Research by the Rev. Lovett H. Weems Jr. shows that in 2008 the median age of active clergy in the denomination was in the mid-50s, and the greatest growth was occurring in the 55-70 age group. At the same time, ordained elders under age 35 had reached just 5 percent of active elders for the first time this century. “Crafting Quality”, Interpreter, September/October 2009, page 13.
While I was born and raised in the Church of Christ, my roots in Methodism run deep, at least back into the 1830s when my great-great-grandfather and his wife were born into Methodist families in East Tennessee and were converted to Christianity through the Methodist Church which was strong in that part of the country, contributing greatly to what has sometimes been called the Second Awakening. This was through my father’s mother. Through his father, my Methodist roots also run deep. His father was born in Indiana in 1861, the son of a Union Soldier, and he too was a devout Methodist. Family tradition calls him a “Shouting Methodist” although that term was never used, as far as I can ascertain, when speaking of my family Methodists from Tennessee. All these people remained Methodists all their lives except my father and his mother. She eventually became a member of the Assembly of God, not all that far removed at the time from the Methodists, and my father, who was baptized in the Methodist Church as an infant, became a member of the Church of Christ about 12 years after marrying my mother. She was born and raised in the Church of Christ.
I, too, was born and raised in the Church of Christ. My education was from one of her schools and I served in the ministry for about 15 years before going to law school and entering the practice of law, a career lasting about 30 years. For my own personal reasons, about 25 years ago I became a member of the United Methodist Church, joining the McFarlin Memorial UMC in Norman, Oklahoma. I have sometimes jokingly said the reason I became a Methodist was that we at least use the word “tolerant” in our Discipline. I say that jokingly but there is a certain level of truth in the statement.
I, like most other Methodists, am alarmed at the decline in our numbers. I am also concerned about the decline in numbers for most of the mainstream Protestant denominations. Where are the people going? Surveys, as well as anecdotal observations, have shown there is an increased belief in God, there is an increased church membership overall and there is increased Bible study among those who profess to be Christians. Independent Churches are increasing as well as their membership. In the 19th century, the Methodist Church was the fastest and largest growing denomination in the United States. The question is what happened? This is a question I cannot answer completely although I do have certain opinions on the issue. I am not qualified to explain all the possible reasons for this decrepitude but I do have a few comments as they relate to the above noted article which laments the reduction in persons who can provide leadership for the church in the future. My conclusions are my own and are based on my own personal experience as a member of the United Methodist Church.
The clergy/laity dichotomy of the United Methodist Church is a principal cause for its own malaise. The hierarchal structure of the church is principally designed to perpetuate the clergy’s own existence and discourages those not recognized as part of the clergy from being too involved in the work of the church.
I have always considered myself a Protestant, perhaps even a Protestant among Protestants. In a Bible class a few of years ago, I listened to a United Methodist minister speak of various matters regarding Methodism. The point was made pertaining to communion that John Wesley was of the opinion that communion should be observed any time Christians assembled together. This was his practice. Then, why, we asked, is communion celebrated in the modern United Methodist Church infrequently. Of course there are some efforts to make communion available to all on a more regular basis. But, generally, communion is celebrated on a monthly or quarterly basis, if at all. The answer was that during pioneer times in America there were not enough Methodist ministers, i.e., ordained clergy, to bless the sacraments each time the members assembled so that communion and its celebration was done less frequently, resulting in today’s practices.
That is an alarming statement to the ears of a Protestant. I met with her later and questioned her on what she said and she confirmed I had not misunderstood her. The idea that there is something the clergy can do but the ordinary Christian cannot do attacks the very heart of the Protestant Reformation. Most Methodists think of themselves as Protestants, but the primary principal of the Protestant Reformation is the concept of the “Priesthood of Believers.” I have always found this to be a powerful principal and have embraced it with fervor. I reject wholeheartedly the very notion there is a distinction in the Bible between clergy and laity. There are of course teachers, just as there are people of varying other gifts and abilities. But no one was to be considered preferable to or above the other; a teacher was not to be considered a higher grade or quality of Christian than the person who visited the sick. The person of one gift or talent was not to be considered to be a better Christian than someone else.
