by Steve | May 4, 2020 | In the News, Perspective E-Newsletter
Rev. Dr. Kevin Watson, Candler School of Theology
By Thomas Lambrecht –
One often hears that Methodism used to believe the “wrong” thing about slavery, the ordination of women, and the affirmation of same-sex relationships, and that Methodism moved to believe the “right” thing about slavery and the ordination of women, leading the way to a more just world. Therefore, the argument goes, Methodism should also move to believe the “right” thing about affirming same-sex relationships.
The implication is that Methodism changed its position based on biblical or theological principles that overcame earlier errors in biblical or theological reasoning. Therefore, Methodism should adopt a new, affirming position on same-sex relationships based on a new biblical or theological interpretation.
Back in January — before the full ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic became apparent — Dr. Kevin Watson, assistant professor of Wesleyan and Methodist Studies at Candler School of Theology, wrote an important article puncturing this myth of historical progress. One can read his full article in First Things (which I would highly recommend) and a short blog here . I want to delve more deeply into Watson’s argument.
The essence of Watson’s contention is this: “We have been using the Bible to discriminate against gays and lesbians, it is argued, and need to progress in the same way that we aligned ourselves with God’s justice in opposition to slavery and the subordination of women. The problem with this myth is that it is not true. When confronting slavery, racism, and the exclusion of women from ministry, the dominant strain of Methodism actually conformed to the dominant culture. It did not, as the UMC presumptuously ascribes to itself today, lead the way in progress or ‘the transformation of the world.’ On the contrary, United Methodism in the United States was more often transformed by the world” (emphasis original).
Slavery and Racism
Early Methodists had a very strong stance against slavery. John Wesley famously wrote a letter six days before his death encouraging British anti-slavery crusader William Wilberforce to “Go on … till even American slavery (the vilest that ever saw the sun) shall vanish away.” The first U.S. Methodist Book of Doctrines and Discipline forbade the ownership of slaves, and Methodists who owned slaves were required to set them free or be excluded from church membership and participation in the Lord’s Supper.
Compromise arose almost immediately, however, when those leading the church in the South protested that it would be nearly impossible to get anyone there to join the church because slavery was so ingrained in the southern culture and economy. Accommodations were made in the Discipline and enforcement of the remaining restrictions was weak, until things reached a breaking point in 1844. Bishop James Andrew acquired slaves through marriage and was unwilling to resign from the episcopacy. The church split between an abolitionist North and a pro-slavery South, a split that lasted nearly 100 years.
When the northern and southern churches came back together in 1939, one would have assumed that the issue of slavery and race was resolved. However, the price of a reunion of the church was the sanctioning of racial segregation. A new central jurisdiction was created for black pastors and churches, and the whole church was divided up into regional jurisdictions that allowed a continuation of racism and Jim Crow discrimination in parts of the country. Even during the Civil Rights era of the 1960’s, courageous white pastors like Maxie Dunnam and Robert Tuttle who spoke out against racial discrimination were threatened and exiled from their ministry in the South.
It was not until 1968-1972, in the process of the merger that formed The United Methodist Church, that the structural racism of the central jurisdiction was eliminated. Of course, the battle against racism in our hearts and minds continues today. But it was not until the cultural pendulum swung strongly toward desegregation that the Methodist Church acted to remove that structural racism. It followed the movement of the culture; it did not suddenly find a principled opposition to racism.
In Watson’s words, “The churches that merged to create The United Methodist Church should not have caved to cultural pressure to accept and accommodate racism and slavery. They should have stood firm in their theological commitments. The more biblically formed branches of the Wesleyan Holiness family [such as the Wesleyan Church and Free Methodist Church] did just that.” Had we stuck to our original convictions, we may not have grown as large, but we might have had a greater influence on American culture and history. At the very least, we would have been true to our identity in Christ as founded on the truth of God’s word.
