Bishop: “You Might Be in the Wrong Place”

July/August 2024

Just days before the opening of the COVID-delayed General Conference, Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton told his fellow bishops that he saw the possibility for big changes coming out of The United Methodist Church’s top policymaking body.

Those potential changes included what many General Conference lay and clergy delegates have taken to calling “the three R’s.” Those are regionalization, the revised Social Principles, and removal of the denomination’s 52-year-old statement that “the practice of homosexuality … is incompatible with Christian teaching.”

In his final address as Council of Bishops president, Bickerton said if any of these changes receives approval, or any combination of them, “this will represent one of those seismic shifts in who we are as a denomination.”

He called on episcopal and other church leaders to use “this seismic shift” to further the denomination’s mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

“If we can, we stand a very good chance of being able to see the next expression of United Methodism beginning to emerge,” Bickerton said at a pre-General Conference meeting that brought together about 95 active and retired bishops from around the world.

“Needless to say, this is a moment in time when we will not only see some of the dust settle, but we’ll also see new dust storms arise,” he said.

The bishops gathered at Charlotte’s downtown Omni Hotel, just a few blocks away from the convention center where lay and clergy delegates from four continents convened April 23-May 3 to make decisions that shape the denomination’s future.

–Heather Hahn, UM News

Bickerton sermon excerpt: Daily Christian Advocate

Preaching at the opening worship service of General Conference, Bickerton rolled back Methodism’s recent “Open hearts, Open minds, Open doors” campaign by seemingly and provocatively questioning whether all delegates belonged in the room. 

He noted, “A lot of water has passed under the bridge since this church has gathered in this venue. And I gotta ask you a question: Do you want to be in this room?”

That was red-meat provocation for some, while other delegates felt like it was a pointed-finger of shame for non-comformity and groupthink.

Bickerton continued: “Are you willing to move forward in the spirit of hope and embrace a season of reformation? Are you committed to the revitalization of the United Methodist Church? Are you here to work for a culture marked by compassion, courage, and companionship?”

“And it causes me to genuinely ask – and this is as genuine as I can be – if you can’t agree to that, what are you doing here anyway?

“Maybe, just maybe, you’re in the wrong place – because my sense is that we are here, not only because we love our United Methodist Church, we are committed to moving it forward with renewal, revival, and a reclaimed sense of purpose.

“And if you are not committed to a positive narrative of who we are and where we are going, you might just be in the wrong place. And perhaps, just perhaps, in love, we might just ask you –with integrity –that you just leave us alone to do our work!

“We don’t have any time for negative narratives and personal agendas. We don’t have any time for vendettas and last gasp jabs. Friends, we’ve got work to do.

We are grateful for the work of UM News and the Daily Christian Advocate. Image: Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton of New York give4s the sermon during opening worship for the United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, NC, on April 23. Image capture from viseo presentation of the Conference.