Be UMC B/W
As I pray and continue to find healing and perspective after last year's season of church disaffiliations from the main body of the UMC, on a recent retreat I wrote down these twelve convictions. What would yours be?
My Twelve Convictions
1. Ministry is messy because relationships are messy. It’s by grace that we are saved! I love church because it’s the gift God gave us to bring people to Christ. So I embrace the messiness with joy. I choose the Jesus way and work things out in love.
2. As I said in my book, “the arc of Christian history bends toward inclusion.” Christianity, since the early church, has reformed itself over and over to come back to this gospel value. Here we are again. Reform is painful but it’s necessary to meet the times.
3. My personal views were changed by decades of ministry with LGBTQ+ Christians, in and beyond my local church. The idea that you can’t be gay and be Christian is bogus. I know too many that are. Their witness formed me over time. I have experienced the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15 in slow motion.
4. I don’t worship Wesley. But I find the Wesleyan way an unparalleled, balanced, and passionate expression of biblical Christianity. Wesley’s sermon “The Scripture Way of Salvation” and our core doctrines in the Discipline spell it out. I just love being a mainline United Methodist. I believe the holiness tradition the separatists claim is a derivative of Wesleyan spirituality. I don’t believe we can arrive at a sinless life. I choose to be overwhelmed by grace!
5. It’s clear from Wesley’s writings, especially “On Schism” and “The Catholic Spirit,” that he would be mortified by how the separatist leadership has functioned over the last ten years. The secessionists caused the schism, not the people they demonized.
6. The initial concerns were valid … how do we move forward in light of dramatic changes in our culture? But the WCA formed in 2016 to openly plan schism. They overturned the One Church Plan presented by the Commission on a Way Forward in 2019, though they knew they would probably leave anyway. They also knew full and well that the Traditional Plan was not sustainable, so I have concluded that it was never intended for unity. It was to say “either they’re leaving, or we’re leaving.” I saw this from the beginning and protested. It turns out they followed through with their end game.
7. The separatists did not leave the UMC for theological or biblical reasons. They left for sociological reasons, rooted in American culture wars and ideological politics. They simply made justification for it using the Bible and theology. This exposed the underbelly of American religious history, as such movements have done in the past. I love our religious freedom because it leads more people to Christ, but this experience has shown me this is the biggest pitfall.
8. Diversity, not division, is a sign of the Holy Spirit. Unity has never been the same thing as uniformity. Wesley coined the phrase “agree to disagree” because he strove for perfection in love. Love is what matters. Love wins.
9. The gospels never even mention the hot button topics that separatists left over. But the gospels definitely teach about unity. Jesus prays for it for a whole chapter in John, noting that our unity comes from abiding in him (not agreeing on everything).
10. Yet here we are, and those who left us are our siblings in Christ who we must now love, just as we love people of other denominations. This will involve forgiveness and healing. I am on a journey of opening my heart.
11. The communion table is the gift Christ gave us to bring unity in our diversity. It’s not just about me and Jesus. It’s about the kingdom of God. We need to come back to the table in order to move forward. This message is the gift I brought to the larger discussion, for such a time as this.
12. The UMC can now robustly stand for the positive biblical value of unity in diversity, over against the divisiveness of our culture. We are unhindered by the divisions of the past and can truly embrace the vision of open minds, open hearts, and open doors. We can grow by bringing all kinds of people into vibrant relationship with Christ and a life of being immersed in grace. I’m excited about our future.
Steve West
The Rev. Dr. Stephen P. West has written a book, "Something Happens Here," on John Wesley's theology of Holy Communion as a way to foster unity in The United Methodist Church. (Courtesy Photo)
The Rev. Steve West describes himself as "husband, father, minister, musician and writer." He is the author of "Something Happens Here," a book on Holy Communion as a unifying force in The United Methodist Church. This post is republished with the author's permission from his blog, "Musings of a Musical Preacher."