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 Change is Difficult!I write these comments because I was not able to speak on Saturday. I am a lay person, not an annual conference member, and a member of the MATT team. Needless to say I was disappointed in the outcome of the vote in the West Michigan Conference. But I was equally disappointed in the tenor of some of the comments that were made.Paul Thomas and Benton Heisler committed their lives to Jesus Christ many years ago and their lives demonstrate this commitment. They have been enthusiastic leaders of this process and their efforts have only reflected their desire to further the work of bringing people to Jesus Christ in this state. The plan of organization was developed to respond to needs expressed by members across the state. How many times have we heard about the need for more communication across our conferences. That is why we put in place a Director of Communications. And what do we see as challenges for the future? These challenges include health care and pensions and the caring for people employed by our conferences. That is why there is a Director of Human Resources. Having a Director of Connectional Ministries has always been extremely important to coordinate the many programs, boards and agencies and to help run the conference office. The Associate Directors were people to serve in the areas of Camp and Outdoor Ministries, Youth and Young Adult Ministries, Ethnic Ministries and Congregational Health and Development. We believe these areas are needed to create and continue a healthy organization? Then a provision was added to staff ministry priorities which may be raised by future annual conferences. All the Boards and Agencies are included in the plan but the reporting relationship is organized in a different way to create more focus and decentralization. As work progressed in fleshing out the organization an effort was made to decentralize resources to the districts with funds and the responsibility for districts to organize so that churches and members will help each other. We have many wonderful churches, pastors and members in every district who have successful programs already in place. But we are not organized to expect these wonderful resources to help other churches in their district. The help that could be available knows the territory. The comments in the philosophy about bringing people to boards and agencies based on function is an effort to have people on teams who are passionate about the purpose of that board or agency. We hope these people will have gifts and graces to bring something to that purpose and not be attending just to fill a seat. In more concise terms the effort by MATT was to place the importance and health of local churches, pastors and laity to carry out the vision as our number one priority. We missed a chance for change, with the chance to perfect it as we progress into the future. My willingness to be a member of MATT was driven by my concern for the future of The United Methodist Church in Michigan. When I became aware of the membership changes in West Michigan, 112,000 members in 1968 to 68,000 members in 2007, I felt we needed to look at how we do ministry. Is organization the answer? Of course not! But is it part of the answer? Maybe! My belief is that our churches and pastors are here to bring the good news of God through Jesus Christ to all people. Our organization of districts and annual conference are here to support these churches and pastors and to serve missions beyond the local church. I am a Methodist and I will be a Methodist because I believe in the philosophy of John Wesley as a way to bring people to know God through Jesus Christ. In a book by Lovett Weems, "John Wesley’s Message Today", he tells of some words by Albert Outler. Outler states "If I were a young man, now in a time when the great systems have collapsed and the church’s most desperate need is for a pastoral theology that understands and cares for Christ’s flock, a working theology that is anchored in revelation and that swings wide and free to liberate people for the only freedom(in Christ) that will make them truly free, I think I would explore John Wesley, as a new frontier, with the same freedom to update him that he felt toward his own complex heritage." I pray that my children and grandchildren will know a vital, caring and enthusiastic United Methodist Church which, according to Weems, "is speaking with words aflame with the love of God in Christ, words which will continue to kindle a fire." And the good news that Wesley spoke as his final words. "The best of all, God is with us." –Jay Hook, Leland Community UMC Desist!Now that the second attempt at merger has aborted, maybe the peole that bring it up in the first place will desist. It may be that our next bishop will nip it in the bud before much needed resources from both conferences will again be wasted.It would seem apparent that a majority of clergy from the Detroit Conference would enjoy serving in West Michigan. While a majority of the clergy of West Michigan, in the final analysis and vote, do not wish to serve in the Detroit Conference. I know that arguments on teh floor, and before, centered aboyut the plan of organization. However that tack may well have been taken because West Michigan clergy were hesitant to speak to the real resons for fear of retribution later. It is time to let it rest! –The Rev. Ted Bailey, Retired West Michigan Conference Find unity in diversityGrace and peace be with you from God our Creator and our Lord Jesus Christ!I am a first time writer to the Michigan Christian Advocate, although I have served over 15 years as a pastor in the Detroit Conference of The United Methodist Church. After recent events, taking place at the Lansing Center, in regards to the forming of a new "Great Lakes Conference," my heart has been set ablaze by the Holy Spirit, and I must speak the words that I feel God has given me. I first admit that my recent illness had kept me from attending