George Floyd International Memorial, Minneapolis, MN.
By Rev. Ryan K. Gephart, Peace with Justice Coordinator for the Susquehanna Conference UMC and Preaching Justice Fellow with The Center for Faith and Justice
At Conference Superintendent Lillian Smith’s Installation, a Haitian Choir that is part of a Haitian Church that meets at First UMC, Chambersburg, sang some beautiful anthems. The inspiring music was part of a Spirit-filled installation worship service. As the choir was introduced, a disturbing thought entered my mind that would not have even occurred to me months ago. I wondered, due to everything that has occurred in political discourse in American politics and especially in light of what has happened in Springfield, OH, if the Haitian community in Chambersburg was safe. I wondered if First UMC, Chambersburg has had any fallout from hosting our brothers and sisters in Christ from Haiti. I pray that these random thoughts have not occurred in real life. However, to even have these brief notions disturbed me. It reminded me that “othering” or scapegoating is alive and well in America. It reminded me that the experiences I have had being part of the Faith and Justice Preaching Fellowship these past months have only reinforced that much work, guided by the Holy Spirit, needs to be done to combat the recurring problem of blaming others (especially the marginalized and disenfranchised) for difficulties in society.
My fellowship cohort leader, Rev. Tyler Sit, was our main presenter on the first night of our in-person fellowship gathering in Minneapolis, MN. He relayed to us that, “empire has a way of making even new communities for marginalized communities turn into what it was not for; hence we need places where we encounter God with worship that has inner transformation and justice which has outer transformation (personal piety and social holiness).” Rev. Sit is the lead pastor at Northeast UMC “which celebrates and affirms the LGBTQ+ community. Many of their leaders, including their pastor, are queer. In affirming the LGBTQ+ community, they remember that God is love (1 John 4:7).” (from their website https://northeastumc.com/) Northeast UMC is one of the fastest growing churches in the Minnesota Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Approximately 60% of their members identify as queer. “Northeast UMC strives to be an actively anti-racist community. Their Embodied Anti-Racism programming is a core part of following Jesus, who came to liberate the oppressed and set captives free (Luke 4:18). Northeast UMC loves the earth, and they strive to counteract climate change in both policy and practice. They converted their yard to a garden. They believe the earth is the Lord’s (Psalm 24:1-2).” (from their website https://northeastumc.com/) Northeast UMC is the embodiment of attracting people who are not seeking to make the great commission of making disciples for Jesus Christ into building their own chiefdom or empire. They, instead, build beloved Christ-following communities as a United Methodist Church. These communities are, as Rev. Sit states, seeking to bring people into inner transformation through worship and outer transformation through justice work. As their new community grows they seek to not forget that as people made up of historically marginalized groups, that they themselves will not turn into empire builders, but beloved community people following Christ.
As I reflect on my experience with the fellowship over the first two months of our work, I continue to ask the question: Does Great Commission theology as we practice it build the beloved community or are we empire building in the name of Jesus Christ? You see as Peter Choi one of the leaders of the Center for Faith and Justice stated in day two of our in-person fellowship, “Great Commission theology for American Christianity is a profitable business that makes for a great excuse for empire building, slogan making, and money making while it is actually killing us (church and clergy).” I worry that in the name of making disciples, we will stay silent when justice issues of “othering”/scapegoating come up. I also worry that great commission theology, that is based on the end of the Gospel from Matthew, does not and will not see making disciples through the lens of the entire Gospel of Matthew. A Gospel that includes the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount. Instead great commission theology, if not coupled with transformation and justice work (Sermon on the Mount teaching and theology), has and will be about American Church empire building. If new disciples are about being part of the transformation of the world to be more like the Sermon on the Mount, then we are part of God’s beloved community kingdom work.
If church growth ends up being about personal empire building disguising itself as making disciples but really is about building power, then the results have and will be disastrous for the church. Not only will it be disastrous, it has and will make churches and clergy ill (see Duke clergy health studies) while actually not providing sustainable growth. Sustainable growth that reaches new generations must be authentic in places and churches that seek to be disciples who try to embody the Sermon on the Mount and beloved community principles through justice work. If it is not, then current and new generations will “turn the channel” on us. They will see us as trying to make a buck selling a product (American Christian empire building) instead of offering a way of life following Jesus.
