It's Really About "Following Jesus" not Denominations

One may ask, tapping on the microphone:

“Is this on?”

I am now tapping on the IB Patch wondering:

“Is anyone reading this?”

(I hope so.)

As a pastor in a mainline denomination, I often ask,

“Are we on?” 

“Can anyone hear us anymore?”

“Does anyone ever listen?”

There is a reality in the church.

The church has a declining membership.

It is happening in most denominations across the nation. 

The younger generation is not excited by the church. 

They are not interested in institutional rules and regulations. 

They are turned off by hypocrisy of talking about love,

but acting with judgment towards others.

They want their honest questions and doubts heard, not dismissed.

They do not want someone else’s easy answers.

As it has been said,

They like Jesus,

but they don’t like the church.

While young adults are not running to church doors,

they have a passion to make this world a better place. 

They want a society where all are valued.

They want to care for the homeless.

They want to feed the hungry.

They want children to be loved.

They want the world to be a safe place.

As a pastor,

I do not want anyone to

follow me,

or any denomination or institution.

I want people to follow Jesus.

Jesus. 

Remember him?

Jesus who taught people to love one another, even their enemies.

Jesus who fed the hungry.

Jesus who welcomed all into the community

even those the religious people didn’t like.

Jesus who believed we need to forgive those who wrong us.

Jesus who taught that we are not to judge others.

Jesus who liberated the oppressed

and taught that death is not the final word.

That is the Jesus I follow.

It is upon this Jesus, I base my life.

Following Jesus does not make me religious,

rather it makes me more

compassionate and caring and spiritual.

Now, if you are actually reading this,

thank you

and

you are invited to join me in following Jesus.

You can come to church on Sunday.

That would be great!

But if you are looking for something different,

be part of a Jesus movement outside the church walls.

A place with caring relationships

and people committed to make this world better.

A community serious about what Jesus taught

and puts those teachings into action.

Now, this is a new movement

but one with very old roots dating back to the early church

before denominations and creeds

when the focus was on caring for the community

especially the poor.

If you are interested in learning more,

please contact me.

Email me at JonEdwin@aol.com

I invite you to come to worship on Sunday morning.

There is worship at the IB United Methodist Church

every Sunday at 8:30 and 10:30am.

But if you don’t feel that is where you belong,

but you still want to follow Jesus,

talk to me

and join this new Jesus community

that is going to start.

If we but listen,

I believe Jesus is still calling us

to follow him today.

I hope this is on and someone can hear this.

If you can, let me know.

:-)

John Griffin

Pastor

IB United Methodist Church

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619.424.5181

JonEdwin@aol.com

IBUMC.com