Jeremy Smith outlines the original Wesleyan notion of accountability, how it has changed over the years, and how it will totally be broken on January 1, 2020. His solution: bishops refuse to process complaints based solely on a person's sexual orientation or the performance of a wedding. So far, Bishops Schol, Dyck, and all 5 of the Western jurisdiction bishops have promised to do this. He also urges passage of the All Belong petitions at the 2020 General Conference.

Wesleyan Accountability is broken come January 1. Here’s how to fix it.

November 12, 2019 by Jeremy Smith of Hacking Christianity.net

The Traditional Plan breaks 200 years of Wesleyan Accountability—unsure what is “traditional” about it! But there’s active hope to restore Wesleyan Accountability to The United Methodist Church.

Read more: Wesleyan Accountability Is Broken

By Heather Hahn
Nov. 26, 2019 | LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. (original story at UM News)

The effort to create a new United Methodist structure for U.S. decision-making received a boost from bishops in Africa, Europe and the Philippines.

“The central conference bishops will promote and solidly support the U.S. regional conference proposal,” Bishop Harald Rückert of Germany announced to applause near the end of the fall Council of Bishops meeting.

Read more: Bishops’ group backs US regional conference

Analyses Begin of Future Plans

by Cynthia B. Astle
November 7, 2019 (Used by permission of United Methodist Insight.)

Policy wonks, this was your week in the journey toward The United Methodist Church’s future, as analyses of the various submitted plans began to emerge.

The Wesleyan Covenant Association kicked off the analysis parade with the Rev. Walter Fenton’s overview of four of the six plans submitted to the 2020 General Conference. Rev. Fenton serves as the WCA’s vice president for strategic engagement. He also is an elder in the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference, which recently passed a resolution that would allow local congregations to decide how to include LGBTQ+ people in ministry and mission in opposition to increased restrictions going into effect Jan. 1.

Read more: UM-Insight Reviews the Reviews

Will the General Church advocate for Big Boat Methodism or Scuttle the Fleet?

October 29, 2019 by UMJeremy

Reprinted under Creative Commons "Free Cultural Work" license, per Hacking Christianity's site. Original post here.

One of the defining features of United Methodism is threatened in the current crop of division, schism, and dissolution plans. Will the General Church fight back?

Mahayana Methodism

A friend of mine refuses to call United Methodism a “Big Tent,” a common moniker often derided by Traditionalists as meaning The UMC stretches so wide it actually stands for nothing. Rather, my friend calls Methodism “Mahayana” or “Big Boat” Protestantism. We are a diverse church in a big boat together, sailing the seas and seeking to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world in a multitude of ways under one flag. We have big global structures that can do the things that smaller boats cannot do.

I like the metaphor because it is active, but it is also descriptive of the problems plaguing The UMC right now. Being in a big boat is frustrating. I don’t like everyone aboard—sometimes I even want to cast people overboard! A big boat is slow to turn, molasses-slow to react, afflicted by inertia more than novel direction.

Read more: The Plans and the General Agencies