My friend Pastor Adam Hamilton and I proposing the amendment at General Conference
The United Methodist General Conference concluded one week ago after meeting for 12 days in Tampa Florida. This global governing body of the denomination meets every four years. 988 voting delegates assembled from over fifty countries to determine the future direction and operational discipline of the church. After a week of almost recovering from the intensity and chaotic ending of the event, I am ready to attempt to give a few reflections on both the conference and the future direction of the UMC Church.
I want to begin by saying I love this church. The UMC is the community of saints in which I was nurtured in faith and found my calling to serve Jesus through ordained ministry.
The UMC has great theology! We believe that God’s grace is made available to all persons through his Son and that we can know God intimately through a personal relationship with Jesus. We also affirm that there is no such thing as personal faith that is not connected to social redemption and justice.
The problem however is that our denominational systems continue to resist change by protecting archaic structures that are 50 to 200 years old. From our seminaries to boards and agencies, institutional preservation was a strong resistant influence throughout the conference. Entrenched organizational bureaucracies resist accountability and change. Jesus said, “No one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skin would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins” (Mark 2:22). Maria Dixon Hall, Associate Professor of Communications Studies at Southern Methodist University, made this observation about the conference:
“One of my students in Organizational Communication could look at this mess called GC2012 and diagnose the problem immediately: An 18th century structure cannot sustain a 21st century global organization. We must be willing to let go of the nonessentials to get back to the first fruits and ideals of why we are a People called Methodist. Asking 1,000 people to make organizational decisions and restructuring is not only dangerous; it is impractical for long-term survival. Being limited by a Book of Discipline that has increased in regulation but decreased in effectiveness is an indication that we have become all sound (and petitions) and very little fury or significance. While as a denomination we will not disappear over the next four years, I believe that the Fat Lady has taken off her kaftan and is looking through sheet music and for an evening gown. We must Rethink Church (which is a wonderful campaign if I must say so myself). We are not in the agency business. We are not in the conference business. We are in the soul-saving and soul-sustaining business.”
The UMC is committed to diversity, which is essential for Acts 2 Pentecost! Our focus, however, has been on political diversity rather than organic diversity experienced at the local church level. This has created a top-heavy costly structure with unwieldy ineffective boards that demonstrate diversity as an ideal but fail to make diversity a reality at the local church level. Persons of color make up less than 9% of total U.S. UMC membership. This General Conference made number cuts in agency boards and budgets but failed to take missional resizing and structure changes for the purpose of local congregation vitality seriously. (View here a brief video about our diverse and vital Fort McKinley congregation.)
Human sexuality. The debate on homosexuality and the church is not going to go away. The reality of persons who love Jesus and demonstrate the fruits of the Spirit stand on both sides of this issue. It is by no means as simple as stating “the Bible says.” This issue is painful for me. I have faithful friends on both sides that use the Bible as their point of reference. As I stated at the General Conference last week, I am a Christ-centered, Bible-believing, mission-focused disciple. My friend Adam Hamilton and I introduced an amendment by substitution last week that would not have replaced the current stand in the Book of Discipline on homosexuality but would have added a section (view here) that stated that we agree to disagree with one another in the spirit of Christ’s love. John Wesley said, “Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? Without all doubt, we may.” The amendment was defeated 54-46%
I am more convinced than ever that the local church is where we have to focus our best energies. Denominations in their current forms and structures are in their twilight hours. All you have to do is look at the average member age (58) in our own denomination. What does the future hold? All that we can be certain of is who holds the future! There will be new wineskins to hold new wine, but they may not be United Methodist wineskins.
"I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out." –John Wesley
Thank you Mike. Good thoughts.
Historically, general and annual conferences never initiated change. Change happened and then the conferences reacted by Baptizing what worked. The hope of the UMC is at its soul there is a deep pragmatism.
Posted By: Rev. Jack Stubbs on May 10, 2012 12:40PM
Mike,
First, let me thank you for your courageous leadership in this past General Conference. The vote on the proposal you and Adam Hamilton submitted itself shows the degree of disagreement on such issues the statement itself acknowledged. Thank you.
Second, though, let me suggest that the changes we ended up making actually were bigger than may appear initially. The legislation submitted by General Agencies to reduce the size of their boards ALSO generally altered the nature of those boards, precisely as the Apex report called for-- a shift from merely representative boards to competency-based governance boards that ALSO were attentive to representation.
I'm not sure that change-- one that I watched our board at GBOD struggle with for two years before bringing it to GC for a vote-- was really seen or understood on the floor. In fact, this represents a bigger change in the nature and function of these boards than any of the other plans would have brought-- all of which ended up being essentially smaller representative boards rather than governance boards-- especially after GC further adapted the PlanUMC in a more representative and less governance direction before adopting it.
Is there some resistance to change within our institutions? Of course there is. That's true, regardless of polity or size or age.