In the Methodist Church today there is little doubt that one finds degrees or classes of Christians. The clergy maintains a status superior to the laity. The clergy knows it and acts like it and the laity knows it and normally defers to the clergy. It is hard to find any support whatsoever for this type of church organization or even this type thinking during the ministry of the Apostle Paul. Toward the end of the first century there is some evidence in the Bible that this attitude was developing in the churches, but if it was it was condemned. The First Epistle of Clement of Rome, written to the church in Corinth, was written in support of the authority of the clergy. So by the early part of the second century A.D., this type organization was beginning to occur within the churches but not earlier. When Eusebius wrote his History of the Christian Church in 325 A.D. this type church government and organization was much more developed. However, it would still be some time before the complete organization of the Christian Church would reflect what now is seen as the classical organization of the Roman Catholic Church. The Methodist organization is quite similar to that of the Roman Catholic Church. It is “Mini-Me” when compared to its forbear. And the clergy/laity dichotomy, with the laity being an inferior type Christian, is clearly found within the Methodist Church as much as in the Roman Catholic Church.
By its very nature the organization of the Methodist Church discourages the laity from doing certain things within the family of faith; in fact it actually prohibits certain things. This intimidating oppression by the clergy clearly demoralizes the laity and a weakened laity results in a less than lively, healthy and growing church. It should also be noted that with the advent of the clergy with its presumptuous grab for power, the laity has deferred not only to the authority of the clergy but has given the responsibility of doing Christian works over to the clergy as well. The clergy/laity dichotomy has resulted in the clergy’s assumption of power and the laity’s failure to be an active participant in Christian endeavor, resulting in the diminishing of Christian character in the laity.
The clergy may respond and argue that it provides ample opportunity for the laity to volunteer for service. To this I would reply in three ways: first, when you give me something you can as easily take it away. I am still a subservient species of Christian which is or should be unacceptable to anyone striving to live a life following the example of Christ.
Second, for someone like me to be “given an opportunity to serve” is an offensive thought. As a true Protestant who believes the priesthood of the believer precludes any man or men (or women) from standing between self and God, I take comfort in taking my marching orders from Jesus himself. I take great comfort when he says that if you wish to follow Him, “take my yoke upon you and learn of me. My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” I don’t need or want an intercessor for this. I feel a sense of personal responsibility when He says, “Go you therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” I neither need nor want an intercessor to stand between me and God for this. And when I am told there is “one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus,” I am looking for no other intercessor.
And, third, I am living proof that a clergy limits one’s opportunity to serve within the confines of the church. I was born and raised in the Christian faith. I was brought up to attend church when the doors are opened and to do whatever is asked of you. I have always believed I should look for opportunities to serve and have done so these 65 years of my life (this was written in 2009). I chose to be a Methodist, for various reasons which are irrelevant here, and have been for the past 25 years of my life. I have done whatever has been asked of me, which has been very little, and have looked for opportunities to serve without being asked. I know my talents and am convinced they are God-given and, as such, I must use them to His glory. What few talents I have are known to the clergy in my United Methodist Church. And, yet, I have the distinct feeling that they don’t even know me. Nor do they want to. They have no place for me in the church and would just as soon I quit coming. That may be a little unfair, but I do feel if I quit coming they would not miss me all that much. I tell people that I am totally insignificant in the scheme of things in my church and I do not say this in jest, I absolutely mean it.
So, one may ask, why do I continue to attend? There are two reasons. First, I have two small children, presently aged 12 and 13, who are involved in the youth program. It is an excellent youth program and at my age I need all the help with them I can get. I need the help of the church to raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Second, I am involved in a Sunday School class which provides much of what I need for my spiritual life. Teaching forces me to study; it challenges my mind and feeds my soul.
The United Methodist Church has been decreasing in number and perhaps in spirit since 1964. I personally think the elevation of the clergy and the diminishment of the laity is a contributing factor. And until a balance is struck in that regard this trend will continue into the future.
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