Fresh Expressions United Methodist Pre-General Conference Gathering

The table is wide and the feast is ready, and there are always more people to invite to the party. On Monday, April 22, the Fresh Expressions United Methodist pre-GC Conference gathered at First UMC Charlotte. The morning began with Rev. Jeff Campbell, CEO and General Secretary of UM Discipleship Ministries leading us in a devotional reflection on the passage from Luke 14:22 and following, how the wedding feast in the parable is opened to anyone who will come into the party. As he continues to share Discipleship Ministries’ #SeeAllThePeople campaign, Rev. Campbell emphasized how we engage the “why” of discipleship in Christ by both engaging the folks who are currently in our pews and congregations, but we also are called to discipleship in Jesus Christ by reaching out to those who are in our communities. 

Rev. Dr. Bener Agtarap from Path One encouraged us to see the way that the Wesley way of salvation holds us to a “Sending Grace”, a grace that holds God’s prevenient grace, justification, and sanctification together, and calls us to the holy action of “Listening, Learning, and Loving” the people who are in our communities with us. 

Bishop Ken Carter echoed the scripture of the call to the wedding party (he’d slipped in after Rev. Campbell spoke, so his echo was gracefully unintentional) and also spoke of the lectionary from this past Sunday, when Jesus speaks as the Good Shepherd. Bishop Carter shared how the verse John 10:16—in which Jesus says that there are other sheep outside of the fold who also belong to Christ—is a graceful yet unsettling reminder that the work continues in ways that we do not already see, that we are called to continue to listen, and that “listening is a form of love.” Bishop Carter, who has been repeatedly outspoken on the need for our continued work on anti-racism and other works of justice, reminded us that “we are all in need of healing and we all can be healers.” He remind us of how when bones heal, that after an injury, the work is not always painless. “Healing has an aspect of justice, it’s not healed if it is not set right.” He closed by reminding us of the Wesleyan call to holiness that is “love of God and love of neighbor.”

Rev. Dr Stephanie Moore Hand remind us that we are called to the work of Doing Justice Together, the title of her recent book coauthored with Rev. Michael Adam Beck (who later spoke of the work of adaptive ecclesiology), where we are asked the difficult questions of how to love our neighbors, as well as our enemies, where we are called to the work of anti-racist discipleship. 

Rev. Luke Edwards reminded us of the important work of listening to our communities, and shared his resource of The Listening Church https://www.thelisteningchurch.com an invaluable resource for those who are discerning how God is calling them to begin Fresh Expressions in their own communities. 

Rev. Chris and Jaidymar Alicea Smith shared their work in Expressiones de Amor, how even the work of language is important as we reach out across cultural thresholds. They shared the work they are doing in Rutherford County, how they are engaged in community that shares together. They reminded us all that sharing food together goes a long way in building connections among communities who have been unsure how to be together. 

Rev. Kris Sledge, who carried us with vibrant energy as our final presenter, shared ways that he has participated in Fresh Expressions that are Younger, Diverse, and Inclusive. He shared the researched values of young adults, and how they are diverging from what the established church maintains. He shared the quote attributed to John Alan Turner: “It’s hard to convince people that a God they can’t see loves them when a church they can see doesn’t seem to like them.” Rev. Sledge reminded us that we who are established within the church are called to hold and create space for questions, curiosity, and doubts, not as a challenge to faith, but a way to support growth and discipleship in faith in Jesus Christ. 

The good question that the panel wrestled with as we closed our day was “What gives you hope?” The through line of the group was a reminder that the work is still unfinished, and that we are not in competition with one another. God calls us to remember that we are called to be with people, and to continue to create opportunities to make connections with our communities, whether we are down the road from the convention center, or in a rural area where the only place to gather is a Subway. God continues to call us to discipleship among our communities.