Impressions of “The Gathering”
I
just returned from “The Gathering” which is a once-every-four-year
reunion/conference for a couple thousand Wesleyan pastors and spouses. It was
meaningful for me to reconnect with friends I’ve had for decades, and to see scores
of my former students. This is a sort of national camp meeting for Wesleyan
pastors.
I
know a lot of non-Wesleyans read the Tuesday Column so in case you are
wondering what we’re like and what are the recent emphases among Wesleyans I
took some notes while the conference was happening as if I was a spy—an
outsider wondering what Wesleyans were like and how they were changing. Here is
what I wrote down:
1.
Wesleyan still emphasize “getting people saved.”
While
progressive conversion is making giant strides among evangelicals Wesleyans
still talk about getting people saved—at least the speakers at this conference
did.
2.
Wesleyans believe the way to get people saved is to love them.
Got
tattoos all over your skin and a bone through your nose?—no problem there’s a
place in our worship band for you. Shacking up with some girl and cheating on
your wife—you are welcome here because we love you first and clean you up
later. “You don’t have to clean up first to come to the table.”
3.
Wesleyans are switching from counting “conversions” to counting baptisms.
Every single time at this conference that they said
“conversion” or “saved” it was reinforced visually with pictures of people
being baptized. Maybe this is
related to progressive conversions? Anyway, Wesleyans are moving to baptism as
the “moment you count” more than a getting-saved moment.
3.
Wesleyans sure have a lot of Methodists who switched.
My
goodness where did they get all these super church pastors who came from the
Methodists? Could it be that Wesleyan government offers Methodists something
they can’t get in their own denomination??? (i.e. plant
a church then grow it to a mega-church and you can stay there for life and your
DS and denomination will take a mostly hands-off approach?)
4.
Where did Wesleyans get all these Latinos, blacks and international
congregations?
North
American Wesleyan gatherings have been mostly WASPS in the past—where did all
these minority congregations come from? Seems like all new DSs & GSs in the future better at least know Spanish!
5.
Wesleyans are trying to pass on the torch to emerging leaders.
While
the speakers were mostly young boomers or Xers, the
musicians were emergents and the emphasis of everyone
was on making a place at the table for younger Wesleyans—indeed the entire Gathering
was preceded with a full-day conference of young leaders the day before.
6.
Wesleyans like to laugh.
Humor
was everywhere—people laughing in the hallways, at dinner tables, at
receptions, in the provided Internet café, and they even hired a professional
comedian to open the services. This was a ROTFLMHO conference for pastors. Lord
knows pastors need to laugh in January.
7.
Wesleyans must have lots of troubled pastoral marriages.
They
even stuck the Wesleyan statistics in the conference magazine and hired a
Smalley to speak.
8.
Wesleyans want pastors and churches to be more creative.
The
speakers constantly affirmed experimentation and creativity—find new places to
meet, new ways to worship… e.g. “There are lots more ways of doing church than
we’ve thought of yet.” Not a word of caution or concern was given—this was a
locker-room pep conference—“get out there and do it any way you can.”
-----------------
Maybe
you were there too? If so, what did you hear about Wesleyans beyond these
notes?
So, what do you think?
The discussion of this column is on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=161502633
Keith
Drury January 8, 2011