They included everyone and everything…except God. How did God respond to that?
KaBoom!
Practice what Jesus preaches in the Bible not what you preach.
Yoga Symbolism in the back ground. The Lotus pose invoking the Tara the a Hindu Goddess. Pantheism.
The apostasy is amazing. How spirit denying can a people be. Deut 28 says “I have put before you blessing and curses”. The UMC has chosen curses.
The maggots eating on a dead corpse are dreaming of revival...oh Lord of Flies, have mercy on them!
They say they do not believe what God has revealed and they are rebelling against God. So at least they are practicing their unbelief.
Legalizing sin in your church won't get you nowhere.
The Holy Spirit will not lead you in a direction.That's contrary to scripture. Get back to scripture that is that is your foundation
The Holy Spirit aint in that room.
With the changes the UMC is making I can safely say God and the Holy Spirit is not with you.
The UMC has codified itself as an apostate church.
Watching the death of a church that I left decades ago because it had utterly lost it's way. Very sad.
What are they reviving? They seem to be going their own unbiblical way. Its more of a reinventing of the UMC in their own image. Truly sad, we need to pray for them.
Wrong. Read the Bible.
I do think so church have to move on
Pray for the UMC they follow the culture, not the bible.
Revival is marked by repentance and a return to Holiness. Revival will come to the UMC when they repent for turning their back on God.
Truley amazing commentary. Mind numbing but amazing. Your ilk have destroyed the Episcopalians, the Presbyterians and the Anglicans and you still try and peddle the same old line. You should be ashamed. The Bible tells us about false teachers and the end result is not very pretty.
Loving our neighbor, as did Jesus, involves speaking the truth in love.😊
We cannot be silent! How powerful! What is the speaker’s name so I can find the whole speech? Man was preaching 🔥
“Jesus claimed” as if Jesus might lie from time to time UMC is hell bound
Why is “forcing you to have a gay pastor” always the example? I’ve heard multiple people use that exact example. A better concern is: Will they force a traditionalist church to have a pastor who affirms LGBT ideologies? I think the answer is probably yes.
Wide is the gate broad is the path to destruction You people are clueless your church is no longer righteous Your church is falling apart right before your eyes and all you can talk about is revival it ain’t gonna happen It won’t be long before yall merge with the universalist at act like your church is growing lol it’s over
You see only God builds satan destroys it’s going to get worse now that the godly people have left the church
I’ll bet George Soros has something to do with this
This humanism agenda is blasphemous. Climate change fear = godless So sad a once great church is no more This is all probably orchestrated to take over SMU and insure generations of hod hating liberal weirdos
Revival? You liberals aren’t through destroying yet !! UMC church lost its way !! You think you can revive it with the lgbtqxyz? That’s a satanic revival so sad
Santan the great destroyer has worked his magic on the UMC
You people have totally destroyed the UMC. Satan can’t build he can only destroy it want be long until the UMC is just a memory.
What I value is the Word of God and Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever!
😊A believer's hope is in Jesus Christ and Him alone!
I love my neighbor. I also want to be taught and led by a person who strives to follow the infallible word of God. Living in sin is NOT obedience to God.
Apostate Bishop
They're allowing gay marriage now... are they truly letting the holy spirit lead them or something else?
It's not in the teachings - our teachings comes from the word that became flesh. "The Word" - if you try to find those words in the bible - your going to feel like a one legged man at a butt kicking contest - Prostitution is legal too in some states and in many countries - get the girls together and sell some tickers to fund the church your talking about !
Let justice flow down like waters ❤️
Compromising truth is neither godly nor the gospel.