Perceptions from a Pewboy

When things get confusing or tedious here at General Conference, I will occasionally turn to someone sitting next to me and whisper with a smile, “Remind me of something: It’s still all about Jesus, isn’t it?!”

Thus far, I have been assured that it is.

Most of my time during the last couple of days has been spent in my legislative section (Church and Society #1). In fact, it’s about 1:00 AM and I just arrived back at the hotel from our evening session. (By the way, the lack of sleep may impact my coherence and spelling at anny tiime!!)

The most substantive piece of legislation to come before my legislative section had to do with the recommendation of a new Social Creed for our denomination. In case some of you didn’t know that we have a Social Creed as United Methodists…well…we do! It was approved way back in 1908 and appears in our Book of Discipline (at the end of the Social Principles). The existing social creed is this:

We believe in God, Creator of the world; and in Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of creation. We believe in the Holy Spirit, through whom we acknowledge God’s gifts, and we repent of our sin in misusing these gifts to idolatrous ends.

We affirm the natural world as God’s handiwork and dedicate ourselves to its preservation, enhancement, and faithful use by humankind.

We joyfully receive for ourselves and others the blessings of community, sexuality, marriage, and the family.

We commit ourselves to the rights of men, women, children, youth, young adults, the aging, and people with disabilities; to improvement of the quality of life; and to the rights and dignity of racial, ethnic, and religious minorities.

We believe in the right and duty of persons to work for the glory of God and the good of themselves and others and in the protection of their welfare in so doing; in the rights to property as a trust from God, collective bargaining, and responsible consumption; and in the elimination of economic and social distress.

We dedicate ourselves to peace throughout the world, to the rule of justice and law among nations, and to individual freedom for all people of the world.

We believe in the present and final triumph of God’s Word in human affairs and gladly accept our commission to manifest the life of the gospel in the world. Amen.

Now, here is the proposed new social creed upon which my legislative section voted today:

Today is the day we accept that
God embraces all hues of humanity,
cares for the plight of the world’s children, and
weeps as we undo earth’s goodness,
And so shall we.

Today is the day we accept that
God values the health, healing, and wholeness of all life,
delights in difference and diversity, and
favors hospitality turning strangers into friends,
And so shall we.

Today is the day we accept that
God cries at the flood of starving people,
abhors the rapidly increasing disparity between rich and poor, and
yearns for the just treatment of workers in the marketplace.
And so shall we.

Today is the day we accept that
God deplores the violence in our homes and streets,
rebukes the world’s warring madness, and
humbles the powerful on behalf of the powerless,
And so shall we.

This proposed new social creed was overwhelmingly supported by my section (41-14). I was one of the ones who spoke against it. In the first place, it is written in litany form as a liturgical poem, and I am convinced that our social creed needs the precision of prose in this complicated and fragmented world. Furthermore, the theological claims in the proposed creed are much more vague (and we can ill afford such vagueness these days).

I won’t bore you with the rest of my arguments. Suffice it to say that, with all due respect to the beautiful giftedness of the new creed’s writers, I think the 1908 version is far more theologically holistic. We’ll see what the entire General Conference has to say about it as the days unfold.

OK, bedtime now. Worship is at 8:00 AM, followed by a day of work.

Pray for the soul (and body) of this weary pewboy!

So, in the assigned seat arrangement for General Conference, I am sitting between two lay delegates from Western Pennsylvania: Luella Krieger and Matt Johnson. It’s a pretty sweet place to be!

Matt, a seminarian at Asbury and no stranger to our little blogland, is the chair of Western Pennsylvania’s delegation. He has worked very hard to make certain that our delegation is doing everything that it needs to be doing. I am grateful for his faithful ministry among us. You’ll be pleased to know that Matt’s twisted sense of humor provides frequent comic relief to the humble pewboy sitting beside him!

This morning’s worship service was powerful. Bishop Sharon Brown Christopher preached a wonderfully evocative sermon that celebrated the way in which Jesus Christ continues to transform lives around the globe through that peculiar portion of the Church called United Methodism. In what I found to be a particularly prophetic moment, Bishop Christopher told the Conference that, “for God’s sake, we must threaten the world with Resurrection.” Her use of the word “threaten,” of course, was not an expression of spiritual violence. Rather, it was an acknowledgement of the fact that resurrection will always be a threat to a world addicted to death. Good stuff.

