| Declining membership cant be ignored In a letter published in the Nov. 20 issue of the UMConnection, Kevin Condon asks some painful questions about the comparative membership numbers for the Baltimore-Washington Conference. We ignore these questions at our peril. The numbers on lost members he cites are accurate; they are also an aberration. As a result of the tragic situation at Gibbons Resurrection, 4,000 members were lost at one time. This makes our recent numbers look bad, but it is unfair to say that this reflects on how well the conference is communicating the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Mr. Condon asks who, specifically, is responsible. Im not sure this is the right question. Even if someone did step forward and say, Its my fault, this would not lead to a solution. The conference offers several programs and resources to assist churches in their evangelism efforts. However, ultimately, the conference will not answer to heaven for its failure to fulfill the Great Commission. It is the responsibility of every Christian to make new disciples. Each of us will answer to God for our fear, prejudice, bad theology or whatever stumbling block that prevents us from sharing the love of God. In the end it isnt programs or initiatives that win souls for Christ. Its you, its me, it is individual Christians with the love of Jesus in their hearts and the power of the Holy Spirit that make an impact. Rev. Chris Gobrecht
Taylorsville UMC
Member: Board of Evangelization Dont neglect historys lessons Those who dont know, or refuse to remember, history are bound to repeat it. In 1933, Hitler took over Germany and united the German people into one strong nation made up of many previously rival small groups. He fed the hungry and put the unemployed to work. Once he became their leader, he began assembling a large modern military force and weapons of mass destruction. By 1937, he had Italy and Japan working with him and plans for the Jewish genocide had begun. At that time, I listened to a great number of Methodist pastors preaching, Dont go to war. Let the Europeans handle their own problems. This was being shouted from our pulpits during and after Poland, France, Holland and Belgium were overrun and Jews were being shipped off to the gas chambers. Only after Pearl Harbor did the Methodist preachers change their tune. Had the United States stopped Hitler in the 30s, we could have saved up to 15 million American lives, 20 million Germans and Japanese and 6 million Jews. Pastors then preached, We should never let this happen again. Our homeland has already been attacked. Remember Sept. 11, 2001? It is time to back our very intelligent United Methodist president. It is now time to disarm Iraq, by whatever means is necessary. A study of history has shown that when weapons of mass destruction are met by passive inaction, the result can be passive people spending hundreds of years in slavery. We must now defend Christianity if we wish to continue our privilege called freedom of worship. Jim Meadows
Trinity UMC, Prince Frederick Church confuses political, spiritual debate I read with concern the Nov. 20 commentary, Gun control can save lives. In his exhaustive 1998 study, More Guns, Less Crime, John R. Lott Jr., from Yale University School of Law, analyzed gun crime data from every county in the United States. The study is the most detailed ever undertaken. Lott demonstrated persuasively that violent crime decreases substantially where individuals may carry handguns legally and soars under more stringent gun control laws. Perhaps Christ would favor, rather than oppose, ownership of handguns. That position is ridiculous; but no more ridiculous than asserting that opposing handguns is the proper Christian position. Jesus steadfastly avoided such political discourse. He indeed debated and confronted political leaders, but focused instead on the spiritual. This publication and, unfortunately, our church, consistently confuses spiritual and political debate. Instead of being re-created by Christ, we seem to be transforming Christ into our own image at least an image that is politically and socially liberal. United Methodists who do not share that perspective, unfortunately, are leaving the denomination for more Christ-centered churches. As a lay speaker, I intend to continue to proclaim Christ and Christ alone. Nevertheless, although we claim to welcome all, I feel increasingly unwelcome in The United Methodist Church as I do not find Christ in these debates. Tom Trezise
Timonium UMC, Timonium | 
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