by Steve | Jan 5, 2018 | In the News, Perspective E-Newsletter
By Rob Renfroe-
It’s a new year. But will it be a new day for the people called Methodist? That’s the question many of us are asking as we look forward to a year that will be instrumental in determining the future of The United Methodist Church.
The called General Conference to discuss the bishops’ proposal to resolve our differences regarding sexual ethics will be held in February, 2019. By this summer at the latest we will know what the bishops will recommend as the best way forward for our divided church. Immediately we will need to determine if their plan is something that evangelical Methodists can support. If so, we will do our part to promote it. If not, we will do all we can to defeat it and to propose a solution of our own.
For fifty years Good News has labored to renew the church and defend the faith within The United Methodist Church. Knowing that there are many factions at work within the UM Church with their own visions and agendas, we want to work for a good outcome next February as the future of the church is determined.
- We will analyze the bishops’ proposal carefully and fairly when it is released. We will make our analysis public for open discussion and debate. The pros and cons of this proposal need to be articulated and made clear so that the people in the pews – those with life-long commitments to the UM Church – can discern and understand all that is at stake in the proposal by the bishops.
- We will survey leading orthodox pastors and theologians for their input. Good News is very aware that we represent hundreds of thousands of faithful pastors and laypersons – in the United States and internationally – who will have many different concerns and points of view. Our job is to educate, organize, and motivate – and we will do our work best when we have listened to others.
- We will travel to Africa and elsewhere to listen to our brothers and sisters there and to share our perspective with them. If United Methodists are to step into a faithful future, it is essential that evangelicals in Africa, Asia, and Europe help craft that future along with us. We are most grateful for the partnership we have with faithful believers in other parts of the world and for their influence upon the UM Church. We value their insights and their leadership, and we will do all we can to maintain and deepen our relationships with those in Africa, Asia, and Europe who have stood boldly in the past.
- We will be speaking at evangelical gatherings in Annual Conferences throughout the United States, educating delegates, pastors, and laypersons about the bishops’ plan and the best way forward. Our team looks forward to speaking at events where the clergy and laity want to become better informed about the options for the future of The United Methodist Church.
- After listening to orthodox leaders in the U.S. and around the world, we will determine the best response to the bishops’ proposal and we will do all we can to educate and prepare evangelical delegates to promote scriptural Christianity at General Conference. This work will begin this year, but will also include educational breakfasts during the General Conference in St. Louis in 2019. We have held these breakfasts at every General Conference for decades. After a time of worship, we have provided the most comprehensive daily legislative analysis to delegates to move forward with one heart and one mind on the floor of the General Conference.
- Finally, we will be prepared with a strategy should General Conference fail to adopt a solution that is acceptable to evangelical United Methodists. It’s terrifying to contemplate but it’s very possible that a solution will be affirmed that we cannot support or, more likely, no solution will be passed. This kind of legislative logjam has occurred at past General Conferences. At that point it will be imperative that traditional United Methodists act together. We will not have the luxury of asking people to hold on and wait for a few months until someone proposes a way forward that we can support. People will start leaving. Some pastors will resign. Churches will make plans to pull out of the denomination. We pray fervently for a good outcome, but whatever happens, we must step into the future smart, strong, and together.
As you can see, there is much to do THIS year, before we arrive in St. Louis in 2019. We are dependent upon the prayers and wisdom of dedicated and committed United Methodists who have supported us for the last 50 years. There is a new day coming for United Methodists. We at Good News will do all we can to make sure that the new day is a faithful future we can step into together.
Rob Renfroe is a United Methodist clergyperson and the President of Good News.
by Steve | Dec 21, 2017 | In the News, Perspective E-Newsletter
In a recent sermon, the Rev. Rob Renfroe reconnects us with the true meaning of Christmas, originating in God’s love.
“Whatever you have done, God is for you. Wherever you have wandered, God is with you. However you struggle, God understands you. Whatever you feel inside: guilt, shame, whatever, God loves you. And when he looks at you, there is grace in his eyes. And in his heart, there is an ocean of mercy. Oh, how he loves you!
