AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PEOPLE CALLED UNITED METHODIST This Spring marks the of my Ph.D academic persuade, lately I have been doing a lot of reading on practical theology. For example the context which scripture, tradition, experience and reason are used in Wesleyan theology. I deem necesarry to had my voice to some of the challenges facing United Methodist globally. Hence, the reason for this open letter! Former U.S president John F. Kennedy (1961) once says “Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder. What unites us is far greater than what divides us.” His 1961 address to the Canadian parliament is stuck in my brain, and I believed we can learn a lot from his inspiration. As believer in Christ we enjoyed common interests, although we often see things differently, our common ground is greater and much more important than what we disagree on. We agree that Jesus Christ is the head of the Church, and He has called each one of us to fellowship with him; this is awesome. For years, I have been concerned for the tenor of our collective discourse. I have witnessed how we evolve into an “us versus them” attitude that blocks our ability to compromise on matters of our common good. Drawing from the pass history of our founding fathers, I cannot tell you how many times I witnessed well-intentioned Christians in absolute deadlock over issues. What is happening now? What I am suggesting is that, we need to stop opposing each other just because of our professional, political, social or organizational views and instead ask each other what we can do collectively to make our Church better? One of the lessons I have learned while studying in the U.S is, to stop accusing people of the same offense I am guilty of, instead I should take full responsibilities of my actions. So here are some take home: - Let’s follow the great example of our founding fathers (unity in diversity). - Let’s agree to disagree (as first coin by John Wesley) . - Let’s realize there is much to gain, to loose ( as sang by Dottie Rambo). - Let’s us sacrifice for the sake of our common good, and work as a team. A diverse group of people at worked, without regard to who got the credit, in the best interest of our Church. Don Stamper (2005) once said “Let us join together and talk about our futures, needs and desires and respect each other’s positions and our differences establishing new coalitions. Let’s pick some initiatives and look at how we can work together and embrace our differences of opinions” Building and maintaining a church that meets our spiritual, cultural, social, economic, recreational, health and educational needs must be where we place our energies. And let us remember, “What unites us is greater than what divides us.”
Posted on: Mon, 12 May 2014 17:20:34 +0000
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