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By James V. Heidinger II, GOOD NEWS PERSPECTIVE – No. 20, April 26, 2008 Welcome to this special General Conference issue of Perspective sent from Fort Worth, Texas. We hope you find it helpful and informative. Please feel free to forward it to family, friends, or persons in your local church who might be interested in receiving General Conference updates. To subscribe, send your e-mail address to: perspective@goodnewsmag.org. E-mail addresses will not be sold or shared. "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak…even youths grow tired…but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, will walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:29-31) Pray for continued strength for delegates, visitors and workers plowing through Sunday in the last day of legislative committees. Ask God to protect the health and wellbeing of those sacrificing long hours. Tomorrow, General Conference shifts from legislative committees to plenary sessions. Judicial Council elections will be held tomorrow morning. Intercede for these vital decisions that will affect interpretations of church law for the next few years. In the midst of intense deliberations and strongly held positions, ask God to endow delegates and lobbyists with gracious words and gentle spirits towards others in the midst of fervent debate. The ideals of holy conferencing are easily lauded but not easily embodied. Pray for grace towards those who do not return the generous spirits extended to them.
Integrity and the Judicial Council One of the most crucial questions facing the 2008 General Conference is whether the integrity of the United Methodist Judicial Council will be maintained in the face of determined attempts by some to undermine and overturn the church’s teaching on human sexuality. Until recently the Judicial Council has not been a center of controversy. Fair-minded persons with legal skills who loved the church were nominated for the Council and were perfunctorily elected. The council interpreted and upheld the Discipline, not always to everyone’s satisfaction, but certainly without the open criticism leveled against it in recent months (even by the bishops). While provisions for church trials have always been in place in the UM judicial system, actual trials in the not-too-distant past were rare. This changed when General Conference adopted legislation regarding the practice of homosexuality. A number of persons who called themselves progressives felt that the legislation was so contrary to their understanding of what the church ought to be that they began to work tirelessly in their efforts to delete or change the legislation. When this was unsuccessful they turned to the church’s judicial system. Complaints, charges, and church trials are now part of the United Methodist way of life. While the system works well in most instances, in other places the integrity of the system is under attack. The Judicial Council became essential to the integrity of the church’s teaching because persons who do not accept the will of the church have openly defied that teaching. Some clergy have revealed themselves as practicing homosexuals or have performed same-sex “unions” and “marriages” and have invited the church to discipline them by church trial. In areas where dissenters have controlled the judicial system, they have declared persons not guilty, despite conclusive evidence. For example, in the Beth Stroud case in Eastern Pennsylvania, the Judicial Council overturned the decision of the Jurisdictional Appeals Committee. In a bizarre decision, the Appeals Committee had ruled that the General Conference had not defined “status” or “practicing homosexual,” and that paragraphs precluding the ordination and appointment of practicing homosexuals were somehow establishing new “doctrine” in conflict with the UM Constitution. The novel arguments by that Appeals Committee attempted to nullify the finding of Stroud as a self-avowed practicing lesbian in ordained ministry. The latest case is the Ed Johnson case in Virginia, where an Annual Conference removed from his pulpit a pastor for exercising pastoral authority in a case involving a practicing homosexual. That authority has been invested with pastors since the first Discipline in 1784. The Judicial Council ruled that the process used to remove Ed Johnson from active ministry was contrary to the Discipline. They also ruled that pastors have always had discretion in determining when persons are ready for membership in the church. It is important to elect persons to the Judicial Council who will uphold the actions of General Conference and the provisions of the Discipline. Electing those who would seek to nullify by judicial activism the Discipline’s provisions on homosexuality and other issues could precipitate a Constitutional crisis in the church. The General Conference must now decide what sort of Judicial Council it wants. Progressive interests will present a slate of candidates. The bishops, as mandated by the Discipline, will also nominate their candidates. The Reform and Renewal Coalition, which cares very much about the integrity of the judicial system, will likewise suggest some nominees. May there be open discussion, civil discourse, and an informed election.
