What is the question we are answering?

January, 2008

The United Methodist Church now has great clarity about its mission: making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. We here in the Illinois Great Rivers Conference have been aligning our intention and practice as well as our personnel and financial resources around this mission for some time. At the recent global convocation for Cabinets planned and led by the Council of Bishops the participants explored together how this mission is led.

At the convocation Dr. Randy Maddox, professor of Wesley studies at Duke, named for us the heart of our Wesleyan DNA. He noted that John Wesley’s deepest question was: “How can I be the kind of person God and I want me to be?” To answer this question for ourselves, we must be formed in the mind of Christ and then live as Christ as our second nature.

Dr. Maddox went on to say to be formed in the mind of Christ we must be steeped in Christian practices: acts of mercy (doing no harm and doing good) and acts of piety (growing in love of God through prayer, scripture reflection, Holy Communion, Christian conversation, worship, and fasting.) After all, Christianity and therefore United Methodism is a way, a way of life. Practiced over a lifetime, we go on toward perfection in love.

The leadership of our IGRC superintendents and conference staff as well as the New Streams and Congregational Development initiatives of our conference focus their attention on resourcing our congregations in their disciple-making mission so that the people in our congregations and the communities they serve can find their way into asking and answering the question “How can I be the kind of person God and I want me to be?” It is the question that sets us on the path to fullness of life and peace that passes understanding.

Is your congregation equipped to help people ask and answer this question?

—Bishop Sharon A. Brown Christopher