said meeting, but my spirit was truly there. I wanted so badly to be a part of God's wonderful workings in our midst! I was truly saddened by the news and reports of the debates brought forth by my brothers and sisters of the West Michigan Conference, given to me by my lay member represtative. I am not, and have never been a member of the West Michigan Conference, and therefore do not have first hand knowledge of the entirety of their ministry and programs, so I can not attempt to speak with the same heart as one who serves the Lord in that context. But, I have friends and colleagues who do indeed serve the Lord there, and I am quite aware of their concerns after many dialogues. There is definitely a diversity in the thoughts and hearts of all who will be blessed by this merger, and these thoughts must be heard. During this ongoing process of merger, I have felt as though I am in the midst of the Prodigal Son story; a story in which the one son finds himself in trouble and attempts to go back to the safety, compassion, and love of his family. But, the other son is not willing to share what he believes he has justly earned. If you would take the time to contemplate this story, perhaps you would come to the realization that the prodigal son was bringing something of value to his father's kingdom. It is true that the Detroit Conference, perhaps due to political and economic reasons, needs the strength of its sister conference, but I would remind my brothers and sisters that the Detroit Conference comes with value and strengths for the betterment of United Methodism in Michigan. I can truly say, "Shame on you!" Shame on you if you voted out of personal agendas. Shame on you if selfishness was your guide. Shame on you if the trust in God did not determine your vote. Shame on us all if we were the instruments blocking the will of God! As clergy, I have tried to embrace our ideals of "open hearts, open minds, and open doors!" I have tried, with a deep passion for inner city ministry, to instill hope in those who struggle. But, I believe that the recent vote against merger is an instrument which will only weaken the ministry of The United Methodist Church in Michigan. If we are to be the Church which God has intended, founded on the words of John Wesley: "Doing all you can, for all the people you can, in all the times you can, in all the places you can," we must also embrace the ideals of open hearts, open minds, and open doors, and find unity in our diversity! Faithfully and respectfully yours in Christ Jesus! –The Rev. Kenneth C. Bracken, Garden City: First UMC Open Letter to MATT: Don’t give up!To say the least, I was completely surprised by the outcome on Saturday. The stunned silence in the room was overwhelming, as was the deep and sudden sense of grief. I imagine several stages of grief (anger comes to mind) will still be playing out for you who put so much time and effort into the process, only to see it snuffed out by a mere handful of people. It hardly seems fair. On the other hand, had it only passed by a few votes that too would have caused grief for many.I noted there was no celebratory outburst from the prevailing side. I imagine, the same would have held true if it had passed by a few votes, or even a few dozen. How do you celebrate such obvious division in the body, regardless of the outcome? 50% plus 1 would have looked a lot like – well, a lot like the bread the Bishop broke as we gathered around the table at closing worship. It was a Good Friday moment, instead of the Easter one for which many had hoped. The deeper question I contemplated while driving home was how to pick up the pieces and move forward. Ann Whiting reports that you’ve already disbanded, that your work is “done.” But might I humbly question that attitude? The vote of 2 years ago was not rescinded. No one voted not to keep trying to work this out. I firmly believe the vote was not “No”to our uniting, but “No”to the proposed Plan. So, I believe the task is still before us, and therefore still before you. Is there not still a potential for that Easter moment in Michigan? Maybe it’s not fair to ask of you given the frustration you must feel, but shouldn’t you continue meeting? There are some obvious questions worth exploring: What needs to be done differently so that we can come together again and bring this to life, not with a simple, but a significant majority affirming it? What was missing? What got in the way? What didn’t we hear? What didn’t we say? Was it the plan? Was it the process? What lessons can we learn from yet another failed attempt at merger? And most importantly, can we still salvage something from all this hard work, rather than simply walking away? People kept tossing around that “definition of insanity” the last two years; maybe we should now turn that toward the ways in which we’ve tried to work through our attempts at merger. Given we’ve failed three times, and given that the merger issue will no doubt come ‘round again, what do we keep doing the same way while hoping for different results? Having that wisdom would surely be helpful the next time around – but better yet, it could help in a renewed attempt THIS time around! So, instead of quitting, maybe it’s simply time to pause, take a deep breath, and then have another “Listening Tour” and really listen. Let us make the effort to better up the plan in a way that we can yet affirm with a super majority on both sides. Ask the Jurisdictional Conference to give us approval to create a new conference in the coming quadrennium, pending affirmation from both Conferences, and trust that it will happen. I, for one, believe it can! If we do keep trying, I'd also humbly ask you to rethink making this an “all or nothing, non-amendable proposal” and so rigid and linear a process. That there was rebellion aimed at such a process shouldn‚Äôt really be surprising. We are still Protestants after all. I believe it showed a lack of trust in the body that we couldn’t participate beyond cold voting procedures, that we