An Open Letter to Tom Lambrecht from Bishop Elaine Stanovsky

Bishop Confronts Good News' Exec for Violating Way Forward Guideline

March 21, 2018

2:33 PM

March 21, 2018

An Open Letter

To Rev. Tom Lambrecht, member of the Commission on a Way Forward

From Elaine Stanovsky, bishop of the Greater Northwest Area of The United Methodist Church

My heart is not at war. I am not using clergy and staff appointments to undermine the unity of the Church or the work of the Commission on a Way Forward. My heart was at peace when I appointed Rev. Kathleen Weber to my cabinet. It was at peace when I approved hiring Rev. Brett Webb-Mitchell by the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference. These are two deeply faithful, highly qualified, effective leaders, well suited for the ministry contexts they are called to serve. They were not chosen for their sexual orientation. I did not disqualify them because they are honest about their relationships.

I’ll admit that I felt defensive when I read your article, “Northwest United Methodist Defiance.”i “Poke in the eye,” “overt defiance,” “callous disregard,” “double-barreled assault,” “escalation,” “in your face repudiation.” Why do you think you know my heart? We never had a conversation.

So, I returned to the The Anatomy of Peace,ii recommended by the Commission on a Way Forward and the Council of Bishops as a way to disarming ourselves for the difficult conversations the Church needs to have. I re-read the section called, “From War to Peace,” and practiced the steps for “getting out of the box” of self-justification and blaming:

Photo Courtesy of Good News Magazine

Tom Lambrecht

The Rev. Thomas Lambrecht, executive vice president of Good News, an unofficial caucus of evangelical United Methodists.

Look for the signs of self-justification and blaming. This was easy for me. You took two of my actions out of context, weaponized them with aggressive rhetoric, and lobbed them into the last meeting of the Commission. You misrepresented my motives. You never asked me what I believe, why I believe what I believe or why I lead the way I lead. And you didn’t even have the courtesy to send me your article. I first saw it when a friend forwarded it to me as an email distributed on March 16, 2018, three days before it was available publicly as a blog on the Good News Magazine website. You aren’t practicing the practices that the Commission recommends.
Find an out-of-the box place. There was a time when a colleague lashed out at me in a meeting, accusing me of racism. I broke into tears and retreated from the meeting and the accusation. A friend sought me out, listened to my pain and invited me to be the whole and well person he knew that I could be. My heart returned to peace and I was able to approach the person I had offended, and begin a long slow journey to healing.

Ponder the situation anew. What are this person’s challenges, trials, burdens and pains? How am I adding to them? Wow! I only know you as a guy who attacks from a safe distance rather than picking up the phone. Can I cultivate curiosity about what pain you bear? How are your opinions and actions shaped by your love of Jesus?

Act upon what I have discovered; do what I think I should do. I think I should not strike back. I should respond with curiosity. Yet, I think I should not remain silent. I invite you to play fair. I invite you to disarm. Despite deep misgivings, I will give you the benefit of my doubt – that you might want our United Methodist Church to be strong into the future and faithful to God’s leading as much as I do. I hope and pray this is true. If it is true, and we are willing, God can teach each of us to love the other as we love ourselves. I invite you to talk with me before you write about me. I invite you to send me a copy of anything you write about me before you send it to your email distribution list or post it on the internet. I will commit to abiding by the same standard in the future.

You are meeting with the Commission on a Way Forward as I write. I pray for you, Tom, and for the work of the Commission. I pray for the future of our church, that we will find a way to continue to share the good news of Jesus Christ, even as we continue to seek to understand the fullness of God’s intention for humankind. I hope that, as a member of the Commission, you are leading us in the way the Commission said it would at the beginning. Do you remember?

The Commission will design a way for being church that maximizes the presence of a United Methodist witness in as many places in the world as possible, that 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.

(http://www.umc.org/who-we-are/commission-on-a-way-forward-about-us)

We need a Church that aspires to this vision: one church, a variety of expressions; one body, many parts. In the Northwest we’re cultivating this spirit, in support of the Commission’s work, as we send 50 trained leaders across the area to facilitate Table Talks about the Way Forward between now and June, and dedicate 4 ½ hours during our Annual Conference sessions to The Anatomy of Peace and small group conversations. God is at work when two or three gather. I’m expecting miracles.

The Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

Sincerely,

Bishop Elaine JW Stanovsky

i “Northwest United Methodist Defiance,” by Thomas Lambrecht, circulated by email from ifo@goodnewsmag.org on Friday, March 16, 2018, and posted as personal blog on Monday, March 19, http://tomlambrecht.goodnewsmag.org/northwest-united-methodist-defiance/.

ii The Anatomy of Peace, resolving the heart of conflict, The Arbinger Institute, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2006.

Comments (4)

Comment Feed

Bishop Stanovsky Feelings Hurt

The reality is that church law prohibits the ordination of practicing homosexuals. ¶ 304.3 Qualifications for Ordination does not leave anything open to interpretation, it's clear. When Bishops step outside the law even with the best intentions, they have sinned "and punishment will follow." Romans 13:1-2

When leaders of a denomination set aside any one of the rules of the law making body, they have set them all aside. The Discipline should not and cannot be interpreted as an a la carte book of guidance rather than church law.

What bishops like Stanovsky have done completely shreds the very fabric of a united church. Breaking church doctrine by an appointed bishop is nothing short of malfeasance in office.

Brother Thom, NewWesleyan.org more than 3 years ago

The Way Forward

My heart also aches when colleagues choose to select a few words or comments, then use them in a public forum to attack the motives of another. I am weary of reading the harsh attacks from leaders of the IRD, Good News Caucus and the WCA against our Bishops. I pray that all the members of The Way Forward will seek to speak for themselves, rather than assume to know the motives of others. We deserve better.

Bill Pyatt more than 6 years ago

We no longer understand each other

If Bishop Stanovsky is hurt by Tom Lambrecht's words it is because they are operating with two totally different understandings of how the church functions. And truthfully, it is Bishop Stanovsky who is reinventing how the church functions when she continues to work outside the parameters of what the General Conference has stated since 1972. The church was designed for Bishops who are willing to enforce the will of General Conference, not operate off their individual conscience. And there is a Church that embodies many expressions, it is most definitely NOT The United Methodist Church but rather the holy catholic/universal Church of which The United Methodist Church is called to be only one small, unique part of. I listened to every voice I could find within the UMC from shortly before GC2012 to shortly after GC2016. By the time I stopped my image of the The UMC went from being a gianormous square raft with umpteen oars lining the sides each paddling the best it knew how to cats with their tails tied together. We cannot keep up the charade that we are united when there are absolutely no beliefs held in common that promote true unity.

betsy more than 6 years ago

Book summary

The book addresses how we collude with those we oppose in producing the very things we say we’re fighting against. There is a long section on self-justification and how our own preferred methods for doing it serve to perpetuate conflicts. And there is a pyramid of actions that emphasizes personal work and building relationships before attempting anything like correction.

Chad more than 6 years ago