Ordination of Women
As Watson puts it, “The story of the ordination of women in American Methodism follows a similar trajectory.” The Methodist Church officially affirmed the ordination of women in 1956, fully 36 years after women were granted the right to vote by the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In the post-war years, women in the U.S. gained in status and rights because they had contributed greatly to the war effort and increasingly had jobs outside the home. The cultural shifts and pressures drove the Methodist Church to change its position. As good and beneficial as the recognition of women’s equality was for our church, we were very late to the game.
By contrast, early Methodism and other strands of American Methodism affirmed the leadership of women. John and Charles Wesley’s mother, Susannah, notably led Bible studies and took on other leadership responsibilities, causing John to allow women to serve alongside men in some aspects of leadership in the English Methodist movement. The Wesleyan Church ordained women as early as 1853, only ten years after its founding and over 100 years before the dominant Methodist Church. The Free Methodist Church ordained women in 1891.
“The argument based on the myth of Methodist progress on slavery and race, then the ordination of women, and now same-sex marriage, is therefore bad history. Mainstream Methodism bowed the knee to culture on questions of race and female leadership, rather than leading the way there on the basis of its theological heritage.”
LGBTQ Affirmation
Watson goes on, “The desire by United Methodists in the United States to change the church’s position on same-sex marriage fits this history, not the common myth. As American cultural elites began to embrace gay rights and same-sex marriage, United Methodist leaders in the U.S. began to fall in line. Tellingly, the church has become more liberal first in the places where the dominant culture had already become more politically and socially liberal.”
As a result, “Far from being countercultural, The United Methodist Church and its predecessor bodies have too often functioned like cultural chameleons, changing their values and practices to fit in with the dominant culture. They have not operated with a strong sense of identity grounded in Scripture and tradition, and thus have not been able to face off the unpredictable and changing winds of cultural pressure and change.”
Our church over the decades has been willing to sell its identity for the fleeting reward of being “culturally relevant.” The same motivation is at work today, when we hear the justification, “If we do not change our position on same-sex marriage, we will not be able to attract young people to the church.” We seek to be “relevant” and influence the culture, when in fact we are allowing the culture to influence and shape the church.
We run the danger of being “infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching” and the latest cultural fad. Instead, Scripture urges us, “speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ” (Ephesians 4:14-15).
Only by growing up into spiritual maturity and finding our identity in Christ can we resist the fickle winds of the world that sometimes blow with the truth and sometimes bluster against it. Our foundation cannot be an ever-changing society, but the never-changing truth of God’s word and Christian tradition.
Thomas Lambrecht is a United Methodist clergyperson and the vice president of Good News.
by Steve | Apr 23, 2020 | In the News, Perspective E-Newsletter
By Tom Lambrecht –
Someone shared a video with me the other day that showed a three-year-old girl sitting in her house by the glass patio door looking out. She repeatedly shouted, “I hate this house! I hate this house! I hate this house!” I think many of us are right there with her.
We are in a time of waiting. Waiting until things get back to “normal.” Waiting until we can see our friends and family in person again. Waiting until we can go shopping or eat out at a restaurant. Waiting until we can join our brothers and sisters in worship live at a church building!
I feel especially sympathetic toward older people and those with underlying health conditions that make them vulnerable to the coronavirus. They are cut off from most real human contact and have the added worry of their physical susceptibility to the disease. Some of them don’t really understand what is going on, only knowing that they cannot be with their families. And some have the added burden of grieving the loss of a spouse or other family member in solitude and without in-person comfort. Maybe they did not even get to see that person before they died.
How long, O Lord?
Our church has an “adopt a senior” program that matches younger people with our seniors to maintain regular contact with them and reassure them of God’s love and care in the midst of this time of isolation. What can your church do to reach out to older and more vulnerable people?
Others are waiting from another experience, that of sheer exhaustion. Many of our frontline health workers and first responders face daily dangers to their health, while working long shifts to care for the sick. They worry about their families catching the virus from them. Many have worked out a plan to live separately from their families so as not to endanger them. For them, the end of this health crisis cannot come soon enough!
How long, O Lord?
