Discipleship Ministries recently published the following article as the first in a three-part series based on the United Methodist vision to Love Boldly, Service Joyfully, and Lead Courageously.

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We are living in a time when love is often confused with niceness, sentimentality, or silence in the face of harm. In this politically charged time, we find ourselves socially divided and spiritually weary. The church’s calling to “love boldly” is not a poetic phrase; it’s a spiritual mandate.

As part of its renewed vision, the Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church, in conjunction with the Connectional Table, invites us to reclaim a deeper identity:

The United Methodist Church forms disciples of Jesus Christ who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections.

This vision calls us to personal formation and a public way of life, embodying God’s dream for the world, not in abstract theological ideas, but in neighborhoods, families, workplaces, and streets.

To love boldly is to live a gospel that is embodied, enacted, and expressed, even when it’s uncomfortable or inconvenient. It is to live a life shaped not by empire's demand for control, but by the Spirit’s call to freedom and wholeness for all.

The Bold Love of Jesus: Disruptive and Tender

Jesus’ love wasn’t safe or sweet. It was bold. His love disrupted systems, crossed boundaries, and healed wounds others wouldn’t touch. He restored people to themselves, to their communities, and to wholeness. He ate with sinners and tax collectors, stood with the lost and forgotten, and refused to meet violence with more violence.

When Jesus tells us to “love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34), he invites us into that same radical, risk-taking love. That kind of love is not meant to stay in our churches or our inner lives. It shows up where people are hurting. It challenges the status quo. It acts.

Bold love is not loud for loudness' sake, but its intent is clear: to affirm the image of God in every person, especially those whom the world overlooks or oppresses.

Bold Love and the Empire’s Resistance

Loving boldly also means recognizing the forces that oppose it. Empires—both ancient and modern—don’t fear religious niceness. What they fear is gospel love that dares to see the dignity in the poor, the migrant, the criminalized, the “other.” The gospel that proclaims good news to the poor, freedom for prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, and setting the oppressed free: that is what empire fears. Even scripture like the Magnificat and its message has at times been banned because it proclaims God turning the world upside down so that the rich walk away empty. Loving boldly changes the way things are to be more like God’s dream of how it will be, an inbreaking of the fullness of life in the here and now.

In our current cultural and political context, love is often co-opted, diluted, made partisan, or treated like a scarce commodity to be used for transactional relationships. But the love Jesus calls us to transcend false binaries. It names harm, and it chooses to remain present. It refuses to scapegoat. It refuses to give up on people. It doesn’t ask “What side are you on?” but, “Who is being left out of the circle of belonging, and how can we widen it?”

Empire wants us to believe there’s not enough to go around—not enough resources, not enough care, not enough worth, not enough seats at the table. But bold love rejects scarcity and proclaims that there is more than enough when we begin with God’s abundance and align ourselves with God's dream. Loving boldly may not always make headlines, but it always moves us closer to our neighbor and closer to God’s reign.

It might look like:

• Showing up consistently in a school system to advocate for underfunded students.
• Calling a trans teen by the name they’ve chosen and affirming their belovedness.
• Refusing to demonize someone whose politics you don’t share.
• Partnering with a community-led organization to feed hungry families, not just once, but every month.
• Welcoming someone back into community after incarceration, addiction, or estrangement.

Loving boldly is a practice, a rhythm, a choice. It's a posture we take as disciples who believe God is still healing the world—through us.

Reflection and Practice

This month, consider how you and your church might take one step deeper into the practice of bold love.

Reflection Questions

When has someone loved you boldly, and how did that shape you?

Who in your neighborhood or community is most in need of a bold, compassionate presence?

What holds you back from loving boldly? Fear of rejection? Of “getting it wrong”? Exhaustion?

Contemplative Practice

Spend a few moments in silence. As you breathe in, say, “God, expand my heart.” As you exhale, say, “Teach me to love boldly.” Repeat slowly for five to ten minutes.

Action Step

Choose one person or group you feel led to move toward in love. Plan to reach out, not with a solution, but with presence. Show up. Listen. Learn what bold love might look like from their perspective.