General Conference wrapped up its business late Friday night after approving a more than 60 petitions and resolutions in less than a day. Over 1300 decisions were made on various legislation items during the 2008 GC session. Closing worship was led by Bishop Palmer.

Friday morning, the General Conference legislative statistician shared that 98.6% of all petitions approved by the legislative committees were eventually approved by the entire General Conference. That fact indicates how influential legislative committees are in shaping the United Methodist Church. I also discovered the power at the hands of legislative committee chairpersons. They do more than properly guide the committees through the process; they also set the agenda as to what legislation is brought to the floor of the entire General Conference and when it is presented. I realized that when I observed how the items regarding the Worldwide Nature of the Church were guided through the committee meetings and then the plenary sessions. Most clergy and laypersons do not read the Book of Resolutions or the Discipline, but UMs should realize these decisions shape the policies by which the General Church operates, makes public statements AND spend apportionment money. Looking back I realized that most delegates were harmless as doves, but not very wise as serpents in dealing with these important matters. Others came prepared to control the legislative process, and they did. If we want to have a greater influence upon the UMC regardless of our positions on matters, we need to be more politically astute….not mean-spirited, but clever and prepared.

The budget for the General Church (for 2009-2012) was set at $642 million. That represents a 4.8% increase, or 1.2% per year. I was impressed with the financial analysis presented in determining how this figure is realistic, especially in light of an anticipated 8% loss of membership in the next 4 years.

One of the most inspiring experiences of General Conference was the response to Bishop Bickerton’s offer to “auction” off the basketball he used to illustrate the “Nothing But Nets” effort to provide mosquito nets for beds in areas affected by malaria. The nets cost $10/net, and at last report, Bishop Bickerton had raised over $428,000 in gifts and pledges from the delegations. I am sure that will be over $500,000 by the time he leaves Ft. Worth.

Here are a few other decisions made by the General Conference as we concluded business at midnight on Friday:
· The UMC will continue its relationship with the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.
· A vote to re-define marriage to include same-sex relationships was defeated 70-30 %.
· Deacons were given sacramental privileges as defined in their ministry settings.
· A strong statement opposing the death penalty in Texas was approved.
· The official mission statement of the church is now “Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” (I have trouble with the restrictive prepositional phrase as the purpose of making disciples).

Final thoughts
In many ways, this GC demonstrated how the UMC is trying to keep a delicate balance between an anxious, progressive constituency and a concerned, conservative membership. On one hand, there are those who are influenced by a liberation theology that believes that the UMC is US-centric and too exclusive re its policies on homosexuality and decision-making. Their hope is for the authority of the church to become more localized (regional) and the structure to be more flexible. On the other hand are those who hold traditional values re sexuality, marriage and the structure/authority of the church. They hope the UMC will maintain the historic positions that set clear, definite standards for church membership, ordination and the Social Principles. We have lived in this tension for 40 years during which time we have lost almost 25% of our membership, i.e., there are fewer members numerically and percentage-wise in the USA today than in 1968.

Frankly, I do not know how the UMC can live with this tension indefinitely. The amendments re the “Worldwide Nature of the Church” must be approved by the annual conferences (aggregate 2/3 vote required by the 2012 GC). Following that vote, I have no doubt that there will be Regional Conferences in place by 2013. When (not if) the USA becomes a regional conference, the traditional values in the US UMC will be replaced by the progressive agenda shortly thereafter. The result of that will be . . . whatever.

I have enjoyed offering these reports, thoughts and comments with you for the past two weeks. Thanks to all for logging on and especially to those who offered comments as well. Let us continue to trust God and pray for our Church and particularly for each other as the Lord shapes, leads and guides us into His future. Stay tuned!

Yesterday was exhausting. Today was discouraging. Yet, before I get into that, let me share some good stuff that happened today at General Conference.

One of the celebrations today was the 100th anniversary of the General Board of Pensions and Health Benefits. This fund that provides clergy health and pension support began with $213,000. Today, the assets are over $16 billion. The GBPHB is one of the ten largest pension funds in America. That is a great story, and it gets even better the older I get.

Bill Gates, Sr. (not “Bill, Jr” the founder of Microsoft) shared his vision and passion about wiping out malaria in our lifetime. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged $5 million to the UMC to help launch the Global Health Initiative to combat malaria and other curable diseases around the world. Mr. Gates said our partnership with his foundation is a good fit because we see the entire world as our parish.

Good news for local pastors! The right to vote on delegates to General Conference was given to local pastors who have completed the Course of Study and have served at least two consecutive years prior to elections. I’ll share more details on that later.

Walking up to the Convention Center today, we were met by individuals who were lying on the sidewalk inside chalk lines, symbolizing persons who have suffered from spiritual violence. During our morning recess Conference leaders allowed a 15-minute witness/demonstration from the Lesbian/Bi-sexual/Gay/Transgender/Queer (LBGTQ) group on the Conference floor. Music, readings, prayers, witnesses and pictures of gay children were offered by the participants. Afterwards, 12 of our Bishops met with individuals from LBGTQ to discuss fairness and justice issues in light of the decision of the GC yesterday to retain language and certain prohibitions of homosexual persons in the life and ministry of the UMC. It was disturbing at several levels, but that was the intent. A bolder demonstration had been planned, but the Conference leaders and local police guided the group in a different way.

That experience, coupled with the vote to recommend 23 amendments to the UMC constitution to move toward regional conferences all across the connection, grieved my spirit. Again, this is not an issue of who wins/loses votes on the GC floor. Rather, I sense that we have had front row seats in the dis-uniting of the United Methodist Church. A carefully orchestrated and executed plan to de-centralize the church into regional conferences has been put in place. What concerns me most is that I do not think most of the delegates understood what they approved.

Simply put, a study committee has been approved to propose a worldwide design for the church to the 2012 GC that will create similar church structures in every region of the world. On the surface, that sounds OK, but in reality, the end result is that every region (including the USA) will have the authority to determine its own ministerial standards, social principles and other Disciplinary matters. Under the most radical plan, the UMC in the USA will become 5 regions rather than jurisdictions. The Study Committee supposedly has no immediate plan to make the USA a regional conference or conferences. Presenters denied this was the intent, but I know better. I served on the CONFERENCES legislative committee for the past week and observed firsthand how focused (and prepared) this group is in making their plan a reality sooner than later. One of the amendments states, "There shall be regional conferences" - not may be, but shall be.

I’ll share more of the reasons for this radical shift in the structure of the church and what impact this will have upon the UMC, but to use some country vernacular, “We just bought a pig in a poke.” In two years (2010), every annual conference will vote on these amendments. A 2/3 aggregate vote (the total vote of all annual conferences) is necessary to approve these changes.

That’s enough of my “venting” tonight. The Church is always a work in process, and I am a project God needs to put in some overtime to shape up. Our theme, “A Future with Hope” is something I want to believe. Yet, I’m concerned tonight that our attempt to be more accommodating of one group in the church will drive many more others from our ranks. Stay tuned.