Thoughts on #GC2012 after a week of less stressful living

Delegation members Marie Kuch, the Rev. Gloria Kymn, Amory Peck and the Rev. Craig Parrish share a light moment with their ‘voting keypads’ on the last day of General Conference 2012. Photo by Patrick Scriven.

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I returned home late Saturday night from Tampa. Rested Sunday then on Monday I went out and split firewood for the winter.  Activity like that helps me focus my mind and shed stress and frustration.

I am starting to see things more clearly; assuming it was something I had the opportunity to see at all.  The new rules of General Conference created many more consent calendar items, meaning less discussion on the plenary floor. Additionally, if we did not get to an item during the time allotted to legislative committees, that legislation just disappeared and lost its shot to change the Book of Discipline. This all contributed to a General Conference that was quite a bit different this time than I had expected, much more like the current political scene.

Having had a bit more time to process the experience, I wanted to share a couple reflections on topics I followed…much more happened than I can comment on here.

1. Before General Conference there was much excitement and enthusiasm around the possibility that the General Conference would adopt more inclusive language or compromise on the incompatible phrase in referring to homosexuality in the Book of Discipline, but that was not to be.  The proposed change would have used language that indicated we disagree and are not of one mind of the subject.  The votes returned to a 60/40 split the same as my first General Conference in 2000.  The votes were a little closer in 2004, but at that General Conference we redistributed delegates proportionally to include the Central Conferences. Those who oppose any change in the language have strong allies in many Central Conference delegates.  One delegate argued that if the language was changed no more children would be born, schools in his country would close and so on. This statement suggests a way of thinking that is difficult to understand but does represent the position of most of the delegates from Africa.

If change ever comes to the language of the Book of Discipline and the United Methodist position on homosexuality it will be in the distant future.

Central Conference delegations are growing while United States delegations are shrinking. In 2008, of the 984 delegates, 704 were from the United States with 280 from the Central Conference, including 196 from Africa. In 2012, of the 978 delegates, 606 were from the United States with 372 from the Central Conferences, with 282 of those delegates coming from Africa.  The direction of influence in The United Methodist Church is changing. We have embraced the concept of a global church and now we are experiencing the realities of a global United Methodist Church. Unless we restructure and make the United States a Central Conference, and even then, I don’t see The United Methodist Church position on homosexuality changing any time soon.  Maybe in 75 years we will have a service repentance and reconciliation for our treatment of LGBTQI folks like we did this year for our treatment of Native Americans.

2. During the debate on term limits for the Episcopacy I heard comments and attitudes I have never heard before.  There are regions of the church that do not like, respect, or trust their Episcopal leaders.  The debate was recessed for lunch and I happened to eat with an Episcopal candidate from another jurisdiction who confirmed a mean spirited and vindictive attitude toward Bishops. My friend was reconsidering his decision to be a candidate not because of self-doubt but because of the environment of service.  Despite this, term limits for our Bishops were defeated.
3. The Southeastern and South Central Jurisdictions brought a real sleeper to General Conference buried in Report # 13 from the General Council on Finance and Administration.  They successfully had it added to Report #8 in committee, which is the General Church apportionment formula. This little gem would have changed the way the Bishops of the church are funded.  The change would have had each Jurisdiction paying for the number of Bishops they could afford.  Currently the Episcopal Fund is apportioned proportionally across the 5 US jurisdictions.

In 2012, the Southeastern Jurisdiction pays $1.4 million more than the cost of its’ Bishops while the others all pay less. In 2012 the West pays $750,000 less than the actual cost of our Episcopal offices.  In committee the argument was very pointed…”we are tired of subsidizing the West.” “If the West cannot pay, they can reduce the numbers of Bishop they have.”  Any sense of proportionality or mission field engagement in West was not present anywhere.  It felt like “it’s time to bury them.”

