Methodist Missions Agency Picks New Leader, Prepares for General Conference

The semi-annual directors meeting of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) featured preparations for the denomination’s upcoming General Conference, reviews of the missions agency’s current and prospective finances, a report from its task force on mission education, and more of the liberal politics that have long dominated the board.

But the biggest news at the March 10–13 gathering in Stamford, Connecticut was the naming of a new chief executive.  GBGM General Secretary Randy Day was  fired abruptly at the fall 2007 directors’ meeting because of administrative concerns.  His replacement will now be Seattle-area Bishop Edward Paup, a current GBGM director.  While it is unusual for a sitting bishop to staff a general agency, Paup has promised to resign his position as bishop before assuming his GBGM duties next fall.  He remains a member of the famously liberal Western Jurisdiction College of Bishops, which petitioned the 2008 General Conference to delete the disapproval of homosexual practice from the United Methodist Social Principles.  The two other finalists that had been considered for the post are known for Wesleyan theological orthodoxy.

Leftist Political Perspectives
The GBGM’s penchant for left-leaning political causes was displayed at various times.

In an address to directors, Haniel Garibay, now commissioned as a “home missioner,” recalled his “great shock” at the ineffectiveness of the U.S. governmental response to Hurricane Katrina.  He declared that he “thought this would only happen in a third-world country governed by a corrupt dictatorship!”  During the subsequent dramatic pause, several directors loudly chuckled and yelled “Well…!”  Garibay went on to read Matthew 25, including the passage about the master punishing the lazy servant who buried the talent entrusted to him.  Garibay said, “I disagree with the conventional wisdom that the master in the text is God,” because “God is not harsh.”

A bulky “Missions Opportunities Book” distributed to directors reported a notable increase in recent GBGM funding of outside political groups, including:

• $10,000 to the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (advocates amnesty for illegal immigrants)
• $5,000 to the Greensboro Justice Fund (funnels money to such liberal activist groups, like the North Carolina Lambda Youth Network [a homosexual youth network] and the American Civil Liberties Union [ACLU])
• $5,000 to the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation (dismisses Israeli security concerns and  promotes “comprehensive divestment” against Israel) The GBGM and the unofficial Methodist Federation for Social Action (MFSA) are both members of this organization.
• $5,000 to the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.
• $5,000 to the Torture Abolition & Survivors Support Coalition (TASSC) (claims that “the United States has been involved in torture, either directly or by proxy, for decades”)
• $5,000 to the Sentencing Project (advocates dramatic reforms to America’s criminal justice system, including restoring voting rights to convicted felons)
• $5,000 to JusticeWorks Community (“advocate[s] for alternatives to incarceration for mothers with dependent children who are convicted of nonviolent offenses”)
• $3,200 to the Women of Color Resource Center (opposes the U.S. war on terror and “heterosexist family values”)
• $3,000 to the Wi’am Palestinian Conflict Resolution Centre (strongly critiques Israeli government policies)
• $3,000 to the Washington Office on Africa (opposes free trade agreements and supports the international treaty to ban all landmines, whether offensive or defensive)
• $2,500 to Peace for Life (Philippines-based group dedicated to “faith-based resistance to the terror of war and economic globalization” as well as to U.S. “empire”)
• $2,000 to School of the Americas Watch (demands the closure of the U.S. military’s Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation [WHINSEC], which SOA Watch claims is culpable for human rights abuses in Latin America)
• $2,000 to the Campaign for a National Health Program Now (advocates establishing a “single payer [government-controlled] health care system” in the United States)
• $2,000 to the Big Box Collaborative (dedicated to challenging the “unsustainable and unjust business model” of the “Wal-Mart Economy”)

The GBGM’s interim chief executive, retired Bishop Felton May, used his address to focus on the need “to move from charity to justice” in a dual approach to confronting poverty.  He asserted that people are poor “because we’re keeping them that way” and that the United States was forcing them into hard work “without compensation.”  The bishop touted the work of microcredit pioneer Muhammed Yannis, whom he quoted as saying that “poverty will disappear very quickly” if “we believe poverty is unacceptable for a civilized society” and worked to “harness the power of the free market” against it.  Much of May’s speech was devoted to promoting Volunteers in Medicine, a group supporting the establishment of cost-free health clinics with which GBGM is exploring a partnership.  May also made a point of blasting recent GOP presidential candidate and current Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee for  widespread health care problems in Arkansas, which he blamed on racism.