“We’re looking at the gifts Jesus brought to us when he came on Christmas Day. And of course we begin with love because that’s how Christmas began. The Bible tells us that God so loved the world, that he gave, he sent, his only Son into the world. That’s where Christmas started, with the love of God.”
In the spirit of God’s love, the Good News staff wishes you and yours a blessed and joyous Christmas.
by Steve | Dec 18, 2017 | In the News, Perspective E-Newsletter
By Thomas Lambrecht
While we are preparing for the 2019 special called General Conference in St. Louis, it is important to remember that United Methodism will hold its regular General Conference in 2020, just 15 months later.
Just released publicly is the number of delegates assigned to each of the jurisdictions in the U.S. and central conferences outside the U.S. For the first time, these numbers are based on annual conference journals, with relatively accurate figures of lay and clergy members in each conference.
The Commission on the General Conference reported, “An audit of the journal library at the beginning of the year revealed that 30 annual conferences had never submitted a journal, and the most recent journals for 39 annual conferences were dated 2012 or earlier, with one dating back as far as 1961.” These journals have now been brought up to date with the current submission.
The impact of the revised numbers and the ongoing shift in membership from the United States to Africa, however, is minimal. The new numbers resulted in the loss of 22 delegates from the U.S. jurisdictions and the gain of 18 delegates in Africa and 2 delegates in the Philippines. (The total number of delegates went down by two.) This represents a shift of only 2 percent of the delegates.
When it comes to voting on issues at General Conference, traditionalists have held a slim majority of about 54 percent. Depending upon how the delegate elections turn out in each annual conference, and because of the increase in central conference delegates, traditionalists may see their majority increase by one or two percentage points. This will not dramatically affect the outcome of votes taken at General Conference. And due to the more liberal shift in U.S. culture and the number of evangelicals leaving United Methodism, it is conceivable that traditionalists might lose strength in the U.S. delegate elections, resulting in no change at all in their majority.
From my perspective, these new numbers mean that we cannot rely upon the General Conference to enact a sweeping conservative agenda. If neither the 2012 nor 2016 General Conferences could resolve our church’s crisis by restoring accountability and compliance with the Book of Discipline, it is unlikely that the 2020 General Conference will do so, given that the majority will remain close to the same level.
That is why the special 2019 General Conference is so important in adopting a proposal that will end the conflict in our church and allow us to refocus on ministry and mission. Good News will keep you updated on the proposals for that conference as they become available.
We Need Your Partnership
As Good News prepares for not one, but two General Conferences in the next three years, we need your partnership and
support. You rely upon Good News to provide comprehensive news and analysis about the threats to our church’s unity and mission. Our magazine and website also lift up numerous examples of fruitful ministry by United Methodists and others around the globe. We are your voice for biblical orthodoxy within United Methodism, opposing efforts to water down the Gospel and compromise with secular cultural values.
We encourage you to consider a generous year-end gift. Believe me, our staff is well aware that 2017 was a very challenging year for many large areas of the United States. We have been amazed and gratified at the Christian generosity displayed to those whose lives were flipped upside down by hurricanes or forest fires. We are grateful that so many of you remembered your commitment to this ministry. Good News depends on your prayers and financial support. If you are able, we hope you will become a monthly supporter of Good News through a recurring gift from your bank account or credit card.
You can give today through our website at www.goodnewsmag.org/makeagift, where you can make a one-time gift or set up a recurring donation. You can also call our office at 832-813-8327 to speak to a live person. You will receive our latest Compass mailing next week, which will also enable you to respond with a gift through the mail.
Thank you for your generous and prayerful support for the important work that Good News does in leading United Methodists to a faithful future!
