Whose Hopes and Dreams Do We Have

                A few years ago I read the book “Pathway to Renewal” by Dan Smith.  As I read it one of the things that jumped out at me was the assertion that for renewal to take place the congregation had to be willing to give everything up including those things that they held dear.  This included hopes, dreams, buildings, location, memorials, etc.  The reason for this, if I remember correctly, was that often what we want is not necessarily what God wants for the congregation.  We need to be willing to put down our hopes and dreams and pick up God’s hopes and dreams.  For some congregations this is difficult, for many more congregations this is impossible.

            I had the opportunity to ask Dan on whether or not this could apply to annual conferences as well.  As I recall I got a vague answer that leaned toward yes.  I bring this up because often the different conferences espouse one thing for the local church, but do not apply the same principals to the conference structure or activity.  The activity going on about schism in the United Methodist Church is a prime example where the denomination in the United States is acting like a local church congregation.

            There is a lot of talk about unity, schism, and discord in the denomination.  There are those who are advocating a split while others are pushing for the denomination to stay together.  What I see and hear are a lot of knee jerk reactions to protect the fiefdoms.  For those calling for separation the reaction is not to wait until the next General Conference to see what they will do about the willful disobedience by pastors and congregations, but to pull out now before it is too late.  For the side that is calling for unity in the face of disagreement there is the knee jerk reaction of multiple resolutions being presented at annual conferences condemning disunity and celebrating and wanting to keep the unity of the denomination.  The bishops seem to fall into this last category, but that might be because of their position where they are tasked with keeping the denomination together. 

            What I do not hear from the bishops, from leaders on both sides, from the rank and file is “let’s come to the table and be willing to put down what we hold dear and pick up what God wants us to do even if it is not where we want to go.”  Now, I understand there are some things, values, beliefs, whatever you want to call them that are non-negotiable.  Most of these are the theological type.  That is another discussion all together.  Just as a church is called to discern on whether or not to move; change ministry focus; to close; to move the piano 6”; the denomination should be willing to discern if the Spirit is moving us forward to stay together or to split.  What I have seen and heard is the knees coming up, the shields being deployed, and everyone in defensive mode whenever split or closing the denomination is brought up.  It is just like many a local church who the pastor or DS has said “we think it is in the best interest for the church to close.”

            I do not particularly want the United Methodist Church to split.  I was born in 1966 and been in the UMC or its predecessor my whole life.  I like the emphasis on forgiveness and atonement, prevenient, justification, and sanctifying grace.  I have been called to be a United Methodist minister.  I am also worried about how a split would affect my family and I as I have three school age children and my wife is an elder.  At the same time I have to be willing to set aside what I want to be able to see and hear what God wants us to do.  However, to do that takes time and effort with as little bias as possible in presentations.  It requires work and patience on both sides.

            Are we called to split?  I do not know.  Are we called to stay together?  Again I do not know.  Should we be examining all options involving both?  Yes, to be able to see if God is leading us in a way we may not like or expect.  In this debate whose dreams do we have in our hearts?