In April 2008, thousands of United Methodists will converge upon the city of Fort Worth, TX, for their quadrennial General Conference. More than 700 got an advance look at the site November 1-4, as the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society (GBCS) held its “Living Faith, Seeking Justice” conference in Fort Worth.
Speakers at the GBCS conference urged participants to put their faith into action. They had particular actions foremost in their minds. Among these were: (1) removing the language in the United Methodist Book of Discipline that prevents same-sex unions and homosexual ordinations, so as to create a more “inclusive” United Methodist Church; and (2) resisting alleged U.S. “militarism” and imperialism. Both plenary speakers and workshop leaders called the church to act on behalf of “social justice.” This goal was repeatedly equated with universal government-funded healthcare and other federal entitlement spending, liberal immigration policies, “fair trade” (as opposed to free trade), and non-violence as the keystone of foreign policy.
Church-Funded Conference Challenges ‘an Exclusive Church’
The Rev. Chebon Kernell, a pastor in the Oklahoma Missionary Conference, was the event’s first plenary speaker. Kernell alleged that the United Methodist Church is “an exclusive church that grows more exclusive every day.” In response to Oklahoma’s, recent restrictions on illegal immigrants, the Oklahoma pastor preached that inclusivity means that “for me it will never be a felony to provide housing for someone who does not have the right document.”
| Dr. Elizabeth Tapia of Drew University Theological School claimed that “the United States is the center of a new empire with visions of the world” based on “neo-liberal globalization.” (Photo courtesy UMNS) |
Dr. Elizabeth Tapia, Director of the Center for Christianities in Global Context at Drew University Theological School, claimed that “the United States is the center of a new empire with visions of the world” based on “neo-liberal globalization.” Tapia cited feminist and liberation theologian Rosemary Radford Ruether in criticizing “American messianic nationalism.”
Tapia agreed with Ruether in rejecting the idea that “God chooses one nation above all nations.” The Drew scholar insisted especially that God had not chosen “the United States above all others.” She charged that Americans, as “messianic nationalists,” view “evil” as “specially located in enemies of the United States.” Moreover, she warned, messianic Americans assume that “evil can be conquered by external or military force.”
The Rev. Michael Yoshii, pastor at Buena Vista United Methodist Church in Alameda, CA, also attacked this American “Empire” in his Bible study on 2 Timothy 1:1-10. Yoshii characterized anti-terrorist government initiatives, restrictions on immigration, and traditional teachings on sexuality as primarily motivated by fear. He did not acknowledge that those who advocated such views might be acting on moral principles, some of those derived from Scripture.
Yoshii told the story of a homosexual young man who became his assistant and found affirmation for his lifestyle at the Buena Vista Church. (The church became a “Reconciling” congregation, an affiliate of the pro-homosexuality “Reconciling Ministries Network,” in 2006.) Yet the pastor was disappointed that the local mayor told him “We can’t support gay rights in this community … because of the religious right.” Yoshii explained, “I tell these stories because we live with fear.” He added that “there’s a genuine fear about the policies of our country right now” regarding immigration, but that in all these situations Christians are to have a “spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.”
Like others, the pastor attached the derogatory label of “Empire” to present-day America. He declared, “The Empire … is the complete antithesis of what Jesus taught.” Reminding his audience of Paul’s encouragement to Timothy not to “be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord,” Yoshii spoke of the “persistence of the Gospel, even in the face of Empire.”
Megachurch Pastor Appeals for ‘Third Way’
The Rev. Adam Hamilton, pastor and founder of the 12,000-member United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, in Leawood, KS, offered a marked departure from previous and later speakers. Hamilton’s thesis was that “the more evangelically minded have forgotten the call [to social justice], and the more social justice minded have forgotten” the need to tell people about their faith. The megachurch pastor drew an analogy: God may sometimes feel about progressives the way that Hamilton feels about his teenage daughter. Having grown up in the church, his daughter has “got the values, but it’s not enough that she have the right values; I want to have a relationship with her.”
| “That evangelical gospel has got to catapult us into the future of the social gospel,” said the Rev. Adam Hamilton. (Photo courtesy UMNS) |
Hamilton gave the example of one man who had done significant work with the poor. But when Hamilton asked the man if he had offered Jesus along with material assistance, the flustered man replied, “Dammit, if they want a sermon, they can go to the Salvation Army!” Hamilton warned that when United Methodists offer material fixes without offering Jesus Christ, “We’re providing a band-aid, but we’re not dealing with the heart.”
Hamilton maintained, “That evangelical gospel has got to catapult us into the future of the social gospel.” He suggested that young people “are hungry for the Methodist approach to the Gospel.” Hamilton lauded the Wesleyan tradition as a “third way” that creates “a church that holds together personal holiness and social holiness.” The Kansas pastor declared, “This is our sweet spot, and now is our time.”
The Rev. Dr. Pamela Lightsey, Dean of Students at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary, called upon participants to act because “the world will not be convinced of our faith unless we role up our sleeves and do something.” Lightsey listed areas in which the church must take action. “Lofty resolutions at General Conference will not convince the world of our faith,” she said. “The changing of our Discipline with non-discriminatory language [about homosexuality] will not convince the world of our faith.… Innocent civilians in war zones will not be convinced of our faith if we keep writing resolutions.”
