tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4152029133681792030.post1511087421234900703..comments2023-07-17T09:54:31.556-05:00Comments on Hacking Christianity: Is the Church too big to fail?Rev. Jeremy Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10137491388537194847noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4152029133681792030.post-3011094048827383462010-08-28T04:51:43.568-05:002010-08-28T04:51:43.568-05:00If that's your assigned reading, seems to me y...If that's your assigned reading, seems to me you Oklahoma pastors have a leadership drag. I feel for you guys trying to pastor under that.Lance Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02388957652328484674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4152029133681792030.post-23845152085133792132010-08-18T08:16:00.941-05:002010-08-18T08:16:00.941-05:00I think the old hand's knee-jerk refusal to im...I think the old hand's knee-jerk refusal to imagine the world without the UMC is exactly the same as the (often) young person's knee-jerk enthusiasm for burning it all down and starting over.<br /><br />Those set in our ways resist change. Those rising into an established system resist tradition.<br /><br />The young see the old as lacking passion and commitment. The old see the young as Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4152029133681792030.post-27016923049075173272010-08-17T06:12:08.768-05:002010-08-17T06:12:08.768-05:00I'll stop short of saying it should be burned ...I'll stop short of saying it should be burned to the ground, but I will say that the institutional church seems to be more in the business of barriers than outreach. My favorite question, best asked in private, is this: if you had to choose between Jesus and this building, what would you do? Most of the time our budget answers that question for us.<br /><br />Here's a great song on what Dave Wyblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09623357167770566661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4152029133681792030.post-37784738448220686522010-08-16T21:06:49.408-05:002010-08-16T21:06:49.408-05:00Unthinkable? That just means we can't think it...Unthinkable? That just means we can't think it. It's more about our limitations of imagination than about whether radical change is possible, even good. <br /><br />About survival/non-survival of the institutional church or the UMC: they may survive, or they may not. A line in an old Methodist liturgy was something like: "Dearly beloved: the Church is of God and will exist til the Wes Stantonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00329116859560797765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4152029133681792030.post-16549875897490102862010-08-16T18:18:42.154-05:002010-08-16T18:18:42.154-05:00I almost think that we should burn it all down. No...I almost think that we should burn it all down. Now, I'm Baptist by tradition, so take this with a grain of salt. But what if we did just kind of "melt" away into the shadows for a generation, working under the cover of regular society with the goal of reemerging later as a revamped program of very humble people? Seems to me that it might work.The Navy Christianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15116964729906856912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4152029133681792030.post-85582565317566171752010-08-16T10:38:01.523-05:002010-08-16T10:38:01.523-05:00I have given much thought lately to the dilemma th...I have given much thought lately to the dilemma the UMC faces. The Church at large along with the UMC has not done a very good job conveying the message of Christ to the American culture. Most of those who see themselves as Christian or spiritual but not religious point to the church when asked why they feel as they do. With House Churches and non-traditional churches showing the greatest growth Pastor Larryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17821088253350056026noreply@blogger.com