By Eric and Stephanie Stradford
AMWS, March 7, 2012, Global - Friends of the African Methodist Episcopal Church experienced what might be early signs of a ”great awakening” for its historic community.
Eye witnesses described the disturbance in biblical terms, “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.” The house was actually a virtual group on Facebook, but the place didn’t quite meet standards set for church building. “Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars,” suggested one observer. “Facebook is probably not that house, but becoming friends is a good step toward getting us there,” she added.
Friends of the church were offered a free Power Point presentation to help them as individuals meet requirements to train local church members. According to church officials, “Persons are called, converted and committed to educational ministry under the mandate given by Jesus Christ.” They point to scripture which points to the model for empowering learners to train trainers. Or, said one great teacher, "Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations."
In today’s temporal economy of African Methodists, that means another forty bucks to fellowship with Christian Educators. They are the folks, empowered by Polity to achieve training requirements of the 21th Century Church. Educators who are involved in missions education, discipleship training, Bible teaching, and other instructional programs supposedly join together to “share ideas, insights, and information, develop appropriate resources, and learn new strategies.” They believe the Founders’ vision is embraced by “reclaiming the importance of the teaching ministry and by encouraging congregations to become centers of learning.”
Well, welcome to the future! Those who are empowered or aspiring to serve the 21st Century Episcopacy will need to get on the bus. Christian Education is being driven to higher expectations by an economy of social media realists with on-demand global access to one another. We have been talking about invisible, intangible kingdom assets since Hebrews. Today, the “evidence of things not seen” is real, and folks are tapping into that reality to meet their 21st Century needs.
A “great awakening,” called for by the elected editor of the A.M.E. Church’s official news organ, hit Facebook February 25 – shortly before a “violent wind” came from heaven and rattled America’s mid-section, filling, and unearthing the “whole house where they were sitting.” The esteemed writer’s editorial pointed to that mindset of “do ministry” we read about in the Acts of the Apostles. The editorial points to specific areas where the church needs to do more or run the risk of being rendered irrelevant.
“Technology,” wrote The Reverend Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor, III, “ is here and it’s going to stay here; it’s not going anywhere.” The church leader’s realty hit home when he paid $4-a-gallon to fill his gas tank. “With high fuel costs and unpredictable weather, smart pastors and smart churches will transition to increased use of teleconferences; it makes sense and since the technology is in place, we may as well use it. Technology is cost-effective and saves money.”
A LIVE MEETING between some “friends” and a good A.M.E. known by the name Richard Allen proved just that. After leaving the meeting, Richard’s wheels started to turn – for a lot less than the $4.00 a gallon he might have spent driving his car, he was inheriting the legacy of his namesake in a format that was portable, affordable, and available to enrich and empower a local Sons of Allen gathering.
No longer can the “I can’t” problem be attributed to a lack of resources. Christian educators are coming under fire for not being resourceful enough with kingdom assets available to the 21st Century Church.
We have heard the assessment, “They not comin’ to church, to Bible Study, to church meetings, Quarterly Conference, Annual Conference, or General Conference like “good AME’s should. Some of ‘em only show up for Communion on first Sunday. Some only come for Easter. They don’t want to pay tithes. They don’t want to pay assessments. They want a blessing and they want it NOW! Who are these folks?"
As a matter for speculation, “these folks” be The 21st Century Polity of The African Methodist Episcopal Church. Theologically, they are descendants of the World’s Stolen People. Even the church admits, it’s a Polity in need of a wake up call. “Every organization needs, from time to time, to take an introspective look at itself," stated Dr. Sydnor. “This is a call for a "Great Awakening” in the African Methodist Episcopal Church… a call for authenticity and denominational integrity,” he wrote.
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