Still others are waiting with a sense of helplessness. Many have lost their jobs and have no source of income. Unemployment is just enough to pay one bill, but not all of them. They could lose their home or apartment, car or business. They may have to go to a food distribution center for the first time in their lives in order to have enough to eat. Others are forced by economic necessity to go to work each day, placing themselves in harm’s way in order to provide for their families. Inadequately protected at work, they worry about bringing the virus home to infect those they love. We think first of people in the U.S. in these desperate situations, but many of our fellow United Methodists in other countries are suffering hardship that can soon become life-threatening, particularly in Africa, the Philippines, and Southeast Asia.
How long, O Lord?
Those of us who have been blessed with a secure income can help those in need by channeling our giving through our local church’s relief fund. UMCOR has also established a fund to help suffering and needy people all over the world. The good news is that a dollar goes a lot farther in most of the world’s nations than it used to.
“How long, O Lord?” is the lament that fills the Bible, particularly the Old Testament. Timothy and Julie Tennent (A Meditative Journey through the Psalms, p. 19) remind us that this cry is found nine times throughout the psalms. Most often, the cry boils down to, “how long will my prayers go unanswered?” “How long will I sense God’s absence more than his presence?” “How long will justice be denied?”
Waiting in anguish seems to be part of the human experience. Of course, it is an experience we hate.
When I was growing up, my Dad always had to be everywhere at least fifteen minutes early, just in case “something happened.” We were early to everything — church, school, appointments, visiting family. It seemed at the time as if I spent half my life waiting for something to happen. I grew to hate it, and in adulthood, I usually try to arrive just on time, never early. (Of course, when “something happens,” that plan goes out the window!)
We hate to wait, and view that time as unproductive. Waiting in anguish for something we long for is even worse. In the midst of the waiting, however, we can be assured of two things:
First, God is with us in the waiting. God knows everything about us, including our situation and challenges. God sees. He cares. One of God’s names is “the God who sees” (El Roi). Genesis 16 recounts the story of Hagar, Abraham’s servant, who had to endure the mistreatment of her mistress Sarah in order to receive God’s blessing and protection for her son, Ishmael. In the process, she learned that God is with us and cares about what we are going through. That doesn’t mean that God cuts short the waiting, but it makes the waiting more bearable.
We operate by faith and not by sight. So even when we do not feel God’s presence, we know that he is there. His promises in Scripture are certain. We can count on them. God says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” This is such an important promise that he repeats it many times in Scripture: Deuteronomy 31:6-8, Joshua 1:5, Psalm 27:10, Hebrews 13:5 to name a few. We can count on the fact that God is always with us, no matter what we are going through. Those were actually Methodism’s founder John Wesley’s last words on his deathbed, “Best of all, God is with us.”
Second, God uses the waiting times to accomplish his purpose. Sometimes, God causes the waiting to take place. Other times (like the current pandemic), he uses a situation that arises through other causes to accomplish his will.
The history of God’s people is full of waiting times. Abraham waited until he was 99 for God to fulfill his promise of a son with Sarah. The Israelites were enslaved in Egypt for hundreds of years and wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before reaching the Promised Land. The people of Israel waited in exile for 70 years — a lifetime! — before they could return to their homeland. The people of Israel were without the word of the Lord for over 400 years between the time of Malachi (the last book of the Old Testament) and the arrival of John the Baptist to proclaim God’s promise fulfilled. The Church has been waiting 2,000 years for the fulfillment of God’s promise that Jesus will come again to establish his kingdom and create a new heaven and a new earth.
Sometimes, the waiting holds the purpose of building a godly character in the life of those waiting. Other times, the waiting is for the right timing for God’s action. Sometimes, we find out the reason for the waiting. Many other times, we do not get an answer in this lifetime, but hope for clarity in the life to come. Regardless, we can be assured that God is working in and through the challenges, crises, and waiting times of our lives.
