In my observer duties, I’ve been tracking legislation in the Church and Society A legislative committee, or, as a dear colleague of mine dubbed it, the “Church and Socialism committee.” My subcommittee has devoted itself to “world” issues involving war, the Middle East (especially Israel and Palestine), immigration, and other various international policies. Since CS-A boasts one of the most liberal/revisionist make-ups, I really was not too surprised nor too upset about the legislation decisions that the subcommittees made. All is fair in love and parliamentary procedure.
My patience was tried as I watched a General Board of Global Ministries representative full-on tout a rather sloppy, slanted resolution condemning Israel in particular while outright ham-stringing a well-crafted petition denouncing the terrorist group Hamas. Similar inconsistencies occurred more than once. GBGM wants to be setting its own agenda for foreign affairs (and surprisingly little evangelism in the Middle East, it would seem), not the wider church of lay and clergy representatives. But what could I expect from such a vested interest? These folks are paid for lobbying, advocating, and making political statements. I really was not too surprised with these sorts of things. He was called upon through due procedure to state GBGM’s position, and I respect the rule of law.
Unfortunately, one element really bugged me. At each end of the table, two outspokenly progressive delegates kept taking direct cues from General Board of Church and Society representatives. When various amendments were proposed by others or petitions came up for adoption, these two delegates would look to the assistant general secretary for approval or disapproval—generally a vigorous nod or shake of the head and whispered affirmative or negative. It was as if these two committee members were the mouthpieces of the GBCS.
Look, I know we’re excited here; I’ve rolled my eyes, sighed, or nodded on occasion after a motion passes. Granted, GBCS are the supposed “experts” on all matters societal, though whether their positions match the consensus of the UMC remains incredibly dubious. On the other hand, we are all still observers who are explicitly forbidden to communicate with delegates unless called upon.
Let us not be naive here. GBCS has a vested interest to get their resolutions passed with some very particular wording and choice vocabulary. In an era when the American presence of United Methodists is fading and mainstream Protestantism is seen as mainly irrelevant beyond a moral rubber stamp for narrowly liberal political decisions, the GBCS needs to making work for itself to justify its existence while simultaneously creating church law that endorses the board’s controversial public stances. I don’t care if these ecclesiastical spokespeople rule the public witness roost; they still must submit to the authority of law and good order.
Comment by Roger Wolsey on April 30, 2012 at 2:43 pm
I noticed the same sort of thing happening at the Ft. Worth and Denver General Conferences — only it was conservative voters getting cues from the conservative Good News movement. My eyes rolled as well. I’m sure they’re doing the same thing in Tampa. Thankfully, most of the delegates are grown ups who are voting their own hearts and minds. Praise God.
Comment by TNS on April 30, 2012 at 8:42 pm
Pot meet kettle. Cell phones to African delegates, much?
Comment by WUMC on April 30, 2012 at 11:39 pm
Funny how a writer for the IRD – the Scaiffe-funded religious mouthpiece for the nut-wing right of the Republican party can accuse Church & Society of calling the shots… I wonder if any of you now how low the stakes really are in this dying denomination, and how irrelevant you have become by working to hijack the church for narrow-minded capitalistic political purposes. I have watched for years beginning with the anti-gay rants by ambiguously gay staffers right up to today’s predictable attacks on the once-liberal, now-impotent social justice agency, and it only serves to confirm the fact that the church is dying and deserves to die. Christ would be ashamed to be associated with any organization that was once so socially relevant and now so tired and unfocused that it can be pulled around by the nose by narrow-minded politically-motivated hate mongers that comprise the IRD. The sooner the Methodist church dies, the sooner the IRD will go away, and the sooner the rest of us can get on with loving our neighbor instead of wasting our time bludgeoning each other with irrelevant, pious god talk. Unchristian-like tough rhetoric, I know, but seriously, you all make me tired with your never-ending girl fights and self-righteous posturing. If you spent one percent of your time gathering food for the poor that you spend in p*ss**g matches with each other, you might actually have something to show for your time on this earth.
Comment by George on May 1, 2012 at 12:30 pm
I think you are very mix-up. Read the Devine Laws of the Bible.
Comment by Iohannes on May 1, 2012 at 12:34 pm
Wow, you just don’t get it. The reason GCBS is irrelevant is that they are so separated from the membership of the church that no one puts any stock into anything they say or promote. People have grown tired of church governing bodies speaking for them on secular political issues and pushing political agenda items within the church. Why else do you think so many theologically conservative people have left for nondenominational, unaffiliated churches? The GBCS and just about every governing body and board for the UMC are purely and simply a mouthpiece for the extreme left-wing of the Democratic Party in America. What do you expect the moderate and conservative people to do? Adding further irrelevance to the GBCS is the fact that what they do has little to nothing to do with their stated mission. Where do you think most social justice is done in the UMC? Donations to food pantries, foreign aid trips, community service ministries, prison programs, nursing home visits, house building projects for the poor: all of these are done by the local congregations. These things are REAL social justice, not petitioning congress for homosexual marriage, freer abortion laws, repeal of the second amendment, or socialized medicine. The ONLY thing the GBCS does is political activism.
Comment by Paul on May 2, 2012 at 10:00 am
Well said Johannes! Thank you.
Comment by Roger Wolsey on May 2, 2012 at 2:06 pm
Actually, The GBCS takes its cues from the democratically passed resolutions passed by the democratically elected delegates at the General Conferences — which are in fact the body that can and does speak for the UMC. God bless the hard work of the GBCS which, under increasing fire and flak from certain un-United Methodist detractors, presses on with Christ’s pursuit of peace and justice in this broken world.
Comment by WUMC on May 3, 2012 at 4:11 pm
Iohannes, you don’t seem to have a clue about the fact that GBCS DOES have a considerable following and does reflect the established will of the denomination. Period. Those who have left tend to be the nut-wing fringe of the denomination that reflects the IRD – the bought-and-paid-for bullhorn for the radical Republican right. You know it’s true. Social justice is both responsive (food pantries, etc.) and pro-active (advocating in Washington) – something that in all my years of watching the IRD I have never seen. I’m no friend of the boards and agencies myself, but I know hypocrisy when I see it, and the IRD is the poster child for claiming Christ but spewing hatred. I would say your previous statement is pot calling the kettle black…
As for George’s statement about the “divine laws of the Bible” – don’t go throwing “God’s law” at people regarding homosexuality unless you are also willing to throw God’s law on divorce (stoning is the punishment, OK) – and all the other ridiculous “laws” governing everything from when women can be seen to how to sacrifice an animal. It shows a profound disrespect for the Bible to take it so literally that it becomes a manual for buffoonery. The only law i know that mattered to Jesus was love. Your organization’s preoccupation with homosexuality as sin belies your fears, and if you had your way, you would replace one form of impotent denominationalism with another.
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