What I guess I wanted to suggest here is that there was and is actually a good bit of interest and commitment within some of our institutions, at least, to cooperate and even initiate the changes we can make within the limits specified by our current constitution.
In other words, perhaps in this case it wasn't so much the "institutions" that limited us here, per se. It seems it was actually our constitution, to which all of our institutions, including General Conference, are legally subject.
So as we consider now how to make more dramatic change, and I truly hope we will, perhaps we're all much clearer about what kinds of constitutional changes we also need to make first. And I hope we'll make them, too.
Finally, I know that ages ranging from 57-59 (or sometimes older) get bandied about as the average age of UMs in the US. Just so you are aware of this, there is no real data behind that claim. We have no way of collecting it. The closest thing we have to a figure like that is from a set of 140 congregations who participated in the US Congregational Life Survey in April 2010. Of those who participated and took the survey, the median (not average!) age was 57. But that was excluding ALL persons age 0-15. That dramatically alters the "midpoint" (median) for the age of these congregations! It just doesn't follow from that sample set and a median age excluding persons under 16 that one can say the average age of UM congregants in the US is anything like what is so often claimed.
It might be interesting (if also expensive!) to do a more thorough survey to determine average ages-- but until that is actually done, it may be better not to rely on the figures we often see out there.
Again-- for your witness and ministry, and for your diligence in calling people to discipleship to Jesus, in contexts local and global-- thanks and all blessings!
Posted By: Taylor Burton-Edwards on May 10, 2012 12:41PM
Thank you Mike!
The defeat of the thoughtful amendment that was proposed by Adam Hamilton and yourself may have served as a beacon call far beyond the issue of whether we can agree to disagree on human sexuality issues.
The vote in Tampa is reflective of the priorities of church leadership who seem best served by preserving the interior through walls of paperwork and rhetoric while failing to wrap arms around all the people (God sent Jesus to save not condemn the world and it was all the world and all peoples Jesus came for!). Our church, like many other denominations, is concerned with procedure rather than action. The bold who want to challenge always are left wondering whether that boldness may cause more personal harm than corporate good.
Working with youth and young adults I have watched them shudder at bureaucracy and a church frozen in the mid-twentieth century where even the hymns sung and music played on Sunday mornings rarely have composition dates after 1960, which for most of them is before their parents were born. And, young people who have grown up in a blended world seriously question their grandparents' churches (The matriarchs and patriarchs who "own" our churches are clearly those who are of Social Security age.)that appear to be closed clubs for people who look alike and think alike rather than places that truly have open doors, open hearts, and as my daughter laughs there are no open minds.
One wonders where we go next ... your continued boldness is needed because you have "a name" that is recognized but the real challenge is for each of us whose call is to do God's work ...
can we stand up or will we seek refuge buried in piles of statistical reports that show we are busy bees fulfilling the way we do church until the last door closes?
You and your ministry continue in my prayers.
Posted By: Dave Delaney on May 10, 2012 12:46PM
Mike, thanks for sharing and God Bless you for all you do.....while I agree that possibly the GC concept is outdated, any real and meaingful change in the UMC will come ONLY through local churches, not through GC's or even annual conferences. If we truly want to change the direction of the denomination, we have to change the "archaic" and outdated mindset of our local churches. That's where real progress, real change and real Christ-like and Christ-centeredness will come. Again, thanks.
Posted By: Tim Reeves on May 10, 2012 01:00PM
Mike, I add my gratitude for your leadership.
I want to assure those who are concerned about the lack of youthful vitality in the United Methodist Church that there were many highly engaged, thorougly Wesleyan young adults at GC. Some were delegates, but many were working as volunteers behind the scenes. I am not worried about the vitality of our church now that I have met them. If anything, they were offended that people were trying to fix the church for them and not with them. I have decided that I am going to listen to them for the next four years!
I am pleased to read Taylor's assessment of the data. In my local church location - a zip code with a large senior population, our average age is dropping quickly.
Mike, you and others are absolutely right that vitality and renewal happen when we invite people to connect to Christ through connection with a community of disciples at the local church level.
I for one, and I think the people in my congregation do not want to forsake the work of denominatoinal bodies that connects us to our global community and gathers resources for changing the world beyond our local neighborhoods. That is not to say that they should not be well governed and become much better stewards of those resources, and I support efforts to make that happen.
I lament the continued battle for the theological heart of our church that strips us of our prophetic voice and our global presence in the name of doctrinal agreement on all things. I heartily wish that your legislation would have passed, because it expressed our true identity with integrity.
Again- thank you for offering your voice and your leadership.
