Fire Up Engine, Bishop Tells Church
By Jackie Campbell
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6/11/2009
In a message entitled “Burn, Baby Burn”, Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton challenged Western PA United Methodists to “take the church out on the open road, give it the gas and see what the old baby can do.”
The old mainline denominational church of today needs to be set on fire like the First Century Church, he told the 1,800 lay members and clergy representing more than 800 local churches at the opening session of the 2009 Western PA Annual Conference.
“Some of us have been calling it a need to ignite and sustain a passionate spiritual connection with Christ among all people,” said the Bishop. “Whatever it is, the United Methodist Church of the 21st Century needs to be set on fire once more!”
To illustrate his point, Bishop Bickerton told the story of Texas pastor Wes Seeliger drooling over a beautiful bike in a motorcycle shop. The salesman gave him a hard sell, talking up the bike’s power and flash, saying people would take notice when he roared through town on the cycle. But when the salesman learned the clergyman’s profession, he was surprised and changed his approach—focusing on good gas mileage, maneuverability, relative safety.
“Lawn mower salesmen are not surprised to find clergypersons looking at their merchandise,” Bishop Bickerton observed. “Is being a Christian more like mowing the lawn or riding a motorcycle? Is the Christian life safe and sane or dangerous and exciting?” he asked.
“How about God? Is God the One upstairs or the explosive, creative power within all of us?”
The Bishop suggested the church should be “stationed out in front giving direction to a troubled society.
“Are we facing the life and death issues of the 21st Century with insight, good organization and courage?” he asked. “Do our idealistic youth look to Mother Church for moral leadership?
“Unfortunately,” the Bishop said, “the church too often plays the role of helpless young maiden tied to the railroad tracks of history.”
“We need to recapture the motorcycle spirit,” to understand and express the Christian faith, he said.
The annual conference, set for June 11-14, includes voting representatives of more than 800 congregations across Western PA. The event, which includes worship, business sessions, and presentations, ends with a Sunday ordaination service in which 31 new clergy will be received into membership.
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