e-note from Martin - July 31 Issue

Dear Church Family, Change is never easy. But people and organizations must constantly change or die. I was reminded of this a few weeks ago. Over a period of several days I watched a movie called "The Artist" and read a book titled "Remember the Future: Praying for the Church and Change" by Robert Schnase, author of "Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations."

Many of you have seen "The Artist." It won several Academy Awards this year including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor. The movie tells the story of the transition of the movie industry in the late 1920's from silent films to talking films. In the movie, a famous silent film movie star refused to change from a silent actor to a "talkie." It cost him everything, including his career, his marriage, and his finances. Thankfully, the film ended on a more hopeful note, when the actor was finally willing to change with the times. But his long unwillingness to innovate cost him dearly.

The same week that I watched "The Artist" I read Schnase's new book about The United Methodist Church. His overall premise is that the UMC, along with all denominations, must change or die.

I'd like to share one quote from the book: If the only statistic we could fully comprehend about The United Methodist Church in the US is that our median age is

approaching 60 while the median age of our culture is 35, we would see with stark clarity the missional challenge we face.

There is an age gap of nearly two generations between the average US United Methodist and the local mission field. And across that gap lie significant differences in perception, spirituality, musical tastes, community, life experience, use of technology, and cultural value.

Schnase believes that churches can change with the times and make crucial adjustments. But he knows it will not be easy and many churches will not make the shift. For those who do not, there is no future.

Schnase is not advocating that the church of Jesus Christ change its message. But he is saying that the church must constantly change its methods to fit the current culture. Far too many American churches are doing ministry in the 21st Century in a manual typewriter and rotary phone mode, while our culture uses i-Pads and smart phones. As you might guess, their future is bleak.

Thankfully, BUMC is far healthier demographically than most United Methodist churches. We have a fairly healthy age span from children to senior adults, although we need to do better at connecting with young adults, age 20 to 30, which we are currently working on. Also, BUMC has a long history of making needed changes to insure a vibrant future. For example, way back around 1860, BUMC was the first Methodist church in Tennessee to allow men and women to sit together on the same pew!

Through the years we've relocated, expanded facilities, birthed major new ministries, added an additional campus, and started a contemporary worship service. Although none of those decisions were easy, BUMC has always made progressive innovations to insure a vibrant future.

Over the next few months, BUMC will once again focus on our future as we get closer to finalizing our SLI "MAP" (Ministry

Action Plan). This MAP will articulate our values, mission and vision. The MAP will also lay out some practical strategies for the future, which we will constantly evaluate, update and build upon. Our MAP will not be a final, long-term strategic plan. But it will serve as a foundational process that will move us towards God's future for BUMC. Given our rich history of innovation, and our current process of prayerful intentional planning, I'm extremely optimistic about our congregation. However, I'm deeply concerned about our denomination and the broader American church, which is in steep decline and reluctant to change. I hope, in the years ahead, BUMC will continue to serve as a healthy model of a church that respects its traditions, values and culture, and yet, at the same time, is able to adapt and make the changes needed to be viable in the ever changing world in which we live.

I hope to see you this weekend as we conclude our journey through the Lord's Prayer. We'll focus on the phrase "But deliver us from evil" which seems especially timely given the recent Colorado shootings. [Note: we already explored the concluding words of the prayer "For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever" when we focused on the phrase "Hallowed be thy name."] As an extra blessing this Sunday, the Grammy award winning Maryland State Boychoir will be singing at our 8:30 and 11:00 worship services and you will not want to miss them. They will also be performing an afternoon concert in the Narthex at 2:00 PM. For many reasons, this weekend will be an important time of worship, so please make plans to join us. Also, don't forget if you lead a class or group please register to attend the Teacher Summit this Sunday afternoon, August 5.

Finally, it was good to receive Laurel-Leigh Arrendale and Tucker Frost as new members. Welcome to our church family.

In Christ's Love and Service, Martin