What I Have Learned

General Conference 2012 ended with a painful whimper. This is not the Conference we wanted to have. Many of us sat in airport shuttles this morning asking, "What have we accomplished?" "Was this a waste of time?"

I hope not.

In spite of the disappointments, I know I have learned a great deal. And I pray that my ministry, and the ministry of my church, will be improved because of my experience.

What have I learned?

Rev. Mark Holland of Trinity
UMC, Kansas City, KS. Mark
and I were undergraduates
together at SMU.

• There is great value in having a Conference of sufficient magnitude that Methodist clergy and laity from across the denomination are able to meet and network with one another. I hope to continue the new friendships I have made with people like David Bard (MN), Kama Hamilton Morton (MT), Amy Lippolt (KS), Gary Mueller (NTX), Laura Merrill (SWTX), Jeff Lust (NM), Amy Gearhart (MO), Jan Davis (NTX) and many others. I had not met any of these people before General Conference began, and I value this time that we had to meet people across the connection. I was also able to reconnect with friends from seminary and undergraduate years who are now serving churches. I know I can call on these friends as I seek counsel and inspiration for ministry in the future; and I believe there is great value in this kind of relationship building, as we seek together to learn how to be more effective in ministry.

• I have learned that there is a lot of legislation that was passed on the consent calendar that will have implications for the church - but I don't know what all of them were. In the busyness of our plenary sessions, there simply wasn't time to see what had been approved by each of the 13 committees and therefore included in bulk on the consent calendar. It is easy to sit today in stunned silence believing that our work here was anything but fruitful. But I know we did make some progress - I just haven't quite sorted out what it was, yet!

• I have been reminded that there is great value in moments of still silence and prayer with our God. We prayed frequently at General Conference, and often these prayers were offered spontaneously at times of deep distress. But the invitation to pray was, to my recollection, always followed immediately by words spoken from the podium. They were eloquent words, and they were spoken from the heart. But sometimes, I believe, we just need silence. Especially in times of deep distress, maybe we just need a time to breathe and pray and not hear any more words. I need to remember this.

I am grateful to have been mentored by
Bishop Minerva Carcano.

• I am more deeply convinced that worship helps connect us to God. In spite of my yearning for moments of stillness in plenary, we did close each evening with worship; and each evening it did feel, for me, as though we'd returned our focus, if only for the moment, to the One who called us into being, as humans and as a denomination.

• I have an increased appreciation for the laity of our denomination. I know that we have faithful, capable congregational leaders. I have been honored to work alongside laity on District and Conference Boards. But this brings things to a whole new level. I am glad I serve a church where representation of the laity is 50%. Laity have much wisdom and gifts of leadership to offer.

These amendments to changes to the preamble to our Social
Principles were greatly debated. A further amended form
finally passed. (I believe the words "neither belief
nor practice" have been replaced with the word "nothing.")
The words are clearly scriptural. You would think this would be a
no-brainer. But concerns about issues that divide us,
primarily those related to human sexuality, kept the vote
around 60/40.

•  I have been affirmed in my knowledge that the United Methodist Church is filled with passionate people who love Jesus Christ. An expression of our love of Christ that we share in common is our deep commitment to issues of social justice. We do not always agree on how to understand the issues, but we are not apathetic to the plight of the needy. Sometimes this passion allows us to create barriers between us, and this is painful. Sometimes our passion leads us into places of fear and distrust that our position will not have the stronger voice. And this causes us to treat even the most honest of statements (including verses of scripture) with deep suspicion: "If I agree to this honest statement, what will the consequences be?" And so we let parliamentary procedure settle the matter. This is civilized, but it does not always feel Godly. Is there a better way?

Divestment from companies fueling Israel's military occupation
of Palestinian lands was strongly urged by demonstrators.
The petition to divest was not supported.

