Unity without Unanimity in The United Methodist Church?

General Conference, our global family reunion that speaks officially for The United Methodist Church, met during May. Read the letter from the Council of Bishops here.

It wasn’t a smooth start as delegates struggled for several hours over three of the days, deciding what rules would govern their conversations and whether they would use new technology (tablet computer) or old technology (colored cards) to communicate with the presiding bishop.

From the beginning, there was mistrust. As I followed social media, I was surprised and disappointed in the behavior of some who claim to be followers of Jesus. Like the culture at large, many in the church try to demonize other Christians who don’t agree with them. Sadly, too often we have allowed people outside the church to determine our language and behavior.

Our bishops indicated they are trying to hold us together in unity. Unity, being together, is not the same thing as unanimity, having the same mind. The question remains, can we have unity if we don’t have unanimity?

This question is especially pertinent to our conversation about human sexuality. Currently, our Social Principles state that all individuals are of sacred worth but the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. It defines marriage as between a man and a woman and bans clergy from officiating at same-gender unions and bans United Methodist churches from hosting such ceremonies.

It appeared from the committee work the first week that we would likely retain this current language. There was (and had been) talk of schism. During the second week the delegates asked the bishops to lead us in a way forward. The next morning the Council of Bishops came back with a plan to stop the conversation and votes about human sexuality at General Conference and instead let them appoint a commission to examine and possibly recommend revisions in the Book of Discipline related to human sexuality. This plan was approved. The bishops could call a special General Conference in 2018 or 2019 to vote on any proposals from this commission. For the time being, nothing changed in our official positions on matters of human sexuality.

Motions to separate the American Church from the global Church were defeated. We celebrate the global nature of our Church. With close to 13 million members worldwide, The United Methodist Church grew by a total of 1.2 million members in the last four years, mostly outside of America. For instance, the Africa Central Conference has grown 329 percent in the last ten years and now claims 4.9 million members! Here in the United States, we still have more than 7 million members, but we have declined by 11 percent.

This was addressed in a presentation by laity (regular, non-clergy people) who offered the reminder that lay people are responsible for our mission and urged them to share Jesus with the world. It was noted that too many members are uncomfortable sharing their faith in Jesus. That must change. Lay persons are called to step out of their comfort zone to share Christ with others.

We celebrated raising $68.5 million to end malaria. We celebrated the 60 year anniversary of the ordination of women in our church.

We approved work on a new hymnal that could be released as early as 2021. It would be Internet cloud-based and printed on demand with each congregation customizing its selections.

We did not agree to place term limits on our bishops or to end so-called “guaranteed appointments” for clergy.

The budget for the next quadrennium (2017-2020) of $604 million was approved. It is a slight increase over the  $603.1 million approved in 2012. The proposed budget was $599 million and would have been the lowest amount in 16 years. Delegates, however, voted to add $5 million to double the denomination’s financial backing of theological education in Africa, Asia, and Europe. 

There is much we do well together. Can we move forward in unity if we don’t have unanimity? I don’t know. I do know that Salem is a vital, growing United Methodist congregation, making disciples and transforming the world. Let us continue to follow where the Spirit leads.