After worship today, we heard from four of United Methodism’s General Secretaries: Bishop Felton May (Interim General Secretary of the General Board of Global Ministries), Larry Hollon (General Secretary of United Methodist Communications), Jerome King Del Pino (General Secretary of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry), and Karen Greenwaldt (General Secretary of the General Board of Discipleship). These four remarkably articulate leaders presented 4 foci that have emerged from a season of prayerful discernment among the leadership of the general church. It is hoped that these 4 points of focus will become an unprecedented opportunity for the United Methodist Church to embody our heritage and manifest profound unity in ministry. The four points of focus are essentially these:
1) Engaging in ministry with the poor
2) Creating new places for new people and renewing existing congregations
3) Stamping out diseases of poverty by improving health globally
4) Developing principled Christian leaders for the church and the world.

Already, I am thinking about how these points of focus might impact the people of Central Highlands Church (the church that I am blessed to serve). Think and pray with me, people of Central Highlands! How might we be more intentional about engaging in ministry with the poor? Or how might we create a new community of faith? Or raise up new leaders? Or do something radical in the pursuit of global health? I’d love to hear some of your thoughts.

Later in the morning today, we heard the first ever “Young Person’s Address” at General Conference. It was a creative time of vision-casting led by several beautifully-gifted young people from across the United Methodist connection. A Russian woman named Kira Volkova spoke of the hardship of being a United Methodist Christ-follower in a post-communist culture that has been saturated with an ethos of atheism. Rebecca Farnum, a young woman from the West Michigan Annual Conference, dared to ask us who the “Samaritans” are in our lives that we are being called upon to love and embrace. Andrew Craig, from the Rocky Mount Annual Conference, spoke to us of the transforming unity that is to be found at the Eucharistic table. Jason Rathod, from the Nebraska Annual Conference, highlighted the dangers of both conservative and liberal fundamentalism. And Rev. Annie Arnoldy, a young pastor from the Rocky Mount Annual Conference, challenged us to commit ourselves to risky community with Jesus Christ at the center.

It was such an inspiration to be in the presence of such visionary disciples. And not one of them was over 27!

Our day concluded with the beginning of our work in our legislative sections. I am in the section called Church and Society #1. In our section, our task is to study and perfect the recommended legislation concerning the church’s relationship with the larger society. Our section will be looking at some 218 pieces of proposed legislation. The legislation is divided into the following categories:
1. Economic and worker justice (For example, what will our church’s position be on the issues of minimum wage and fair working conditions?)

2. Environmental Justice (Should the church care about things like global warming? And what should we say and do about it?)

3. Restorative/Criminal Justice (Think “death penalty” on this one.)

4. International Human Rights/Immigration (How will the United Methodist Church speak to the issue of immigration and the laws surrounding that issue?)

5. War and Peace (Enough said, I suppose.)

6. General (Every other piece of proposed church and society legislation that doesn’t fit into any of the other categories.)

Tonight, I spent three hours in my section (from 8:00 until 11:00) as we organized ourselves to approach the work that is before us. Tomorrow, we will spend the better portion of the day in our legislative sections.

If you are a United Methodist pastor or layperson in Western Pennsylvania, you would be very proud of the members of your delegation. They are working extraordinarily hard and representing their conference with great devotion and integrity. I am honored to be serving with them in this capacity.

My bed is calling out to me. Unfortunately, I won’t be there for long!

I am grateful for the way in which many of you are staying connected to me through prayer. It means the world.

The 2008 General Conference of the United Methodist Church in Fort Worth, Texas began in the only appropriate way—with the spirited worship of Almighty God.

The opening worship service was infused with an energy and vibrancy for which I will give the Holy Spirit credit. The liturgical dancing communicated a joy that demanded motion. The richness and diversity of the music enabled us to sing songs of praise in many different tongues. Bishop Janice Huie’s preaching became a conduit for a fresh understanding of hope. Hope, according to Bishop Huie, is not an anemic wishful thinking, but an anticipatory way of life in which Christ-followers expect Jesus to show up and do what he does best—namely, transform lives.

The congregation for the opening worship service numbered 6,500 (including 1000 delegates, all the bishops, and many guests). I realize that the authenticity and integrity of worship is never ultimately about numbers. I must admit, however, that there was something uniquely energizing and inspiring about hearing that many voices sing “And Are We Yet Alive?” Somehow, it’s easier to answer “yes” to that hymn’s question in such a large and robust congregation.

