Peace Without Justice

by

So, it is official. Supposedly, all of the parts of the United Methodist Church got together and decided it was time to amicably and prayerfully separate. They sought the will of God carefully and with God’s wisdom, designed a plan that would benefit everyone involved and most importantly, prioritize the Kingdom of God.

Yeah, pull my other leg and it’ll play Jingle Bells.

This is not what happened at all. Like I said, this is the narrative they will use, but it is far past time for United Methodists to open their eyes and wake up. This is thievery, pure and simple.

First, and perhaps of greatest importance, while the press releases they professionally roll out of this decision with states that every part of the church was part of this decision, that simply is not true. Process matters. The group not present at this signing are liberationists - those who have fought for years with their lives and their authentic Christian witness for the church to be fully affirmational of LGBTQ+ people. Liberationists are the ones who also believe keeping the institutional status quo is not tenable with seeking first God’s Kin-dom. Vertical hierarchies and corporate ladders to professional success are not parallel with the teachings of Jesus. Liberationists were not present and we do not give our assent.

But what this signing does accomplish is thievery. Fundamentalists who want to deny LGBTQ people their status as children of God and members of the Body of Christ and who have spent their lives bashing the agencies and leaders of the United Methodist institution - and many of whom have also refused to pay apportionments for years, if not decades - all will get a nice fat check for $25 million for all of their work.

So, groups like the Institution for Religion and Democracy, a ridiculous neo-con attack group that repeatedly lied about me and people I worked with at a general board - yep, they get to reap the rewards from their complete lies, misstatements, and refusal to tell the truth about where their secret funding comes from. Another aptly named group - Good News - who also repeatedly and falsely attacked those working for justice and who undermined the justice work of the denomination for decades - they will take their cut straight to the bank! And United Methodists are footing the bill for this burglary!

While people who have tirelessly worked for full inclusion and for the church to authentically witness to the sacredness of immigrants, the incarcerated, the workers, and the poor - if they want to break away because they are tired of the complete and utter BS of institutional liberals who prefer to cower in front of fundamentalists than actually lead progressives into new expressions of God’s church - they get to fight over crumbs from the table. Seriously, it pays to attack first and collect your check later.

This is what the United Methodist Church values. The UMC values the people who have spent their lives and their considerable resources undermining and attacking it and it turns its back on those who have faithfully labored for it all their lives.

Let’s be honest about what this is. This is the battered spouse paying the court costs of the batterer so that everyone can just go back to their respective isolated worlds and not be bothered by the fighting anymore. United Methodists who simply want to be done with the fighting are the children of divorce who are tired of the pain and are fine with an unjust settlement.

Who benefits from this? The fundamentalists of course, but so do institutional liberals who now get to maintain their mini-fiefdoms, a portion of their funding, and their beloved titles for their titles give them their identity.

Jesus has called us to forsake everything - especially those things that we form our identities with - and follow Jesus. But following Jesus has absolutely nothing to do with this agreement. This is about money. It always has been about money and for the United Methodist Empire, it always will.

Yes, I left the UMC several years ago, but if I hadn’t, I would today. I mean right now. This minute. I would never allow my allegiance to something blind me from the injustice that is unfolding before my eyes. I won’t let injustice be perpetrated by my silence either. I hope others won’t as well.

Believe it or not, God’s Kin-dom is happening all around us and I hope more folks will leave the Empire and find it. We are not that far away.

Layman Bill Mefford has spent over thirteen years working with people of faith from across the United States building grassroots movements to end mass incarceration, defend and support the rights of immigrants, abolish the death penalty, end gun violence, and ensure religion is not used to harm others. This post is republished with permission from his blog, Fig Tree Revolution.