Mainline churches seeking to ape the the techniques of megachurches should be aware that megachurches are just beginning to ape the mainline’s commitment to social justice. Jason Byassee noted this intriguing dynamic when he accompanied a group of Methodist ministers from North Carolina on a visit to Willow Creek Community Church outside of Chicago.
He writes:
Willow has as much enthusiasm for “social justice” as I’ve ever heard at a Methodist annual conference, and it’s only started at social justice, while United Methodists have been pursuing it since, well, since there was Methodism, and have long been good at it. So as United Methodist ministers are shuttled off to go copy church-growth methods, church-growth guru Hybels is charging into “our” territory: reading the Bible holistically, touting diversity.
The point: these are things United Methodists are good at.