March 26, 2024
By Rev. Dr. Scott Field
Last Sunday afternoon, Palm Sunday, I participated in the launch celebration for a new Korean ministry in suburban Chicago. Members of three formerly United Methodist Korean congregations gathered for the launch. Two of the churches brought choirs. There were twelve of us preachers (!) to bring a message, or an “encouragement”, or a “congratulatory message.” Of course, it took two hours and more…and then a wonderful Korean meal for all.
I wouldn’t have predicted this glorious celebration even six months ago. All three of the northern Illinois congregations participating, while United Methodist, had voted to disaffiliate from the denomination. If you’ve been following the disaffiliation drama of United Methodism you may be aware that Korean congregations seemingly have been singled out for particular malice by denominational officials. All three congregations were presented with insurmountable financial requirements by the Northern Illinois Annual Conference. All three of the congregations split. Two of them left their buildings behind and left with their pastors to begin a new chapter in rented space.
The Korean pastor of the third congregation was “involuntarily discontinued” from the ordination process and was, subsequently, named as a defendant in a lawsuit brought by the UMC Annual Conference against the congregation for attempting to retain the church property. Notably, the pastor’s ordination status had been discontinued and his appointment to the church terminated by that point, but he was nevertheless named in the lawsuit. The Northern Illinois regional chapter of the Wesleyan Covenant Association provided prayer support as well as the funds for the pastor’s legal defense. I am glad to report that after five months of legal process and court hearings, the pastor has been dismissed from the lawsuit. The case between the annual conference and the church has yet to be finalized.
The Palm Sunday “launch service” was a celebration that the pastor is now on the staff of a large non-denominational church with six locations as well as focused ministries for the Spanish-speaking community, Russian community, incarcerated community, and, now, Korean community. A portion of the Korean pastor’s former congregation is now the nucleus of this new Korean congregation within the larger multi-site, multi-lingual church. As unexpected outcomes go, this is wonderful…for all three of those formerly UM Korean congregations. They are active and growing. Who would have guessed?
However, as I prepared my brief “congratulatory message” for the launch celebration, a particular scriptural phrase kept bubbling up in my mind: “the fellowship of his suffering…”
It’s a phrase in one of the Apostle Paul’s predictably run-on sentences (Philippians 3:8-11 in the UBS Greek text):
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering, becoming like him in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead.
(This is my mashup of the NLT and NIV English translations, vv. 9-10).
Certainly, we needn’t be Christ-followers to experience the “fellowship of suffering”. Most every support group and recovery group of all varieties is a “fellowship of suffering” brought to us by a shared condition or experience, whether a disease, a loss, an addiction, or a chronic and isolating need. A community of others who are traveling the same unwelcome road we are traveling provides the benefit of shared experiences, wisdom, compassion, and encouragement. We can often find unexpected strength in a “fellowship of suffering.”
During Holy Week, however, many Christians focus on the unique sufferings of Messiah Jesus: from escaping Herod’s threats as an infant to his temptation in the wilderness to the rebuke by his own family and hometown, to the conniving of religious leaders, all the way to the betrayal of Judas, the denial of Peter, the desertion of his disciples overall, and the scourging by Roman soldiers, the mocking of those standing by, the cruelty of crucifixion, and his broken-hearted forsakenness on the cross.
Holy Week, the recounting and remembering of the Passion of our Lord, invites us to the “fellowship of his suffering” as a reminder that “Jesus knows all about our struggles; He will guide till the day is done. There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus. No, not one! No, not one!” (Our Great Redeemer’s Praise # 145). His suffering is a comfort in our own suffering. His strength gives us strength.
But there is another “fellowship of his suffering” that seems especially descriptive of many of the congregations that have disaffiliated as well as others, like the Korean sisters and brothers with whom we worshiped on Palm Sunday. These are the ones who have suffered because of their devotion to Christ. The have suffered for the sake of Christ. After prayerful discernment, they concluded that the cost of remaining in the United Methodist Church would be the violation of their Christian conscience. They would, in some way or fashion or feeling, be denying the Lord Jesus if they remained silent, sat down, and stayed. There were difficult conversations. Relationships were frayed or broken outright. They were insulted with accusations of “homophobia” or “heterosexism”; they were told that they were disloyal to the United Methodist Church and required, if they determined they could remain no longer, to pay, in many cases, eye-popping “disaffiliation fees.”
Many of those who could not meet the “terms of disaffiliation” left and started over. Some had no option of starting over. There was no leader or nucleus of support. So, they have simply left. And others have determined they will attempt to stay quietly in hopes that either the anticipated changes in the UMC will take awhile to reach their home church or that they themselves will die before that happens. Extreme? You’d think so, but maybe not if you’ve talked to those who couldn’t gather the money to pay the “exit fee” or been badgered into silence.
Some who read this will predictably pounce on all of it as pathetic gibberish. You may have convinced yourself that anyone and everyone who would ever seriously consider leaving the UMC is a) homophobic and heterosexist, b) racist, c) misinformed and/or ignorant, d) just looking for a way to take the church property, or e) some combination of the above. Above all, you are pretty sure they/we are a drag on any attempt to craft a UMC of the future. Comment all you wish; vent away if you must. I’m not writing to you or for you.
Rather, I want to say a word to those who, in the shadow of this Holy Week, have found themselves in “the fellowship of his suffering” because of your devotion to the Lord Jesus, your commitment to the Bible as God’s authoritative Word on what we believe and how we live, and your passionate desire to be part of a larger church community that continues to have an apostolic impulse. You believe all need to be saved. You believe all can be saved through the Lord Jesus Christ. You believe all can be saved to the uttermost. And those core convictions have gotten you in trouble…within the church.
If you have found yourself in the “fellowship of his suffering” because of your devotion to Jesus Christ and your passionate love for the present and eternal well-being of others, here is another portion of Scripture that places our suffering within the backdrop of the Lord’s resurrection victory:
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.
6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9 The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:3-9 NLT).
Stay the course.