Fortunately the Western Jurisdiction College of Bishops was willing to meet with me on Sunday night.  I explained the proposal from a monetary impact on the West and as an assault on the concept of the general superintendency that may well lead to jurisdictional attempts to control and supervise the Episcopacy in new ways.  They immediately saw the proposal as a constitutional issue and began making plans for a Judicial Council Declaratory decision, which was successful. The legislation was ruled unconstitutional.

4. Because there was no debate on the security of appointment legislation my reflections are brief. The legislation went by on the consent calendar because of a duplicate signature from folks attempting to get it off the calendar.  A motion to reconsider was overwhelmingly defeated, 70/30.  There was noticeable fear and anxiety in many conversations.  I don’t expect much to change in the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference.  There are still protections and a process to follow before anyone is left without an appointment.  Many ministry and judicial related changes went by on the consent calendar without notice or debate.  We will have to study the revisions and implications of these changes as time goes by.
5. The structure change proposals were much anticipated.  When the General Administration committee met for 4 days and could not make a decision on a plan to present to plenary session, another compromise plan was quickly created.  Gone was the Interim Operating Team (IOT) Plan, Plan B, and  the Methodist Federation for Social Action plan; Plan UMC was put forward.

In my opinion they all had the same basic flaw. In an effort to revitalize the UMC, all these plans emphasis the structure as the problem to be fixed.  Building on a business model of efficiency and nimbleness, the plans streamlined and collapsed the organization. The plans all concentrated power and authority over the programmatic and financial life of The United Methodist Church in the hands of a few.  Those few, given our love of proportionality, were predominating from the Southeastern and South Central Jurisdictions and from the growing Central Conferences.  Any one of these plans would have created a church we would not recognize in another 8 years. Thanks to the Judicial Council ruling Plan UMC unconstitutional, the church can try again, with perhaps a different set of guiding principles.

There is no doubt we could be more efficient with a smaller organization.  The General agencies each had a plan for downsizing and General Conference finally approved those plans. Let see what happens.

Here is where it’s at for me…General Conference is an environment of competing self-interests.

Some positive and some not so positive changes occurred in the United Methodist Way as recorded in the Book of Discipline.   By and large we are free to be the church in Pacific Northwest within the parameters of this BOOK.  Some will go beyond and some will be confined by the BOOK.

It’s time we put our collective energy and attention to the business of making disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.  No matter what your theological bent or position on social issues, it’s time to make disciples, disciples of all kinds.

The problem is not our structure, and it’s not the theological persuasion of the people at the church across town or on the other side of the state, it’s the people in the pew who have no vision as to their role in disciple making. Looking at the overall statistical record of the Pacific Northwest, we are not making disciples of any kind despite a mission field that is growing by leaps and bounds in many places.

If as leaders we don’t know how to reach new people, let’s recommit and learn what we need to know.
If we lack the will, let’s seek the rebirth of our zeal for the faith.
If we are tired and weary, let’s seek the renewal of our bodies and spirits.

Let me say this clearly.  To use tired old terms, whether you are conservative or progressive, its time to swallow hard and lay some baggage aside, there is more than one way to embrace the Scripture and The United Methodist Church as a denomination, is not inclusive of all people.  Now let’s go be the church for God’s mission in the world, the birthing and nurturing center for new disciples.  New disciples will be different from one another depending on how they are formed.

Whether we are disappointed in something that happened at General Conference, or frustrated with the lack of meaningful change, none of that changes our core mission. We are called by Jesus to make new disciples for the transformation of the world. This is our non-negotiable. If you are worried that the rules get in the way of you making disciples with integrity, err on the side of inviting more people into a deeper relationship with God. If you feel like you are being held back in some way by a theological bent of the General church or the Annual Conference environment, prove your point by producing fruit (disciples) that transform(s) lives and communities.

Be the church the world needs and let the chips fall where they lie. That’s my advice coming back from General Conference. I suspect you’ll sleep better at night.

The longer I go the preachier  I sound. Enough is enough. I think I’ll go split some more wood.

Craig

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The Rev. Craig Parrish is the Conference Treasurer for the Pacific Northwest Conference and head of the PNW delegation to Tampa, Florida for General Conference 2012.