If I Ruled the UMC...

I started writing this post back in November, but today just felt like the day to share it. Wednesdays seem to be my days for getting in trouble here...

Even though deep in my heart I am still a Quaker, once upon a time I worked for several United Methodist churches (UMC). My family still attends a UM church. There are dozens of UMC youth pastors, church members and clergy on Twitter that keep me up-to-date with what is going on the wider body of the UMC. In 2012 I attended some General Conference (world wide gathering of UMC leaders) sessions here in Tampa. And all of this connection to the the UMC has left me with one distinct, overwhelming feeling. The UMC is in a mess. The battles are many and the solutions seem few at this point. There is a great schism coming unless something is done to change the way things are done and the way United Methodists respond to one another. An old friend (and former UMC staffer) suggests that the hole is so deep that they wouldn't even know how to split if they wanted to, and that perhaps the only thing holding them together these days are pension plans and an inability to divest. So today I offer some modest suggestions as to how I would change things if were the new John Wesley. Or perhaps better said, if I were the Pope of the UMC for a day! These ideas will ruffle feathers, get hardcore Wesleyans to yell at me, and maybe- just maybe- offer some insight into issues from an outsider who has been on the inside. Here are a few things I would do if I ruled the UMC world for just one day...

1. Change the hierarchy and structure of the denomination. All UMC churches are connected under one umbrella, and that should be a good thing. It allows us pull pool money for missions, disaster relief, camping programs and clergy support. It also means we spend an inordinate amount of money on administration. The gigantic, expensive GC I attended accomplished next to nothing because everything is lobbied for and voted on like it's the first Continental Congress. People vote in "blocks" with like-minded constituents and nothing passes that offers any real change or progress. Our business procedures need to be less democratic and more spiritual. Business should be a form of worship. Prayerful consensus for where God is leading should pave the way- not "I wonder how the African delegates will vote?" There are other issues as well. We have hundreds of  highly paid District Superintendents who are nothing more than glorified supervisors and administrators. Even worse, many of them were at one time some of our best pastors. Now they are wasted in impotent positions that offer little opportunity to minister in the community. And think of all the resources that could be pumped into MINISTRY if we rid ourselves of those positions and cut back on trying to administrate churches from afar. I am afraid that the UMC has lost sight of the fact that the farther leaders are from the people (such as DS and Bishop positions) the less they understand what the laity cares about. That's just one example of how the system needs an overhaul. And here's another...
2. Give more autonomy to the local congregation. Let them hire their own pastor and establish their own structures. Many of the most prominent UMC congregations are already doing this as conferences look the other way. Check out the websites of the 25 fastest growing UMC congregations and you will often find no mention that they are a United Methodist congregation. There is no way on heaven or earth their pastors will be moved by an annual conference decision. Why not make it official and even the playing field for everyone? Every time the traditional itinerant system randomly relocates a pastor, it sets the entire church back a step- at least! My career featured two such pastoral changes, and both of them were disastrous for the churches I served and for me personally. Let each church determine the ministries and issues that matter to them and then seek the pastor they choose to lead them forward. We keep proceeding as if we expect all of our churches to think the same way and have the same goals. Trying to make a church in Backwater, Florida and a church in downtown NYC agree on much of anything besides "Jesus is LORD" is a complicated endeavor that takes energy and resources away from what should be our primary goal- connecting people to Jesus Christ and serving them in his name. There will still be a Bishop to oversee and maintain a certain "quality control" and provide direction for pastors (remember. we already ditched the DS position!) but we need to quit trying to be homogeneous. We aren't. And that leaves pastors in an often impossible situation, dealing with difficult situations- and feeling all of the responsibility while being given none of the power. And that's just asking for dissension and trouble. Some of my very favorite people are UMC clergy, and they deserve better. Pastors are entrusted with the spiritual care of their flocks. We need to trust them to KNOW their own congregations.
3. And speaking of pastors...we assert that we believe in the priesthood of all believers. We also state that the clergy are called by God to lead our congregations. And yet our actual practices and standards show that we believe that clergy are created through education. Being gifted by God is a wonderful thing in the UMC. A cemetery seminary degree from Duke, Emory or Asbury is apparently even better. It's the age old debate of credentials verses calling. We have a shortage of pastors, with many aging into retirement everyday, yet we continue to make it more and more difficult to receive ordination. I have a good friend who came from another mainstream denomination where he was ordained and had worked for many years. He had served a UMC congregation for several years as an Associate Pastor and tried to get his credentials transferred. It would have been easier and less time consuming to become a lawyer. He eventually just gave up and remained an associate, hired by the local church- where he has been a rock as pastors have come and gone (moved by the itinerant system) for many years now. He is TREASURED by that church- but deemed unworthy by the system. The late Mike Yaconelli founded Youth Specialties, wrote best selling books, pastored a small church for 20 years and preached all over the planet, but he would have been deemed unworthy to be a UMC pastor because he was kicked out of bible college and never went back. That's just wrong. We need to allow that the primary factors in successful clergy are calling and gifts from God, and find ways to allow "under educated" people to serve our churches with greater freedom. Education is very important for sure. But ask yourself this question- do we believe ordination is from God through the Holy Spirit, or from a committee of humans who judge by advanced degrees and psychological testing? Too simplistic I know- but still legitimate to ask.
4. When I was coming of age as a Quaker in the 1970's, one of the issues facing that group was that all of the things that had been traditional benchmarks of the denomination were being done better by other people. The Amish did simplicity better, Catholic monasteries did silence better and the UMC had a stronger peace testimony. What are our Methodist churches known for today? Fights over gay marriage? Splits over worship styles and how we do baptisms? Pet blessings? Our churches- each and every one of them- need to decide what they stand for right now. Not traditionally, not according to the Book of Discipline. not according to John Wesley- right now! And the answer had better include being the love of God whose name is Jesus to a hurting and needy world, or we are in deep doo-doo my friends. If our bottom line is not HIS bottom line (The Great Commandment) and our mission is not HIS mission (The Great Commission) then all other changes are just whistling in the wind. 

That seems like enough for my first day on the job. Please understand, I am not expecting any of my suggestions to come to fruition. Most of them are probably not even good ideas. But what I do hope for...what I do PRAY for...is that more folks will be willing to "rattle the cage" so that this denomination that is near and dear to my heart will begin to move past their past and dream of a bigger, more inclusive tomorrow and bold new ways to get there. I see far too many UMC leaders who are dreaming of returning to the past and the way the church used to be. It's time to go forward and face the future, remembering that our goal is not to save the Methodists. Our goal is to follow Jesus. May God lead each of us, individually and corporately, down that path.

Because of Jesus,