Posted By: Deb Stevens on May 10, 2012 02:20PM
As I watched and participated in GC 2012, i felt UM grassroots identity resisting centralization of decision making and resources. For ex: The non-residential bishop petition was a good idea, needed to facilitate the work of the COB. But the legislation had no restrictions delineating the bishop's role. There was a healthy suspician that, without them, function will flow into the form creating. Likewise, I think almost everyone knew that "security of appointment" was not sustainable, but for it to fly through every level with no opporutnity to discuss what it has made possible in so many lives and ministries felt dismissive. Finally, attention to the actual numbers of the vote on your substitution reveals an openess to movement within much of the body. 41% of the delegates were from Central Conferences, not the USA. It is safe to assume, given their cultural contexts and comments, that most of them voted with the 54% against. That implies alot more US willingness to agree to disagree than has been eveident before.
Posted By: Karen L Munson on May 10, 2012 02:47PM
Quote-- "We are in the soul-saving and soul-sustaining business.”
I like that. Its not rocket science; we are not trying to go to the Moon, its church....I think a greater presence of the Holy Spirit in our Lives and Worship would solve most of the problems the We face. Some real Power..
Posted By: Kevin L. on May 10, 2012 03:10PM
As a shared in a tweet last week, I deeply appreciated your resolution. While many in my reconciling congregation did not believe it went far enough, I personally saw it as a very positive and good step toward acknowledging the TRUTH about where we are. As somebody we deeply love once said, "the truth shall set you free."
I also fear that your last paragraph may be prescient about the future of the denomination.
It means more than you can know that large-church pastors such as you and Adam made the gutsy stand that you did. Thanks again. (And please give Sue Nilson a hug from her old friend...)
Posted By: Eric Folkerth on May 10, 2012 03:20PM
Mike, I totally agree with you but shouldn't your amendment be added to all of the other principles that we argue about in the church? Why just homosexuality? Honestly I don't think it should even have to be said. We should all be able to "agree to disagree with one another in the spirit of Christ’s love" because we are not enemies with each other. We have only 1 enemy and he laughs when we take our eyes off of the mission of making disciples. Also, as a 26 year old in ministry, I'm all for restructure. I don't like to waste my time with ineffective policies and procedures. I never grew up in the church and coming in with new ideas and a fresh look at things makes people intimidated instead of inspired. Then again, I've been brought up in a culture that embraces change instead of running away from it.
Posted By: Brian Frame on May 10, 2012 06:26PM
Mike. Great thoughts. Thank you so much for your leadership. I think you are wise to focus your great talents on the local church -- this General Conference will go down in history as the most unproductive wasteful gathering of our church. The total rejection of change was breathtaking.
Taylor, I was astounded by your comments. You are the first person I've heard to argue that there was anything of note to be produced by this General Conference.
United Methodist Women supporting immigration rights at the 2012 General Conference in Tampa
One of the key tenets of the United Methodist movement from its founder John Wesley is that you cannot have personal holiness apart from social holiness. Social justice is a key emphasis within our denomination. It's why caucus groups surrounding General Conference focus on concerns like immigration rights, pension plan divestment from for-profit prisons, issues surrounding homosexuality and sacred unions, as well as others. All of these issues can be very contentious. By no means is there consensus, and the concerns are hotly debated. But what I appreciate about the United Methodist Church is that it clearly recognizes Christ's mandate from Micah 6:8 - "And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God."
Thank you for you strong support of social justice issues. It sometimes feels like the UMC has lost touch with our Wesleyan roots in this regard. I understand that you provided more outspoken support for full inclusion of the GLBT community. I know that carries risks and burdens but I want you to know that there are many of us who support full inclusion who are willing to stand with you and others that have drawn criticism from many who would ignore the biblical message of justice and full inclusion of all members of society. Thank you for being a voice and a vehicle for justice.
Posted By: Linda Harmes on May 08, 2012 12:00PM
I would have to agree the "fat lady" is warming up if not on the first stanza. This reality has been with us long before GC 2012. I would concur in theory with most of your positive remarks of what the UMC could be. After 25 years of serving I have left the room. the comments around diversity are only true IF we see the church globally and not locally. The local UMC is homogenous at best, at worst socially and economically functions much more like a class system than the diverse community it is called to be and even worse, is racist. My own attempt attempting to lead a number of congregations toward a missionary emphasis exposed an ugliness that is mind boggling. The real danger of the typical UMC gathering is that it has insulated itself from being found out although my personal experience has indeed verified across a region that these "club" realities are a very large part of the demise and non-church going folk understand these "cultures" to be what they are, anything but gospel and goodness. God will not and cannot allow for such gatherings to reflect a witness that is counter to the Kingdom. As Wesley feared, a dead sect we have become. Outside of a few mega-models which look more homogenous than we dare admit, turning out the lights is all thats left.