“How long, O Lord” is the anguished cry of our hearts. It is a valid cry of longing. God hears our cry. He knows our hearts and our circumstances. He is with us in the midst of life’s struggles, and he will use those struggles to accomplish his will in our lives.
Our role in this pandemic is to trust God with our lives and with the lives of those whom we love. We can patiently wait for the end of this crisis, even as we passionately long for it. In the meantime, we can “do what our hand finds to do” (I Samuel 10:7, Ecclesiastes 9:10) to serve God and others. And we can continue to grow closer to the Lord who loves us and gave himself for us. Only God knows “how long,” but we know the God who knows!
Thomas Lambrecht is a United Methodist clergyperson and the vice president of Good News.
by Steve | Apr 17, 2020 | In the News, Perspective E-Newsletter
By Bishop Frank J. Beard –
“… Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.”
– II Chronicles 20:21b
Our world is under attack by a ruthless enemy — one that does not come from God. It is the job of every Christian and every church to unify and wage spiritual warfare against this destructive evil until it is defeated.
As I was praying the other morning and lamenting that there was not much we could do against this virus, I sensed in my spirit that as a spiritual leader I was taking the wrong approach. The Lord spoke very plainly to me, “Tell them about the weapons I have provided for them to use.” Like Moses, I argued, but even as I argued seven weapons came to mind.
Our current attack is from a vicious enemy whose primary purpose is death. As Christians we understand that this thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). He is a powerful destroyer, but we are not powerless against him or his vices.
God has given every believer an arsenal of weapons for the spiritual battles that we face. The one we serve is the “I AM” God (Exodus 3:14), the one whose very name means, “I will be what you need when you have need.”
The Apostle Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 that as followers of Christ we do not wage war as the world does. We have spiritual weapons because we are engaged in a spiritual battle. Our weapons are never directed at people. According to Paul, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).
Let’s take a brief look at seven weapons used in spiritual warfare.
1. Prayer, Praise, and Worship. In II Chronicles chapter 20, three enemy kings formed an alliance and declared war against King Jehoshaphat. The King turned to the Lord for help and encouraged the nation to fast and pray. The Spirit of the Lord came among them and God gave them this message: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s'” (II Chronicles 20:15).
Jehoshaphat assembled an army, but he did an amazingly unconventional thing. He placed the choir and the praise band out front! The power of prayer, praise, and worship was undeniable as the enemy was routed without the King or his soldiers engaging in any physical fisticuffs.
2. The Word of God. Paul compares the Word to a soldier’s sword: “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:12). The writer of the book of Hebrews compares God’s word to a double-edged sword: “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
3. The Name of Jesus. One of our strongest weapons is the name of Jesus. This name, supported by a personal relationship, is a powerful force the enemy recognizes and fears. “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).
The Bible tells us that, “The name of the LORD is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe” (Proverbs 18:10). Both the Old Testament and the New Testament are filled with verses that talk about the power in the name of the Lord. “David said to the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied'” (I Samuel 17:45).
4. The Blood of Jesus. Because of the shed blood of Jesus, believers are redeemed, sanctified (set apart), cleansed, forgiven, and justified (brought into right relationship) in the presence of God. Christ’s blood grants us entrance into the very throne room of heaven where we are welcomed as children of God.
The blood of Christ provides victory over all our enemies. “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death” (Revelation 12:11).
5. Our Faith. Hebrews 11 highlights God’s hall of fame of men and women who, through their faith, accomplished seemingly impossible tasks.
Paul describes faith as a shield for believers. “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Hebrews 6:16).
The shield of faith protects us from the flaming darts of our enemy. Faith extinguishes the enemy’s fire and turns those sinister plans into blessings. Faith is a spiritual weapon that clears the way for us to receive God’s grace. Faith enables us to triumph over whatever the world throws at us. “… for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith” (I John 5:4).
6. Our Testimony. One of the last promises Jesus gave to his disciples was that they would receive, from the Holy Spirit, power to be effective witnesses. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
Jesus promised that their personal testimony would provide the evidence needed to spread the gospel message throughout the world. This power was promised for individual and corporate witnessing. Each personal testimony of the followers of Christ is a highly charged weapon connecting Christians to God’s grace and each other. Each testimony speaks of God’s presence and of the transforming power that defeats the enemy and inspires hope in the downtrodden.
