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By Twila Glenn

The second of a two-part series.

We say that we believe that the church is the worldwide, across-time-and space, manifestation of the body of Jesus Christ; and that, in The United Methodist Church, we will live out that belief through a theology and an ecclesiology of connectionalism.

In other words, we claim for our denomination a relationship to God that is reflected in our relationship to the community, an evangelism that is defined by the proclamation of the Gospel and the search for justice for all our neighbors, and we covenant accountability with each other. We claim for this denomination that 'church' is defined not by our local-ness, but by our all-encompassing one-ness.

But we don?t act like it. We act like our local congregations are the first and most important locus of ministry. And, folks, that?s backwards.

John 3:16 says that God?s son was a gift to the world, not the church, not to become our special property, doled out parsimoniously to those we deem worthy ? but to the world ? a world loved fully by God, a world made up of a whole bunch of folks who will never set foot inside a sanctuary, a world of persons who are nonetheless loved as deeply, as personally, as delightfully by God, as God loves each of us in this room.

That sounds to me like something much larger, more complex, more risky, more challenging, more glitteringly diverse, in beautiful and scary ways, than my local congregation.

So, what makes us a church? It?s not so that we have terrific softball teams and regular blood pressure checks; so we can agonize over whether or not to install a screen in the sanctuary or leave the drum set up in the chancel during the 'traditional' service; or so we can ensure that individuals experience a deeper personal relationship with God. That is a vital part of a meaningful involvement in a community of faith, but it is not the test of 'church-ness.'

In Matthew 10: 9-11, Jesus reminds us that the accoutrements are not what make us the church, and they sometimes weigh us down as we seek to be the church in the world.

The test of whether or not we are being the church is this: Is the world transformed?

Is there less hunger and more justice? Is there less poverty and more peace? Less violence and more respect of difference? Less fear and more love? Less 'mine' and more 'ours?'

Is the world transformed?

Is there less oppression and more hope? Less cynicism and more expectation? Is there less greed and more generosity? Less anger and more joy? Is there less judging and more grace?

Is the world transformed?

That is the test. Every decision made, every action taken, every dollar spent, every hymn sung, every prayer prayed, every dinner served, every class taught, every sermon preached, every meeting attended ? everything ? ought to point toward making and maturing disciples who will be about the business of transforming the world, not only in the name of, but in the very image of, Jesus Christ.

This transformation business is not about asking or telling someone else what they need to do. This is about looking deeply into our own hearts, and committing to living out this call to be transformational leaders.

Find that place in your own life where you will turn away from the status quo and towards the face of Jesus Christ. Then let folks see it.

Choose to speak to your neighbor about the power of Jesus Christ in your life. Choose to wrap a young and isolated family in the warmth of your friendship. Choose to challenge unethical behavior when you encounter it in the workplace. Choose to tithe your income and share your wealth generously and joyfully in public and private ways.

Then be God?s eyes and look for that spark in someone near to you, that gift that is lying dormant, that tethered passion that needs to be unleashed, and call it out. Tell them your story of being called into ministry and give them a story to tell.

All you have to do is follow the lead of Jesus who called out the strangest group of folks -- folks who fished and folks who doubted, folks who spent their time in the kitchen and folks who wasted their money on expensive perfume. He called folks who came in the dark of night and folks who slunk back into the shadows. Jesus called them all. Jesus knew that each of them was gifted with the spark of the Holy Spirit.

All you have to do is follow the lead of Jesus. Start looking in unlikely places for that spark. You will find it.

And the world will be transformed.

Twila Glenn is director of Connectional Ministries for the Iowa Annual Conference. This commentary is the second part of her speech at the Laity Session May 26. The first part was excerpted in the June 8 UMConnection.