In Love: Build Up – The Commission on a Way Forward Ephesians 4:1-16
- Paul’s letter to the Ephesians
- Paul speaks of something so beautiful but so elusive in human experience: Unity. Unfortunately, oneness of spirit has been elusive through periods within the church, the church universal and in the local congregation
- Yet, Paul insists that unity is achievable. He speaks of the Church being one body and one Spirit, and that each of us as members of the church as called: One Lord, One faith, One baptism, One God, Father of all.
- This unity, this oneness, is achieved, Paul says, when we are completely humble and gentle, patient, bearing with one another in love. And he says we can only operate and cooperate in such a fashion through the grace that Christ has apportioned to us.
- The mature Church is in unity, because it has attained the fullness of Christ and so it grows and builds itself up in love.
- In doctrine and, more often than not, in practice, Unity has been a centerpiece, a hallmark, of United Methodism
- Connectionalism: Today, our denomination continues to be organized in a “connectional” system, which “enables us to carry out our mission in unity and strength” (Book of Discipline, ¶ 701). Every local church is linked to an interconnected network of organizations that join together in mission and ministry, allowing us to accomplish far more than any one local church or person could alone.
- Our connectionalism is guided/ruled by our Book of Discipline, which includes the UM Social Principles, covering everything from the rights of women and men, to the Church’s position on environmental stewardship, to media violence and gambling and family farms.
- Wesleyan emphasis on Scripture (Wesley said he was “man of one book”)
- Changes are not made quickly and with much deliberation (even arguing, sometimes vehemently)
- Sometimes the Church moves too slowly for segments of the Church in altering its position on an issue .
- One example of lack of unity was the Methodist Church split over slavery issue (1844)
- For many, the Methodist Church was moving too slowly in condemning slavery
- Resulted in a divided Church, and a split into Methodist Episcopal Church and the MEC- South
- Methodist Church was the first denomination to split over slavery issue in the US
- Further division in 1870, when black churches leave MEC to form Colored Methodist Episcopal Church (CME)
- Two major Methodist denominations reunite in 1939
- MEC, MEC-South form the Methodist Church
- Blacks still in MC are segregated into the Central Jurisdiction
- United Methodist Church forms (1968)
- MC and Evangelical United Brethren (EUB) form UMC
- Black central jurisdiction is abolished and formal racial segregation ended in MC
- In recent decades, the Issue of Homosexuality has been a source of contention and division within United Methodism.
- Whereas with the issue of slavery, the Methodist Church was the earliest denomination to make a statement and then split, the UMC has been one of the last large, mainline denominations to experience a split over the issue of homosexuality. But a deep division has occurred within the Church in recent decades.
- The conversations that were introduced by the social and sexual revolutions of the 1960s obligated the UMC to address issues of human sexuality
- 1972 General Conference (gathering of clergy and lay delegates from around UMC): A contentious conference, but delegates finally decided on language to be included in the Church’s Social Principles, which said, in part, “Homosexuals no less than heterosexuals are persons of sacred worth…although we do not condone the practice of homosexuality and consider this practice incompatible with Christian teaching.”
- That last part became known as “the incompatible clause” has been a source of contention and division within the church ever sense. Amendments have been brought up in repeated General Conference to alter or remove the language, but delegates have continued to vote for the incompatible clause to remain in the Social Principles. In 1992, for example, delegates voted to retain the incompatible clause, with 75% of delegates in favor.
- In 1996, additional language was added to the Social Principles, which said, “Ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions shall not be conducted by our ministers and shall not be conducted in our churches.” The General Conference delegates voted 553-321 in favor.
- Also in 1996, General Conference delegates voted to retain the incompatible clause, this time with only 60% in favor of retaining.
- Minority voice expressions
- There have been expressions through official UMC channels where those with the minority viewpoint have expressed themselves.
- In 1992, the UM Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns opened its membership to gays, lesbians and homosexuals
- In 1996, at General Conference, 15 bishops issued a statement disagreeing with the incompatible clause
- The issue came to a critical place in the UMC in 2016
- 2016 General Conference: Delegates for both sides of the issue pushed the Church to show clarity on the issue of whether or not to allow same-sex marriages in UM Churches and the issue of whether or not non-celibate gays and lesbians could become or remain clergy.
- Just prior to the 2016 General Conference in Portland, 111 UM gay and lesbian pastor came out, defying the church’s ban on self-avowed homosexuals serving in ministry as clergy.
- Delegates decided not to vote on the issues. Instead, The Commission on a Way Forward was proposed by the Council of Bishops and approved by the 2016 General Conference to do a complete examination and possible revision of every paragraph of the Book of Discipline concerning human sexuality and explore options that help to maintain and strengthen the unity of the church.
- The Commission presented its final report to the Council of Bishops in spring 2018. The Bishops were to decided what will be received and acted upon regarding the report by the delegates to a Special Session of the General Conference set for St. Louis, Missouri, February 23-26, 2019.
- The Commission on a Way Forward Plans
- The Commission presented what is essentially two plans to the Bishops for consideration: One Church Plan and the Connectional Conference Plan. A third Plan was created by some of the members of the Council of Bishops
- I’ll describe these briefly.
- One Church Plan
- Eliminates the incompatible clause from the UMC Book of Discipline
- Deletes requirement that ordained clergy not be self-avowed practicing homosexuals. Each Annual Conference board of ordained ministry may determine standards for ordination or certification
- Clergy who in good conscience continue to serve in a conference based on their annual conference’s standard for ordination for homosexuals may seek to transfer
- Local church members can decide what is best for their congregational and missional context related to same-sex marriage on their church property
- This One Church Plan is what the UM Bishops will recommend to the General Conference in February 2019
- Traditional Plan
- Affirms current language in the Book of Discipline, which says homosexuality is incompatible with Scriptures and which bans self-avowed and practicing gay clergy and the blessings of same-sex unions
- Provides a way for churches and annual conferences that disagree with enforcement to set up self-governing or affiliated churches or conferences
- According to the Way Forward Report, the Traditional Model was prepared by members of the Council of Bishops and was not the work of the Commission*
- Connectional Conference Plan
- Would replace the five US jurisdictions with three connectional conferences that are values-based rather than geographic in nature
- Each connectional conference would create its own Book of Discipline
- Each connectional conference would have a Council of Bishops who would provide oversight accountability
- A shortened General Conference would retain authority over the church’s shared doctrine and the services of continuing general agencies, such as UMCOR. General Conference would serve as a gathering place for worship, inspiration and sharing of best practices
- Conclusion – A few observations
- None of the plans reflect the Unity of which Paul writes in Ephesians. It is a sign of our fallenness that we as a people are unable to discern a united way forward
- These plans will be debated, argued and amended leading up to and during General Conference. There may be a plan that emerges that does achieve the unity of which Paul describes
- However, as you have heard, if any of the current three plans that have been floated are passed at General Conference, clergy and local churches will have some decisions to make. Individual churches may have to decide whether or not they will support self-avowed gay and lesbian and clergy in their church, whether or not they will permit same-sex marriages in their church and possibly with which conference they will affiliate
- In church bulletin is a handout with fall schedule of upcoming town hall meetings throughout our District for you to become more informed on the issues.
- We would all do well to follow Paul’s instructions during this divisive time: “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:16)
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