Africa's Great Betrayal: a Harvest of Thorns

by

UPDATE: The Wesleyan Covenant Association responded to this article on its website. Read the article by the Rev. Walter Fenton.

Special to United Methodist Insight

As an African United Methodist pastor, I have come to view the 2019 General Conference much like the 1976 Geneva Conference that tried to resolve the issue of white colonial rule in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe.

My late mentor, Bishop Abel Tendekai Muzorewa, saw the Geneva Conference as focused more on who must have power and control in the new nation that was to be born. Yet after the Geneva Conference more people were killed for no apparent reason. The 2019 General Conference results haven’t killed anyone physically, but they has done great spiritual and political damage to The United Methodist Church. That’s why I call the 2019 General Conference “Africa’s Great Betrayal: A Harvest of Thorns.”

Upfront I wish to say that when it comes to U.S. United Methodist politics I am neither conservative nor progressive because those terms have become problematic. My clear answer is I am a Black African Son of the soil and a United Methodist. From that perspective I have struggled to analyze and write about the 2019 General Conference for months, and I have become convinced that African United Methodists were used as tools of U.S. United Methodists’ drive for power.

The One Church Plan that came before the delegates was going to give Africa and other Central Conferences what they wanted: protection from imposed acceptance of homosexuality. Also the same plan was to let the USA church do ministry in its context, as well as Europe and the Philippines. Under the One Church Plan, each region of the UMC was going to get what it could live with and valued most, therefore resolving our differences over homosexuality to keep the unity of Church. This was going to be a win-win situation.

That was until the Reform & Renewal Coalition of American conservatives came up with its floor strategy. This strategy has brought Africa’s great betrayal and a harvest of thorns. Maybe now the harvest of thorns is being experienced across the worldwide United Methodist connection.

The floor strategy

When it came to the floor strategy, I observed that African delegates were told by American conservatives that the special called General Conference was all about keeping biblical principles on sexuality; in short to fight homosexuality in The United Methodist Church. Africans were told that of the four plans coming to GC2019 – three from the Commission on A Way Forward, plus the Simple Plan from LGBTQ activists – the Traditional Plan was the only plan to support. African delegates were told this plan would kick American homosexuals out of the denomination. The conservatives controlled the majority of the African votes by texting and otherwise sending instructions, telling them how to vote.

Conservatives worked hard to bunch up everything coming to GC2019 as defeating homosexuality in the world. American conservatives started loading Africa delegates with false information. They misinformed people about the purpose of the Special Called General Conference. A few days prior to the 2019 General Conference, African delegates were gathered at Williams Retreat Center in Illinois where they were told, “the money in the church is with the conservatives so we have to stand with them because if they leave there will be no money in the church.” I observed that the proposition was presented this way because the Wesleyan Covenant Association was targeting the reserve funding of Global Ministries and other agencies that do mission and ministry in the Central Conferences.

On the legislative committee day at GC2019 the Traditional Plan was passed with more votes compared to other plans, even when it had established a track record of being unconstitutional. A motion referred it to the Judicial Council for review so that next day in the plenary delegates would work on a plan that would have passed the constitutional test.

The Reform & Renewal Coalition deployed an African to argue against that motion so that Africa would be portrayed as lawless people who do not understand how church functions. It was an embarrassment for my African brother to stand before General Conference refusing a legal test of the work that was so important, but when it came to votes both American conservatives and progressives voted to send the Traditional Plan for a Judicial Council review. This was a smack on the face for my dear brother who was being faithful to the agreed deal, not knowing he had been betrayed and given thorns as his harvest.

Another trend I observed at General Conference: when technical issues on the exit plans were discussed, no Africans were given talking points to go to microphones. But when discussion was about some amendments that didn’t make sense or demanded simple logic, Africans were pushed to oppose or argue in a way that would make listeners wonder why one would argue in such a unreasonable way.

