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Church development school hears ‘change is good’

By Mary Beth Coudal*
Aug. 5, 2008 | GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (UMNS)

 
The Rev. Mark Beeson speaks on how the church must "innovate or die" during a presentation to the United Methodist School of Congregational Development. A UMNS Web-only photo by Chris Heckert, Board of Global Ministries.

In a video, the face of a pastor is pasted onto the dancing body of Napoleon Dynamite, the title character in a cult comedy movie of 2004.

People under 30 would appreciate the image; those over 40 might not, said the Rev. Mark Beeson, who used the clip to introduce his address to the 2008 United Methodist School of Congregational Development.

His topic: "Innovate or Die."

The point throughout the animated presentation was that the church should not fear changing ministries to reach young generations. If the church does not reach the young people of today, it will not have much of a future. "Change is good," he said.

The pastor of Granger (Ind.) Community United Methodist Church, Beeson spoke to two audiences: one gathered in Grand Rapids and one by satellite link in Orlando, Fla., as part of the six-day school that ended Aug. 5.

"It's unbelievable the changes in technology and what it has done to us," Beeson said. "We no longer learn in a linear fashion. … Everything is story and image."

The Gospel and the mission of the church never change, he said, but the church must find strategies that will engage postmodern people to help them take the next steps toward Christian discipleship.

Punctuating his point that change is good, Beeson said the church expects people to change when they accept Christ. "The whole world doesn't go to church," he said. "You have to give them a reason (to come). Give them a why. … Help people take their next steps towards Christ. … Is your cause worth the price of change?—because you're asking people to change."

The School of Congregational Development is held annually to bring together United Methodist pastors, administrators and laypeople to become catalysts for church renewal and growth. The event is sponsored by the United Methodist boards of Discipleship and the Global Ministries.

Ministry tracks focused on new church starts, church renewal and outreach to ethnic and minority populations.
In speaking both of new church development or older church revitalization, Beeson put heavy emphasis on vision, mission and the question "so what?"

"Mission is why you exist," he said.

Beeson founded the Granger church 22 years ago, and the congregation now has a membership of about 5,000 and weekly worship attendance of about 6,000 in multiple services. He encouraged other pastors to challenge members to use their best talents for the Gospel.

"Most of the people in our churches are under-challenged," he said, recalling a woman who led a multimillion-dollar company but was only asked to usher once a month by her church. "We do not challenge high-capacity people enough," the speaker said. "Most people would rather be swallowed by a whale than bitten to death by small fish."

*Coudal is a staff writer for the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.

News media contact: Linda Green, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

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Resources

School of Congregational Development

Board of Global Ministries

Board of Discipleship

State of the Church


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