Sisters and Brothers in Christ in the Michigan United Methodist Church,
Greetings in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the peace and power of the Holy Spirit.
Last week the Council of Bishops met for their spring meeting. Among many agenda items, two occupied significant time and attention. The Council of Bishops received a draft of a final report from the Commission on a Way Forward, and proposed actions to the 2019 General Conference based on that report. The Council has released a statement on its action.
The Council of Bishops also canvassed the results of the voting on five Constitutional Amendments passed by the 2016 General Conference and sent out for a vote among the Annual and Central Conferences. Both of the amendments related to gender and inclusivity failed to receive the necessary support to be adopted. The Council of Bishops released a statement reacting to the results with dismay and re-stating our unequivocal commitment to the equality of women. The women in the Council of Bishops issued another statement as well. Download statement.
Allow me to address each in turn.
As you continue to process the news about the Commission on a Way Forward, I imagine that there are a range of responses including joy, disappointment, anger, confusion, fear, and hope. I encourage us all to acknowledge our thoughts, feelings, and questions. I also encourage us not to let our reactions morph into runaway reactivity. I hope offering some further reflection on the Council meeting will be of help in this. A press release cannot capture all that we bishops shared this past week.
Some of the conversations that the result of the Council of Bishop's deliberations on a Way Forward were to be expected. Some suppose that we as bishops are all about institutional maintenance. This was not what I experienced. Our meetings in February and now in May have been intense, honest, prayerful, and challenging. Bishops have expressed pain and vulnerability. We have disagreed respectfully and continued to be in conversation and relationship. We have reminded each other often of the mission, vision, and scope of the work of The Commission on a Way Forward. Their purpose was, in part, “to inform deliberation across the whole church and to help the Council of Bishops in their service to the next General Conference in finding a way forward.” As bishops, we were asked
to lead, but lead by serving the upcoming General Conference, which has the sole authority to make changes to The Book of Discipline. The vision of the Commission was to, “design a way for being church that maximizes the presence of a United Methodist witness in as many places as possible, allows for as much contextual differentiation as possible, and that balances an approach to different theological understandings of human sexuality with a desire for as much unity as possible.” Holding together the values of breadth of mission, context, and unity asked of us soulful reflection, deep conversation and prayer. The Council of Bishops was under no illusion that our actions would “solve” our current conflicts. We continue to ask what would help us compose the next chapter in our life together as a church? What furthers our mission in the world and how do we continue to have fruitful conversations about expanding the United Methodist witness in the variety of unique contexts our world presents?
To serve the 2019 General Conference, the Council of Bishops will forward to the delegates three plans considered by the Commission on a Way Forward (The Traditionalist Plan, the One Church Plan, and the Connectional Conferences plan). This will be accompanied by a narrative of our discernment and deliberation as a Council. We as a Council are also recommending that the General Conference adopt the One Church plan as our best way forward. I encourage you to review the Council press release for more details about our recommendation. As there remains some additional work to be done on each plan, the full details will not be released until early July. I know you have and will have many questions. There will be opportunities at our upcoming Annual Conference for discussion of a Way Forward. I am also in the process of organizing fall events for conversation, and those details will be coming soon.
Finally, I would like to say that as a Council we have been attempting to live together in a spirit of convicted humility. Convicted humility is “an attitude which combines honesty about the differing convictions which divide us with humility about the way in which each of our views may stand in need of correction. It also involves humble repentance for all the ways in which we have spoken and acted as those seeking to win a fight rather than those called to discern the shape of faithfulness together.” These words come from theological work done by and for the Commission on a Way Forward. I have been encouraging that kind of humility in my recent reflectionson our life together as Michigan United Methodists. I hope you will join me in seeking to cultivate this kind of convicted humility in our hearts, minds, and life together.
Our work as a Council on a Way Forward has been emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually intense. Into that work came the news that two constitutional amendments, both dealing with gender equality and inclusivity failed to garner sufficient support to become part of our Book of
Discipline. As this announcement was made, there was pain, and there were tears. Here is the language that would have been added to our constitution if the first amendment would have passed: As Holy Scripture reveals, both men and women are made in the image of God and, therefore, men and women are of equal value in the eyes of God. The United Methodist Church recognizes it is contrary to Scripture and logic to say that God is male or female, as maleness and femaleness are characteristics of human bodies and cultures, not attributes of the divine. The United Methodist Church acknowledges the long history of discrimination against women and girls. The United Methodist Church shall confront and seek to eliminate discrimination against women and girls, whether in organizations or individuals, in every facet of its life and society at large. The United Methodist Church shall work collaboratively with others to address concerns that threaten the cause of women’s and girl’s equality and well-being. While I cannot fully explain or comprehend why some opposed this amendment, I listened to the debate as some expressed concern about the essential biblical image of God as Father. Some viewed this amendment as a threat to that image, though I believe that to be a significant misunderstanding. I would encourage us at this time to think more deeply about the distinction between a central metaphor and a literal description. I might describe someone as a “warm” person, and it will be an essential part of how I know them. It will have nothing to do with their bodily temperature. God as Father is vitally important to how many, including many of the biblical writers and Jesus himself, know and experience
God. Scripture also testifies that God is Spirit (John 4:24) and that maleness and femaleness are somehow both related to the essence of God (Genesis 1:27). When we exclusively attribute maleness to God, we risk perpetuating power relationships that work against healing, wholeness, love and the recognition of the full humanity of women and girls. The constitutional amendments were not passed, yet I hope you will join me and your bishops in our renewed commitment to the full inclusivity of women in the life of the church.
It was quite a week. This is quite a time for The United Methodist Church. It is a time fraught with peril and possibility, a time when we know change is needed but continue to discern the shape of those required changes. The church has always lived in times which call for discernment and convicted humility. Breathe. Pray. Cultivate a mind of wisdom and a heart of peace and love. Listen well. Speak gently.
In Hebrews 11, that beautiful chapter on faith, the writer uses the image of a people on a journey, people who “from a distance” see and greet the new future God is making possible (11:13). “For people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland” (11:14). As followers of Jesus Christ, we are a people on a journey, people seeking God’s newer world. I do not know how we might continue to navigate the next part of our journey, or what the shape of “united” in The United Methodist Church may be. I do know that God’s love is constant, and I know that because of Jesus, the risen Christ. I know that God continues to work to transform lives and transform the world. This is God’s work of forgiveness, healing, freeing, reconciliation, peace, breaking down dividing walls, building community, feeding the hungry, working with those in poverty, and caring for the planet. I know that grace is both to know the love of God in Jesus and to join God’s work in the world. We who speak in this way make it clear that we are seeking a homeland. We have not yet arrived at that homeland, God’s newer world. In a sense we have, for we always find a home in the heart of God’s love. Know that love deeply. Live that love passionately. Share that love wastefully. To do so is to find that the journey is our home.
Bishop David Bard
Michigan Area Bishop David Alan Bard
Grace and Peace,
Bishop David Alan Bard, Michigan
This post is republished with permission from the bishop's e-newsletter.