Preparing for General Conference
Significant attention was devoted to the denomination’s upcoming General Conference, which will establish United Methodist policy and position statements for the next four years.  It was announced that at the General Conference, the GBGM, in cooperation with other church agencies, will have a daily breakfast and “strategy session” for delegates.

The GBGM staff spoke of aligning its proposals for the next four years of work with the “four areas of focus” developed by the Council of Bishops for the General Conference:

• Ministry with the Poor: GBGM’s plans include “support[ing] ministries addressing the victims of sex trafficking” and “build[ing] a global community which makes a place for all.”
• Global Health: Fighting “the killer diseases of poverty” will be a major GBGM focus.
• Church Growth and Development: The GBGM plans to start 400 new congregations overseas in the 2009–2012 quadrennium.
• Leadership Development: GBGM staff acknowledged that the denomination faces a “crisis” in clergy and lay leadership, and shared plans to—among other things—“increase mission service opportunities for young people” and expanded leadership training in Asia and Africa.

Women’s Division staffer Lois Dauway gave a brief presentation on the General Conference petitions from the national office of United Methodist Women.  Among the petitions singled out for promotion was the readoption of Resolution 112 on “hospital mergers.”  Neither Dauway nor the description provided to delegates of this petition notes the actual content of that resolution, which decries the “crisis” of how mergers have resulted in some hospitals no longer offering such services as abortion and “certain types of end-of-life health care.”

In reviewing petitions relevant to the GBGM’s work, staffer Jorge Domingues highlighted for critique a petition by UMAction Director Mark Tooley to replace the current United Methodist Social Principles statement on poverty with the following:

Tragically, the vast majority of people in history have lived in poverty.  God has a special love for the poor.  But we as Christians are also called to ameliorate the effects of poverty and to provide opportunities for the poor to improve their plight.  All societies should work to provide decent wages, sufficient food, housing, health care, and education for all people.   Government has important responsibilities but cannot provide all the answers.   Providing true opportunity for the poor requires economic growth, protection of property rights, limits on taxation, transparent government policies, the rule of law, guards against corruption, and policies that encourage investment and entrepreneurship.   We are especially mindful of the Global South, where investment and micro-enterprise are especially needed.  We urge support for policies that will encourage equitable economic growth in the Global South and around the world, providing a just opportunity for all.

Domingues criticized Tooley’s proposed substitute as “toned down” and claimed that adopting it would be extremely “awkward” in light of the denomination’s renewed commitment to focus on poverty.  Directors were told they would be sent more detailed information and talking points to use in support of the GBGM staff’s positions on General Conference proposals.

A meeting was convened specifically for the many GBGM directors elected as General Conference delegates.  It had barely begun when GBGM Deputy General Secretary Deborah Bass objected to the presence of outside reporters.  When reminded of the denomination’s “open meeting” policy.  Bass replied, “Oh, that’s interesting!” and then abruptly adjourned the gathering, less than 10 minutes into the scheduled 45 minutes.

Financial Challenges
A major theme of the financial reports was the increasing strain caused by decreasing U.S. membership and the consequent decline in denominational revenue.  As a result, GBGM has experienced significant staff reductions and budget cuts in the last couple of years.

Dr. Randall Miller, chair of the Mission Development Committee, said that GBGM was in a “financial crisis” because of multiplying tasks unmatched by an increase in staff.  A report from this committee noted, among other things, a serious disconnect between the GBGM and grassroots United Methodists, but stopped well short of exploring possible reasons for mistrust of the board.  It acknowledged that numerous “[l]ocal churches and conferences within the UMC are directly involved in mission . . . rather than simply funding programs and ministry through GBGM” and asked how the GBGM could do more to recognize and support such grassroots missions work.  The report noted the need to respond “in a non-defensive way” to the fact that “[m]any churches feel less and less connected to the denominational structures and are asking, ‘why should my money go through New York instead of directly to the [missions] project?’”  The report elsewhere noted that while youth and young adults “are looking for hands-on meaningful mission experience,” GBGM provides such opportunities for only 57 young adults annually.  The result is that “[m]any young United Methodists turn to other denominations for these experiences because we have so few opportunities for them through the GBGM.”

