Differences and Destinations
Next week I will be in Athens attending the yearly session of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church. I will be one of 3,000 United Methodists from the northern section of our state that will be a part of this four day gathering.
During this meeting we will do the “business” of our denomination in North Georgia. We will set a budget for our programs. We will hear reports from the various ministries that the United Methodists of North Georgia carry out together through the connection of our churches.
We will debate and pass resolutions taking stands on many issues of the day. We will elect delegates to represent North Georgia at our denomination’s General Conference, which meets ever four years as United Methodists gather from all over the world. We will nominate someone from our conference to serve our denomination as a Bishop.
On Friday all pastors will officially be appointed to the churches they will serve for the coming year. I am delighted that I will be re-appointed to serve the First United Methodist Church of Monticello for another year. This will begin my eighth year as a pastor in this wonderful community.
In addition we will spend time in worship. We will celebrate Holy Communion together and we will honor our clergy who are retiring from the active pastorate.
My good friend and colleague Dr. Bob Whitmire, pastor of the Monticello Baptist Church, will be traveling to Phoenix next week for the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. They will also be making important decisions about the future work of their outstanding denomination.
My Baptist friends do their business a little differently than we do ours, but that’s fine with me. Their denomination has been used by God to reach millions for Jesus Christ. God has blessed their efforts to be sure.
Besides, I am fairly certain that Ford and Chevrolet don’t make cars the same way either. However, in the end both Fords and Chevrolets (or Chryslers or Toyotas or Nissans) will get one where one wants to be. The important thing isn’t the brand name on the car. What’s important is that it will get one where they are going.
Some of us will prefer Fords and some will prefer Chevrolets. Isn’t it wonderful to have a choice? There are some that lament denominational labels but it seems fairly clear to me that our denominations are God’s way of reaching more people. Yes, there are various makes and models of churches but like a Ford or Chevrolet all will get one where one needs to be in the end.
This Sunday the church will observe Pentecost Sunday. On this day, 50 days removed from Easter, the Bible’s second chapter of the Book of Acts tells us that God’s Holy Spirit came upon the first disciples in a mighty way. This led the disciples to speak the word of God to those assembled in Jerusalem for a Jewish festival.
Acts tells us that those attending the festival heard in their own languages the disciples “speaking about God’s deeds of power.” After this experience Acts tells us “that day about three thousand persons” confessed Jesus Christ as their Savior.
I offer to you that we all hear the Gospel in our own language. For me the language of the Gospel is the language of Methodism. For others it might be the language of the Baptist faith, the Presbyterian faith, the Lutheran faith or the Roman Catholic faith. Yet, we all hear the Gospel regardless of the language in which we hear it.
Some of us might sprinkle when we baptize, others might immerse folks. Some of us might drink grape juice at communion and others may taste wine. Some of us might worship in more formal settings while others in a less traditional way. Some of us might worship in church that hires its own pastor while others have pastors appointed by some denominational authority. In eternity these differences pale in significance. What is important to remember is that we all seek to arrive at the same destination.
No we don’t all hear the Gospel the same way. The important thing is that we understand that others are hearing the same Gospel we hear; they just may hear it in a different language. In the words of the great Texas theologian Willie Nelson, “He ain’t wrong; he’s just different.” Praise b