wfn.org | The Idols of the "Big Deals"

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3132 notes).

Note 3132 by UMNS on Aug. 15, 1996 at 15:28 Eastern (3913 characters).

SEARCH: Storey, Methodism, idols, poor, good news, South African
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CONTACT: Thomas McAnally                          418(10-71){3132}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470             Aug. 15, 1996

'Has Methodism lost its way?'
asks South African bishop

by John Lovelace*

     RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Has Methodism lost its way and
turned to embracing the idols of the "big deals"?
     South African Methodist Bishop Peter Storey thrust that
question upon the 17th World Methodist Conference during its final
morning Aug. 14, then, seemingly answering his own question "yes,"
outlined a four-part path to recovery.
     First he listed the "idols":
     * Mammon. The "big deals" -- which he neither enumerated nor
described -- demand that the poor bow down. Their "sermons," he
said, cover the world via CNN.
     "I'm not an economist," he confessed, "and I know the issues
are complex. But the teachings of Jesus are very simple. He asked
'where is the good news for the poor?"
     * Tribes and nations. He said that his own nation of South
Africa under its apartheid regime was "cursed among the nations,"
but that God has brought mercy to the land," even to its
pharaohs."
     * Religion. This idol, Storey said, "can be as dangerous as
any when it is focused on the 'me' rather than on the whole world,
which God sent his son to save." He rapped, among others
televangelists, moralists and the religious right in this
category.
     * War. This idol is a mix of all the above, Storey declared,
and its machinery feeds on the poor.
     He said he dreams that Methodism will become the first world
communion to turn in deep repentance from war and follow the
Mennonites' trust in shalom.
     Ending his catalog of "idols," Storey asked, "How can we turn
back to good news for the poor?"
     With an emphasis throughout on local congregations, he
answered:
     * Economic analysis. The church has done well, he said, in
personal and social salvation but has been "abysmal" on economics.
     He cited "a struggle for the soul of Methodism living under
glaring contrasts in developed and poor nations.
     "Which model will become the true side of what we are?" he
asked.
     * "Be there." The prosperous church can't do anything about
good news for the poor by reading about it, he said.
     "Poor churches are fortunate," he said. "They are already
where Jesus lives. Prosperous churches must find a way to engage
the poor face to face. Their soul depends on it."
     * Go in gratitude to the poor, receive as well as to give.
"Let the poor share Jesus with you because that's what they have
to share."
     * Let the encounter transform you.
     Storey, long known as one of South African Methodism's
strongest fighters against racial discrimination, elicited
constant responses of "that's right" and "go ahead" as he
preached.
     He ended as he began with a story about Rio de Janeiro's
famed statue of Christ the Redeemer. The story goes, he said, that
the giant concrete form of Christ with outstretched arms stands
with its back to the poor who live in some of the city's poorest
mountainside favela slums.
     The better way to view that, he said, is that Christ is
leading the poor to the good news.
     Storey was introduced by his countryman, Methodist Presiding
Bishop Stanley Mogoba, the 1996 winner of the World Methodist
Peace Award. He cited, particularly, Storey's work for
reconciliation and peace through the South African Council of
Churches and his more recent emphasis through the Methodist Order
of Peacemakers for a gun-free South Africa.
                              #  #  #
     * Lovelace of Dallas, Texas, is editor of the United
Methodist Reporter  newspaper.  

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