Following the opening worship service was the lengthy process of adopting the rules for the General Conference. I am grateful for those men and women and youth who are passionate about such matters of polity, especially since that is not a passion that I am able to generate personally. After much dialogue, we adopted the rules, thereby establishing the administrative framework in which we will be experiencing this time of holy conferencing. God’s blessings upon all those who worked very hard to bring the rules before us.

By the way, Rev. Alan Morrison (of the Western Pennsylvania Conference) has done an excellent job as the business manager for the General Conference. Given the fact that so many local hotels in the Fort Worth area are currently under major construction, Alan and his teams have done extraordinary work in bringing this event together. Alan made a wonderfully articulate presentation on the opening night of General Conference. Bless his heart, he even taught us how to use our electronic voting box. (Can you say “American Idol?!”)

I didn’t get back to my hotel until after midnight on that opening night. It was a short night’s rest, as I had to catch the shuttle at 6:30 this morning in order to make it to the Fort Worth Convention Center for the 8:00 morning worship service. More on that in the next entry.

Please keep praying for us.

Well, friends, I will be stepping outside of the land of blog for a little while. With just a couple of weeks remaining until the United Methodist General Conference, I will need to use all of my creative energy to complete my reading of all the proposed legislation; to ponder carefully the nature of all that is being proposed; and to pray my way into a condition of appropriate centeredness.

So, if you would like a visual, this is what I will look like for the next couple of weeks:

If you are so inclined, I would greatly appreciate your continued prayers for Western Pennsylvania’s delegation and for the entire General Conference. Pray that God’s transforming presence will manifest itself powerfully somewhere in the murky territory formed by legislative discernment and doctrinal debate. Most of all, pray that the Holy Spirit will operate redemptively through the work of the General Conference for the purpose of making the United Methodist Church a more vibrant and healthy portion of the Body of Christ. Thanks a million, in advance, for your prayers.

I’ll talk to you again soon. Until then, grace and peace.

Yesterday, on April Fool’s Day, I found myself listening to the song “Fool for You” in my car as I drove. Do you know the song? Written in 2000 by Nichole Nordeman (who, in my opinion, is one of contemporary Christian music’s most talented songwriters), “Fool for You” is a musical and poetic treatment of the kind of “foolishness” described by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:22-23: “For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.”

In “Fool for You,” Nichole Nordeman’s lyrics illuminate with creative brightness the sheer foolishness of the cross:

There are times when faith and common sense do not align,
when hardcore evidence of you is hard to find.
And I am silenced in the face of argumentative debate.
It’s a long hill. It’s a lonely climb.

They want proof,
They want proof of all these mysteries I claim.
For only fools would want to chant a dead man’s name.
Maybe it’s true, but…

I would be a fool for you all because you asked me to.
A simpleton who’s seemingly naive,
I do believe You came and made Yourself a fool for me.

I admit that in my darkest hours I’ve asked what if,
What if we created some kind of man-made faith like this,
Out of good intention or emotional invention,
and after life is through there will be no You.

They want proof of all these miracles I claim,
For only fools believe that men can walk on waves.
Maybe it’s true, but…

I would be a fool for you all because you asked me to.
A simpleton who’s seemingly naive,
I do believe You came and made Yourself a fool for me.

Unaware of popularity,
and unconcerned with dignity,
You made me free.
That’s proof enough for me.

I would be a fool for You,
Only if You asked me to,
A simpleton who’s only thinking of
The cause of love.

I will speak Jesus name,
and if that makes me crazy,
they can call me crazed.
I’m happy to be seemingly naive,
I do believe You came and
made Yourself a fool for me

Listening to the song inspired a prayer within me that sounded something like this:

Transform me inwardly, Holy Spirit. Deliver me from the oppressive arrogance that motivates me to want to be admired, and carry me more deeply into a wholehearted willingness to be considered foolish for the sake of your Son and his Way. In a mind-boggling expression of self-emptying grace, you allowed yourself to become a fool in Christ. Manifest his ‘foolishness’ in me, that my life might bear witness to the ‘foolish’ kingdom that you inaugurated through his life, death, and resurrection.

As I type these words, that prayer is still somewhere close to my heart.