What If We Rethink Church?

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I want you to join me on a mental journey. To a different reality: to where church . . . is not a building, but a concept. To where church is not just a place we go, but something we do. To where church is no longer a noun . . . and open is not an adjective, but a verb.
 
I want you to Rethink Church. Not in terms of what it is, but of what it could be.
 
Eight years ago, The United Methodist Church began telling the world that "our hearts, our minds, our doors are open." We had great success with that means of raising awareness about who we are as a people of Christ: In a Gallup poll taken one year ago, 96% of respondents had either a positive or neutral view of Methodists - the highest approval rating of any religious group in the United States. But as we seek to reach new generations, to bring to the table those with spiritual hunger they themselves may not even fully recognize or understand, we have to take our message to the next level. To reach a new audience, "open" must become a verb that challenges us To open hearts. To open minds. And To open doors: 10,000 of them.
 
In May, United Methodist Communications will roll out a new national advertising campaign with the Rethink Church message, which seeks to redefine church as an experience beyond Sunday mornings or the building itself. It asks . . . what if we rethink "church," to see it as unlimited points of entry, instead of a building - 10,000 doors, if you will - with each one opening to a different experience of church, and with anyone knocking being able to find an entry point to his or her own individual journey?
 
The goal is to encourage a spiritual dialogue, both within and outside of the church. To nudge "unchurched" young adults, in particular, to think about their spirituality and consider what churches may have to offer - while at the same time challenging those of us within the church to ask whether in fact we do have something to offer that young adults would want.
 
As the Wesleyans of today, we need to take our spirit of activism and apply it to ourselves. We need to do things differently: we need to Rethink Church.
 
The Rethink Church/10,000 Doors movement will be launched on May 6. This is the time for us to do the work of examining ourselves and imagining what we could be.
 
In advance of the May 6 launch, I encourage you to explore the Rethink Church website at rethinkchurch.org - and to consider taking UMCom's Rethink Church 101 Welcoming Training (a free interactive online course), as well as a free, self-directed online course about the Four Areas of Focus that UMCom has developed. (You will find links to Rethink Church and Four Areas of Focus materials under "Resources" on the Conference website.)
 
This year's Annual Conference Session will provide opportunities to learn more about Rethink Church from United Methodist Communications staff, and to engage in workshops centered on empowering our congregations.
 
Finally, I ask you to consider this: In a recent study, The Barna Group found that only 16% of non-Christian young adults, ages 16-29, have a favorable impression of Christianity - while 87% consider it to be too judgmental, and 85% see it as hypocritical.
 
In the face of this reality, isn't it time to rethink how we relate to young people?
 
Isn't it time to Rethink Church?

By: Warner H. Brown, Jr. On 4/17/2009
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