Ryan Davis

I don’t update this blog that much.
I am sure you all have figured it out by now. I get busy, or behind in my work, or just Lazy.

I have been noticing that about myself lately, the things I want to do (Like this blog) I don’t have time for.
However, I do think it is important for me to every few months to speak or write my mind on issues. This blog was set up as a cry for change in the church today. Not a complaint but an active force within the structure itself that will bring to the surface life (see earlier posts).
A few months ago a friend from Kansas sent out a request to all young united Methodist pastors to participate in a 40 day prayer campaign for the United Methodist Church (UMC). Young Pastors/Clergy/Leaders in the UMC will contribute prayers and commit to pray for 40 days when most annual conferences are being held. The prayers will be for reform within the UMC, along with the prayers the pastors were asked to send in their vision for the next 25 years in the church. This movement is an encouragement to me; if you have read my blog at all you may have realized that I have a heart for social justice issues, as well as general reform within the church. I believe with my whole heart that reform/change can only occur in the unity of the body of Christ.

For years now I have felt this need for change within the Church. To borrow a line from Francis Chan “I read the New Testament and saw that it didn’t line up with the modern American church.” I have campaigned for change within the church. I read Acts and long for a time where we too can simply meet need for people and not have to “Package” it in a way that is not offensive. I long for a time that the theme of Christianity stops being profit based yet the needs of people can truly be met and Matthew 25 can be a model for our walk with Christ. I am sick of seeing the story of Christianity dominated by big budget preachers, prosperity gospels, empire praises, and people searing two masters. I want to see the church fully embrace a love for holiness and the word of God.

In these 40 days my prayer is for the Church to realize its potential in this world. That the force that conquered death is the same force that we are empowered with today! Not just to “be good people” but to bring Christ to the forefront of our story! Not an afterthought, not shout out. My prayer is that we see the resurrected Christ and out lives are never the same. We get messed up, we seek to lose all we have and are to embrace all that God has for us. My prayer is that we lose our lives for the sake of the Gospel and gain all the Christ has for us.

So this Spring I invite you all to Pray! To follow this movement please got to www.umcyoungclergy.com. The 40 days start May 18th!