by Rev. Eric Van Meter*

Junius Dotson’s goal in his Friday morning teaching was to give church leaders a way to take the inspiration from annual conference home in practical ways—beginning with the “why.”

Photo: Rev. Junius Dotson, General Secretary of Discipleship Ministries, inspired United Methodists across the Dakotas to ask "why". Photo by jlynn studios.

 “Deep within us is a desire for purpose,” Rev. Dotson said. Many churches have lost focus because they are building roads to nowhere. We have mistaken activity for accomplishment.”

To counteract this mistake, churches need to focus on the key mission—the “why” of their work. Drawing from Simon Sinek’s popular Start with Why, Rev. Dotson reminded the Conference that disciple-making is the reason churches exist.

Most churches lose the memory of why their systems were put in place to begin with. Discipleship begins when churches and church leaders reconnect with the “why” of their processes, and as a result develop mature disciples that can repeat the processes with others.

 “Do you remember your why?” Rev. Dotson asked the Conference. “Because reconnecting with ‘why’ is where the power is. That is the beginning of the process of making disciples for the transformation of the world.”

If churches are to refocus around the “why” of their work, it will begin with the simple practice of being intentional. Discipleship, he insisted, is something done on purpose. Every church that succeeds in making disciples has both a process and an ability to articulate that process.

The key to successful ministry in the twenty-first century, however, does not lie with programs, but with people.

“Programs alone will not bring the transformation that God desires,” Rev. Dotson said. “We have to operate in the spirit of movement. In short, we begin with our people, and not with our plan.

“People are not a means to an end. They are not how we reach our goals. They are the why of our goals.”

Churches must also learn to be innovative, looking to the future in order to see what to do in the present. In particular, missional engagement means being authentic in relationships, allowing them to develop organically so that discipleship emerges from natural contexts. Every disciple is strategically located among people God is calling them to reach, and opportunities to share stories of God’s work arise from those relationships.

 As a way to think about natural relationships, Rev. Dotson pointed to “See All the People,” an ethos championed by the General Board of Discipleship encouraging congregations to connect with real people in their local communities. To build disciples, he said, congregations must stop trying to fix the church and instead focus on the individuals God is calling to discipleship.

He also encouraged churches to be relentless in their pursuit of the “why” of discipleship, always circling back that question in planning events and programs. The path to successful discipleship does not involve pursuing many ends at the same time, but in developing and practicing one unifying idea.

Finally, Rev. Dotson urged those who would be next-level church leaders to remain hopeful, despite the narrative of decline so often told in relation to the UMC.

“I’m talking about the kind of hope that, despite all evidence to the contrary, tells us our best days are not our yesterdays,” he said. “Our best days are ahead of us as long as we grow not weary in well-doing.

“We must be willing to let go of who we are in exchange for who we can become.”

*Eric is the campus pastor at Dakota Wesleyan University.