Core Principles of the UMC - MD4C

Many of you know that I'm on the Worldwide UMC Study Committee. There are 20 of us who are trying to discern the direction and shape of our denomination across the world. We are progressing with our work by beginning with a very important question: What are the core principles of the United Methodist Church?

I can think of many such as connectionalism, the constitutive principles of conference and general superintendency, personal & social holiness - sanctification in personal life and justice ministries in the world, evangelical witness (Making disciples for Jesus Christ/MD4C), Wesley's Scripture Way of Salvation (Stages of Grace), the Quadrilateral as a means of doing theology, hymnody as a vehicle for doctrine, itenerancy and sent ministry, our Doctrinal Standards, the General Rules, minimum standards for credentialing clergy, accountability by local churches and clergy to our covenant community, inclusivity, gender equality, proportional representation, and multiculturalism. I know there are more core principles, but these are the ones that jump out at me.

The question posed to us that is also EXTREMELY important surrounds the reason we're working on our ecclesiology. You may remember that this study committee arose from the constitutional amendments that were put before each annual conference over the past year. Those amendments would create one or more (Judicial Decision 1100) US regional conferences. The votes have not been certified by the Council of Bishops and won't be until their May 2010 meeting. The last numbers that I heard were that they were failing by a huge majority.

There are those on the left (However you define such labels) who would love for the US to have the ability to adapt the Book of Discipline (Par. 543.7) as the Central Conferences outside the US do. The primary goal as stated by several members of our committee is so that a separate US regional conference would be able to change its position on self-avowed practicing homosexuals. Conservatives don't mind the shift to regionalism for a much different reason: money. Right now the areas outside the US pay very little into apportioned general church funds; only a sliding scale amount into the Episcopal Fund. While conservatives would love to keep African votes on human sexuality, the economic downturn has made the price too steep. Unfortunately the same argument works even in the US. There are some from the US Jurisdictions that are larger who are tired of paying the freight for jurisdictions that are declining. Either way, and I KNOW that what I'm saying is overly simplistic, the rationales for moving away from our connectional polity are driven either by sexuality or money, AND THOSE ARE TERRIBLE REASONS TO CHANGE OUR ECCLESIOLOGY.

It seems to me that it would be more simple to change Par. 543.7 and be more clear about what is adaptable and what isn't, and call all central conferences "jurisdictions." I don't want us to lose the non-negotiables of what I think are our denominational hallmarks/core principles at the expense of rearranging the deck chairs on the UMC Titanic, creating regional conferences that are antithetical to Wesley's "The World is my Parish." The bigger questions about all of this are "Why are we doing this? What is our vision why this will enhance the missional effectiveness of the UMC?" Duh?

But as quick as I am to pooh-pooh the whole effort, I have to admit how complex this is. Sure, we don't need a US-centric hierarchy or focus; but I ask the question: Would we still legitimately be UNITED Methodists if we allowed too many regional permutations of who we are? What is unalterable and what is adaptable? What are our core principles that should remain intact. Help me out, weigh in!

I'm Headed to Hallmark!

St. Valentine’s Day is this coming Sunday. I hope all the love-birds out there are ready for the big event. St. Valentine has been purported to be the patron saint of lovers for centuries. Pope Gelasius in 496 A.D. set aside February 14 to honor St. Valentine. However, the history behind the actual person and his actions is cloudy at best. Some say he was a priest who secretly married couples during the reign of Roman emperor Claudius II. Claudius had outlawed marriage so that he could conscript more single men for his army. Supposedly after Valentine’s arrest he sent notes to Christians that were signed, “From your Valentine.” There are stories of his officiating at his jailer’s daughter’s wedding, too. According to tradition Valentine was beheaded by the emperor on February 14, 269.

What makes all this so interesting is that February 14 is the same day that had been dedicated to Roman love lotteries for over 800 years. Love lotteries were a Roman matchmaking scheme whereby eligible singles in towns and villages drew names of the opposite sex so that they could be paired for a specified time period. These love lotteries were held on the day before February 15, which is, of course, the 14th, the day dedicated to the Roman god Lupercus, so that couples could be matched. I guess they didn’t need eHarmony.com.

