Delegates Look to Africa as Crucial in General Conference Vote on Regionalization

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Great Plains Conference | April 3, 2024

Two of the Great Plains Conference’s clergy delegates to General Conference believe that the African vote will be crucial to efforts for regionalization to become reality in The United Methodist Church and for American churches to have their own say about human sexuality. 

Rev. Dr. Kalaba Chali said that the key will be acceptance by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the second largest voting block to the United States. 

“If 85% of U.S. delegates, and 85% DRC delegates agree to go one way, it doesn’t matter for the rest of the church what they vote,” Chali said. “It will pass.” 

Rev. David Livingston said any progress made in Charlotte, North Carolina, from April 23 to May 3 would be contingent on the African continent’s votes. 

“The African delegation’s going to be playing a huge role for regionalization in particular,” Livingston said. “Regionalization will happen if the churches and the people in Africa choose for regionalization to happen. There’s not going to be enough votes for or against without having a majority of the support of Africa.” 

Chali, Wichita districts superintendent, is a native of Zambia who received his call to ministry in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and earned his undergraduate degree in Zimbabwe. 

Livingston, pastor of Fairway Old Mission UMC, was among 15 American clergy invited to observe a two-day conference of many of the African nations in early January in Tanzania. 

The central conferences of Africa, Chali said — Africa (which includes the southern and eastern countries), West Africa (along the Atlantic Coast) and the Congo (landlocked countries in the central) — have differing attitudes. 

“The terms ‘progressives’ and ‘conservatives’ don’t apply in the African continent. People are trying to fit it in, but there’s no equivalence,” he said. 

They differ with the U.S. on gun rights (“The people who are aligning with that group will tell you that you don’t need a gun as a Christian, you need Jesus”) and immigration (“Isn’t it Christian to welcome immigrants in the Bible?”), Chali said. 

But the biggest difference comes in the matter of human sexuality, “I wouldn’t say 100%, but it’s a significant majority” of Africans believe homosexuality is a sin, Chali said, and in some countries, it is a crime punishable by death. 

In the Congo and Africa Central conferences, Chali said, he sees the biggest support for regionalization. 

“They are signaling they want to stay in The United Methodist Church,” he said. “I keep seeing that that doesn’t mean they want to change (the stance on) human sexuality. They’ll support regionalization and stay in The United Methodist Church.” 

The area does not want to reopen the door for the disaffiliation process, he added. 

“What I’m hearing more and more from the Congo is that they see disaffiliation as extreme as human sexuality,” Chali said. 

Chali said he sees support especially from the Congo for regionalization. 

“In the Congo, The United Methodist Church is more than a church, it’s an institution of the society,” he said. “They have hospitals, they have schools. They have a voice they can use in political matters, like the Catholics. If you’re going to say, ‘We’re not The United Methodist Church,’ you’re going to lose a lot of that.” 

Regionalization, he said, means those who believe homosexuality is a sin can keep their principles and stay in the denomination. 

“Voting for regionalization doesn’t mean we have changed our view,” he said. “In fact, some of them are saying they want to say that we are voting for regionalization so we can clearly say on the African continent that marriage in our discipline is between a man and a woman. They are hoping regionalization gives them that power.” 

If approved by the General Conference, resolutions would be taken before respective annual conferences for ratification. If two-thirds of them vote aggregate in favor, the change is made in the Book of Discipline. 

“I think, cautiously, they could be close to 68, 69%” of the annual conferences, he said. “It’s possible it could be higher, but I estimate lower.” 

Livingston said that Americans sometimes forget that the continent of Africa is more than three times the size of the United States. 

“We forget sometimes here in the U.S. that it would be absurd for me to say, ‘Here’s what Americans think,’” he said. “We generalize, and it’s not fair.” 

However, Livingston said he is hopeful about progress at General Conference. 

“Generally speaking, the people in Africa want to remain United Methodist. It’s important for them not to include LGBTQ inclusion,” he said. “The question is, can we resolve that tension point. They definitely want both of those, and regionalization would be a way to get there.” 

Livingston said two prominent groups, the African Initiative (supported by the conservative Good News and Wesley Covenant Association) and the African Forum (more aligned with the Christmas Covenant) are contending for the upper hand at General Conference. 

“Which of those two groups is more representative of Africa. Quite frankly I don’t think anyone in the United States knows what the answer to that question is,” Livingston said, adding that the African Forum seemed to align more with what American delegates refer to as compatibilists. 

Livingston said it was a “great experience” to visit Tanzania and see their church lawmaking group in person. 

“The African church has a different way of doing things. The resolution process was fascinating,” he said. 

No resolutions were initially presented, but committee members were listening for themes that emerged in conversation, he said. On the night before the final day, committee members wrote out statements that were presented to the body for their reaction and response. Voting was done by a simple show of hands. 

“It really reminded me of what Wesley had in mind about holy conferencing,” Livingston said. “That’s a realization why regionalization makes so much sense, because we process things in different ways.  

“I left with a lot of hope that we’re going to try to find a way to stay together.” 

Livingston and Chali are both optimistic that they will leave Charlotte with renewed hope for the denomination. 

“My hope would be that people from the United States and African countries, and the Philippines and European countries are all able to say that there’s always been a case when there are things we disagree about. And we’re also bound by the common love we have for each other and the love God for us and the love we have for Christ,” Livingston said. “The bond we have through that love is stronger than the divisiveness and the division that comes from our differences.” 

Livingston also said the outcome would have to be better than the 2019 special session in St. Louis, where “even those whose legislative priorities won felt like they lost. I really do believe this is one where we will come out stronger. In 2019, we all felt weaker.” 

Chali said he believes a majority of Africans are ready for regionalization. 

“It will be different (than 2019), I think, because of scenarios of people fighting for their own battle,” he said. “In the U.S. they will be fighting for change in marriage. In Zimbabwe, they will be fighting to stay and to keep the church alive. Regionalization is the only way to do that.”

United Methodist News Service looks at regionalization in four-part series.

David Burke is a content specialist for the Great Plains Annual Conference. This article is republished with permission from the conference website.