British Methodists ask young people for '11th commandment'

May 18, 2004

By Kathleen LaCamera*

The British Methodist Church challenged young people to come up with a new commandment for the 21st century.

MANCHESTER, England (UMNS) - British Methodists went into bars, pubs, movie theaters and student unions across the United Kingdom, looking for an "11th commandment."

The church distributed three-quarters of a million "11th Commandment" beer mats and postcards in places where people in their 20s and 30s go to relax and enjoy themselves. One side of the cards and mats featured an image with a slogan like "Eat more doughnuts" or "Never give out your password" to pique people's curiosity. The flip side carried a challenge from the British Methodist Church to come up with a new commandment for the 21st century. Using cell phones, people could text-message their suggestions to the church. The five best entries won cell camera phones.

Out of 2,000 submissions, the five winning 11th commandment suggestions were:

• Thou shalt not worship false pop idols.
• Thou shalt not kill in the name of any god.
• Thou shalt not confuse text with love.
• Thou shalt not consume thine own body weight in fudge.
• Thou shalt not be negative.

The campaign grew out of the church's increasing concern that it is not serving the "under 40s" well enough and needs to know more about who they are and what they care about.

People used text messaging to send suggestions to the church. The best entries won cell camera phones.

"Certainly among the 20 and 30 age group, there is a big feeling that people don't want to come to a building on Sunday morning and be told what to do and how to act," explained 27-year-old Methodist minister Cris Acher. Acher was part of the team that came up with the 11th commandment concept.

According to Acher, the church no longer has the respect or the trust it once had. "So really, the church's starting point is to listen and then take it from there," he told UMNS.

Feedback from this listening exercise goes into a larger process of reflection on under-40s ministry in the Methodist Church. A major report will be presented at the British Methodist Church's Annual Conference this year.

University students at the Retro Bar in Manchester's city center were surprised to find the 11th Commandment mats underneath their drinks had been put there by the Methodist Church.

Aerospace engineering student Gavin Edwards admitted he did a "double take" when he saw the mats. His 11th commandment suggestion: "Thou shalt not sleep through your lectures."

"I thought it was a joke at first," reported fellow engineering student Wagas Javed, who confessed shock at seeing the church's name on a beer mat. Javed said the 10 original commandments should not be tampered with but deemed the campaign a "good idea."

Cris Acher, a 27- year-old British Methodist minister, says the church is not serving the "under 40s" well.

Jonathan Kerry, the Methodist Church's coordinating secretary for worship and learning, said that while some in the church felt the campaign downgraded the Bible and was too trivial and light-hearted, many were supportive and welcomed the feedback that came from it. Kerry also acknowledged that for Methodists, anything associated with drinking, alcohol and pubs is "difficult."

"We can't just cut ourselves off. We've not endorsing these things … but we have to go places where (church members) might feel uncomfortable; otherwise we're condemning before we start," Kerry said. "We have to get alongside people and engage them."

Back at the Retro Bar in Manchester, student Daniel Cuper said he used to go to church when he was younger, but he doesn't have time for it any more between his studies and his job at McDonald's. He admitted he regularly makes time for a drink and game of pool at the pub and called the 11th commandment campaign "all right."

Like Cuper, music student Haley Moss said she used to go to church. She works on Sunday mornings and suggested the 11th commandment should state, "Thou shall not work on Sunday and shall sleep in more."

Over Moss' shoulder, a group of her friends, who play in a band called "Rhythmic Cough," sent in by text message their joint 11th commandment suggestion: "Drink More."

"It's not everyone's idea of mission. It's all about risk … taking big bold steps," Acher said. "People want to come, to discuss issues. They want to share with others. They are looking for community, and that doesn't always happen during an hour on Sunday morning."

The campaign's innovation as well as its diverse range of 11th commandment suggestions has attracted the attention of the mainstream press across the United Kingdom and in other parts of Europe.

"We've got everything from 'Thou shalt not support Arsenal Football Club' to 'Thou shalt not be so critical of others," Acher observed. Plans are afoot to publish an 11th commandment book, he added.

When asked what he thought Jesus would make of the campaign, Acher said Jesus would be sitting right in the middle of a group of people in a pub helping them send their text messages to the church.

"We have to be more imaginative, more radical in the ways we do church," Acher said.

Besides the five winning suggestions, other submissions to the contest included:

Thou shalt not: ... dance like your dad ... marry unless truly in love ... hold loud conversations on thy mobile phone in a public place ... condemn thy neighbor for having different beliefs ... use faith to hide from reality ... use plastic to multiply your possessions ... shrink-wrap cucumbers ... pretend to have no change when asked to donate to charity.

As well as:

Thou shalt: ... commit random acts of kindness ... respect the earth ... smile at the person opposite.

For more information, visit www.shipoffools.com.

*LaCamera is a United Methodist News Service correspondent based in England.  News media can contact Tim Tanton at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

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