UM-Insight is carrying this analysis of the state of the UMC in this week after Annual Conference season here in the US Methodist Church.
7 Suggestions on How to Begin to Restructure the UMC
by Ben Gosden
June 24, 2019
Delegate elections for the 2020 General Conference are now mostly complete in America. Methodists all over the world are following the numbers like it’s November during a Presidential election year. ...
What Do We Know Now?
There is a big backlash against the Traditional Plan among American delegates.There’s no denying that fact now. Annual Conferences have elected inclusive candidates en mass. General Conference 2020 will see noticeable absences from a number of long-standing delegates who are leaders among the WCA and who are Traditional Plan advocates. The South Central and Southeastern Jurisdictions — long believed to be strongholds for the Traditional Plan — have shifted to reflect upwards of 65%+ delegates who are against the Traditional Plan. Annual Conferences across the country passed legislation against the Traditional Plan. And a number of LGBTQ candidates for ministry were affirmed and ordained/commissioned. Traditional Plan advocates must come to terms with the backlash happening across America.
Despite big shifts in delegations, there is still not a majority who support inclusion (assuming central conference delegates don’t shift their votes). That truth needs to be heard, especially among proponents of inclusion who think the strategy of “stay and resist” is the way to impact long-term change. The math is only going to get worse as central conferences continue to gain delegates at the expense of American conferences. No matter which way you configure it, the mathematical way forward remains bleak for those who support inclusion.
All of that said, no “side” can lead with a 52-48 majority. A political mandate happens when a clear majority is established. If General Conference 2019 taught us anything, it taught us that you can win a vote and fail to win a mandate to lead. Traditionalists who thought General Conference 2019 gave them the mandate to lead are now seeing how wrong they were. Likewise, centrist/progressives need to wake up and see that while major shifts in delegations feel like big steps forward, the very best outcome (which they will fall short of) was never anything more than a similar slight majority. [Continue reading at UM-Insight]
The Rev. Ben Gosden serves as pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church in Savannah, Ga.