Asbury United Methodist Church

In the book Who Changed the Price Tags, Sociologist and Author Tony Campolo wrote about one of the most anticipated holidays for a group of kids from downtown Philadelphia. It wasn’t Halloween but Devil’s Night. Back in the day, Devil’s Night was nothing but innocent fun; soaping windows and smashing pumpkins. One year Tony and friends broke into the Five and Dime Store and spent an hour changing price tags. Tony chuckled thinking about the buying frenzy the next morning when the value of items were suddenly realized; AM/FM Radios were 25¢ while a spool of thread was $10, a set of pots and pans was 50¢ while a set of dishcloths were $15. Imagine the clerks frustration and anxiety to find the value of her store turned upside down.

Dan Dick in his book Vital Signs studied seven hundred plus United Methodist Churches and found that a large proportion of churches either never spoke about what they valued as a church or, could not identify their values. Dan Dick believes the values are key to a church because they define what is important. By definition values are the underlying beliefs, opinions, and attitudes upon which behavior is based. Thus by definition our behavior expresses what we value, of what is truly important.

At Asbury UMC, what do we value? Have we identified them? If Asbury was a store what would we hold of great value? For instance, if an outward focus (reaching out to the larger community) was articulated as a high value, then our behavior would substantiate this value by actually reaching out to the community around us with the love of God. And too, if education and growing spiritual redwoods was valued, then our efforts would lean toward providing learning opportunities and encouraging one another onward toward spiritual growth.

The question of what we value must be understood and articulated by the leadership of Asbury because our values are what will inspire and bring passion to our church as we study and plan for the future. If you would like a copy of Vital Signs for yourself, call the office and let me know.

Pastor Marty