The Cost of Renewal
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For much of my life I have been studying God’s renewing activity in Church history. My doctoral work was a study of how great revival movements renewed the Church throughout history. John Wesley and other great Christians like Martin Luther have been my constant companions on this journey. In October, I was privileged to travel to Germany and deliver two lectures on the great reformer, Martin Luther. I am passionate about seeking the renewal of the church and I pray that I am willing to personally pay the cost for the reformation.
The renewing work of God is always chaotic and messy. When God refreshes and reforms the church, there is always the breaking of some relationships, the realignment of loyalties, and a financial realignment. Because many people were angry with Martin Luther, he had to be hidden away in the Wartburg Castle by his patron, Frederick the Wise. There were Christian authorities who wanted to take his life. While hidden away in the secluded castle, Luther produced the German New Testament. John Wesley’s relationship with some members of the Church of England became strained. Even though he was rightfully ordained in the Church of England, some pulpits became closed to his ministry. Because of his theological commitments, Wesley’s relationship with the Moravians became conflicted. Theology and the appropriate place of the church in the world were important issues for Wesley and he was willing to damage or sacrifice some relationships for what he considered defense of the truth.
The creation of the Lutherans certainly brought about a realignment of financial resources. The spark that ignited the Protestant Reformation was the posting of Luther’s Ninety-five Theses on the church door in Wittenberg. Most of those points of disagreement that Luther wished to debate concerned the use of indulgences to raise money for the building of the new St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. It hurt the Roman Church when followers of Luther started to pull away from Rome and German money ceased to flow across the alps. There was a financial realignment also when the Methodist movement began. Common sense suggests that as Methodists started giving to their societies, less of their money flowed to their local Anglican parishes.
God’s work of reformation is painful. Frequently, it is the way that God prunes the branches of the vine (John 15:1-8). When the normal, day-to-day work of the church does not produce the fruit that God desires, God steps in with the skill of the Great Physician to heal through some painful measures. Since creation, our gracious God has been doing this work of birthing new life in the church. Pruning to bring about greater fruit is part of God’s ongoing work in the Church. One of the slogans of the Protestant Reformation was semper reformanda, usually translated as “always reforming”; but a better translation is “always being reformed” (by God’s Word). God is the great vinedresser who does what is necessary for the fruitfulness of the garden. God does not always prune in ways that are understood or controlled by the wishes of humans. God’s work of tending the garden for the purposes of renewal is hard to control, particularly to the extent desired by church institutionalists and bureaucrats who are committed to maintaining the institution according to their dreams and dictates.
Another product of seasons of awakening, renewal, and reformation was the creation of new orders among the Roman Catholics (Benedictines, Cistercians, Franciscans, Jesuits, etc.) and new denominations among Protestants (Lutherans, Methodists, etc.). While organizational unity is a great virtue, it is not the greatest of the virtues. The creation of new orders or new denominations is one of the ways that God has historically renewed the church. These new groups can be seen as a means for the Church to divide and conquer. The creation of new places for new faces almost always allows for new people to be reached. But whether it was the creation of the Franciscans in the thirteenth century or the Lutherans in the sixteenth century or the Methodists in the eighteenth century, the work of new creation often felt like birth pangs.
Neither Martin Luther nor John Wesley had any desire to create a new denomination, but it happened. I believe that the creation of Lutherans and Methodists was part of God’s work of renewal. As an avowed Protestant and Methodist (and optimist), I am propelled to such a conclusion. As Protestants, we believe that spiritual unity is not dependent upon organizational unity. Many of us believe that apostolic succession is not based on a historically verifiable unbroken line of bishops back to Peter, but simply clergy who function in apostolic ways. That is contrary to the argument of many Roman Catholics for whom organizational unity centered in the Bishop of Rome is essential. But, as Protestants for whom spiritual unity is not dependent upon organizational unity, we can possess a positive vision of the creation of new denominations. According to some estimates, there are 40,000 denominations worldwide. (For more on a positive view of the proliferation of denominations, see Ben Smart, “40,000 Denominations Worldwide – Christianity Divided.”) I am glad that as a Protestant I am not bound to see the multiplication of denominations to be a completely bad thing. As Protestants, we can with theological integrity resist a call to return to Rome or Canterbury.