Needless to say 800 years of a coupling custom was hard to undo even when the empire became mostly Christian. After all, love is what makes the world go round. Therefore, whether there was ever a guy named Valentine who sent love notes or not is immaterial to the greater worship of love. So, conveniently, Valentine, or the story of Valentine, was canonized and made a saint so that Christians could usurp yet another pagan holiday and turn it into something good.

Ironically, the suspicious origins of Valentine’s Day caused the Roman Catholic Church to drop it as an official Feast Day in 1969. In reversal of the church’s co-opting of a Roman mating ritual, our contemporary pop culture has completely bought into the original intent of February 14 – a day with an emphasis on Lupercalian tokens of love. The irony is that what was pagan-turned Christian has now been co-opted by the candy makers and greeting card companies, plus a host of other suppliers. So we’re not sure if it’s love that makes the world go round or money.
Valentine’s customs through the so-called Christian centuries have been celebrated in a variety of ways. In the Middle Ages, for instance, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their Valentines would be. They wore these names on their sleeves for a week. It’s where we get our notion about people “wearing their hearts on their sleeve,” meaning that it’s easy for other people to know how they’re feeling.

Here’s how I feel about Valentine’s Day, saint or not. I’m all for showering our true loves and loved ones with expressions of affection. It never hurts to let people know that they are appreciated, valued, and loved. As a matter of fact, it’s time for the church to take Valentine’s Day back from the pagans. When it comes to love we don’t need to prop up some semi-historical figure like Valentine when we can do better. There’s no better example of love than Jesus. Let’s love people like Jesus and chocolates will be in order year-round!

Killing the Giants Against the Church

I'm at the Southeastern Jurisdiction DS Consultation and the leadership has been from the Turner Institute at Vanderbilt. It has been very thought provoking. Dr. Doug Meeks suggested this morning that our denomination, Christendom in general, and us as individual Christians have been overwhelmed by the "Giants in the Land" of Libertarianism, Utilitarianism, and Communitarianism.

All three thrive on a promise of false security by playing on our fear of death and guilt. Libertarians and Tea Partyists view everything as a property matter and it's MINE, not yours and certainly not the government's. I see this in the UMC and local churches and individual Christians as a silo mentality that is micro-congregationalism and anti apportionments; who devalue connectionalism and the view that I think is key: "Together We Can Do More!" General agencies are also libertarian in their turf protection. Utilitarianism focuses on public over private property and has great faith in governments and institutions to deliver us. It's works-righteousness and leaves out sin and evil. Communitarians are believers in the tribe or clan's ability to save us. No wonder that many of our church's are tight-knit clubs/villages that won't welcome a new idea or any risk-taking.

The Gospel is risk-taking and Jesus offends. The narrative of the Gospel promises real security through the resurrection message and grace. We cannot save ourselves by our human machinations as either Libertarians, Utilitarians, or Communitarians. The Gospel offers Jesus to a going-to-hell-in-a-handbasket-world in a radically different way than the culture's panaceas. The source of our salvation is from God to us via the Incarnation, the Cross, and the Resurrection.

Our problem as a church, from my perspective, is having laity who are either libertarians who watch Fox or are Communitarians who want their church to be their homogeneous clan chapel; and clergy who are Utilitarians who are hooked on CNN or MSNBC and believe the notion that we are so innately good (not by the grace of God) that we can save ourselves and the world: be good, be good, be good (the essence of most children's sermons). Jesus' uniqueness and Christology are left out and resulting worship is a humanistic dull elegy not a resurrection experience.

Where have I been? All three, but I want to be an Easter person and trust Jesus to save the cosmos. He is the only giant in this farcical landscape of wannabe's.

Groundhog Day

The movie "Groundhog Day" is one of my favorites. I can't remember how many times I've seen it. It is intriguing and funny. It has action, romance, and ends well - all key ingredients for me. The idea of "Love-Deja Vu" is fascinating. The notion that Bill Murray's character can't manipulate or fake love is at the heart of the plot line. He doesn't get to move on to the next day until he truly loves Andie McDowell's character.

