In my last newsletter article, I talked about the Kansas East Conference Capital Fund Campaign “Bridges to the Future.” I outlined the schedule of guest speakers adopted by the Lowman UMC Church Council to help us better understand what BTTF is all about. (See box at the bottom of page 5.) Today I want to share some of my thoughts about BBTF and our participation in it.

The United Methodist Church has a history of being a “Connectional Church.” I was careful in that statement not to say “’IS’ a Connectional Church” because I don’t think we are as connectional now as when I
began my ministry 32 years ago. I won’t go into all my reasons for saying that--if you are curious, ask me sometime in person and I’ll tell you. However, for over 200 years I believe that connectionalism has been one of the strengths of the UMC denomination.

As a “Connectional Church” we are given a model for mission and ministry that I believe is essential for
being a faithful Disciple of Jesus Christ and for being a faithful congregation in Christ’s church. Here is the model: “I must think of the needs of others more than of my own needs.” This is true of the
individual, and it is also true of the congregation. It is the definition of “agape” love as demonstrated by Jesus. And it is no easier today than it ever was to live this revolutionary kind of faithful discipleship.

As we move forward into the twenty-first century, we see many non-denominational churches growing and most mainline denominations static or declining. The best-case explanation for the growing non-denominational churches is that they are successfully proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ and are surrounding their members with the love of God while they are all being filled with the Holy Spirit. (Of course, there are also many main-line congregations where these things are being done well and the
congregations are growing! Please pray that Lowman UMC will become one of them!)

But the worst-case explanation for growing
congregations is that they are giving people an “easy” gospel, the “cheap grace” that Dietrich
Bonhoeffer wrote about in his classic work, The Cost of Discipleship. This “easy gospel” says that God will meet your needs, take care of your problems, and all you

have to do is believe the right things and be an
enthusiastic church member. (Come to think of it, maybe a lot of main-line church members have
somehow gotten this disastrously false idea, too.) This brand of religion doesn’t challenge our basic human selfishness (a.k.a. SIN) but compromises with it.

So what does this have to do with “Bridges to the
Future” or the “Connectional Church”? I believe that when we are given the opportunity to (1) pray for the needs of others; (2) give of our time, talent, and resources for the benefit of others; and (3) get
involved in ministries that primarily benefit others, this is when we receive the MOST benefit for
ourselves. We don’t do these things because of what we will “get in return”--we do them because Jesus our Lord taught it, commanded it, and
demonstrated it with his life and his death on the cross for you, me and the whole world. And Jesus’ resurrection is God’s validating statement that the “cross-style” of life is the way to victory, both for the individual and for the whole world.

The capital campaign “Bridges to the Future” is our opportunity to give to some vital, timely and strategic needs in our Kansas East Conference, our “connectional” church. These needs are (1) Campus Ministry; (2) Ministry to children and youth through Camp Chippewa; and (3) Local Church Revitalization and New Church Development. This is “connectionalism” at work in reality, not just
in theory. This is how we prove that it makes each
individual and each congregation stronger in our faith and discipleship.

Next time I’ll say more about each of these areas and why I think they are each important for the KEC and also for Lowman UMC. Let me just close my thoughts on
connectionalism by saying that if Lowman says “we can’t afford to give to BTTF because our own needs are too great,” we are being a selfish church.

good gifts God has given to me, I
cannot contribute to one more thing,” then we need to re-examine our commitment to Christ and his Church.

I hope to see you in church each
Sunday of January as we welcome our guest speakers and on February 3 at the covered dish meal after worship when we make our response to the “Bridges to the Future” campaign. Please pray for Lowman UMC, the Kansas East Conference, and the United Methodist Church.

Grace and Peace,
Dan Waters