Posted By: Michael on May 10, 2012 01:05PM
Thanks Mike for highlighting the importance of justice inistries among many UM's. The rally where you took this picture turned out 500 people and was, in part, a celebration of the divestment from private prisons that occurred as a result of the outrage from UM's across the country and the world. And this only happened because we (GBCS) have been organizing for several years now to support the rights of immigrants. The truth is that the UMC is out in front when it comes to building movements among grassroots folks to support just and humane reform. This is the vital ministry that is ocurring among many, many local UM churches and even, dare I say, in general boards where we have led in building a multi-generational movement among UM's incarnated among immigrant communities who defend and support the rights of immigrants. Praise God for all that so many unsung and unheard-of UM's do for the cause of Kingdom justice!
Posted By: Bill Mefford on May 10, 2012 01:29PM
Agreed, the problem is that Marxist elements are taking these wonderful tenents of our Church and twisting them to say we should surrender these Social Justice avenues to the state. Government is not our God. God is our God and the political twists claming we are not good Christians if we don't believe we should surrender to the State rather than God. The economic policies as written at GBCM is Marxist leaning: "We support measures that would reduce the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. We further support efforts to revise tax structures and to eliminate governmental support programs that now benefit the wealthy at the expense of other persons.
Click here for all of ¶163.
Basically we say we support Marx over Liberty. Sad very sad. Ok Rome take from the rich and distribute for us to the poor"
I had the privilege of bumping into Rev. Cynthia Fierro Harvey at General Conference yesterday. Cynthia is currently the Deputy General Secretary for the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), a great friend and strategic partner to Ginghamsburg Church, and a newly nominated Episcopal candidate (United Methodist Bishop). Our partnership with UMCOR via The Sudan Project since January 2005 has resulted in sustainable agriculture, safe water, healthcare, and child protection and development projects that are serving tens of thousands children, women and men in Darfur, Sudan and South Sudan. These are only a few of the places UMCOR serves around the world to help the most vulnerable communities recover and rebuild from disasters – whether natural or human-made. Seeing Cynthia always reminds me of our United Methodist heritage and commitment to serve with the poor and oppressed globally on behalf of the Kingdom.
God bless…
Posted By: Pastor Mike Slaughter on Apr 26, 2012 09:30AM
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Praise band from Zimbabwe leads opening worship at General Conference
One of the most inspiring experiences at the 2012 General conference in Tampa, Florida are the daily worship services. Yesterday’s worship was a communion service led by United Methodist Bishops from around the globe. Today, a praise team from Zimbabwe ushered in the Spirit. Excellent!
It is incredible to worship with sisters and brothers from more than 50 countries. Of the nearly 1000 delegates participating, 41% are from outside of the United States.
Please continue to pray for all of the delegates and the Church as we discern together strategic, and possibly difficult, next steps for the denomination during the two weeks of General Conference. Follow me on Twitter at @RevMSlaughter for updates throughout the conference.
Rev. Lorenza Andrade Smith and I at General Conference (Tampa, FL)
Reverend Lorenza Andrade Smith flagged me down this morning when I walked by her at the convention center hosting the United Methodist General Conference in Tampa. She recognized me from a speaking engagement I did in West Texas last year at the invitation of a Bishop. Lorenza is part of the Spanish-speaking Rio Grande United Methodist Conference in Texas and is serving a three-year appointment by her Bishop of doing ministry with the poor. In accepting this appointment, Lorenza gave up her rights to her clergy salary and pension contributions - as well as a home. She lives and sleeps on the streets with the poor, sharing the gospel. Her only belongings, primarily a few articles of clothing, she carries with her. She does carry an iPhone at the insistence of her Bishop. Lorenza eats and takes care of basic needs via the generosity of handouts and gift cards, and uses public restroom facilities for daily hygiene. She is sleeping on the streets of Tampa for General Conference.
The Conference is just beginning, and I am already inspired by how God is showing up in the lives of my Christian sisters and brothers. We are part of a denomination of great God stories of and about people who are investing their all in the life and mission of Jesus Christ. I look forward to sharing their stories with you over the next few weeks.
She sounds like another Mother Teresa....bless her for her ministry!
Posted By: Susan Cosby on Apr 24, 2012 03:21PM
Michael
I live in Alamo TX heart of RGV
How can I support her ministry
219 805 1192
Im retired West Ohio Conference
Posted By: Dale E Guckenberger on Apr 24, 2012 05:05PM
That is just quite "something". Very compelling if thats the correct word.
Posted By: Kevin L. on Apr 24, 2012 05:34PM
Hi, Dale, She is part of the Rio Grande UMC Conference. It would probably be easiest to connect with her through them. The web address is riograndeconference.org.
Posted By: Mike on Apr 24, 2012 05:48PM
Mike, it was a privilege meeting you. Thank you for helping shape my understanding of the mission of Jesus and in turn my mission. Please pass my greetings to your congregation and tell them thank you for sharing yourself with our conferences in Texas. Please keep me in prayer! God bless you and your ministry. Much love hermano!