I wish it were so for us, at least for me - that I have to get it right before I can move on. Maybe the secret for me is whether I MAKE it right so I can move on. Too often I let things slide, go unsaid, get through the day and carry the same baggage to the next because I haven't resolved the junk from one day to the next.

I think the Bible has something to say about each day having enough trouble of it's own, and not letting the sun go down on your anger. Both of which seem to say to me to live in the present, get it right, and tomorrow will take care of itself.

There is more pondering to be done about tomorrow's real Groundhog Day and the movie, but I think the message to me is that love doesn't give up until it is sheer love, not manipulation or masquerade. We are blessed, not doomed, to repeat each day so that in the end we become who we can be, not for ourselves, but for someone else.

So here I am again receiving God's great gift of grace - another chance. I'm better than okay with that!

$25,000 Fine for Storming the Church!

I watched South Carolina pull off the upset of #1 Kentucky in basketball and was so ecstatic. If I had been there I would have stormed the court, $25,000 fine or not. But then perspective hits me – how many poor people could be helped with $25,000? How many Haitian orphans could have their lives changed? Why don't people storm the church? Interesting!

Why do we spend so much money on coaches’ salaries; i.e., Lane Kiffin? It’s a big business when we see players jump ship to the NFL like Sidney Rice, or the three “one & done” freshmen players for UK who were being scouted by a dozen or more NBA scouts the other night. SO, college athletics is very often NOT about an education. It’s about making a buck for the school, the player, the agent, or somebody.

Yet, so many people love sports! I’m one of them! Sports events are distractions from everyday life. Maybe the reason sports figures are so overpaid is that they give us a taste of immortality, a momentary, if fleeting, adrenaline rush, a release of endorphins that carries us beyond the mundane difficulties of daily life. Why else would we call Super Bowl Sunday "super"?

I have wondered for some time about the connection between sports figures’ salaries and the salaries of people in helping professions. The teachers who help the players make the minimum score to even play ball are paid a miniscule amount in comparison. Is there a valid reason for the difference in pay? Is it the danger that athletes face, or is it the difference in the pay-off for the spectator?

Unfortunately, I think it is the latter more than the former. Why don’t people get as excited in classrooms and sanctuaries as they do in stadiums and arenas? I was often thrilled with being in a classroom, at least in the subjects that resonated with my passions. Often it was because the teacher was an exceptional communicator or person. If the teacher or preacher was dull it was hard to be enthused. Using the criteria of relevance or quality of teaching, being thrilled in church should be an automatic occurrence.

Jesus Christ is far superior to any teacher, preacher, or sports star ever known. And Jesus is better than any coach, too. Former football great Henry Jordan was quite revealing when he talked about playing under coaching great, Vince Lombardi, the coach for whom the super Bowl Trophy is named. Henry Jordan said about Lombardi, “He treats us all the same - like dogs!” That was his most quoted line, but Henry Jordan had others almost as good: “I play for the love of the game, the love of the money, and the fear of Lombardi.” He also said, “When he says, ‘Sit down,’ I don’t look for a chair.”

What do we say about Jesus? Does talk of Christ and the Kingdom salt our conversations? What are our stories of Jesus like? Do they reveal our passion and hero-worship? Does Jesus command our respect, our loyalty? Does He get our adrenaline pumping and our endorphins flowing? If He doesn’t, then it’s not Jesus’ fault because Jesus is no wimp.

Jesus is like a legendary coach, superstar player, and Teacher of the Year rolled into one. Coach Bum Phillips once philosophized: “There’s only two kinds of coaches, them that’s been fired and them that’s about to be fired.” Jesus supersedes both categories and is beyond compare! He’s never had a losing season. He’s always a winner, and there’s nothing that He can’t handle. As Christians, we’re playing for the Jesus Trophy! People should sense that kind of excitement in our sanctuaries, our homes, and our schools – wherever we might be. Maybe then sports will become just one of many ways that people get their juices flowing. Maybe then everyone in every job will be paid for how well they represent Jesus, the Author of Greatness. I’m waiting for a $25,000 fine for people storming a sanctuary. What an idea!

