An evening at the Mad Pizza Co.

I made the trek back to Arkansas earlier this month to attend the annual session of the Arkansas Annual Conference. I try to do that every year, as a way to renew friendships and participate directly in the life of the church back home. And of course, this year there was added interest because of the debate over the proposed amendments to the United Methodist Church's Constitution.

But while I enjoyed all the happenings in the convention center where annual conference was held, perhaps the most significant part of the week for occurred one evening at the Mad Pizza Co. in Rogers, Ark. I tell the story in my recent United Methodist Reporter column.

For the past five years, the young adult clergy & lay delegates have gathered for a supper together at some point during annual conference. We've tried different approaches to how to structure the evening - sometimes a round table discussion over a specific topic, and sometimes a more free-flowing invitation to gather in groups and talk about whatever comes up. But we always make sure to break bread together and open in prayer.

The evening at the Mad Pizza Co. was especially enjoyable, as our annual group has grown to more than 50 people. Conversations were on a bunch of different issues, naturally. But from where I was sitting it seemed like everybody took advantage of the chance to engage each other on matters of real importance: the nature of annual conference, the ordination process, the structure of the church, and how to carry out a faithful gospel ministry.

In fact, the evening ended with the last group of people gathered in a circle and three of the young adult elders - all of them church planters - sharing their experiences of growing churches from the ground up.

It was exactly what conference is supposed to be about. That gathering offers a perfect example of what we mean when we say our church is a connection.

If your annual conference doesn't have a group like this every year, start one. You'll be glad you did. And so will the rest of the young adults you're serving with.

Annual Conference Reflections

I have been in Rogers, Arkansas, since Sunday night at the Arkansas Annual Conference. Since moving to Durham, NC, I have always looked forward to returning home each summer to reunite with colleagues and friends in ministry. This year has been especially nice, since I had several friends who were either ordained or commissioned into ministry.

Since Annual Conference ends today, I wanted to offer some thoughts on what I thought were real highlights from the past three days. These are basically in reverse order starting with this morning and working backward.

- We completed voting on the constitutional amendments today, which I thought went mostly pretty well. The Rev. Rodney Steele, our lead clergy delegate to General Conference, explained the amendments to the annual conference. There were some real contentious issues, and I thought delegates tried hard to be respectful and courteous in their remarks. My sense from the floor discussion and the conversations in the halls makes me think that both the Worldwide Church amendments and Amendment 1 (on church membership) are going to fail.

The confused discussion on the Worldwide Church amendments proved to me that their defeat is a good thing. No one was clear on what the amendments, once adopted, would lead to in terms of church structure. And the possibility that we could see increased bureaucracy through a new layer of conferencing was distasteful to people from all over the spectrum. We need to reconcile the differences between the way the American church is treated in the Book of Discipline with the way the church in the rest of the world is treated, but this proposal is not the way to go. These amendments will most probably fail. And when they do, I hope the church as a whole is able to go about the discernment over our ecclesiastical structure in a more coherent way (and frankly, using a proposal that seeks to streamline our hierarchical structure and reduce the complexity of our bureaucracy rather than do the opposite).

On Amendment 1, we really had two debates. One was the debate that centered specifically on the issue of homosexuality (which I argued was not the way we should think about the amendment). The other was the issue of pastoral authority as the shepherd of the (local congregational) flock. The amendment, poorly worded and poorly conceived, will almost certainly fail.

[UPDATE: The Arkansas Conference voting results have been posted on the conference website, which you can find here. Thanks to Matthew Johnson for pointing this out.]

- This morning the Rev. Ronnie Miller-Yow preached the morning service, and the annual conference session was electrified. Ronnie was ordained just last night, and his message to the conference was a real highlight of the week. He spoke of what it means to be a transformative church, challenging the conference to welcome Jesus into their churches, to preach the good news, to do works of ministry in Jesus' name, and to be willing to think creatively in how we reach the suffering and the lost.

- Last night's Ordination Service was (as it always is) an occasion for celebration and hope. We commissioned or ordained 33 elders and deacons. And I have no doubt that they will go forth to do great ministry in Jesus' name.