7. Our Unity in Christ. We don’t often think of unity as a spiritual weapon, but it was one of the great prayers Jesus offered on behalf of his followers (John 17). It was also one of the keys that opened the door for the Holy Spirit to be poured out on the believers in Acts chapter two. As those early believers waited in obedience, and as they prayed together day-by-day, an atmosphere of unity was formed.
This tragic pandemic is an opportunity for the followers of Christ around the globe to unite and engage in spiritual warfare that will defeat and destroy the works of darkness. Each Christian, within their own unique context, will need to decide how God has called them to engage in this spiritual battle. Christian leaders will need to listen for the Lord’s voice (and nudging) to decide how best to rally, equip, and deploy the troops under their direction.
We dare not sit silently and idly by, wringing our hands and thinking that we are powerless against this pandemic. Jesus said about us, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house” (Matthew 5:14-15).
Now is the time to let your light shine for Jesus. People are searching for solutions and seeking answers to this pandemic. Believers are not powerless. We have been given weapons to assist in fighting against this evil. It is our job to stand up, stand out, and proclaim victory even before we see the end of the battle. Let us not shrink back or shy away because we don’t believe we can do anything.
Remember the story of Jehoshaphat. This battle belongs to the Lord. Ultimate victory does not excuse us from engaging and utilizing the weapons God has provided for us to use in defeating this pandemic. Perhaps God has strategically placed us “for such a time as this!”
Frank J. Beard is the Bishop of the Illinois Great Rivers Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. This article is adapted from his blog.
by Steve | Apr 6, 2020 | In the News, Perspective E-Newsletter
By Tom Lambrecht –
Young woman in a surgical mask.
www.freepik.com
In this time of pandemic and “lockdown,” we are all dealing with new realities that we have never experienced before. As I work from home, I can look out the front window of my house. Half the traffic during the day on our street is delivery trucks (Amazon, FedEx, UPS). Delivery people are our lifeline to the rest of the world!
As many of us isolate ourselves in our homes, we can also isolate ourselves mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. We can get focused on our own needs and those of our family, which rightly should come first. We need to do what it takes to stay safe and avoid passing the virus to others, especially those who are vulnerable.
But in our self-quarantine, we need to continue to broaden our focus beyond ourselves and particularly to those who are weak and vulnerable in this time. In that vein, I was struck by several verses of Psalm 41 that I read earlier this week.
“Blessed are those who have regard for the weak;
the Lord delivers them in times of trouble.
The Lord protects and preserves them –
they are counted among the blessed in the land –
he does not give them over to the desire of their foes.
The Lord sustains them on their sickbed
and restores them from their bed of illness.”
(Psalm 41:1-3)
This psalm, along with many other passages in Scripture, links our concern for the weak and vulnerable with God’s blessing. Particularly relevant today are the promises here that God will “deliver us in times of trouble,” that he will “protect and preserve us,” and that he will “sustain us on our sickbed and restore us from our bed of illness.”
These are precisely the blessings that we need right now and are praying for on behalf of not only ourselves, but all whom we know. And these blessings are in some sense conditioned on our care and concern for the weak among us.
I do not read these promises as some kind of contract that God makes with us, that if we do X, then he will automatically do Y. There are plenty of godly and righteous people who are not healed of their sickness or freed from their trouble. (Of course, with an eternal perspective in mind, sometimes death itself is a healing, as the person is released from suffering and from having to deal with sickness and pain. In heaven there is no sickness, nor will there be in our new bodies in the new heaven and new earth that we read about in Revelation 21-22.)
Rather, I think God is saying that care and concern for the weak will not go unnoticed or unrewarded by God. Sometimes that reward comes in the form of earthly blessing. Other times, that reward is something we experience only in eternity.