In the plenary when the Reform & Renewal Coalition realized that their exit plans may not see the light of day, they bundled all the Traditional Plan petitions into one with all the bad parts included. African delegates were on cloud nine celebrating what they thought they had won. In reality they got mamvemve (tattered rags). In fact we Africans need to realize that what we have now are only changes to parts of the Book of Discipline and no single document called the Traditional Plan exists. All the political maneuvering did was to add harsh penalties to homosexuality-related chargeable offenses. Those are the now only chargeable offenses in the Book of Discipline that carry any required penalties!

Corruption in vote buying

After the Traditional Plan was referred to the Judicial Council for review, there was a motion to investigate alleged vote buying among delegates, which many present believe implied Africans, although this wasn't mentioned in the formal motion. Some 48 percent of delegates voted against it and 52 percent voted for it as a noble thing to clear the air. But I realized that 48 percent of GC2019 delegates were possibly involved with vote buying in one way or another. Why would one vote against vote-buying investigations unless you are guilty?

In my mother language we have a proverb that says “kuvhunduka chati kwatara hunge uine katurukwa.” Translated to English, it says, “It’s only the one who has something hanging who will panic if he hears a sound of something falling.” Now the whole GC2019 outcome has been turned against the Africans. What a betrayal from people who claim to be your allies!

Push for adoption of exit plans and pensions for Americans

African delegates also were not told that the conservatives wanted help to protect their pensions and gain support for an exit plan.

At first Africans were told everything was tied to a dissolution plan. American conservatives claimed The United Methodist Church was so rotten that the only option left was to dissolve it and share the spoils with the Wesleyan Covenant Association to start a new denomination. Fortunately, African Bishops saw the dissolution plans and realized what was going on, so they issued a statement that they were not going to support any plan to dissolve The United Methodist Church.

When they were caught out by the African bishops, the American conservatives twigged the name of their petition to “gracious exit.” Then the Reform & Renewal Coalition shifted its strategy to preserving pensions and allowing “disaffiliation,” which to me is their backdoor version of dissolution.

Then on the first day of GC2019 Americans pressed African delegates to make sure they prioritized security of their pensions. By their vote, conservatives and progressives showed they agreed that their pensions were more important than the unity plans that GC2019 actually was called to decide! How the Africans accepted the idea that securing the American clergy pensions was a higher priority than dealing with United Methodist unity baffles me. How could American clergy pensions have topped voting guidelines given to African delegates as priority to stop homosexuals from being ordained or married in the church? Most of the African clergy delegates who were told to prioritize American clergy pensions do not have any pensions themselves.  What a great betrayal, what a harvest of thorns for the Africans!

Neocolonialism at GC2019

What I witnessed at GC2019 was purely disgraceful neocolonialism.

As we all now know, the exit plans were intended to give the Wesleyan Covenant Association a way to loot the reserve funds of the denomination on their way out. Furthermore, the preferred disaffiliation plan by WCA and Good News was meant to decimate the funding reserves of annual conferences and the General Boards and Agencies of the denomination, in favor of covering unfunded pensions liability and future pension liability of churches that choose to leave the denomination. This was aimed to cause financial consequences for The United Methodist Church, but the Reform & Renewal Coalition never disclosed these facts to the African delegates. What other neocolonialism is worse than taking advantage of African delegates’ limited access to U.S. information on what really each of the petitions was meant to do?

The Renewal & Reform Coalition used General Conference 2019 to export to Africa its divisions and mistrust. The very same tactics Europeans used in the conquest for Africa after the 1884 Berlin conference are now being used by American conservatives in The United Methodist Church.

A bit of history: When Africa was colonized Europeans encouraged uprisings against the kings. The colonizers supported those who were disgruntled either because they’d lost kingship or were impatient for their turn in the kingship rotation. These groups became fertile soil to plant the divisive toxic virus that resulted in Africans fighting each other, helping colonialists conquering our mother land. WCA and Good News have employed the very same tactic, shamefully being done in the name of Christ. Yes, colonization was done in the name of Christianizing and civilizing Africa. Remember Europe’s three Cs that justified Colonization: bringing Christianity, Civilization and Commerce to Africa.

