Pastor Charles' Reflection on General Conference

Note: this is the Pastor Charles' reflection on General Conference in the June Glad Tider (the newsletter of the Stevensville [MT] UMC):

I’m writing this right on the heels of my experience at General Conference (GC) in Portland. With the theme, “Therefore, Go!” the church gathered for its quadrennial (once every four years) meeting. To paraphrase the opening line in “A Tale of Two Cities” – It was everything I hoped it would be and everything I was afraid it would be.

The Good: Seeing 865 delegates from 133 Annual Conferences representing more than 12 million members and 45,434 local churches with another estimated 4,000 others present during the course of the ten days (volunteers, vendors, General Church workers, etc.) was wonderful! Twenty-nine missionaries (from eleven countries serving in sixteen countries) and twenty-five Deaconesses and Home Missioners were commissioned – WOW!

Each morning the day began with worship, and oh, what worship it was! Choirs, ensembles, and soloists shared an incredible variety of music. My favorite was the ukulele choir from Grace Avenue UMC (Frisco, Texas). There were participants representing the rainbow/tapestry of a global church and prayers that went deep into the heart of the church. Then there were the bishops chosen ahead of time to bring the word for the day. Each one spoke powerful, prophetic words to a deeply conflicted church body, urging us to follow Christ in service and love.

Then there was the large room set aside for prayer as well as a UMW prayer tent and a prayer station outside one entrance to the plenary hall. The main prayer room included five interactive prayer stations, two large labyrinths, and much more. Each day bishops would take turns in a prayer vigil. Each delegate was given a set of prayer beads and the UMW distributed labyrinth hand-made quilt squares.

The General Boards, Agencies, and Commissions shared what the church does best – connecting with people where they are and to address the needs of all of God’s children. Imagine No Malaria, Africa University, and other efforts are touching lives and the Stevensville UMC is a part of that effort. The exhibit hall also contained dozens of displays showing the diversity of ministries being done by individuals and organizations in every corner of the world. We celebrated milestones and anniversaries including 60^th anniversary of the ordination of women, 200th anniversary of the AME Church, and 250 years since the founding of John St. UMC (in New York City). We took corporate responsibility for our part in the Sand Creek Massacre.

The bad: It was during the afternoon plenary on the next to last day when a sobering moment occurred. I was seated in the bleachers, listening to an acrimonious debate on the proposal from the Council of Bishops on “the way forward” (to consider the topic of human sexuality in a special General Conference). As I took in this scene, the thought came to me: “Am I witnessing the birth of a new church or the death of an old one?”

Focusing on the institutional side of Portland alone is enough to cause me to weep over the future of our denomination. There were times during the proceedings that it seemed to me that some delegates were more interested in proving their mastery of Robert’s Rules of Order and winning votes than in “Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World.” It seemed at times that I was witnessing the end of the church as I had known it.

And yet. As John Wesley is quoted as having said as he lay dying, “The best of all, God is with us.” To that belief in the continuing presence of God in The UMC, I would offer: 

+I believe that we United Methodists must find a way to see in our brothers and sisters the image of the Living God before all else is said or done.

+I believe that the Spirit of God is able to do a new thing in The UMC or it will do a new thing in a church that rises from the ashes of the current denomination.

+I believe that the church that we have received from the Wesleys has a vital role to play in the world. But we live in a different time than the early Methodists and cannot cling to some mythical golden age as the norm for our life today.

+I believe that the so-called “Wesleyan Quadrilateral” (understanding our faith through Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience) is a valid way for us to approach our life together.

+I believe that as long as we claim to be United Methodists or actively participate in the ministries of the Stevensville UMC that we must continue to grow as disciples.

+I believe that if you are a member of this congregation that the vows you took upon joining this church and The United Methodist Church (you joined both in case you’ve forgotten) need to be written in bold letters on your heart. Supporting the church through your prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness are not just pretty words – they are the marks of who we are as United Methodists.

+I believe that the work of the church is not limited to the physical building at 216 College Street or to The UMC. To put it another way, “Imagine how different the church would be if it understood the church is not about the church” (ReThink Church – Brad Brisco).

From my perspective, the most Spirit-filled moment during GC 2016 was during one particularly unpleasant debate when the young adults rose up to read the Statement of Unity from the United Methodist Global Young People’s Convocation and Legislative Assembly held in Manila, Philippines:

“There has been increasing talk of schism of the United Methodist Church in recent months. Many say that the issue of homosexuality is so contentious that it will inevitably split our Church. We, as the young people of The United Methodist Church, would like to say that we do not desire a divided Church. “The Church that we have taken our places in is called to a ministry that includes so much more than this one issue. There are genuine, passionate perspectives on all sides of the issue and though we disagree, we have committed ourselves to loving, faithful discussion on this subject. Part of the beauty of our Church is that there has always been room at the table for a wide range of theological diversity within our connectional church family. As [John] Wesley said, ‘May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion?’ 

We urge everyone to seek solutions that promote our global unity as The United Methodist Church of Jesus Christ, rather than focus only on the issues that divide us, so that we may faithfully live out our mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”

So, was spending the resources of time, energy, and money to be present at GC worthwhile? I believe it was. The Council of Bishops concluded its pastoral letter at the conclusion of GC with these words: 

“Most importantly, we affirmed our commitment to stay united. We proved that we are more than debates and divisions, more than rules and resolutions. We stood together as the body of Christ. As we reflect on our time in Portland, our prayer is for unity in the church for the advancement of our mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”

Every blessing,

Pastor Charles