couldn’t submit response petitions, or amend, or “better up” what was offered in any way. And I think, in part, that because some perceived leadership didn’t trust the body with such input and power, the body responded by withholding trust in kind. Though not for me personally, I know many voted “No” simply because they felt pushed into a corner, had no voice, and couldn’t truly participate beyond pressing a button. I beg you MATT – regroup! Give us another chance at each annual conference this year to reaffirm our desire to unite. Then, give us some time and some room to broaden the dialogue, to do more holy conferencing, to cast a wider vision for how life together might look in a new Michigan Conference. Allow us to debate, and amend, and struggle, and reconcile all our ideas and proposals, and I dare say you’ll get the affirmation you seek – the affirmation I believe the vast majority of us seek. Now is STILL the time, and I believe the people are willing – we simply have to find the common ground on which we can all stand and say “Yes.” Instead of seeing this as the defeat of an already complete plan, why not see it as an opportunity to keep moving toward perfection of an emerging plan that we all long to embrace. I’m reminded that after a long, no doubt tiresome and disappointing night of luckless fishing, Jesus invited Simon to “put out into deep water, and let down the nets.” Would he ask any less of us here amidst these Great Lakes? Would he ask any less of you, MATT? Please, don’t give up on us yet, God surely hasn’t. –The Rev. David F. Hills, Delton: Faith UMC Leading from the heartOn the way home from Lansing on Saturday afternoon, I became aware that my elbow was aching more than it has in the past several weeks. It seemed odd since I hadn’t done anything to aggravate the injury. Then I got it. My elbow was simply mirroring the state of my heart.My heart aches that the West Michigan Conference was almost equally divided on the proposed creation of a new Great Lakes Annual Conference (363 yes, 376 no, 2 abstentions). My heart aches for those on MATT who spent thousands of hours dreaming, meeting, creating, writing and presenting. My heart aches for the Detroit Conference, which voted solidly for a new conference, only to be deeply disappointed that the merger won’t happen. My heart aches for those who desired merger but felt they could not approve the particular plan that was proposed. My eart aches in sympathy for all those who are hurting right now. At the same time as my heart aches, my heart is at peace because I believe that the Holy Spirit was present in a mighty way in the Lansing Convention Center. I saw peace in the visuals gracing the worship area: the banner with the seashell, butterfly, and chalice and grapes; the flowing water of the fountain; the variety of breads and chalices representing the body of Christ. I experienced peace in the music: "Sufficient is your arm alone, and our defense is sure." "Unrevealed until its season; something God alone can see." "I’ll never, no never, forsake." I felt peace in the benediction, "Best of all, God is with us." My heart is filled with love and gratitude. What joy there was being in the same room with almost 1,700 faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. It was like having my whole family together. Hugs, kisses, handshakes, introductions, words of grace, laughter and tears. All I could think was, "See how they love each other." The passion I heard from everyone who spoke, the seriousness with which each delegate approached the day, and the respect with which we treated each other, is a sign that the Michigan area of the United Methodist Church is very much alive. My heart is filled with hope. Our human structures will never be perfect, yet the way we organize ourselves can mold and form us for effective ministry. I am convinced that both the Detroit and West Michigan Conferences will learn, grow and change because of our experience on Saturday. As St. Paul reminds us in Romans 8, being shaped into the likeness of Christ, whether as individuals or as conferences, is an agonizing process. It’s like groaning in labor pains as we wait for redemption. Because Jesus is the head of the church, we can and will move on. God is not done with us yet! My heart is filled with holy indifference. During my renewal leave 7 years ago, I discovered that the key to wholeness in my life is directly related to the degree of self-differentiation I am able to practice. For many years I over-functioned, believing that my self-worth was tied to how hard I worked and how invested I was in my local church. It took several months of solitude, painful self-examination and reflection to discover that I was burned out precisely because I could not separate myself from my ministry. At the same time I began to learn from spiritual writers about "holy indifference," which implies a detachment from anything which would separate us from seeking God. In the decision-making model of discernment, holy indifference is called "shedding". We cannot be open to the movement of God until we completely let go of our wants and desires. Only by becoming indifferent to ourselves can we be faithful to the life that God has planned for us. I came to Saturday with an attitude of holy indifference, seeking God’s will: nothing more, nothing less. To be honest, however, I’ve been forced to practice holy indifference continually over the past month. My elbow is healing nicely, and I’ve been able to start running again. However, I won’t be able to drive for another 4 weeks. It is utterly humbling and exhausting to rely on others for transportation. One day last week I had 5 different drivers! I’ve had no choice but to be patient, flexible, dependent and holy indifferent to my desire to be in control. On Palm Sunday, I was feeling a bit down. As we were lying in bed early in the morning, Gary asked what I was thinking, and I said, "I’m feeling sorry for myself because today is such a wonderful Sunday, and I don’t have