So here’s how American conservatives used to the same tactics to export the poisonous virus of division to Africa. A friend who attended the Illinois gathering set up for African delegates told me, “They told delegates and pastors that they should not listen to their African Bishops because they do not know what they are doing.” This is the highest level of disrespectful, colonial maneuvering, undermining the indigenous leaders.

Using bitter elements

From the time the African Bishops made their statement not to support dissolution plans, the Renewal & Reform coalition made sure that for their African rank-and-file they recruited people who have run for the episcopacy but were put off by their Central Conferences. The WCA and Good News have recruited these bitter elements and are using them to fuel and fund divisions in African conferences. They encourage those who have been advised by their leadership not to go to their toxic meetings to rebel and attend anyway on “scholarships.” At these meetings they learn how to divide people, receiving coaching them on how best they can be toxic.

Now in the aftermath of GC2019, anyone who speaks about the errors in the so-called Traditional Plan is being demonized in Africa. People who stood for UMC unity, supporting the One Church recommendation of the Council of Bishops, have been labeled homosexuals or accused of trying to import homosexuality into Africa. The WCA and Good News are aware that this toxic virus may actually cost some lives in Africa, where homosexuality is a criminal offense. People are going to lose their jobs and perhaps their property and their lives through victimization as WCA and Good News continue funding bitter elements against our bishops.

General Conference 2019 showed clearly that the Wesleyan Covenant Association and Good News are promoting divisions and undermining African bishops using colonial divide-and-rule tactics. If the Renewal & Reform Coalition continues to feed toxic venom into our African continent, it will not be long before The United Methodist Church will be associated with body bags in the streets of some rabidly anti-gay countries such as Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe. American conservatives must be aware that they are funding potential genocide on a continent that can be very volatile on political and moral issues such as homosexuality.

The final betrayal

After General Conference, as the churches in the USA and Europe began to resist the results, WCA and Good News made public statements stating that they both love and support LGBTQ people and they are going to welcome them into their churches. WCA even made it clear that they will be welcoming homosexuals into their new denomination. What a betrayal by these groups who told Africa that homosexuals must be kicked out of The United Methodist Church!

By making these public statements WCA and Good News are telling the whole connection that it was Africans who hated LGBTQ people and that it is Africa that wants to split the UMC. Their African spokesman wrote a letter telling the connection that we need to split the church over our views on homosexuality. Just after the spokesman’s statement, WCA and Good News published statements to the contrary, turning the possibility of schism into Africa’s burden. What a great betrayal and a harvest of thorns!

I was not surprised when a friend reported the remarks of a WCA leader who serves as pastor at one of the big churches in Houston, Texas: “After these votes, we are going to drop the Africans like a bad habit.” Now with this attitude the American conservatives continue to try meeting behind closed doors, as they did with mostly African bishops at the recent Council of Bishops meeting, in order to demonstrate to the rest of the connection that they are in control of the Central Conferences. Anything that is done behind closed doors remains suspicious; we all know that the light is best sanitizer.

As a black African son of the soil and a United Methodist, I see the General Conference 2019 as Africa’s great betrayal and the denomination’s harvest of thorns. May God bless United Methodists in Africa as we push back on this neocolonial toxic divisive virus being dropped into our continent from the American Reform & Renewal Coalition. I stand with and believe in the unity and global connection of The United Methodist Church. God is not yet done with the people called United Methodists across the globe.

The Rev. Lloyd T. Nyarota is a United Methodist elder from Zimbabwe who is now serving a two-point United Church of Canada charge in the province of Alberta. He has served as a consultant for the United Methodist Board of Church and Society. His article presents his own views and not necessarily those of United Methodist Insight.