Thomas Lambrecht is a United Methodist clergyperson and vice president of Good News.
by Steve | Dec 11, 2017 | In the News, Perspective E-Newsletter
By Thomas Lambrecht-
The latest statistics on United Methodist Women’s membership for 2016 reveal a steady slide in local UMW participation. These numbers are reported by the General Council on Finance and Administration and are based on the yearly information that all local churches are required to submit.
Over the last nine years, The United Methodist Church has lost an average of 249 congregations per year. (Interestingly, the peak loss years occur in the year after General Conference.) At the same time, UMW has lost an average of 543 congregations per year that no longer have an active UMW unit – twice as fast a decline. Currently, less than half of the nearly 32,000 United Methodist congregations actually have an active UMW unit. This is despite the requirement in the Book of Discipline that every local church shall have a unit of UMW.
This is a flashing neon sign that something is terribly wrong.
UMW membership is declining at the rate of 4.6 percent per year. That means there are more than 25,000 fewer UMW members each year. In many cases, this is due to the death of members and their not being replaced by new, younger members. In some cases, the loss of members (and the failure to attract new ones) is due to disenchantment with the liberal social policy agenda and progressive theology that the national UMW tends to promote.
UMW is losing members at five times the rate that the general church is losing female members. At the end of 2016, it had lost more than 200,000 members — nearly one-third of its membership — since 2008. At the current rate, UMW would disappear by the year 2034.
These startling statistics are of vital importance because they represent actual women in the pews who are having their spiritual needs unmet – or are finding vibrant ministry elsewhere.
The most important issue is to foster women’s ministries that enable women to come to know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior and to grow in their faith. For example, the Renew Network is Good News’ program for encouraging and equipping United Methodists to revitalize women’s ministries in their local churches. You can find devotional, teaching, and Bible study resources on the Renew website.
As for the UMW, the decline in membership has not affected its financial security. This is so because only about 55 percent of UMW income comes from direct member giving. The rest comes from income off of investments, publications, and facility rental income. In addition, UMW has benefited from the sale of sizable properties, gaining over $14 million in 2015 and $34 million in 2016. This contributes to a sizable reserve of over $90 million, which enables UMW to spend more than it takes in each year. Each year in recent history, UMW has run a deficit. In 2015 it spent $9 million more than it took in. In 2016, the deficit was $7.4 million.
It almost appears that the finances of the Women’s Division will outlast its membership if the stock market remains robust.
Although the UMW program lacks appeal to younger women and the future looks to be in jeopardy, the financial surplus cushions UMW from having to take a hard look at its approach, meaning that the organization is not yet ready to make the drastic changes needed to recover its vitality.
I once served as pastor of a small church with a healthy endowment. That endowment enabled the church members to disregard the decline in their church until membership reached about 25 people. At that point, the endowment was not enough to sustain the church’s operation, and the church eventually closed. Tragically, that church waited too long to deal with their membership decline. By the time they were ready, it was too late, and the decline could not be reversed. One hopes that UMW leaders are not lulled into a false sense of confidence, and that they will soon be ready to reevaluate and change the programs and practices that have led to this decline — before it is too late.
Thomas Lambrecht is a United Methodist clergyperson and vice president of Good News. You can also consult with Renew’s leader, Katy Kiser, by emailing her at renew@goodnewsmag.org.
by Steve | Dec 4, 2017 | In the News, Perspective E-Newsletter
By Thomas Lambrecht-
It has been alarming to read and hear the steady drumbeat of new allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior by leaders and other powerful men in our country. A small ripple has become a tidal wave of reports, swamping even the most powerful who have withstood a winked-at reputation for decades.
What is new at this time is the spotlight being put on women’s stories of abusive behavior. It is one thing to read the statistic that more than 40 percent of American women report having experienced sexual harassment. It is another thing to hear the stories of some of the behavior that women have had to endure.
As a married father of three daughters, these stories are beyond disgusting. As a Christian, they are morally reprehensible. I find it difficult to conceive how some men could act this way, although I know in my head that such behavior has existed since the dawn of time.
