Stuck

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The United Methodist Church (UMC) is being drained of life by two things that have long been its strengths: theological diversity and institutional connection.

Since its earliest days, Methodism has made decisions through delegated bodies, and the General Conference (GC) is the sole entity that can set policy and speak for the UMC. This process of participatory governance seeks to find common ground through Christian conferencing. However, like the polarized US Senate, the slimmest majority can force its will on the entire body.

Once known as a big tent church that embraced diverse views, the church’s differences over LGBTQ inclusion have driven it to the breaking point. Decades of conflict led to a stalemate, with progressives seeking change, conservatives seeking to leave, and moderates seeking unity and peace. The UMC finally seemed poised to resolve these tensions through a negotiated protocol for separation, which required the action of the May 2020 GC.

The COVID-19 pandemic stopped that movement in its tracks, as it did the rest of the world. But whereas other institutions quickly adapted, the UMC’s connectional structure prevents it from moving forward. The challenges of gathering 862 delegates from around the world has led to GC being postponed twice, most recently to August 2022. Yet UMC polity does not allow for any other body to make decisions on the critical issue of separation.

Denominational leadership between GC sessions lies with the Council of Bishops, who have provided spiritual guidance in this difficult time, but have been largely powerless to do anything to move the denomination forward. Using their authority to call a special GC, the bishops planned a one-day virtual session to deal with essential business. That plan was quickly abandoned after some GC delegates feared it would not allow for Christian conferencing, conservatives objected to the omission the separation plan from the agenda, and UMs outside the US noted that it would disenfranchise them.

The bishops asked the UMC Judicial Council to rule on the constitutionality of the Protocol for separation, hoping to at least resolve some concerns around the proposal and prevent further delay following the expected GC action in 2022. However, the Judicial Council refused to rule on proposed legislation that has not yet been adopted by GC.

Participatory government has many virtues, but like other bureaucratic structures, it lacks the nimbleness to respond quickly to changing circumstances. Early in the pandemic, people lined up for hours at food banks, while farmers plowed over crops and dumped vats full of milk. Our food distribution system was designed to supply restaurants, and it took time to adjust to different consumption patterns. Likewise, the UMC relies on a complex structure, but in this case, there is no CEO or board of directors who can intervene and make emergency decisions.

Local churches soon adapted to online worship and ministry, but the larger UMC is powerless to make such adjustments. The world greatly needs the ministries that are supported by the UMC connection, but church agencies are experiencing drastic cuts, due to both church division and the pandemic. Frustrated by the stalled process of separation, progressive and conservative congregations are leaving the denomination.

As a lifelong Methodist, I mourn the loss of the good that this large connectional church has done in the areas of disaster relief, global health, and higher education. But at this time when such ministries are most needed, the UMC is stuck – undone by connectional polity that prevents the resolution of its own internal strife.