Dear Members and Friends of Fort Hill,
Prior to worship this past Sunday I shared information about a few of the decisions of the General Conference that met from April 23 – May 3. Comprised of an equal number of 872 laity and clergy members elected by annual conferences across The United Methodist Church, General Conference meets every four years as the official legislative voice of our denomination for the upcoming quadrennium. You may read about the decisions reached by the recently concluded General Conference at https://www.resourceumc.org/en/content/general-conference-legislative-recap.
As a delegate to the 2008 and 2012 General Conferences, I grew to appreciate the diverse views of Christians from around the world as their understanding of biblical faith was undergirded by traditions and experiences with which I may have agreed or disagreed. I grew in my reasoning of how the story of God’s grace for all the world is told in:
- John 3 as Jesus taught Nicodemus, a Pharisee and religious leader of Israel, how the story of God’s redemption of the world is revealed through the gift of Jesus, God’s only Son.
- Acts 10 as the story of God’s inclusion of the Gentiles in the story of God’s redemption is revealed in Peter’s vision of clean and unclean animals being lowered on a sheet and God’s command for Peter to eat food considered to be unclean by the dietary restrictions of Jewish religious law.
- Acts 15 and the gathering of leaders of the early church at the Jerusalem Council in response to the false teaching that “unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses you cannot be saved” (Acts 15:2). The result of the Jerusalem Council was a broadening of the understanding of God’s salvation as Gentiles were accepted as disciples of Jesus who could be saved without having to conform to the requirements of Judaism.
When I was appointed as a district superintendent, sometimes I would meet with congregations who were facing times of disagreement. In meeting with these congregations, I would begin the meeting by reading scripture about Paul’s vision for the church from Philippians 2:1-4:
After reading this scripture, I would ask if this is what God envisioned for this congregation. Always the answer was in the affirmative. To which I would reply, “If this is God’s vision for this congregation, then I invite you to hear what is required of this congregation.” Then I would read these verses from Philippians 2:5-11:
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. Therefore, God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
In 2019, when Beverly and I met with Fort Hill’s Staff-Parish Relations Committee prior to my appointment as pastor, I shared my prayer that Fort Hill would have the mind of Christ even when we might not be of one mind. I am grateful that God has answered this prayer through the faithfulness of Fort Hill’s members and friends.
I look forward to our continued journey of faith in Jesus to the glory of God.
In Christ’s Service,
Marc