One of the most moving experiences of the in-person fellowship gathering was our visit to the George Floyd International Memorial. The visit was solemn and started at the “Say Their Names Cemetery.” Channel 5 ABC news KTSP described the cemetery in this fashion: “In an open green space off 37th Street in south Minneapolis, a unique memorial has appeared. It’s called the “Say Their Names” cemetery. Each of the 100 graves is inscribed with the name of an African American who was killed by law enforcement.” Since its inception in 2020, the cemetery has had to add more names of those who are victims (and this does not even come close to the countless victims we do and do not know of throughout American history). As we started the journey, I pondered the prophetic question of the Scriptures: How long O Lord must this continue? How long will the church say the right things and be present for a brief moment but then move on to business as usual? A business that cannot be about disciples who are disaffected by the world’s injustices. How will I be transformed to strive for more beloved community work in my life as I follow Christ?
Our journey continued around the area till we stopped at the convenience store named Cup Foods where George Floyd’s life was taken by Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis Police Officer. The experience, which was a pilgrimage, felt jarring. On the one hand, Faith and Justice Center had properly contacted local people/leaders and prepared for us not to be tourists but true pilgrims (much in the light of what the Susquehanna Conference has been doing). The sharing, the story-telling, the witnesses, and the poets leading and being with us allowed it to be a pilgrimage. On the other hand, we were still visiting the site where someone brutally lost their life. This felt disconcerting and left a “pit in my stomach.” One major learning of the pilgrimage time was about those who have been left behind in the years following George Floyd’s death and the protests in the aftermath. In the present, many of the community businesses and people who were witnesses to the crime have been struggling financially and mentally with little to no resources supporting them. Many groups made money for their causes off of what occurred, however, the local people and community have been left behind. Again, questions of transformative justice flood my soul and leave me struggling. The causes and movements that continued or were born out of what happened are mostly noble and important. Justice work has come about from those areas. Yet, why are the people living and working in that area abandoned?
Peter Choi, in his presentation, spoke to the fact that there are four endings to the Gospels. We do not have just Matthew’s Great Commission ending but also Luke’s call to stay until the Holy Spirit comes. We have John’s Gospel ending which calls us to follow the way of Christ. Mark’s ending which leaves us perplexed, afraid, and with hearts trembling. Peter Choi points out that to look at most American Christian mission statements, you would think there is only one ending to the story after Jesus’ resurrection. However, there are four endings to the Gospels. What would it look like for the community around George Floyd memorial square if Christians heard the Gospel ending from Luke that called people to stay? How would that community have benefitted if American Christians embraced a stay and work with the Holy Spirit attitude? How would the feeding my sheep/following Jesus ending to the Gospel of John have benefited the community in the area of George Floyd’s death?
None of these questions come with easy answers. I struggle with what my next steps in the work of faith and justice will be as I live out my call as a disciple of Jesus Christ. With that said, I think we need to examine if our Great Commission theology and mission statement truly embodies disciples who will be about transforming the world. Do we read the Gospel of Matthew’s ending through the lens of Jesus’ teachings (Sermon on the Mount of Matthew) or are we empire building, even if it is attempted empire building because we are afraid of our own demise? Do we need some more stay with the Holy Spirit, feed my sheep by following Christ, and even yes some fear and trembling theology and discussion to bring about healthy followers of Christ? I know I do!
The journey we are on following Christ as United Methodists is in a time of transition (you have probably heard that said before). I believe that all of Wesleyan theology and practices speaks to this time and can be our guide to being the church that welcomes new people as we follow Christ. If we embrace our heritage of acts of devotion, worship, compassion, and justice (works of piety and mercy in private and public ways); then we will not be about building an empire but following Christ. This is the call of the Church. And as its call, we are not told to just do the first three acts if the fourth is too hard and controversial. No, if justice is placed on the sidelines then the Church is not authentically living out its mission. It is not always easy to live out the Wesleyan Christian way of life but it is our call as United Methodists. In my first two months of fellowship learning, I am more affirmed in that calling. I continue to look forward to the ways I will be challenged by others in my cohort and in the entire preaching faith and justice community.
