I am a United Methodist by intent and choice. I know that some of you claim our heritage from your birth, but I cannot. My Baptist mother did not tell me about my Circuit Riding Methodist Great-Grandfather until after I joined the Methodist Church.

I have been both fascinated and awed about how the United Methodist Church credentials those call into the ministry of Jesus Christ.

Our heritage is two fold - - first of all - - the Anglican model of an educated, both pre-graduate and postgraduate degrees, high church clergy. I call that the Wesley model. Then there is our American brand of our Wesley heritage that I call the Asbury model. That is, in the American spirit, you made do with what you had - - which was an under-educated, group of lay men and women who felt the urgency of the gospel tugging at their hearts and responded with a calling to cover miles and miles of a circuit on horseback. To use an old church expression, they were “under conviction” to go and “spread scriptural holiness across the land”. They must have done a good job of it - - there are now more United Methodist Churches than Post Offices across these United States.

At one time around 1900 we were opening two new churches a day!

I was reviewing the rules and regulations recently of what a person who feels “The Call” today must comply with to be “properly credentialed” by the church. Our Boards of Ministry have a full time job on their hands. Indeed some now have a full time person just keeping the paper work up to date. We have Deacons, Elders, Local Pastors, Lay Speakers, etc. Seems like we ought to give everyone a collar to wear that has their “pedigree credentials” on it so we can know whether to call on them out or not, and then where to send them.

We need, as a church, to ask ourselves - - what is wrong with this picture!

About six years ago - - one of our small rural churches was down to just “us four and no more”. There was no “credentialed” person to be appointed. In desperation they turned to this under-educated grandmother, who was only a part time local pastor student, to go and just keep the doors open! Well this diminutive, energetic, Holy Spirit inspired grandmother became their pastor. One year later - - that church was presented the Annual Conference Small Church of the Year award!

That is just one of many instances across our state where a church that was folding in upon itself was brought back to life with a new vision - - a new energy - - and a new mission.

We do need new church starts - - no doubt. But those are awfully expense. The people are already there - - what we need most, it seems to me - - is a person in every place, who has caught the vision and has been called by God to - - "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you."

“Sheep Skins” are important and make good “wall eye candy” - - ever go in a “credentialed” preachers office where you did not see them? I got my BS there, my MDiv over there, and my DMin here! But is that was we should have upon our walls in our churches?

It seems to me that we should have up pictures and names of those in our neighborhoods who do not know Jesus, pictures of the children in our church, pictures of our home bound members. Pictures of the resurrected and victorious Christ!

Now deceased, Bishop William Cannon, gave the Episcopal Address to our Bi-Centennial General Conference in Baltimore. I will never forget his stinging words and they have haunted me ever since - - “We have lost our passion for lost souls!”

Licensing comes from the Church.

Preaching Credentials - - they come directly from God!



A Jim Lane Commentary
July 1, 2003