• I have learned that the global nature of our church is an extremely complex issue. 41% of the delegates come from outside the U.S. This represents the tremendous growth of the UMC in places like Africa, and this is always something to celebrate. Our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Explosive church growth in UM churches anywhere in the world is made possible by the global connection that we share. However: many of the petitions (including issues of clergy pension and security of appointment) do not affect United Methodists in our Central Conferences (outside the U.S.). But they do vote on them. 41% of the people in the room on Friday who voted on which pension plan we will use going forward will not be affected in any way by the plan. 41% of the people who voted when the body determined not to discuss guaranteed appointments on the floor do not operate under this understanding of appointment. 41% of the people who had an opportunity to amend and vote on our $603.1 million UMC budget contribute 1% of the funds to meet that budget.

Over and over and over again, legislative changes slowed to a crawl as concerns were raised about whether or not a petition reflected the diversity of the global church. Were all countries represented fairly? (And, for that matter, were women, young people, and others who are marginalized in the U.S. fairly represented?) Who was at the table when decisions were made?

 These are valid questions. In many cases, these questions need to be asked and answered. But it seems apparent to me that we cannot possibly continue to operate in the structure we are currently using. The enormous cost of flying all of the delegates to General Conference and housing them for two weeks alone is staggering. How can our Boards and Agencies operate effectively and efficiently while maintaining the kind of diversity that a global church requires? Attempts to downsize our Boards are criticized as attempts to marginalize certain people. And so, on the floor, the number is increased. And so is the cost. So Boards meet less frequently. It seems reasonable to then assume that the work of disciple-making suffers.

On the one hand, we want a truly global church. We value the voices of our brothers and sisters around the globe. Good, faithful work is being done in churches throughout our world. Jesus has sent us to make disciples "of all nations." It should not matter who pays the tab.

"The Jesus in me meets the Jesus in you." Rev. Brenda Wier of the Central Texas Conference delegation sings with our tablemate, who is from the North Katanga Conference of the Democratic Republic of Congo. I hope you will click here to see some of the amazing ministries of the United Methodist Church in North Katanga.

 On the other hand, it seems absurd that Central Conference delegates are voting on our pension and on our ordination process. Cultural understandings differ greatly among the countries of the UMC: how can we expect to easily agree on issues raised in our Book of Resolutions? Our life experiences, the culture of our societies, our understanding of racism and sexism, our true needs and even our languages differ so widely: how can we sit down together every four years and agree on a budget?

 Four years from now, I have every reason to believe that the percentage of delegates who come from outside the U.S, with the largest majority of these coming from Africa, will be greater than 50%. On matters that affect the U.S. church uniquely, it will be virtually impossible (as it is now) to tell what it is that U.S. delegates truly want. This past week, I heard many voices crying out that the young people of our (U.S.) society are not interested in being a part of a denomination that ______________.  And we desperately want young people to have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. I am not certain that the Social Principles that set forth our understanding of how we are to be in relationship with God and with neighbor can possibly be expressed in ways that represent a united, faithful response from Christians who come from all parts of the globe. 

Indeed, the global nature of our church is an extremely complex issue. It seems that we want a global church, we want God to be glorified through the ministries of the UMC throughout the world, we want our denomination to reflect the diversity of God's good creation - but we simply do not know how to make this work.

Make no mistake: as long as we have local churches,
the mission and ministries of the United Methodist
Church will go on!

•  Finally (though my list is not truly complete), I learned that this messy work of the church should not and must not cloud the vital ministries of our local congregations. Why would any person want to be a member of an organization that gets so mired in Robert's Rules of Order that we can't seem to move forward on any issue, but rather seek to undo chunks of progress that have been made?  I don't know why anyone would. But I hope and pray that people want to be a part of local congregations who are in the pews and on the streets, worshiping God and loving our neighbor in thought, word and deed. I pray that people will see the People Called Methodists in their neighborhoods, working to transform the world by the ideals of God's Kingdom. I pray that those who do not yet know the love of God in Jesus Christ will come to know faithful Methodists who are living their faith every day. Every church is a mission station. This will not change. In spite of the disappointments of GC2012, our churches will continue to be faithful. We will pray, and knit prayer shawls, and stock food pantries, and go on mission trips, and visit the homebound, and engage in microfinancing, and give, and teach, and nurture, and baptize. And for this, I am grateful.

The Central Texas Delegation at General Conference 2012