Mike Slaughter's Blog

Reflections on General Conference 2012

Thu, 10 May 2012 12:00:00 -0400

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

God bless…

Justice

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 14:30:00 -0400

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."

God bless…

Strategic Partner for the Kingdom

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 09:30:00 -0400

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…

Worship!

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:30:00 -0400

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.

God bless…

Good News for the Poor

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:00:00 -0400

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.

God bless…