Dear Members and Friends of Heritage United Methodist Church,
I write to you today because your Administrative Council recently approved a two-part motion that will go into effect over the next couple weeks, starting Monday morning, October 26.
Background
The theological identity of the United Methodist Church—and Heritage along with it—has undergone some important, positive changes over the last few years. In short, two different movements, Christian Fundamentalism and United Methodism, became intertwined in churches over the last century, and over the last five years, they have pulled apart. To read a summary of this, go to the previous article in the blog , “A Brief History of the Last Eight Years.”
The Administrative Council’s decision considered many factors, including these recent developments as well as data revealing that many in our surrounding population don’t want to be a part of the church because they think we’re “hypocritical,” “judgmental,” and “homophobic.”
A New Reality
The segment of our population that might have been most amenable to joining Heritage in the past has changed. We are going to most likely have success by inviting those living outside of the church. Perhaps they left the church in frustration over any number of theological reasons, or as the result of some other experience of the church that chased them away. Whatever it was that put church involvement in their rear view mirror, this is the segment of the population most likely to be well served by Heritage and our fellow United Methodists.
The third description mentioned above is that churches are “homophobic.” According to the Barna research linked above, around 3 in 4 Americans in the Millenial or GenX generations believe that churches are anti-LGBTQ.
That doesn’t mean that our only hope for attracting new members is the LGBTQ community. Of course these neighbors would be welcome, but LGBTQ persons comprise less than 5% of the surrounding population—we need a broader reach than that!
However, odds are that the other 95% do have an LGBTQ friend, or brother, or sister, or child, or grandchild, or neighbor, or coworker. Their belief is not only that the church isn’t welcoming to an LGBTQ person, but that the church believes it’s wrong to approve of a friend or relative or coworker when they come out of the closet. It is this perspective that creates a barrier to so many of our neighbors, and the way we will get to meet them is by offering something different than they’ve seen from churches in the past.
It will take intentional communication to say that we are eager to welcome our LGBTQ neighbors, as well as their friends and relatives and coworkers, because currently they don’t believe they are welcome.
For this reason, your administrative council has voted to communicate it. On Monday morning, October 26, this video slide will appear on our church marquee.
Eventually, we will be offering a Heritage t-shirt with the same message available for sale on the forthcoming new merchandise page on our website.
There’s a good chance that some outside the church will find this newsworthy, and seek you out to discuss it. I would advise you to just listen, and thank them for sharing their opinion. Remember that we are United Methodists, and we do not live in a “battle” posture.
We’ll also share the video on social media, and I hope you’ll share it on your accounts to spread the word that while some people may have felt unwelcome at churches in the past, that won’t be the case if you come to Heritage.
I thank the Administrative Council for their leadership and courage in taking this step. God has raised up the right people to be this church in this season, and I can’t wait to tell everybody everywhere that they’ll feel right at home at Heritage!
I am so glad to be the church of Jesus Christ with you!
Sincerely,
Pastor Matt