Staff-Parish Committees & Clergy/Well-intentioned Dragons

Ill or Well-intentioned dragons abound in some churches. I have been set up before by a person who said that she was concerned for her church and wanted to come by and talk. Through her tears I unfortunately said "yes" to her request only to be greeted by a group of 8 or more people. I gave them hospitality but quickly said, "You need to take this to your SPRC." I have a meeting like this coming up.

At first glance I thought let's have the pastor present, too, so it's a fair fight and I get to stay out of the triangle, but then I thought better of it by the grace of God. If I pulled the pastor in, it becomes a contest between conflicting sides escalating into a win by the dragons who just want to go back and say to people, "We told the preacher off in front of the DS!" So I'm not going to meet with the people and the pastor. I'll meet with the people and limit the number, defect in place, show them Jesus, hear their concerns, AND, the biggie, determine what the spiritual issue is.

You have to hear people's grievances in this office, but you don't have to empower the naysayers. Paying attention to the emotional process and not submitting to it is the key. Hoping to pay more attention objectively to the content is important, but, nonetheless, a rabbit-chasing fallacy. Anybody can juggle facts to suit their emotional purpose or their agenda. If their agenda isn't Jesus then the conversation becomes a counseling session of pastoral care thereby defusing the anger not by authoritarian fiat, but by relationship salvaging. I'll call the pastor later and give that person a heads-up, but I am NOT going to be caught in the triangle of "they said, you said" ad infinitum.

This time of year is anxiety laden for clergy and congregations because of last week's move or stay deadline. People are taking sides and getting in digs or bribes to try to get the best appointment either for the pastor or the church, often at the expense each other's expense. Of course, this isn't the way it always is. Thank God there are churches and clergy who amicably part ways just because it's time for someone else to take them over Jordan.

I pray that I can avoid the manipulation, the anxiety, the arguments, and the unrealistic expectations of both churches and clergy. I am reminded once again that this whole process is mostly about churches, then preachers; but most of all it's about Jesus and the Kingdom - not friendships, sucking up, or people making up "bad" stuff about a preacher they have supposedly loved for so long. Rather than face the fact that it's just time for a change people start the rumor mill of innuendo just to have an excuse to push someone out, or to leave a church. I have even had clergy tell me in my office they want to leave then go home and tell their spouse that I'm making them leave. Then I catch it from the spouse. It's a strange dance that we move to in this process.

Well I pray that we move people this year like every year based on gifts, graces, needs, and primarily what Jesus wants for the Kingdom. So I'll be heading to meetings with SPRC's and consult with pastors, attempt to speak the truth in love, and show them all Jesus, both meek and mild & forthright and faithful. Here goes!

No Person Is an Island

Sometimes I am like the heron in this picture. To many I seem like an extrovert willing to jump either into life's frays or frivolities. The real me is more introverted. I take solace on Mt. Mitchell or the sofa. I need my "cave time" more than I would like to admit. I can and will get involved, but my energy is replenished when I'm absolutely alone. I look forward to walking every morning in the darkness when it's only me and God, no cars, and only the faint shadow of a heron in the rapids.

Today I got off my rock and headed down town to Zion Baptist and marched to the Statehouse for King Day at the Dome. MLK, Jr. could have stayed in "his place" on his rock, but he got involved. We need to do the same in South Carolina about the deplorable schools in the "Corridor of Shame," payday lending abuses, the lowest cigarette tax in the US, and many more justice issues. I am grateful for those who have the led the rest of us by example.

For instance, I was glad last night when Sandra Bullock won a Golden Globe award for her performance in the movie, "The Blind Side." It's a great film that depicts a family that isn't about blood or color. My mother came to mind as I watched the movie and last night. My mother became the legal guardian for an older African-American gentleman, Frank Arthur, before I was even born. He lived with us. We were his family and he was one of us. My mother's adoption of Frank saved my life in high school at Strom Thurmond H.S. I was the only non-African American in Phys. Ed. class, and I didn't know when to keep my mouth shut sometimes. I remember one occasion when I said something stupid and some of the bigger guys came to my rescue saying, "Leave Tim alone, he's 'Miss Sadie Emma's' son." Her fair treatment of Frank and others protected me from myself.

I'm grateful for Mother's witness about race. Thank God she got off her perch and did something for Frank and others. On this MLK Day I am reminded to do my part, too.