Embrace change, superintendent says

The Rev. Virgilio Vazquez-Garza, San Antonio District superintendent, delivers the District Superintendents’ Report June 8 in Corpus Christi.

 

 

 

By Rachel L. Toalson
Staff Writer
Clergy and laity must embrace change if they want to stop the 40-year decline of United Methodist Church membership.
The Rev. Virgilio Vazquez-Garza, San Antonio District superintendent, made that point June 8 in Corpus Christi.
Vazquez-Garza, dean of Bishop Joel N. Martinez’s cabinet, delivered the annual report from the seven district superintendents to the Southwest Texas Annual Conference session.
His message prompted a standing ovation.
Southwest Texas Conference leaders mustn’t fear technology, foreign accents or new ways of doing things, Vazquez-Garza said. Engaging the current reality is the only way to save the church and make it a transforming force for Christ.
“The founder of Methodism adapted to the reality around him,” Vazquez-Garza said. “He learned Spanish to preach to the Native Americans in the new continent and because he wanted to communicate with some Jews around him. Folks, John Wesley spoke Spanish. John Wesley could write poetry in Spanish!
“Early Methodists adapted to the reality that they had around them. They were not shaped by the reality and the culture around them, but they adapted to that reality and, ultimately, transformed the reality they had to live with. We have to recapture that spirit of the Methodist Church of that time. We have to adapt.”
Renewal of the church has already begun, Vazquez-Garza said. But clergy and laity must embrace that renewal so that God’s will can be done here on earth as it is in heaven.
The current situation, he said, is similar to the time just after the Israelites’ 40 years of wandering in the desert. They observed the Promised Land and the “giants” living there.
“We have wandered for 40 years,” Vazquez-Garza said. “Sisters and brothers, for 40 years we have been losing members. Sisters and brothers, for 40 years we have been wandering like through a desert. Sisters and brothers, the Promised Land is before us. Let us not be afraid of what lies ahead.
“Contemporary worship is not a giant! Let me repeat: Contemporary worship is not a giant! The new technology is not a giant! The Hispanic presence is not a giant! It is an incredible opportunity! Let us seize the opportunity and enter the Promised Land.”
Laity and clergy representatives of the 344 congregations across Southwest Texas applauded.
Vazquez-Garza presented an example of text messaging, a popular way of sending written messages on cell phones: “F u cnot read d prev msg n dis msg, it means dat ur Bhnd d curV. lkIt or nt, dis S d wA of d 21st century. Btr lern, dude!”
He then presented a second message on large screens in front of the church representatives. It said, “If you cannot read the previous message and this message, it means that you are behind the curve. Like it or not, this is the way of the 21st century. Better learn, dude!”
Vazquez-Garza pointed out that advancing technology, like the changing population and differing needs for worship, is part of everyday life. Refusing to accept it won’t make it go away.
He cited a report from Bishop Joel N. Martinez’s March convocation for pastors. That report said that 13 percent of the United States population is Hispanic. Some 37 million Hispanics are part of the civilian noninstitutional population.
People of Mexican origin, Vazquez-Garza added, constitute 67 percent of the Hispanic population, and one-third of Hispanics are younger than 18.
The United Methodist Church must embrace this growing population, he said.
“There are challenges in accepting the opportunities with Hispanic ministries,” he said. “But there is also incredible potential. We Hispanics also need Jesus! We Hispanics also need to know about John and Charles Wesley.”
While ordained clergy members have an important role in evangelism, the burden of bringing in the Hispanic population falls on the laity, Vazquez-Garza said.
“The church’s evangelistic mission is primarily a lay enterprise,” he said. “And it is you, the laity, who are going to have to invite people like me, with accents like mine, into your churches.
“I know that we have ended the wandering in the desert because of the laity in our churches! Let us not be afraid of new technologies! Let us not be afraid of new languages and new styles! Let us move into the Promised Land!”