Episcopal Address Calls UMC to Spiritual Renewal, Mission

A United Methodist Insight Exclusive

In the powerful cadences reminiscent of historic African-American preaching, Bishop Gregory V. Palmer called the 2016 General Conference and the entire United Methodist Church to a spiritual renewal based on humility, steeped in prayer, and propelled by trust of and obedience to God as an antidote to the toxic polarization that threatens the denomination's future.

"The 2012 GC took something out of this church in dramatic proportions," Bishop Palmer said about halfway through the address. "In the days and weeks after Tampa, voices throughout the church of every ilk to describe what they had observed – discouragement, fear, disappointment, a waste of time, money, resources.

"All of us who are part of General Conference 2016 have been called here by no one less than the Living God – God in Christ desires to be at work in and through the UMC. We are not here for a pity party or to lick wounds or to moan our shortcomings, but to invest ourselves completely in discerning the next steps to take faithfully for the United Methodist Church."

Holding to part of the Episcopal Address tradition, Bishop Palmer spent a few minutes recounting some of the clearly successful institutional accomplishments of the past four years:

  • The nearly complete successful of Imagine No Malaria
  • The church's response to the Ebola crisis in West Africa through the United Methodist Committee on Relief.
  • Providing clean drinking water – "whether it's in Freetown, Sierra Leone or Flint, Mich.," Bishop Palmer said.
  • Bible Studies in jails
  • Welcoming "new neighbors" (migrants and refugees) all around the world. "We are the church that welcomes our new neighbors."
  • Creating "new places for new people" through new and innovative church starts and
  • Developing principled Christian leaders.

Yet it was the continued emphasis on spiritual renewal that drew applause and standing ovations from the delegates and observers gathered in the Oregon Convention Center.

"I refuse to live into despair as 'the new normal'," Bishop Palmer proclaimed. "I see these signs of hope where God is at work through us as a check on unbridled cynicism. In the words of the old gospel hymn, 'I feel like going on and I intend to see what's going to be!'"

Bishop Palmer then illustrated his point about the toxic polarization that has engulfed United Methodism with a story about his friendship with the late Bob Williams, a layman in the Iowa Annual Conference where Palmer first served as a bishop. (Iowa has a history of welcoming first-time African-American bishops in the North Central Jurisdiction).

"Bob was a passionate person," Bishop Palmer said. "He wanted the church and the world outside the church to see our possibilities – to see everything - through the lens of Jesus Christ. EVERYTHING. In one of our conversations, he grabbed me by the lapel and leaned in so close I could feel his breath. Then he said something I've never forgotten: 'Greg, our relationships - especially in the church - are so superficial that we will not even risk saying something that we might have to go back and apologize for.'

Bishop Palmer summarized the polarization in The United Methodist Church as "mutually assured destruction." He said: "Our disagreements have led to unbridled acrimony that has led to seeing those with whom we disagree as something other than a fully human being beloved of God. Our capacity to turn on one another is destroying the soul of this church! Our willingness to turn on each other rather than toward each other is undermining the mission of the church!

As for the difficult work facing the 864 delegates to the 2016 General Conference, Bishop Palmer said the global legislative assembly's success wouldn't be measure by its decisions, its outcomes or even the headlines used by both church and secular media.

"Our very credibility and integrity are suspect and they are suspect if we get all the words right but our behavior does not resemble the words," Bishop Palmer said. "Our church sits at the intersection of "both-and" where everyone here is a child of God. Hard stop. Period. End of discussion."

The bishop said that The United Methodist Church's mission – to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world – made it urgent for all in The United Methodist Church to "change our ways.

"Too many United Methodists are complacent and lethargic about our mission," Bishop Palmer said. "They are more fearful of institutional failure than they are warmed about saving souls and transforming the world. … We're hesitant to invite others to join us on this journey lest we be called extremist.

Bishop Palmer then quoted the Rev. Thom White Wolf Fassett, a delegate from western New York and former top executive of the General Board of Church and Society: "We need to discover again the vocation of being full-time Christians.

"We must engage our mission as completely as we can. We have been commissioned by no one less than the Risen Christ to do it," the bishop concluded, drawing a standing ovation from the assembly.

The Episcopal Address, a "state-of-the-church" overview presented by the Council of Bishops, traditionally is written by a chosen speaker from among active bishops and perfected by the entire Council. At a press conference after the speech, Bishop Palmer said the address took 2-1/2 years to write and perfect.

The bishop told gathered church media representatives that he was asked by the General Commission on the General Conference to fashion the Episcopal Address around the chosen theme for the 2016 General Conference, "Therefore, Go …", based on Jesus' instruction to his followers in Matthew 28 to baptize others and share his teachings. During the press conference, Bishop Palmer said he took responsibility for the "tone-setting" address that pulled no punches about the damage inflected on the UMC by its continuing suspicion and polarization.

Responding to reporters' questions, Bishop Palmer said he hoped that the messages of the Episcopal Address would spread widely throughout the worldwide United Methodist denomination.

"My hope is that we will draw closer to one another, not perhaps at General Conference, but in our continuing communities of faith," the bishop said. "We must close the trust gap in the church."

United Methodist Insight Editor & Founder Cynthia B. Astle has reported on General Conferences since 1988.