While we all acknowledge that Christ prayed that his people would be united, it was to be a unity based on truth. He prayed to the Father that the church “may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me” (John 15:23). Christ offered that petition only after he prayed to the Father, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 15:17). The pursuit of truth is important. Organizational unity is great, but it is not the goal. As Luther famously said, “Peace, if possible; truth at all costs.”
Both Luther and Wesley had no doubts that there were godly people left in their established churches, the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. The Reformers maintained many cordial relationships with people who did not follow them in new directions. But they were still willing to create movements that severed and realigned relationships.
While both Luther and Wesley hoped simply to reform the church, they both begrudgingly accepted that their work would also bring great discomfort to those aligned with the established church. After his excommunication by Pope Leo X, Martin Luther never sought to be reconciled to the Roman Church. Frequently, people who followed Luther sought to move further away from the Roman Church that Luther desired. The Radical Reformation was birthed.
The realignment of relationships is certainly also evident in the Wesleyan movement. Even though John Wesley continued as a protagonist and problem child in the Church of England (and in his own family, if you remember how Wesley’s creation of bishops angered his brother, Charles), his early followers did not hesitate to break officially from the established church soon after his death. His spiritual descendants in England did not consider reunification with the Church of England until recent years. John Wesley’s heirs have readily formed new denominations. Methodists have been a denomination-creating machine. Wikipedia lists almost 100 Methodist denominations that have been created since John Wesley.
God is not in the habit of repeat performances. God delights in doing his old work in new ways. That can be maddening to control-addicted humans. Often when I listen to people voice their concerns about the creation of a new expression of the Methodist movement, such as the creation of the Global Methodist Church, their argument sounds like those who are inviting Christians to return home to the Roman Catholic Church. Their resistance is often just based on an emotional need for things to stay the same. The prophets of the Hebrew Bible often ran into resistance when they pointed those in power toward reformation.
When God’s work of reformation causes Christians to enter a painful season of new creation, I remind myself of some truths that bring me comfort. I remember that division is nothing new among Christians. The United Methodist congregation that I presently serve has been a part of four different Methodist denominations since 1856. In these seasons of painful change I need to be assured of Julian of Norwich’s famous quotation that “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.” Julian of Norwich lived the first nine years of her life during the Black Death that killed 200 million people in Europe. She was able to come out of those painful days declaring that “All shall be well.” I try to head toward uncomfortable days knowing that “All shall be well.”
I remind myself that it is very important to treat each other in Christian ways especially during times of disagreement, controversy, and change. Endeavoring to act Christ-like in times of controversy is hard, but essential. We must love each other and allow even those with whom we disagree to follow their consciences. A basic desire should be that everyone should end well. Otherwise, the results can be disastrous. Thinking that they were following Luther, many people in Germany took up arms to further the Reformation and as a result 300,000 people were slaughtered by aristocrats in the so-called “Peasants’ Revolt” of 1524. An acceptable end does not justify bad means. We must always strive to take the high road, the Christian way, in times of polarization. We must do God’s work God’s way.
For United Methodists, the proposed Protocol for Reconciliation and Grace Through Separation and Restructuring seeks to achieve an amicable separation. This will not be easy, but it will be much easier than whatever the alternative may be. I hope that this Protocol will be passed by the United Methodist General Conference. In passing the Protocol, United Methodists will make church history by creating an amicable separation. We need to minimize the mistreatment of each other as we journey through the division. When it is evident that a Christian marriage is no longer an option, Christian divorce remains an option. While history shows us that division among Christians is inevitable and often beneficial, harming each other through intimidation and manipulation should not be an inevitable part of the journey. We can do better.
Dr. Jeff Patterson is the Senior Pastor of Wesley Memorial Church, High Point, NC. He is a graduate of Duke Divinity School and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and serves on the WCA Council in the Western NC Conference.