{"id":53,"date":"2012-01-09T17:00:05","date_gmt":"2012-01-10T01:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/gc2012\/?p=53"},"modified":"2012-04-13T01:22:32","modified_gmt":"2012-04-13T08:22:32","slug":"2-big-disputes-ahead-at-general-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/2-big-disputes-ahead-at-general-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"2 big disputes ahead at General Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"

A UMNS Report by Heather Hahn. Image is a\u00a0web-only design by Wordle\/Kathleen Barry.<\/em><\/p>\n

Two proposals hover near the top of the controversy list as The United Methodist Church approaches this spring\u2019s General Conference.<\/p>\n

The first would restructure the denomination, including\u00a0consolidating nine of the church\u2019s 13 general agencies under a 15-member board<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The second would end job guarantees for ordained elders in good standing.<\/p>\n

The 2012 General Conference, the denomination\u2019s top lawmaking body, will have final say on the proposed changes when\u00a0it meets April 24-May 4 in Tampa, Fla.<\/a>However, the proposals already are drawing scrutiny from United Methodist groups across the theological spectrum, and those groups will be out in force at General Conference to advocate their points of view.<\/p>\n

Both proposals aim to address four decades of declining United Methodist membership in the United States. Legislation to restructure the denomination originated with the\u00a0Call to Action process<\/a>. The\u00a0Study of Ministry Commission<\/a>\u00a0drafted the legislation to alter \u201csecurity of appointment\u201d for elders, a move endorsed by Call to Action leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there is any question that the restructuring proposals and the entire ministry report, of which security of appointment is one piece, will be some of the primary places of debate,\u201d said the Rev. Robert J. Williams, the chief executive at the\u00a0United Methodist Commission on Archives and History<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Almost everyone agrees the denomination needs to change. Where views differ is how best to go about it.<\/p>\n

In general, leaders of the denomination\u2019s unofficial progressive groups fear the recommended restructuring will lessen the church\u2019s commitment to ethnic diversity and minimize programs that foster church growth, particularly among people of color.<\/p>\n

The recommended restructuring \u201cisn\u2019t United Methodist, and it isn\u2019t Wesleyan,\u201d said Donald L. Hayashi, who worked with the Methodist Federation for Social Action, a denomination-wide progressive caucus, in drafting\u00a0an alternative reorganization<\/a>\u00a0that has been submitted to General Conference. Reconciling Ministries Network, another progressive caucus, also supports the alternative plan.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, leaders of unofficial evangelical groups see the restructuring as a cost-saving measure that will put more focus on local congregations. \u201cWe believe that a lot of the proposals are moving us in the right direction,\u201d said the Rev. Thomas Lambrecht, vice president and general manager of denomination-wide evangelical caucus Good News.<\/p>\n

Although often on opposing sides, some progressives and evangelicals share misgivings about legislation to eliminate \u201csecurity of appointment\u201d for elders in good standing. In The United Methodist Church, bishops and their cabinets are responsible for appointing clergy to congregations and other ministries.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re concerned that pastors (might) become vulnerable to arbitrary decisions on the part of bishops and cabinets,\u201d Lambrecht said.<\/p>\n

Reorganization<\/h3>\n

The two proposals come after\u00a0a number of studies<\/a>\u00a0over the past\u00a0four years<\/a>\u00a0showing that\u00a0the denomination\u2019s status quo is unsustainable<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While The United Methodist Church is growing worldwide, particularly in Africa and the Philippines, the U.S. membership has declined by 29 percent since 1968, going from 10.7 million members to fewer than 8 million. The U.S. membership still provides most of the denomination\u2019s financial support.<\/p>\n

The initial legislation to restructure the denomination\u2019s agencies came out of the multiyear Call to Action process,\u00a0<\/strong>initiated by the Council of Bishops and Connectional Table to \u201creorder the life of the church.\u201d<\/p>\n

The proposed agency \u2014 the United Methodist Center for Connectional Mission and Ministry \u2014 would combine the functions of nine general agencies \u2014 the Board of Discipleship; Board of Higher Education and Ministry; Board of Global Ministries; Board of Church and Society; Commission on Religion and Race; Commission on the Status and Role of Women; Commission on Archives and History; Council on Finance and Administration and United Methodist Communications, which operates United Methodist News Service. The work would be organized into offices of congregational vitality, leadership excellence, missional engagement, justice and reconciliation, and shared services.<\/p>\n

The hope is that the consolidation will eliminate walls of separation, competition for responsibilities and redundant activities among the agencies, said Illinois Area Bishop Gregory V. Palmer, a leader in the Call to Action process. A \u201cmore nimble, cost-effective and focused\u201d agency structure would in turn help annual (regional) conferences foster more vital congregations, he said.<\/p>\n