Christian Ethics ‘Stuck on Prohibitions,’ Theologian Charges
Mercy Amba Oduyoye, a longtime African feminist theologian prominent in World Council of Churches circles, spoke about the encounter between Christ and the rich young ruler in Mark 10:17-31.
Oduyoye told participants that Christ’s call to give to the poor was still directly applicable today, urging, “That diamond ring, that gold bracelet … the real estate, weapons of war, private debt, the extra cars—sell and give the proceeds to the poor.”
The African theologian asked her audience to put Christ’s saying that “it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven” in a modern context. One participant’s example was: “Getting a camel through the eye of the needle is like getting the United States out of Iraq.”
Oduyoye lamented: “There’s so much that feeds our patriarchal traditions … that derives from the Bible…. Christians need to reread their Bible.” She charged: “We ourselves are guilty of killing the souls or spirits of persons … [by telling them] ‘You can’t make it, you’re gay; you can’t make it, you’re lesbian … African …black.’”
“Christian ethics have got stuck on prohibitions,” argued Oduyoye. She observed, “An individual cannot murder, but the state can have the death penalty and send thousands [of young people] … to die for national security.” Oduyoye asserted that we say, “’Thou shall not kill,’ but we can send people to wherever to be killed.”
Dr. Harold Recinos, a church and society professor at Perkins School of Theology, warned the audience of factions that would seek to “harmonize the Gospel with the darkest impulses of American national security.” Recinos stated, “You will not find hope in dividing ideologies,” by which he seemed to mean conservative ideologies. He added a personal shot at President Bush: “I disbelieve the President was divinely called to office for such a time as this.” Recinos remarked with disdain: “Thanks to media stereotyping, conservative intellectual Americans believe that Islamic people are the new post-Cold War enemy.”
Recinos saw concern about illegal immigration as simply a new campaign by “white racist nationalists.” He suggested, “Instead of using tax dollars to build a fence along one third of the US-Mexican border, let’s buy textbooks.…” The Perkins professor saw the United States as “not now in a post racial world” but instead still deeply racist. “More than black and white, the color line has become the borderline,” he said.
Recinos reminded attendees that in the Emmaus story, it was “only when they moved … to the act of breaking bread with a stranger” that the two disciples in the story recognized Jesus. He hoped that Christ would be recognized today “when we see the other and the undocumented [illegal immigrants] in our midst,” he said. Recinos concluded, “I think we should stay close to crucified peoples … not the martial messiah of this American Empire.”
A Sermon on the Federal Budget
GBCS General Secretary Jim Winkler delivered the sermon on Saturday evening, November 3. Winkler attempted to apply the denunciations of ancient Israel by the prophet Amos to modern- day America. The church official charged that the amount of resources devoted to “the weapons of war” means that “the scraps of the table are not used to pay the healthcare of the children.” This criticism appeared to be directed at President Bush’s recent veto of a bill by congressional Democrats to greatly expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.
| “If we don’t have joy and we don’t have love, nobody’s going to want the truth we have, even if it is true,” warned Shane Claiborne, co-founder of “The Simple Way,” an alternative Christian Community in Philadelphia. (Photo courtesy UMNS) |
Winkler told his audience, “Amos denounced Israel for reliance on military might” as well as for economic and social injustice. He applauded fellow United Methodists for being the people who took action “when President Bush stampeded us into a disastrous war in Iraq” and “when immigrants are especially vulnerable” to deportations. “Plans are being made to invade Iran,” Winkler warned without citing any particular evidence.
Perhaps in response to a recent General Council on Finance and Administration report showing United Methodist membership decreasing in liberal regions of the United States while it soars in the Global South, Winkler dismissed concerns about membership. He insisted, “We here tonight must help our church find healing over its addiction to numerical growth.” Likewise, Winkler said that the denomination needed to “find healing from its panic over membership loss.”
Finally, Winkler departed from his political critiques to end his sermon with an altar call for participants to “recommit [themselves]… to Jesus Christ.”
A Sunday morning plenary session featured Shane Claiborne, a poverty activist and new monastic. Claiborne discussed his work as a founding member of “The Simple Way,” an alternative Christian community in urban Philadelphia that ministers to the poor. He stated that he began to live his monastic lifestyle when he decided “I’m going to run after something other than the American dream; I’m going to run after Jesus.” Claiborne, who grew up United Methodist, says that he is “madly in love with Jesus.”
The Philadelphia activist cautioned his audience not to become wrapped up in language, saying: “You can talk about social justice … and still not talk to the poor.… We can still live a very progressive life … and be mean.” Claiborne warned that “if we don’t have joy and we don’t have love, nobody’s going to want the truth we have, even if it is true.”
The “Living Faith, Seeking Justice” conference was the first of its kind ever held, and GBCS spokespeople remarked upon the success of the event. Whereas original GBCS estimates had projected a couple hundred attendees, the conference actually hosted over 700 lay and clergy. Young adult United Methodists, as well persons from the Filipino, European, and African central conferences, were notable by their presence. Due to plentiful financial support, GBCS officials announced that all persons requesting a scholarship had received one.
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