We can and should make sure that laws and policies protect women and men from abusive behavior. We can and should provide clear avenues for victims to find redress for the abuses committed against them. But laws alone cannot solve a problem of the human heart. Only Christ can.
God is in the transformation business. He wants to transform our lives into the likeness of Jesus Christ. And he wants to transform our culture through the leavening power of the Holy Spirit expressed in the lives of believers who permeate society like yeast in dough. That transformation is an inner change wrought by the Holy Spirit, as we cooperate and live into the change he is working in us.
There are several images in Scripture that can help us welcome God’s transformation into this area of our lives.
One image has to do with treating women with respect. The Apostle Peter says some pretty revolutionary things in I Peter 3:7, when he commands husbands to “be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect.” Although specifically addressed to husbands and wives, the points apply to all male-female relationships. Peter wants us to act with consideration and respect. None of the stories of sexual harassment that I have read betray any sense of the perpetrator acting with consideration or respect.
Women are given a status equal to men by the use of the terms “partner” and “heirs with you of the gracious gift of life.” In God’s eyes, women and men are of equal value and worth. We can demonstrate that with numerous examples from the way that Jesus treated women. As such, women are entitled to consideration and respect. Women are not things to be used to satisfy men’s desires, but equally powerful human beings with equal stature and equal moral agency.
In the above cited passage, Peter uses the term “weaker partner” to describe wives. Of course, this is not the kind of phrase one uses in modern day public discourse, but it was a common understanding during biblical days. Throughout history, all kinds of wrong-headed applications have been made from this passage. In fact, scientists have extended great efforts to prove that women are stronger than men in many ways (albeit perhaps not in terms of brute strength). But I think that misses the point.
In Peter’s time, women were in need of protection. Culturally and economically, women were for the most part unable to function as independent people. It was the man’s role to care for and protect women. This role fell naturally to the father and then to the husband, but it was also assumed by the church in the case of widows. I have become much more aware how dangerous it might be to be a woman in our society, based on how pervasive and widespread are the instances of sexual harassment and even rape.
Women today still need our protection. They do not need the stifling kind of controlling “protection” by a male authority figure. They need all of us to watch out for each other, offering strength and encouragement and help in time of need. In short, they need consideration and respect. And in the words of that new ubiquitous saying, “If you see something, say something.” We need to speak up for each other and call out behavior that is inappropriate.
These concepts of equal status and worth and the need for consideration and respect for women in particular were revolutionary in Bible times. Women were not generally regarded in this way. Over time, the Christian gospel changed society, but the transformation has not been complete. There is still work to do.
Another image from Scripture is found in the Golden Rule, to treat others in the way that we would like to be treated. We have to take the time and effort to imagine what it would be like to be in the shoes of the other person and treat them in a way that we would want to be treated. I cannot believe that any of the perpetrators would want to be treated in the way they are treating their victims.
I realize that the predominant motif of sexual harassment or abuse is an issue of power, with a more powerful person (in the world’s eyes) taking advantage of a less powerful one. But I cannot help but wonder if some of the seeming epidemic of sexual abuse is the result of our society having lost a healthy understanding of the purpose of sex. Through the widespread use of birth control, we have fairly effectively separated sex from procreation (which can be a very good thing, but it can also have negative consequences). And in more recent years, changing mores have separated sex from marriage. It is no longer discouraged to live together without being married, and in many instances it is assumed that people should do that. In the attitudes of many, sex has become a recreational activity between consenting adults on par with going to see a great movie or going for a bike ride.
This trivialization of sex has deprived it of the sacred mystery that God intended it to have, serving as part of the glue to hold a lifetime relationship together and symbolizing the uniting of two persons into one intimate relationship. It is no coincidence that the Old Testament euphemism for sexual relations was “to know” a person. Sex is meant to point to the most intimate and knowing of human relationships, and to point toward the ultimate knowing relationship between a person and God. Paul looks forward to a time when “I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (I Corinthians 13:12). Yet today it is considered normal to hop into bed with a person after the first or second date, when you hardly know the other person’s name!
