“And Are We Yet Alive?” Is a six-verse hymn written by one of Methodism’s founders, Charles Wesley. We sang it with great gusto and passion last week at First Methodist Church in Shreveport, that towering steeple at the head of Texas Street. Dianne and I were attending our first Global Methodist Annual Conference for our church’s district which covers East Texas, North Louisiana and Arkansas. It was an amazing experience of worship, shared vision and encouragement for us! The Spirit of God was in that place. In my former denomination, I had begun to dread the politics, division and power plays that had taken over the meetings. This was completely different.
Conferencing is a big part of Methodism going back to the time of John and Charles Wesley. The word “conference” is used in several ways. A “Conference” is a geographic region of connected churches, but a “conference” is also an annual meeting of churches to pray, worship and make decisions, hopefully in the love and grace of Jesus Christ. If you are still reading, thanks for letting me explain that.
That hymn, sung at every conference, has some deep historic and on-going significance. It was first sung by circuit riding preachers meeting together to literally see who was still alive after a year of riding their horses through the dangers and perils of the wilderness. Circuit riding preachers traveled here in Louisiana, preaching and planting churches and preaching stations throughout these piney hills. The church I serve was founded by one of these in 1839. Their journals reflect the hardships they encountered. And they had to have a love for Jesus and his people but be tough as nails. Riding for two to three weeks at a time, dealing with deadly weather, flooded rivers, outlaws, disease, little food, hostile natives, the average life expectancy of a circuit riding preacher was 30 years old before 1847. They stopped at houses that would give them a bed and ate whatever was served, in one case a preacher reported being served, “deer lungs cooked in rancid oil”, yum!
We still sing “And Are We Yet Alive?” even though most of us preacher types now have it much better. Way too much fried chicken and dirty rice has replaced those deer guts. It reminds us that Wesleyan Christianity should never be “settled” and too comfortable because, as John Wesley said, “The world is my parish” and there is plenty God’s healing and salvation to continue to proclaim, and plenty of darkness, hunger and hate to overcome!
(Steve Berger is pastor of First Methodist Church Minden, a Global Methodist Church. He is the husband of Dianne, his partner in ministry, they have two adult sons, a dachshund, and love living in Minden.)