In addition, when we care for the weak, we are doing what our heavenly Father does. We serve a God who cares for the birds of the air and flowers of the field (Matthew 6:25-34). He sends his sun and rain on good and evil people (Matthew 5:43-48). He accepts religion as pure and faultless to “look after orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1:27). When we have regard for the weak, we are doing what Christians do, being true to our character as children of our heavenly Father.
I am encouraged by the many stories I read and hear about people who are caring for the vulnerable during this crisis. I heard from one of our Good News board members about a parishioner in her church. The parishioner is an 84-year-old woman who refused to be placed on the list of people needing extra attention during the pandemic. Instead, she insists on being one of their church’s “porch angels,” who is willing to go to the homes of elderly or vulnerable people to deliver supplies or other needed items. Instead of focusing on her own vulnerability, she is reaching out to others in need!
One of the most effective evangelism tools of the early church was their willingness to put their lives on the line to care for their sick neighbors. When plagues came to Rome or other cities, the wealthy fled the city to find safety, sometimes even leaving their own family members. Many Christians stayed to care for the people who were left behind. When people saw how Christians loved in practical and sacrificial ways even strangers who were poor or sick, they were attracted to their God.
As we are able, may we lift our eyes of concern beyond ourselves in these days. Some of us may be able to give practical care for a friend, a neighbor, a homeless person, or someone in our church. Some of us may be blessed with financial resources to keep supporting our church’s ministry, missionaries, and ministries like Good News and others who depend upon us to keep going, especially when others have lost their jobs and can no longer offer that support. All of us can hold up in prayer the weak, the vulnerable, the elderly, and those who are serving others at risk of their own health. Churches are coming up with many creative ways to help those in need. All we need to do is join in.
We remember the encouraging words of Paul, “Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all of God’s family … Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more”(I Thessalonians 4:9-10).
Keep doing it!
Thomas Lambrecht is a United Methodist clergyperson and the vice president of Good News.
by Steve | Mar 30, 2020 | In the News, Perspective E-Newsletter
By Thomas Lambrecht –
By now, I am sure you are aware that General Conference has been postponed until sometime in 2021. A date and place for the rescheduled conference has not been announced and may not be for a few weeks.
Beyond question, this was the right decision. With the spreading coronavirus making travel all but impossible, holding General Conference would also be impossible. We need to prioritize the lives and health of all concerned. Right now, our focus needs to be on ministry in our various communities, not addressing internal denominational issues.
Our hearts and prayers are with all those who are suffering from Covid-19 and with the people on the front lines of this destructive pandemic. As followers of Christ, we are being called to pray fervently, imagine new ways to remain connected with our local churches under the shadow of “social distancing,” and minister with compassion to those in need.
Dealing with Disappointment
As United Methodists who are concerned about a faithful future for a Wesleyan witness, we must also think through the implications of postponing General Conference.
Probably the greatest reaction to postponing General Conference other than concern for those suffering or threatened by the pandemic is a sense of disappointment. Many were looking forward to resolving the denominational conflict that has somewhat paralyzed the denomination, in order to move forward in a positive direction.
Traditionalists are eager to move into a more spiritually unified, theologically traditional denomination that can reconfigure itself to be more nimble and effective in ministry. Progressives are eager to rid the denomination of what they perceive to be unwarranted discrimination against LGBTQ persons. Both groups were primed and ready to support the Protocol for Amicable Separation. Many others are ready to be done with the conflict, regardless of their personal views. All will have to wait an additional year or more to move toward their preferred future.
The postponement of General Conference does not change the fact that our church is still in an irresolvable conflict. When the pandemic is over, the conflict will remain. In that sense, the momentum toward amicable separation will continue. The only way to end the conflict will still be to allow different groups in the church to go their separate ways.
