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    United Methodists of Upper New YorkLiving the Gospel. Being God's Love.


    Perspectives: Meet the DLTs

    Meet the DLTs: The Oneonta DLT

    July 1, 2019 / By Rev. Rachel Morse

    We keep saying this in the Oneonta District as we practice “invitation without incentive’.” Discipleship promises possibility; we must become the transformation we wish to see in the world. 

    When we explored what discipleship means to us, the word that resonated most was transformation. Being disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of ourselves and the world. This is part of the generative discipleship system which we have been discussing as a DLT - specifically, the space between “making disciples” and “transforming the world.” We are intentionally working on our process to help disciples bring adaptive transformation within their context.

    We discovered that a key component is the small group unit. The small group community is the context of faith development and small groups are how communities are transformed. 

    The Oneonta District is full of these small-group faith communities - tiny rural churches - that have been trying hard to stay afloat despite disaster and poverty. We fully accept that we have nothing left to lose. So, our approach is not mainly about developing individual disciples for the sake of proving the worth of our churches. Instead, our approach is intentionally eschatological. We are intentionally working toward the kingdom of God.

    In the gospels, that’s what Jesus asks the disciples to do, anyway. Making disciples of Jesus is about intentionally working together toward the kingdom of God. 

    There’s a story in the gospel of Matthew - and Mark, and Luke, and John - about a time when there was a crowd of people who had followed Jesus into the wilderness - maybe not unlike the rural hills of the Oneonta District. When it got late, the disciples came to Jesus and wanted him to send the people away to a city so they could get some food. And do you remember how Jesus responded?        

    “You give them supper.”

    Are you kidding me?

    The disciples don’t have enough food - or money - to feed everyone! Besides, out there in the middle of nowhere, where would they find more than five loaves of bread and two fish? They don’t have what it takes.

    This is a miracle story, that points to the kingdom of God. It is eschatological and moves us toward the fulfillment of human destiny - disciples transforming the world. We see that God’s kingdom is a present reality and are called to live into the future reality of the kingdom by bringing the unique gifts we have to share. 

    Jesus initiates the miracle by naming the possibility that the disciples could feed the crowd.

    “You give them supper.”

    And the disciples know they don’t have enough, but they are willing to give what they have, in faith. They take ownership. They act toward the fulfillment of the miracle. 

    But I imagine they had their doubts.

    What if they had handed out all their food and they didn’t have enough for their own suppers?

    What if they handed out what they had and no one else shared and they looked like fools?

    What if they gave the people food and the people just completely depended on them forever? 

    Instead of sitting back, waiting for these questions to be answered, they acted in faith that if they committed to sharing the gifts they had to work toward the fulfillment of the miracle, it might just happen.

    As the story goes, it did happen. And with true discipleship, it can happen today.

    Discipleship - following Jesus - is about seeing the truth Jesus points out: the kingdom of God is a present reality. Discipleship - following Jesus - is also about living into the future reality, the fulfillment, of God’s kingdom here on earth. We can’t plan that - Jesus tells us that it is beyond our wildest dreams. But we do have an intentional process to help people develop authentic Christian community that is, intentionally, eschatological.     

    Our plan is a process of building authentic Christian community through intentional conversations. This is only part of the full generative system. We have been working for a few years now equipping our pastors laity  for technical change. We will continue to resource our leaders on faith sharing, hospitality and welcome, and authentic worship. But adaptive change requires transformation, so our small group connectional process cultivates the opportunity for transformational discipleship. Each invitation accepted is a commitment to participation and action. 

    These conversations are centered on moving toward the fulfillment of the kingdom by naming the possibility - taking ownership - naming doubts - sharing our gifts - making commitments and extending invitations. We ask the question, what can we do together that we can’t do on our own? The question itself points to discipleship. The answer is transformational. 

    Commenting is not available in this channel entry.

    With more than 100,000 members, United Methodists of Upper New York comprises of more than 675 local churches and New Faith Communities in 12 districts, covering 48,000 square miles in 49 of the 62 counties in New York state. Our vision is to “live the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to be God’s love with our neighbors in all places."