Part of the antidote to sexual harassment and abuse is to recover God’s purpose and understanding behind sex. When we come to terms with the deep and sacred meaning God intended for a sexual relationship, we will treat sexuality with the seriousness and deference that it deserves.
The bottom line is that this whole area of sexual harassment and abuse is an area where Christians should be leading in a counter-cultural direction, yes in our teaching, but supremely by the way we live and treat others. Where we have failed to live up to God’s ideal, it is disappointing, and we must resolve to live in ongoing repentance and transformation. The good news is that forgiveness and transformation is available to even the most sin-hardened among us. All we need to do is turn and ask.
Although painful in the process, God’s healing is available to victims of sexual harassment and abuse, as well. The Church is positioned to offer the affirmation of women’s worth and equality, as well as the ministry of the Holy Spirit in bringing restoration and healing to those who have suffered. Part of our responsibility is to make it safe to talk about experiences of abuse in a church context in order to open the door to that healing and affirmation. In the Church, we tend to be afraid to talk about sex and power. By the grace of God, we need to overcome that fear.
Thomas Lambrecht is a United Methodist clergyperson and vice president of Good News.
by Steve | Nov 24, 2017 | In the News, Perspective E-Newsletter
By Thomas Lambrecht-
As we gather to celebrate Thanksgiving with our families and friends, we are a nation that has experienced much suffering and tragedy within the last few months. Many families will gather around a makeshift table in a home that is being rebuilt after flooding and hurricane damage. Others will be celebrating Thanksgiving in a temporary shelter because they lost their home in a fire. Still other families will huddle around a dining room table without a loved one who was killed in one of the tragic shootings experienced in our nation.
The United States of America is actively recovering from both natural and human-made disasters. We are also beset by political conflicts that threaten to tear our country apart. At the same time, our United Methodist Church is dealing with schism and theological divisions that jeopardize the future of the denomination.
We might be tempted to feel like not giving thanks, due to the dire circumstances that many among us are experiencing. But it is just at such times that we need to remember God’s mercy and blessing and acknowledge him as the Source of all good gifts.
It was President Abraham Lincoln who officially made Thanksgiving a national holiday – enacting what President George Washington first proposed as an official national celebratory “day of public thanksgiving and prayer.” For Lincoln, the first Thanksgiving holiday was declared in 1863 after a major Union victory at Gettysburg in the midst of the bloody and bitter Civil War that would not end until two years later.
“The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies,” Lincoln said. “To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God … No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.”
President Lincoln continued: “I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States … to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.”
It is highly appropriate, as Lincoln did, to use this time of Thanksgiving to appeal to God for the healing of our nation, for comfort and healing for the sufferers of these disasters, for the restoration of those damaged by tragedy, and for the repentance and healing of our church. We pray for “the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union,” both in our country and in our church.
This is also an appropriate time to be ever mindful of the proud heritage and subsequent plight of our Native American brothers and sisters who too frequently end up becoming mere caricature figures in our elementary school Thanksgiving plays. While we may not always know the best way to rectify national mistakes of the past, the first step for peace for our future is acknowledging that we are all in need of the mercy and forgiveness of the Almighty.
Our staff at Good News is especially grateful for you, our supporters and constituents. You have kept us in prayer. You have encouraged us with your letters and emails. You have made our work possible by your financial gifts. As we head toward Giving Tuesday next week, we invite you to give a special Thanksgiving gift to Good News in honor of the blessings the Lord has poured out in your life. (To make a gift, you may click here or utilize the letter you recently received in the mail.) You make it possible for us to stand strong for the proclamation of the Father’s sacrificial love in Christ, his transformative mercy and grace toward all people, and his divine revelation through the words of Scripture, leading United Methodists to a faithful future. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Make sure you set aside time this weekend to remember the source of all blessing and to pray for the healing of our land. May you and your family have a blessed Thanksgiving!
Thomas Lambrecht is a United Methodist clergyperson and vice president of Good News.