In light of that fact, it would be inadvisable for local churches and clergy to prematurely separate from the denomination. There may be situations where local churches or clergy in a hostile and intolerant annual conference need to separate now for their own spiritual health and the wellbeing of their ministry. But for most, it will be possible to continue in the current circumstances for another year. I know for some clergy, the pandemic, postponement, and stock market volatility may necessitate a postponement of their plans to retire from active ministry. Where possible, it would be helpful for long-tenured clergy to continue serving their congregations to help them through this time of waiting and transition into a new reality in 18 months.
The delay in General Conference can actually be helpful in some ways. Both a new traditional denomination and a new “liberation”/progressive denomination can use this extra time to continue developing their structure. The fast approach of General Conference this May was forcing both groups to move more quickly than they were perhaps comfortable moving in trying to develop the skeleton of a new denominational structure.
Having the options for whatever new denominations will form more fully fleshed out will benefit all United Methodists as we move toward decisions on alignment after General Conference.
Dealing with the Nuts and Bolts
Apart from resolving our denominational conflict, General Conference is necessary for other reasons. The most pressing demands include passing a budget for the 2021-24 quadrennium and electing certain positions (including Judicial Council, University Senate, and Commission on the General Conference, among others). If General Conference does not meet, these necessary functions cannot be cared for.
In a recent commentary, the Rev. William B. Lawrence proposes that a skeleton General Conference meet sometime before the end of the year, perhaps with regional gatherings linked together by video conference. This skeleton General Conference could enact a budget and elect the persons necessary to meet the requirements of the Discipline, but pledge not to take any other actions.
While this is a common sense proposal, it conflicts with the General Conference rules that require a face-to-face meeting to do the work of the conference. The rules do not currently allow persons linked by video conference to act as one body. The only group that can change the rules of General Conference to allow the use of such technology is General Conference itself. And if General Conference cannot meet to change its rules, it certainly cannot meet via alternative technologies. Of course, any action taken by a skeleton General Conference would be tainted by the fact that all parts of the church would not be fairly represented. Persons elected and money allocated would not reflect the will of the church’s majority, but only those able to participate in the meeting.
With regard to the election of persons to particular positions, the problem might not be as severe as Lawrence imagines. While the Discipline mandates that a certain number of persons be elected to Judicial Council (for example) in certain years, and also mandates the length of term at eight years, it also says that the term expires at the adjournment of General Conference (¶ 2605). Since there is no General Conference in 2020, the terms of current Judicial Council members would not expire.
The requirements for electing members of the University Senate are even less stringent. Members are to be elected by the General Conference for the term of a quadrennium. The usual practice is that members of an elected body serve until their successor is elected. Since General Conference will not meet to elect a successor, the terms of individuals serving on the University Senate would continue. The same provisions apply to election of persons to other agencies and positions.
The most pressing technical requirement of General Conference is to pass a budget for the new quadrennium. The budget also includes a “base rate” or percentage of local church receipts that is the basis for apportionments. If there is no General Conference meeting, the church would technically be operating without a budget and with uncertainty as to the amount of apportionments.
It can be argued that, in the absence of a General Conference, the apportionment amounts would continue the same as in the current quadrennium. The General Council on Finance and Administration and the Connectional Table are empowered to make allocation of apportionments received. So even though there might not be a new budget beginning on January 1, 2021, apportionments could be collected on the same basis as before, with GCFA and the Connectional Table allocating the funds as they have in the past. This is not an insurmountable problem.
Fairness and Consideration
The bottom line in all of this is that the church can proceed to function in these extraordinary times without having a skeleton General Conference to meet in 2020. Leaders can plan and implement a meeting in 2021, allowing everyone to participate. It would be manifestly and embarrassingly unfair to have a full-fledged global denomination meet with only those able to attend a meeting in the United States. It would make a mockery of our connectionalism.
Our perseverance and patience are again being tested by the circumstances surrounding Covid-19 and the postponement of General Conference. By God’s grace, we will prayerfully meet that challenge, remaining faithful to Christ and the ministry he has called us to. As we pray for one another and minister to our world, may the light of Christ shine through us.