- The Rev. Will Choate, who is planting Argenta UMC in North Little Rock, gave an address yesterday that touched on the importance of changing the way we think in how we are reaching people and going about our mission & evangelism. Will is one of the outstanding young adult clergy in the annual conference, and he provided a crucially important generational perspective to the delegates (and one that appeared to be much appreciated by young and old alike).

- On Monday evening, we had our annual gathering of Gen-X and Millennial clergy & lay delegates at the Mad Pizza Co. About 50 people came for food and conversation, and all had a great time. The Rev. Eric Van Meter began organizing this event 5 years ago, and it has grown from just a handful to a whole crowd. I would highly recommend this type of event for every annual conference. It helps to remind the young adult leaders in the conference that there are a lot of us out there and that we can support one another through reaching out and forming relationships.

- UMR Communications has been here this week, which is the parent company of the United Methodist Reporter where my bi-weekly column appears. I had the opportunity to visit with my friend Amy Forbus, the Digital Community Builder at UMR, and I got to meet the Rev. Andy James, who heads up Digital Print Sales. Sarah Wilke, the CEO, was also here and it was enjoyable to visit with her. Sarah has recently been named as the new world editor and publisher at the Upper Room, and she will no doubt bring the same high level leadership to the Upper Room that she has to UMR over the past several years.

- Dr. Jim Heidinger was the keynote speaker at the annual Confessing Movement breakfast, which took place on Monday morning. Jim is retiring this summer from his leadership of Good News, and he gave an optimistic and encouraging address on his view of the future of the UMC. Jim heads an organization that often gets unfairly pigeonholed by some, and I can tell you - from both his address and a personal conversation I was able to have with him afterward - that he is a warm and gentle pastor with a deep love for the church and a strong desire to see us embody our Wesleyan heritage in spreading the gospel and forming disciples for Jesus Christ.

It'll be tough not to see most of the folks here for another year, but the days of reunion are always a high point of my year. We can all (me included) tend toward cynicism when it comes to thinking about the way the UMC is structured. But annual conference is still very much a means of grace, and it needs to be named as such. I am grateful for the fellowship it represents, and I think it often serves as a powerful arena for equipping the saints for ministry and celebrating the victory we have in Christ Jesus.

Which way to a Worldwide Church?

As I indicated in my last post, I've been writing a commentary that addresses the "Worldwide Church" amendments that annual conferences of the United Methodist Church are debating and voting on this summer. That commentary is finished, and you can download it at the following link:

"Which way to a Worldwide Church?"

I know some annual conferences have already met. But for anyone from an annual conference that has not yet met - like my own Arkansas Conference - I'd ask you to consider the point of view in this commentary. (Heck, you might even want to read it even if your annual conference is already over.) There have been a number of 'pro' and 'con' arguments put forth for the restructure of the church, and I don't think any of them have considered adequately how the change to our church's polity could lead to a form of nationalism that has always been destructive of the Christian Church and destructive of Christian discipleship.

For the record, I am against the Worldwide Church proposal as it has been put forth. We definitely need to do something in the long run about the way the Constitution of the UMC is biased toward the American church, but this proposal is not the way to go.

I welcome conversation on this topic - both critical and constructive - in the 'comments' section of this post. I'm eager to hear others' thoughts, particularly points of view that have not been raised in many of the conventional 'pro' and 'con' arguments over the Worldwide Church amendments.

I also hope that church folk will bear in mind how significantly our ecclesial life can be affected over the course of years by today's changes in how the church is organized and governed. The devolution of our connectionalism may seem the easiest answer to our challenges in the present. But we should be careful not to sow the wind, lest we someday have to reap the whirlwind.

Amendment 1 (without the baggage)

Annual conferences of the United Methodist Church from all over the world will be voting on the 32 proposed amendments to the church's Constitution in the coming weeks.

The amendments have already generated a great deal of discussion. News articles and blog posts have appeared in print and online. Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the whole thing has been the YouTube appeals from figures both prominent and obscure in the church.

