When Faced With Two Options Choose the Third May 26, 2011
Posted by Dan R. Dick in Christian witness, Church Leadership, Core Values, Identity & Purpose, Mission of the Church, The United Methodist Church, Vision.Tags: church, Church Leadership, Mission & Purpose, The United Methodist Church, Vision
23 comments
I have been writing recently about reframing our current conversation about the church from one of doom, gloom, decay, and demise to one of faith, hope, vision and relevancy. My central thesis is that we are unlikely to attract new people with the message, “Our ship is sinking and we don’t know what to do about it, but we’re rethinking it – come join us!” Concepts like “death Tsunami” are statements of fear, not faith, and solemnly stating that we are “just being realistic” is a clear indicator that we walk by sight rather than faith. Some call my desire to move toward a Promised Land instead of merely escaping Egypt naive. I can see their pessimism if the only two choices they can imagine are short-sighted fatalism or insipid simplification. I don’t believe we are limited to just these two options. Let me share a story that I can use to illustrate my point.
