Trinity United Methodist Church
Morristown, Tennessee  
"There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty.  Deuteronomy 33:26
 
GETTING INVOLVED
OFFER THEM CHRIST is a program that will run from Advent Sunday 2008 - Advent Sunday 2009. 

 

Some Thoughts About "OFFER THEM CHRIST"

A. Basic Premise

The theme "Offer Them Christ" speaks to the needs of our churches and to the needs of those outside the church. Our local churches need the Christ of the Gospels in all of His startling power and grace.While our very diverse church makes it hard to nail down an indictment which fits all, it is clear that, in many places, at many times, we have offered pious platitudes, feel-good slogans, moralisms, the gospel of prosperity, pop psychology and theology-lite, works righteousness, the American way of life, hot button social issues of the left or right, the secular calendar, denominationalism, etc., rather than the Christ who lived and died and lives again to reveal the whole truth about God and human beings. Stated positively,we celebrate those churches which have grown through teaching and preaching and reaching out with a Christ-centered message which has captured the hearts of people. We have many churches which are very busy in reaching out to human needs by human means. That is great as far as it goes, but the problem is that we have all too often offered them everything except Christ. We need to learn how to serve in the soup kitchen without leaving out the Bread of Life.

Similarly, many people outside in the world have tried everything but Christ. Some have tried our churches and have found everything but Christ. They have turned to drugs, alcohol, various religions, materialism, promiscuity, hedonism, etc., but they feel an emptiness where Christ should be – at the very core of their being. There has never been a better time to "Offer Them Christ." This is about a bold new initiative of getting down to the basics of Christ-centered preaching, teaching, and living. It is not about doing the same thing we have been doing; it is about digging into the Four Gospels to find anew, the Christ who reveals the heart of God and the meaning of life.

B. The Vision

We are looking for something bold, passionate, and joyful to help us make disciples of Jesus Christ. The proposal is a year of living and learning, preaching and teaching on Christ, as found in the Four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The proposal is to be a conference-wide, comprehensive effort, impacting laity and clergy in the local church, all district and conference planning groups, and all institutions of the conference. The theme would be "Offer Them Christ." The term "them" should be understood to include: our teachers and preachers; our members in the pews; the unchurched; college students; residents of our nursing and retirement homes and children's home; children and youth in our summer camps, youth at Assembly, Resurrection, Discovery; young adults at Divine Rhythm, seniors at Jubilation; short-term missioners and the people where they visit; our workers in neighborhood centers and the people they serve; our clergy at Minister's Convocation and the Gathering; candidates seeking certification, licensing, ordination; the staff in the Conference, District, local church, and institutional offices; etc. In other words, all of us in Holston are "them", as well as folks living around and among us, who have not yet felt the love, or tasted the grace, which comes when someone offers them Christ!
SAY "YES" TO VOLUNTEERING at TRINITY UMC
Trinity United Methodist Church
425 Wilder Street, Morristown, TN 37813  423.586.5360
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