However, Hayashi \u2014 who is also president of the National Federation of Asian American United Methodists \u2014 said the proposed reduction of agency governing boards from more than 400 people to 15 would \u201ceffectively eliminate racial\/ethnic leaders on the agency boards,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnited Methodist agencies mandated to monitor race and gender discrimination would disappear and the five ethnic plans approved by General Conference would not have the capacity to continue providing leadership training, continue developing new congregations and (continue) revitalizing existing ones.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pointed out that that\u00a0ethnic minorities, particularly Latinos, account for the greatest population growth in the United States<\/a>. \u201cThey are younger and more family-oriented,\u201d he said. \u201cThis offers the greatest opportunity for church growth, but they don\u2019t offer high income. Will they be a priority?\u201d<\/p>\n

Evangelicals take a different view.<\/p>\n

Reducing the size of boards and agencies can help local congregations by reducing what they pay to support the general church, said Patricia Miller, executive director of the Confessing Movement Within the United Methodist Church, an evangelical caucus.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think (the current structure) is extremely costly, and there are more efficient ways to deal with the issues of boards and agencies,\u201d she said. \u201cMinistry takes place at local churches. Boards and agencies can help with some availability of programs, etc., but the actual ministry takes place at local churches.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lambrecht of Good News also said his group favors Call to Action\u2019s \u201cemphasis on local church vitality\u201d and its potential cost saving.<\/p>\n

Point of agreement<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Progressives and evangelicals do share some concerns about the restructuring. Leaders of both Good News and Methodist Federation for Social Action criticized the Call to Action plan for not offering enough representation to church members in the central conferences \u2014 church regions in Africa, Europe and the Philippines.<\/p>\n

In the proposed legislation, the board of the newly created United Methodist Center for Connectional Mission and Ministry would be accountable to a 45-member advisory board called the General Council for Strategy and Oversight. This council would replace the 60-member Connectional Table, which coordinates the denomination\u2019s mission, ministries and resources.<\/p>\n

The legislation designates that the 45-member council board should include one member from each of the seven central conferences. The board\u2019s 41 voting members also will include five bishops, five members the denomination\u2019s ethnic caucuses, three representatives from the Advisory Committee on Ministries with Young People and 21 members elected from jurisdictions in proportion to their jurisdictions\u2019 membership.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have the Southeastern and South Central jurisdictions getting the lion\u2019s share of the vote,\u201d said the Rev. Steve Clunn, Methodist Federation for Social Action\u2019s coalition coordinator. \u201cEither you\u2019re going to be representative across the board, which is fair, or you\u2019re going to create power blocks, which this does.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lambrecht expressed similar worries.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not sure the 45-member General Council is large enough to be actually representative of the church,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are a little bit concerned about the under-representation of the central conferences on that group.\u201d<\/p>\n

Security of appointment<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Methodist Federation for Social Action and Good News also join together in panning proposed legislation to eliminate \u201csecurity of appointment\u201d \u2014 which is also known as guaranteed appointment \u2014 for ordained elders.<\/p>\n

The Study of Ministry Commission,\u00a0in its report<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0said the practice is not financially sustainable and \u201climits the ability of the church to respond to the primacy of missional needs.\u201d An earlier report estimated there are 784 more U.S. clergy than positions needed in the church.<\/p>\n

The commission has submitted legislation that would allow\u00a0bishops and cabinets to give an elder in good standing a less than full-time appointment<\/a>. The legislation also would permit bishops and their cabinets, with the approval of their boards of ordained ministry and annual (regional) conference\u2019s executive session, to put elders on unpaid transitional leave for up to 24 months. Clergy on transitional leave would be able to participate in their conference health program through their own contributions.<\/div>\n

Lambrecht said he fears the current legislation offers too few protections for clergy.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt Good News, over the years we\u2019ve become aware of numerous stories of pastors who are either arbitrarily denied an appointment or appointed to a much lower position simply because the bishop or (district) superintendent didn\u2019t like their theology,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Clunn voiced a slightly different concern.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, the big question has been: \u2018Why do we give more power to bishops in terms of appointment of clergy, when they are not using the power they have now?\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cIf there are clergy who are ineffective now, they have the right and responsibility to take that to the (conference) board of ordained ministry to work on to either help that clergyperson become more effective or to help them find a new vocation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The legislation changes the current process by stripping a conference\u2019s clergy \u201cthe final say in terms of voting whether a clergy person is removed or retained or in good standing or not,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

*Hahn is a multimedia news reporter for United Methodist News Service.<\/p>\n

News media contact: Heather Hahn, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or\u00a0newsdesk@umcom.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A UMNS Report by Heather Hahn. Image is a\u00a0web-only design by Wordle\/Kathleen Barry. Two proposals hover near the top of the controversy list as The United Methodist Church approaches this spring\u2019s General Conference. The first would restructure the denomination, including\u00a0consolidating nine of the church\u2019s 13 general agencies under a 15-member board. The second would end […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-53","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-umns"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Unknown.jpeg?fit=829%2C392&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2l75j-R","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53\/revisions\/60"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}