Thomas Lambrecht is a United Methodist clergyperson and the vice president of Good News.
by Steve | Mar 20, 2020 | In the News, Perspective E-Newsletter
By Tom Lambrecht –
We have a new phrase in our vocabulary: “social distancing.” In this time of the novel coronavirus, keeping a distance from other people can help stop the spread of the disease.
It is ironic to me that this virus has caused an extreme form of what our society has already been doing. In 2000, sociologist Robert D. Putnam wrote the book Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. Based on over 500,000 interviews, Putnam demonstrated that “we sign fewer petitions, belong to fewer organizations that meet, know our neighbors less, meet with friends less frequently, and even socialize with our families less often.”
Our society has become less socially engaged. I think the supreme example for me was watching a young couple eat dinner at a restaurant, each one buried in his or her own smart phone and not talking with each other. Even the things we do together, we no longer do “together.” It has been said that, in order to communicate with a teenager, you do not talk to them or call them on their phone, you text them (or is it message them on Facebook, or contact through Instagram, or …).
Now we are being forced into even greater “social distancing” from each other due to the coronavirus. Sporting events, school classes, and even church services are being cancelled across the country. We are no longer supposed to be in any gathering of ten or more people. And some parts of the country are telling their residents to “shelter in place” — that is, stay home except for essential errands.
Joni Mitchell captured what I am feeling with her 1969 song, “Big Yellow Taxi.” The refrain contains the line, “Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone?” We often don’t appreciate something we have until we don’t have it anymore.
I wonder if one way God might use the current crisis is to help us refocus on the value of human connection. The coronavirus is taking us to the extreme of what we have been doing as a society — distancing ourselves from each other. By taking away for a time all the opportunities for fellowship in person, perhaps we will become aware of what we are missing in our lives. Humans are made for personal connection. Some thrive on more connection, while others on less, but we all need it.
Maybe when this crisis is over, we will seek to rekindle the human connections that we have been missing. Worshiping together will be important. If we have to miss worship for a month, it may remind us how important corporate worship is for us, and we may be less inclined to “take a Sunday off.”
Prior to the virus outbreak, traditionalist Methodists had been brainstorming about the kind of characteristics that they were looking for in an emerging new denomination. One essential element is that we go deep in our connectional life, looking for ways to connect with others about what God is doing in our spiritual lives. John Wesley’s “class meetings” formed the basis of Methodism for over 100 years. It was where people talked about “how it is with your soul.” (When was the last time you had that kind of conversation?) Where people shared their struggles and triumphs, receiving the support, encouragement, and prayers of the others in the group.
This kind of “social engagement” is life-giving. It is essential to our spiritual growth in maturity. It is what Wesley meant by “social holiness.” There is no such thing as a “solitary Christian.”
Of course, there is another kind of “engagement” that can be prompted by this unique time in our lives. Not only are humans made for personal connection with each other, we are also made for connection with God. God himself is a “social connection” — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in eternal fellowship with each other. But God made us in his image, to be relational with each other and most importantly with him.
Now that there is no football, basketball, or baseball (or maybe even golf!) to watch on TV, perhaps we can take this opportunity to refocus on our connection with God. Maybe we can slow our lives down enough to spend more time with the creator of our lives, the one who brought us into this world and is preparing us for the next.
Thomas Paine began his 1776 essay “The Crisis” with the famous words, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” Times of adversity and challenge are a test. They test what we are made of, what we really believe, and what our life is built upon. These times are an opportunity to refocus on what is most important, to recheck and strengthen our foundation. What will these times demonstrate about our lives?
I worked with a youth leader who used to say, “These are the times when good testimonies are made.” What will be our testimony that comes out of this time of trial? Will we testify to the faithfulness of our loving Father, to a closer walk with our Savior? Will we testify to a rekindled desire to connect with others, to build deeper relationships with family and friends, to a renewed desire to go deeper in the faith with our brothers and sisters in Christ? Will “social distancing” become the new normal, or will we rebound to a deeper “social engagement?” Time will tell.
Thomas Lambrecht is a United Methodist clergyperson and the vice president of Good News.
