I am currently sitting in the observation section of the UMC General Conference. I have been here for two full days, and while I may have missed the first week I have already found myself in multiple conflicts.
General Conference is a place that fuels activism and protests because it is the place where decisions are supposed to be made. I have been to Annual Conference twice and I thought I knew what to expect coming here, sadly that was not the truth. This week I have seen pain that I cannot even imagine, and gotten into heated discussions with people who interpret the Bible in ways that I cannot even fathom.
I do not claim to have divine wisdom when it comes to scriptural interpretation, but what I do claim to have is a heart for this denomination. I do not agree with every person in the UMC (impossible) or even every thing the UMC teaches, but I love this Church.
As a fourth generation going into ministry the UMC essentially runs in my veins, and after the past year of exploration of denominations I can truly say that this is where God wants me. With these pieces of knowledge I can now say that General Conference has truly made my heart weep.
We know that there are conflicts in the UMC but until I got here I did not realize how close we are to a divide of the Church. I have listened to people like Rev. Adam Hamilton discuss the benefits of a split (he doesn’t want to split either), and I have watched pastors I truly look up to like Rev. Tom Berlin stand up to the bishops and call for stronger leadership. Later today General Conference will discuss the “issue” of homosexuality and there is a serious concern that we will split.
I do not have a solution to the growing divide in our denomination. I do not know what will happen these next few days. All I know is that I am struggling with the ever increasing conflict that no one seems to be able to address. I will write again soon and really talk about some of the conflicts, but in this moment I needed to express this fear.
-Andrew
Mother, Son and... Where's the Holy Spirit?! 