Buckle up!

What an amazing week!
We have spent a week of cabinet training/evaluation/meeting. And I can say this -- I've never seen anything like this. I know that people outside the cabinet don't have the chance to see this dynamic as closely right now. But it's a new day.
The challenge isn't new. The church has been declining for decades. That's an old challenge. While people love to pick their favorite issue and connect that issue to the decline of the church, the overwhelming evidence is the reality that the culture has changed and the church has unproductively and defiantly stood still. And the heartbreak of it is that sitting still has not only been harmful to the church. Sitting still is completely contrary to John Wesley's practice of discipleship.
The challenge is not new. But, gratefully, the response is new. Our bishop is leading us in a wonderfully holy impatience. His approach is predictable and consistent and focused. And it's all summed up in his one frequently repeated phrase: "It's all about the mission."
And I can tell you first hand, those words are not just a catch phrase. Those words illuminate all the changes that are on the table. And there are many changes. As the changes unfold, people need to know that everything falls under the same scrutiny: is it all about the mission? And, quite simply, anything that is NOT about the mission of the church stands subservient and disposable to what IS the mission of the church. And that is one, incredible, amazing and, of course, completely-credible change.
We have talked the priority of mission before. But what is new is that we are seriously and persistently being led to LIVE and APPLY the priority on following Jesus, making disciples and transforming the world. It is thrilling. It is encouraging. It is invigorating. But it is also going to be hard.
Any pastor or church that likes to rock along with the way things have always been is going to be unhappy. Any church or pastor who is perfectly content with the same handful of familiar faces in worship is going to be challenged. Any pastor or church that wants to keep things the way they are (even if that means the church is dying) is going to be uncomfortable. Any pastor or church that wants to do whatever they want without any challenge or accountability is going to be in for an adjustment. Any UM pastor or church who wants to be left alone to do their on thing is going to have a very hard time as we become the truly connectional church that we are designed to be. Any pastor or church that wants to sit around on their blessed assurance in the same old unproductive path is going to experience some frustration. Because we are going to be looking past preferences and comfort zones to putting the mission first in all things.
"It's all about the mission" is a mighty big statement. It's going to challenge us to a lot of change and help get us serious about moving on toward perfection.