I personally approach these kinds of moments at annual conference with fear and trembling. The parliamentary procedure that we use does not allow for the kind of holy conferencing needed to discuss matters of importance to the church. And yet, we do not seem capable of finding another way. That means that we will be forced to decided whether, and to what extent, we should amend the Constitution of the church based off of a flawed system and an impoverished discussion.

As I have reflected on the various amendments, I've come to have deep reservations about many of them. And my reservations are often for reasons that do not seem to show up in the discussions going on elsewhere. So over the past few weeks I've been organizing my thoughts. Below you'll find a link to a commentary on Amendment 1, the amendment that would change the "membership article" in the Book of Discipline:

"Amendment 1 (without the baggage)"

If you care about the coherence of how we understand ourselves as a church, please read this short essay. And feel free to pass it along to others.

I'll also follow this post up with another one in a few days, when I will share a commentary on the "Worldwide Church" amendments that make up 23 of the 32 total amendments.

Reflections on the ordination process

On the second night of my Annual Conference session this year, the young clergy of the conference had their annual Gen X/Y Clergy Dinner. This is a practice that began a few years ago under the leadership of Eric Van Meter, and it has grown in size each year. In fact, this year the bishop ate supper with us! The dinner gives a great opportunity for Gen-X and Millennial-aged clergy to get to know one another, have fellowship, and engage in conversation about issues that are relevant to our lives in ministry.

This year, Eric asked me to lead a conversation about Lovett Weems and Ann Michel's new book, The Crisis of Younger Clergy. (I've written a review of this book, which you can read here.) Their book looks at the declining numbers of young adult elders in the United Methodist Church and attempts to offer some solutions. It is, by the way, a great resource for Boards of Ordained Ministry, District Committees on Ministry, and local churches. They could all benefit by using it to seek out ways the church could better nurture a "culture of call" for its young people.

As the conversation began, we asked each person to speak - sharing information about placement in ministry and about the greatest challenge each has faced in the ordination candidacy process. The results were fascinating. I think it would be best for me to just list the examples we were given of greatest challenges encountered:

- Loneliness/Isolation
- Difficulties in itineracy/family issues
- "Good ol' boy" system
- A feeling of invisibility
- Not recognizing the value of people serving in extension ministries
- Being sensitive to clergy couples
- Mechanics of the process (and let-downs in BOM record keeping)
- Seeing the attrition of others leaving the ministry
- Not taken seriously and the church no responsive to concerns
- BOM politics [editorial note: presumably among members of the BOM itself and how that impacts candidates]
- Being sensitive to the particularities of calling
- Others' expectations of my calling in ministry
- The BOM's difficulty in really nurturing candidates

Following this time of sharing experiences, we asked the young adults present to offer possible ways that the candidacy and ordination process could be improved. Here are their responses:

- Need for great financial support (MEF Funds, support for Exploration and other events focused on calling, etc)
- Need for programs run throughout the conference - "centers of hospitality" - possibly on college campuses. Also, a greater, more personal role for mentors. Conference funds could support these types of initiatives.
- Accountability/Peer Groups amongst probationary/provisional clergy
- Networking & support structures within the Annual Conference [editorial note: the work of Eric Van Meter and others over the past several years has sought to directly meet this need]
- The character of the relationships between young clergy [editorial note: this point was much-discussed, and a lot was shared about what relationships can accomplish that programs cannot]
- A "call event" for high school or college students held locally within the annual conference possibly in the off-year that the Exploration event does not occur

Overall, I thought it was a very productive conversation - at times funny and at times poignant. There were 26 people present for the conversation, and several more than that at the dinner just before. All of them were either currently in the ordination process or recently ordained elders and deacons. For me, the fact that so many were present and engaged in the conversation was a great sign of hope. The point that came up at the end of the evening about the importance of person-to-person relationships was key. The more we nurture those, the less impersonal the ordination process will seem. And that would be an important step in helping young clergy enter their ministries with the right attitude and the right relationships.

Conference within a conference

The past few days have had me busy trying to catch up from the time I missed when I was back in Arkansas for annual conference. Hopefully, my posts will become more frequent in the days ahead.