Conversion and discipline Conversion is a gift and an achievement. It is the act of a moment and the work of a lifetime. You cannot attain salvation by disciplines—it is the gift of God. But you cannot retain salvation without disciplines. If you try to attain salvation by disciplines, you will be trying to discipline an unsurrendered self. You will be sitting on a lid. The result will be tenseness instead of trust. “You will wrestle instead of nestle.” While salvation cannot be attained by discipline around an unsurrendered self, nevertheless when the self is surrendered to Christ and a new center formed, then you can discipline your life around that new center—Christ. Discipline is the fruit of conversion—not the root. This passage gives the double-sidedness of conversion: “As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord so live in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith” (Col. 2:6-7, RSV). Note, “received”—receptivity; “so live”—activity. It appears again, “rooted”—receptivity; “built up in him”—activity. The “rooted” means we take from God as the roots take the soil; the “built up” means we build up as one builds a house, a character and life by disciplined effort. So we take and try; we obtain and attain. We trust as if the whole thing depended on God and work as if the whole thing depended on us. The alternate beats of the Christian heart are receptivity and response—receptivity from God and response in work from us. E. Stanley Jones was one of the best-known missionaries (to India) and religious writers in the first half of the twentieth century.
Ministerial Education The 13 official U.S. UM seminaries are now subsidized by more than $15 million per year. They have a total of 1,715 UM M.Div. students (2005-2006 figures), so this subsidy totals almost $9,000 per student per year. However, the $9,000 per student doesn’t help the student, at least directly, but is used for seminary operating funds. The distribution is also uneven among seminaries in terms of students preparing for UM ministry. Boston School of Theology receives over $800,000 to educate 44 UM students (over $18,000 per student, more than twice the average). Iliff receives over $900,000 to educate 63 UM students (over $14,000 per student). Meanwhile, African UM seminaries struggle without books and adequate facilities and receive no Ministerial Education Funds. In the U.S. where United Methodism is in decline, $15 million is distributed to UM seminaries to educate fewer and fewer students, while in Africa and other parts of the world where the church is growing, UM seminaries receive zero MEF funds. While the church in Africa longs for educated leadership, many Africans who want to attend seminary cannot because of lack of funds. We believe this is unjust, discriminatory, and harmful to our United Methodist mission. Petition 81020 (DCA p. 776) asks that the MEF funds be distributed on a global formula, as determined by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. A global formula would enable equitable distribution to the UM seminaries in Liberia, Angola, Nigeria, Congo, the Philippines, and other places around the globe. Petition 81361 (DCA p. 776) is more specific, designating 10 percent of MEF funds for pastoral education in the Central Conferences. This petition would be a start toward assuring a consistent stream of funds to provide pastoral training in the parts of our worldwide church that require additional leadership. In the future, the percentage could be adjusted to reflect changing needs, new opportunities, and the changing makeup of the worldwide UM Church. Rising costs: As the cost of seminary education grows, graduates face ministry with burdensome debt. One report indicates that a year at Candler now costs in the $30,000 range. The amount apportioned for Ministerial Education in the 2005-2008 quadrennium was over $113 million. The average UM seminary now receives over one million dollars per year from this fund. At the same time, enrollment at the 13 official UM seminaries has dropped dramatically. Yet, the debt of seminary graduates is increasing. Instead of channeling more money to the 13 UM seminaries as institutions, where it benefits all students, whether United Methodist or not, we should channel more money directly to UM students to help them pay for their training. We would thus more effectively reduce the debt load on our newly-graduated UM pastors. Petition 80073 (DCA p. 776) would change the formula for distributing the MEF apportionment to send 50 percent (up from 25 percent) of the funds to the Annual Conferences and through them directly to the students. Petition 81361 (DCA p. 776) would change the formula to send 40 percent to the Annual Conferences and mandate that at least 70 percent of that Annual Conference money go to direct subsidy of students’ theological education. Book Signing Monday, April 28, Lifewatch Lunch – 12:45-2:15 p.m. Speaker: Carol Everett, who was involved in the operation of four abortion clinics in the Dallas area from 1977 to 1983. She now works in defense of life. ____________________________________________________________ |
Become a Good News Partner today! Make a generous
Become a Good News Partner today! Make a generous investment for renewal and reform in
The United Methodist Church. |
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