Stuck.
After careful consideration and much prayer for over 34 years, in which I have pastored churches, attended/participated in several Annual, General, and Jurisdictional Conferences and denominational events, visiting churches of every kind and stripe, listening and reading what every special interest group and lobby has to espouse, being a part of one called General Conference, a postponed General Conference, and now reading about a special-called-session-but-now-reconsidered-and-cancelled session of General Conference, I have come to this conclusion:
Normal, everyday people in the pews are far, far better at doing and being the church than any delegates (clergy or lay), pastors, bishops, or special interest groups. Anything that has an acronym these days probably needs a serious reboot and our avoidance. Regardless of what "side" they represent.
There are certainly extremes out there in Methodist land: those who don't believe in the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, those who don't believe in baptizing babies, those who deny Christ's divinity, those who deny Christ's humanity. Some people, even bishops, tell you the stories of the most extreme worst-case scenarios they can whip up. Each side demonizes, will even lie, for "the cause." Americans have learned all these things from our political parties and the CIA, and now church leaders have co-opted them to split and divide the church.
These folks that are the extremes, the exceptions, the noisy... they are far from the majority, who simply want to worship, pray, try to make their community a little better place, and serve their Lord. The extremes want to wage war because they cannot survive in peace.
I won't use the word "centrist" or "middle" anymore, even in describing myself. Those words have been demonized now to label folks, too. I have a better word:
Stuck.
Stuck. That's where the majority of United Methodists are. Stuck. I daresay that's where most folks in the world are: Stuck. Stuck between false polarities. Stuck between warring factions. Stuck in a family feud. Stuck.
If I were going to give any advice in all this, I'd say: for a season, ignore most of what you read on social media. Ignore the "People are saying," when they won't tell you who the people are. Go to your local church. Focus on your local church. Worship. Pray about how it makes a difference, and can make a future difference in the world. Pray that you might be faithful to what God is asking you to do instead of friends, foes, and critics.
Someone once said, "All politics are local." That's mostly right. In this season, I think it's probably best for those of us in the church who are STUCK.
Many years ago, the group Stealers Wheel came out with a song: "Stuck in the middle with you." Gerry Rafferty was the most well-known of the group. I think it sums up where the MAJORITY of United Methodists are: Stuck.
v.2 "Trying to make some sense of it all
But I see it makes no sense at all.
Is it cool to go to sleep on the floor?
I don't think that I can take anymore."
Chorus: "Clowns to the left of me,
Jokers to the right,
Here I am stuck in the middle with you."
stuck in the middle with you
The Rev. Sky McCracken
The Rev. Sky McCracken serves as senior pastor of First United Methodist Church in Jackson, Tenn. This post is republished with his permission from Facebook.