the privilege of leading worship anymore." My self-pity was compounded by the fact that I couldn’t find a ride to the church I wanted to attend. So I walked a mile to a neighboring Episcopal Church, sat toward the back and tried to look anonymous. Tears of grief began to flow when the priest read the Palm Sunday proclamation and the choir streamed down the aisles, waving their palm branches. I felt as if I were watching a parade and was simply a spectator. I remember thinking, "I don’t belong anywhere." Imagine my utter surprise, then, when the ushers began inviting the entire congregation to join the procession. Staying in the pew was not an option. As I moved to the chancel and was given a palm, it finally dawned on me that I, too, was part of the parade. Only by shedding my resistance and letting go of self was I able to shout, "Hosanna to the Son of David." My heart still aches today in spite of the peace, love, gratitude, hope and holy indifference that keep me practicing the presence of God. I ache because when one part of the body of Christ, hurts, we all hurt. But I also know that the ache is a necessary part of the healing process. My prayer is that, in the midst of the ache, we will stay in love with one another in both the West Michigan and Detroit Conferences. I pray that each one of us will know how vital we are to the health of the connection, for none of us can afford to be mere spectators in the drama of salvation. I pray that we will allow God to lead us, Jesus to reshape us and the Holy Spirit to set us on fire once more as we make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. I pray that we will release all of our personal agendas and seek God’s will for our conference. Most of all, I pray that prayer of holy indifference offered to us by John Wesley in his covenant service. Lord, make me what you will. I put myself fully into your hands: Put me to doing, put me to suffering, Let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you. Let me be full, let me be empty, Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and with a willing heart give it all to your pleasure and disposal. Amen. –Blessings, Laurie Haller, Grand Rapids District Newsletter Macaulay's MusingsDear Friends,This "Musings" article is being written just a few days (daze?) after the vote for the creation of the Great Lakes Annual Conference was defeated. There’s always an inherent risk in making one’s observations so soon after the event, because sometimes the passage of time gives us a more complete picture… a lens that comes helps focus our reflections with more insight, information, discernment. However, there are also times when people want (maybe need?) to know what their leaders think. I will offer all who read these words what my current response is, understanding it may well change with the passage of time, more conversation, more listening, more whatever else is needed. My initial and preponderant reaction was one of shock and deep dismay. I felt… and still feel… we missed a chance to embrace God’s future in a new and exciting way. I was profoundly hurt for my friends… known and unknown… who spent untold hours in meetings, listening and dreaming, stepping outside the box and beyond their comfort zone, to imagine what God might be calling all of us to embrace. I also wonder how we will get other leaders to help us in our next effort to move boldly into the future. Some people at the Special Conference felt that MATT had designed the structure too tightly, while others sense it was not "tight enough". I found myself musing that day if perhaps that was a sign it may have been about right. Certainly, we could have tweaked it after living with it for awhile… one Annual Conference can not bind another’s decision(s). As I noted in my remarks, "structure" will never be that which will save our beloved Church, anyway! Time and time again, as I observe behavior among the churches in our Conference I can’t help but notice that, like our nation as a whole, we live in a time of high anxiety and stress… reflected in much of our behavior. I yearn for we United Methodists… in the Michigan Area and beyond… to become more comfortable with mystery and knowing in our Heart of hearts that we cannot know all there is to know before we make decisions that impact us… and others. I covet the day when we can live more easily with ambiguity and embrace God’s mysteries that seem inherent in what it means to be human. But we’re not there yet. Maybe some day…. Lastly, I hope and pray that whatever way one voted, I trust that we can avoid the human tendency to make "the other" our enemy. That is diametrically opposed to God’s will for us in the Church. I hope that we will engage in open, heart-felt, vulnerable conversations with each other… and others. Reach out to those who hurt. Embrace those who see the world… and Church… and our future differently than you do. Listen with care to those who are trying to understand what you believe. Listen even more carefully to those who are tempted to "write you off". Our ministry in Christ goes on. We need to continue to make disciples for Christ, so that the world can be transformed. How can that come alive, if we ignore those who differ from us? And what kind of disciples are we… and are trying to embody to a fractured world ? May the One who calls us all give you grace, wisdom, strength and patience for the Journey. Shalom, Tom Macaulay, Ann Arbor District Superintendent
One of the latest hip phrases in the Methodist world is the term “holy conferencing.” It is usually attributed to John Wesley, though you might have to dig deep to find it. At best, I think it means trying to do church business with a sense of the “holy” at the heart of it; doing our conferencing in a way that honors the Spirit rather than just politics. I like that. We all need to be reminded that we are, first and foremost, the Body of Christ. Even our conferencing should reflect the presence of Jesus, “where two or three are gathered together in His name.” |