We began this Sunday and the first legislative day of the Special Session of General Conference in Worship. Bishop Ken Carter of the Florida AC preached from Ephesians on being people of the cross and the flame.
Bishop Carter was one of three bishops assigned to the Commission on a Way Forward. He has been an ardent supporter of the One Church Plan.
His sermon was based on Ephesians 2:13ff. He began to talk about the goodness of our connection and the good that has been done through it. I, too, applaud all the UMC has been able to do because we are connected.
However, much of his sermon was a lesson in taking scripture out of context. When Paul said that Jesus had “broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us” (Ephesians 2:14) he was not talking about the divide that exists between those who differ on the issues of human sexuality. Human sexuality was a settled issue for Paul even though he lived in a sexually pluralistic society. He was talking about the division between Jew and Gentile.
The barrier refers to the wall of separation that existed in the temple to keep Gentiles from coming into the space allotted to the Jewish people. By implication, it could also refer to the barrier that sin erected between God and us, as Bishop Carter rightly stated, “God overcame the division of our sin and God’s holiness.”
He then seemed to scold those who support the traditional plan by saying that schism is never God’s plan for revival. That is hard to maintain when confronted with the Reformation and Wesley’s formation of the Methodist’s in America. Those who support the Traditional plan do not want schism, they want those who violate the Book of Discipline to be held accountable. The Discipline’s, which has been reaffirmed at every General Conference since 1972, reflects the teachings of the historic church down through the ages, while advocating the worth and dignity of every person. Are the schismatics those who live up to our common covenant or those who break the covenant? By the way, every person who has broken the covenant agreed that the church’s doctrine and polity were in line with Holy Scripture when they were ordained.
Bishop Carder asked the conference, “Have we done everything to maintain the unity of the Spirit?” It is a good question. We should bend over backwards to make sure we are not mean-spirited or unloving, but the unity of the Spirit is not the same as the unity of the institution. The Holy Spirit produces unity in the body of Christ as a natural byproduct of the Spirit’s presence, so we should do everything to maintain what the Spirit produces. However, the UMC is just one manifestation of the body of Christ, not the whole thing.
Report from the Commission on a Way Forward
The next two hours, at a minimum, was spent on hearing the report from the commission which brought us the three plans. After some general remarks, one person from the commission spoke and commended each plan: The One Church Plan, the Connectional Conference Plan, and the Modified Traditional plan. We should all be grateful for the work these individuals did with the task assigned to them.
The GC
When these numbers were announced, I experienced a palpable silence in the arena as if people were surprised by the result.
The conference then elected leaders for the legislative committee of the whole to fine tune each of the items and recessed, to be reconvened as a legislative committee. During this break, a group of disillusioned advocates for LGBTQI persons began chanting in the lobby, “Hate divides!” Later about 20 of them walked through the Observer area chanting, “Hate divides, love provides.” The presiding bishop continued the work of the conference, and after a few minutes, the protesters were asked to leave by the ushers.
The Legislative committee dealt with the pension issue and then adjourned about 40 minutes early. The Traditional plan will be on the agenda the first thing in the morning. Worship is scheduled from 8:00 am to 8:20, and after a brief break, I assume the work will begin.
There is more I could write, but it is late, and I’m tired. So, till tomorrow…