I Don't Know About You, But ...

As I write this blog, the called 2019 General Conference of The UMC is meeting in St. Louis. Almost 900 delegates from around the world have gathered for this Conference along with countless other UM from across the US who have come to observe and pray. (These observers have no voice or vote in the Conference.) The purpose of this called Conference is to seek a way forward in the midst of the polarization around LBGTQ+ issues. Specifically, the Conference will decide if The UMC will maintain language in The Book of Discipline that condemns homosexuality as a sin, prohibits UM clergy from performing same sex marriages, prohibits the use of UM property for same sex marriages, and prohibits the ordination of self-avowed, practicing homosexuals. Those who identify as traditionalists want the language maintained or strengthened. Those who identify themselves as progressives want the language and prohibitions removed.

This decision is about more than a position on LGBTQ+ issues. The deeper decision is about the identity of The UMC. The decision will determine the heart and character of The UMC going forward. It will determine who United Methodists will be and for what they will be known in the coming generations.

I came into The UMC as an adult after serving as a pastor for twenty years in another denomination. I chose to be United Methodist. My choice was largely influenced by one sentence out of the 1988 Book of Discipline: grace is central in The United Methodist Church. I chose to be United Methodist because I wanted to be a part of a Church that proclaimed and lived out of the grace of God. I wanted to be a part of a Church that did not deal in judgment and condemnation. I wanted to be a part of a Church that did not use the Bible as a weapon against others. I wanted to be a part of a Church that did not use rules and laws to control what people believed or how they lived. I wanted to be a part of a Church that nurtured spiritual growth that led to Christlike maturity. I wanted to be a part of a Church where hurting, broken people like me could find acceptance and healing. I wanted to be a part of a Church that did not fight over who was right and who was wrong about a particular issue but, rather, engaged in difficult conversations with humility and mutual respect. And I found all of that and more in The UMC. When I come into The UMC, I came home. The choice to live out my ministry in The UMC was one of the best decisions of my life.

So, I (like each one of you) have a dog in this hunt although I have no voice (other than this blog) or vote in the Conference. In other words, someone else - people who may or may not vote the way I would vote if I had a vote - will make a decision that will impact me and my professional life. I am powerless - other than prayer - to influence the outcome of this Conference.

But I am not completely powerless. I still have the only power any of us ever have: the power over myself. I - not a gathering of delegates from around the world - will choose who I will be and how I will live as a follower of Jesus.

So, I don't know about you, but after this Conference is over, regardless of the decision that is made, I will still choose to live as a faithful follower of Jesus. I will still live out of God's call on my life. I will still use the gifts the Spirit has given me in ministry in the name of Jesus, for the spiritual well-being of others. I will still proclaim the ways of the Kingdom that Jesus taught. I will still seek to embrace all - and all means all - as beloved children of God. I will still proclaim and seek to live out of grace and forgiveness. I will still seek to live out of a servant spirit. And I will still need God's grace and the Spirit's power in order to do so.

Some have openly stated that they will leave The UMC if the called Conference adopts any plan other than the Traditional Plan that maintains and strengthens the prohibitive language of the Discipline. Members of FUMC, Arlington, have indicated they will leave FUMCA and The UMC if the Conference changes The UMC stance about homosexuality.

I don't know about you, but I refuse to give anyone that kind of power over who I am or what I will do. I choose to live out of who I am as God's beloved child and a follower of Jesus. Because, you see, I need God's grace as much today as I did back in 1991 when I chose to become a United Methodist.

But, then, I don't know about you.