A melting iceberg

Well, there you go. Did you see the report. A story in the Religion News Service reported that the "Methodist Church" in Britain is "hemorrhaging members" and has been described by a leading religious affairs commentator as a "bit like an iceberg that's crumbling into the sea."

The story said that Linda Woodhead, a sociologist at Lancaster University, showed a dramatic collapse of membership -- to about 200,000 in the U.K. -- in the last decade alone.

"During the past 10 years, members of the Methodist Church has fallen by a third, with attendance falling by a similar proportion," said Moira Sleight, editor and publisher of the Methodist Recorder.

In another article, Woodhead is quoted as saying, "It's totally dying out. On current trends, they (the Methodists) will disappear, very soon."

Reasons? Some say it is because of liberalism in the British Methodists. Some say it is in doctrinal pursuits. Some say ...

Here's the deal, as I see it, and I acknowledge first and foremost that you can read a thousand more technical, a million more theological, a slew (which is a Southern term for a bunch which is a Northern term for a lot) more scriptural blogs this very morning that will have all sorts of ideas about what we, Methodists, need to do before we are like icebergs melting into the sea.

Me? I'm going to tell you what we must do.

Love.

Just love.

Recently, as I understand it, a dean at the University of Duke, one Richard Hays caused a stir. He spoke at the Divinity School's (the DIVINITY SCHOOL'S) orientation. He apparently quoted from the BOOK OF DISCIPLINE that included the line "the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. His doing so, for reasons he later explained clumsily, caused a demonstration from this who called the comments "homophobic."

Hays addressed the demonstration in an open letter to the Divinity School community by saying that the statement circulating online was a version of his remarks and his message has been gravely misinterpreted by some who were present. He reminded everyone that the Discipline declares all persons as individuals of sacred worth."

Here's my deal on all this (one again). These are incredible sensitive subjects. And the truth is I follow the Discipline about as much as I root for the Atlanta Falcons.

But until we, those dying Methodists, come to some sort of terms with this particular subject above all else, I feel we are viewed by a world that needs love more than it needs politics, love more than it needs someone being right, love more than it needs theological statements, love more than it needs anything else, well, that iceberg is getting pretty warm.

If one can at least read the scriptures and talk about them in love, one can help lead those who are in need to He who can save. If not, we will disappear.