On behalf of the Financial Development Task Force, the Rev. Guy Ames reported that in addition to its usual work to promote greater U.S. giving to the GBGM (including the beginning of direct-mail solicitations), the task force has also begun exploring avenues for contributions from the overseas portion of the denomination.

Treasurer Roland Fernandes reported that the GBGM had enjoyed “an improving financial picture each year” since 2005, having moved “from significant deficit positions to surpluses.”  Voluntary, specifically designated giving appears to account for most of the increased income.  Twenty-three conferences fully paid their apportionments in 2007, up from 17 the previous year.  Every year since 2002, the Western Jurisdiction has been dramatically behind any others in the percentages of its apportionments it has paid, never paying more than 83 percent of its assigned share.

For the 2008 General Conference (after consultation with the denomination’s Connectional Table and General Council on Finance and Administration), the GBGM is requesting that General Conference approve a 2009 budget of $55.3 million, a decrease of 8 percent from 2008.  Slightly half of the total amount is to come from apportioned offering plate money.  The treasurer reported that the decrease’s “primary drivers” are reduced income from the Women’s Division, pensions issues, and recommendations from the Connectional Table and the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) for the allotment of the denomination’s increasingly strained apportioned World Service Fund.

The Women’s Division has separately approved its own 2009 budget of $19 million.  Its contributions to the GBGM have continued to fall dramatically since 2005.

Report of the Seminary Task Force on Mission
Directors also received an extensive report on the Seminary Task Force on Mission established by the GBGM in 2005 to “assess the teaching of mission theology in the seminaries and Course of Study” and develop promote recommendations to improve appreciation for missions in United Methodist theological education.  The task force has been chaired by the Rev. Dr. Maxie Dunnam, a former Confessing Movement president and the Chancellor of the independent, evangelical Asbury Theological Seminary.  In was created in response to a letter of concern from United Methodist missions professors (most of whom were not at United Methodist schools) about the perceived lack of attention official United Methodist seminaries have been giving to missions.

Dr. Dunnam stressed that the health of United Methodist seminaries is critical for the health of the denomination.  He boldly announced that “our church is not in good health,” but that thankfully, “we are coming out of our denial about that.”  Dunnam admitted that “we were really disappointed in the response we got” from most of the presidents and deans of the official United Methodist seminaries in the U.S. to the task force’s 2006 “Call to Conversation.”  United Methodist ordination candidates are currently required to take one class on mission, but there are no standards for the content of this class.  The task force lamented how “[i]n the academic discipline of missiology, scholarly reflection from Wesleyan and United Methodist perspectives has fallen behind that of Reformed and Roman Catholic traditions.”

The report listed many specific recommendations for addressing the above concerns.  These included “[i]ntentionally increase[ing] the scholarly material on mission from a Wesleyan perspective” and dialogues with general agency chief executives, GBGM staffers, United Methodist seminary heads, missions professors, and other relevant figures.  While declining to “mandate a ‘one size fits all’ syllabus” for the required mission course, the task force urged the class to include such “core competencies” as “a mission theology that is biblically grounded and exemplifies Wesleyan holism.”

Moving Forward
During the four-day meeting, GBGM commissioned 36 new “mission personnel” to various assignments (not all of which are GBGM–funded) ranging from pastoring an international, Lutheran-affiliated church in Sweden to being a scholarship administrator at a Midwestern public university.  While the GBGM touts a total of 928 mission personnel, only some of these are salaried by the board or serving overseas.

The Rev. Michael Slaughter reported extensively on the impressive work that his large congregation, Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church in Ohio has been doing to provide relief to victims of the ongoing genocide in Darfur.  This work is being done in partnership with the GBGM’s United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR).  He pointed out the need for activists to particularly pressure the Chinese government to support efforts to end the crisis.

Alabama–West Florida Bishop Larry Goodpaster expressed the GBGM’s support of the small Methodist presence in Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos.  Despite extreme problems with poverty and communist oppression, these churches are growing rapidly with “new commitments to Christ” and “their excitement is contagious.”  Goodpaster was appointed last year as the Presiding Bishop for the Southeast Asia Mission in these countries, in addition to his duties as Alabama-West Florida Conference Bishop.