One of the hallmarks of our Methodist tradition is our emphasis on connectionalism - the idea that no congregation is an island; indeed, we are all connected to each other and the larger church. We share our ministry; what happens in one congregation happens to all. We lift up one another's celebrations, and hold each other's hands through times of trial. We find the roots of our shared ministry through God as revealed in the Holy Scriptures and order ourselves through the authority of the Book of Discipline, the provisions of which are administered by those ordained as elders in the church under the direction of the bishop.
Spending the past two and a half days in the office of our District Superintendent, I have been consistently reminded of the joy of this connection - seeing how the Kingdom of God is at work through so many of our local congregations. As part of the district audit team that helps review and compile the data from the past year in each of these places, visiting with each of the pastors, I thought often of how much it means to be able to share our ministry with so many others. From the highs we celebrated with a few, to the tears that were shed with a few, to the encouragement shared with all, it reminded me once again of the communal nature of our faith. Where's the comfort of knowing we have a great cloud of witnesses who share our faith and tradition if we live as though each church is an island unto itself and not swept up into the larger work of the Holy Spirit that has breathed life into our movement for well over two centuries?
We cannot escape the fact that in and through Christ - his life, death, and resurrection - we are all connected to one another. Our emphasis on connection finds its modern founding through the ministry of John and Charles Wesley, but make no mistake about it - the roots of our connection are found in the earliest days of Christianity. Spend some time in the Acts of the Apostles and in Paul's writings where he is encouraging a particular congregation to help support a sister congregation in need, and it becomes quite apparent early on that we have a shared responsibility for our well-being.
Praise be to God we are not in this alone!
See you Sunday!
Lamar
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