I can't overstate how optimistic I was at the general vibe on the part of Gen X and Millennial clergy who got together during our annual converence session. This was really the "conference-within-a-conference" for me. In fact, I was so pumped that I worte a column about it in the Reporter. You can read it here.

One of the things that occurred to me as I was sitting with my colleagues and friends at annual conference is that we are "on the clock," so to speak. We ain't gonna be young long. So our window to really influence the church in a formative way is probably going to be narrow.

Oh, we'll influence the church sooner or later. But if we don't make our presence felt until we achieve "senior status," then I am afraid we will have forgotten why we thought the Christian life should be lived differently in the first place.

For any Arkansas readers out there, Eric Van Meter has begun to follow up on our discussions at conference. I believe he will be trying to get folks together late in the summer or early in the fall. For non-Arkansans, I hope you all will begin to investigate common work and ministry among the X'ers and Millennials out there. It is worth the effort.

Peace to all...

New like Newby

What can a 20-year old cat teach us about annual conference? A lot, if you ask me. In my column this week, I write about Newby, an elderly feline who experienced a rejuvenation when she was turned into an outside cat after 16 years of living indoors. (This is all a true story. Newby lives in Jackson, Tenn, and I heard her tale directly from her owner.)

Newby's personal renaissance was not a miracle. She simply rediscovered the telos of cathood - namely, chasing small animals, basking on sunny porches, and generally catting around the neighborhood. And when she got in touch with her inner cat, Newby's numerous physical problems disappeared practically overnight. She had spent 16 years on the couch, so to speak, and she just needed to relearn what it meant to be a cat. And that made all the difference. For the past four years, she has had a new lease on life.

So what does this have to do with annual conference? Or General Conference, for that matter? I think everything. The Wesleyan idea of holy conferencing could be a great way for us to support one another and equip one another for ministry. It could be a place of powerful prayer, enthusiastic evangelism, charismatic conversation, and wonderful worship. There are elements of that in conferences now. But we still allow bureaucracy, legislation, reports, and Robert's Rules to dominate.

Like Newby, we need to get back in touch with our inner cat. We need to remember what we have forgotten, namely, what the purpose of Methodists gathering in conference is supposed to be about. I plan to work on that at the Arkansas Annual Conference session, which starts tomorrow in Russellville. I know there are others out there. But it is going to take a grassroots movement, and no large ship can be turned on a dime.

I am, by the way, standing as a candidate for election to General Conference 2008. I haven't written about that at all on this blog, because I do not want to 'campaign' in the traditional way. But it has been a matter of prayer for me for several weeks now, and I plan on engaging some of my lay and clergy colleagues in conversation around General Conference issues this next week. Regardless of whether I am ultimately chosen, I do find it heartening that several Gen-X clergy and lay delegates are standing as candidates. I think this is a sign of hope.

What does is mean to conference together?

Ever been to annual conference?

I talked about annual conference with a prominent professor at Duke earlier this week. He said that, after attending his first annual conference, he felt lucky to come out a Christian.

It was a funny comment, and it was said half-jokingly. But the frustration that so many people feel about annual conference is not funny at all. This is supposed to be the central gathering of Methodists each year, where we recommit and renew ourselves for ministry. What does it mean when annual conference is dreaded by those who must attend? Or simply not understood by most laity in the connection?

I think this is an extremely important issue for Gen X'ers and Millennials. For one, I think the interest our generations have in the upcoming General Conference in 2008 shows that we have not given up on the idea of conference. For another, annual conference is simply not going to go away. The United Methodist Church is not, and should not be, a congregational system. And neither should annual conference devolve into simply a business session that must be endured.

I know annual conferences vary widely in how they are perceived and how they are conducted. I have actually been very encouraged in recent years by changes that the Arkansas Conference has made to put worship and ministry resourcing front and center. On the other hand, changes could still be made to improve it. For instance, I understand why we have petitions. But they are often distracting and create more polarization that consensus. Would it be so bad if we simply decided not to debate and pass resolutions??

I write about reclaiming the Wesleyan sense of conferencing in my current column in the United Methodist Reporter. You can read it here.