United Methodism of the Future: Can We Cut Back Bureaucracy?

As a Methodist for more than 80 years, I experienced the church growing up, as a student, as a pastor, as a member of the annual conference for 68 years, as a member of several general boards, as a district superintendent, and as delegate or alternate to nine General Conferences. Now, as retired clergy, I preach here and there, observing what takes place in the various churches I am acquainted with.

I address the problem of special days. Even if one tries to be a loyal institutionalist, there are too many. The 1960 Discipline listed 26 special days. Examples: World Order Sunday, Rural Life Sunday, Race Relations Sunday. Ministry Sunday, Aldersgate Sunday, Methodist Student Day, etc. This was one for every other Sunday, but keep in mind these Sundays were in addition to days already on the Liturgical Calendar, such as Christmas, Easter, Ascension Day, Maundy Thursday, Christ the King Sunday, and many others. Then add to these the national holidays: President’s Day, Columbus Day (presently Indigenous People’s Day for progressives), Veteran’s Day, Labor Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Thanksgiving Day. Then add annual conference designated days such as Camping Sunday, Conference Sunday, and Retired Ministers’ Sunday. Then there are local special days. In my community we observe Rescue Mission Day every fourth Sunday.

Earlier in life, I remember our church celebrated May Day (delivering May baskets to various people) and Children’s Day. And we always recognized Temperance Sunday and observed every fourth Sunday as World Service Sunday. The 1944 Discipline instructed us that causes were to be recognized in the worship service along with “occasional sermons,” “three-minute addresses,” and the “distribution of material.” And there were, of course, special offerings.

In checking more, I consulted an old “official” UM program calendar from 1990. Here is what we were called to celebrate at that time, often with literature and a requested special offering: Ecumenical Sunday, Human Relations Day, Call to Prayer and Self-Denial, Boy Scout Sunday, Black History Month, One Great Hour of Sharing, Religion in Life Month, Consultation on Church Union Sunday, Native American Awareness Sunday, Heritage Sunday, Girl Scout Sunday, May Fellowship Day, Golden Cross Sunday, National Family Week, Aldersgate Day, Peace With Justice Sunday, Religion in American Life Month, Father’s Day, World Communion Sunday, Laity Sunday, Reformation Day, Bible Sunday, and United Methodist Student Day.

Another list I copied down sometime (not sure of the date) listed 17 Sundays including Disability Awareness Sunday, Volunteers in Mission Sunday, Heritage Sunday, Organ Tissues Donor Sunday, Native American Ministries Sunday, and Peace with Justice Sunday (always, in recent years, every list includes Peace with Justice Sunday and we have never been quite sure how to observe it—which is part of the problem).

Early in my ministry I also remember Rural Life Sunday. I seem to remember also Soil Conservation Sunday, Commitment Sunday, and Stewardship Sunday. Several of my early churches took special offerings on the every-4^th World Service Sunday because they were under the impression that money received went to missionaries (only a small portion, we found out later). We also did Rally Day.

I also remember (depending upon the church I then served) Migrant Ministry Sunday, Rural Life Sunday, Soil Conservation Awareness Sunday, and Women’s History Month.

If our General Conference changes the church’s stand on the Biblical view that marriage is expressly between a man and a woman, and if the conference wants to abandon the sexual standard of “celibacy in singleness and faithfulness in marriage,” I presume that we will soon recognize Pride Month and fly rainbow flags (as some already do).

At this time, I am not criticizing the causes brought up during these special days. Persons and events merit commemoration, and special causes should be placed before the body of believers. But I argue that we have reached institutional overload and need to be selective. I have not analyzed the amount of money brought in through the various special offerings, but I am suspecting the overhead on some of the offerings would not justify the amount received in the offerings.

In its early years, Methodism grew spectacularly without boards and agencies and conference programs, and without colleges and seminaries. Annual conference gatherings were not for passing big budgets or promoting programs but for inspiration and for approving new ministers and making sure moral standards were being followed. Of course, it was understandable we would eventually add missions’ appeals and Sunday school directives and take stands on moral issues, but it is hard to believe our forebears would understand why we would get involved in all of the causes that we now believe necessitate our support.

And, of course, it is well-noted that things that were important for us at one time are no longer on our concern list. I remember many Temperance Sundays, where we urged persons, and especially our youth, to commit to total abstinence. I am still keeping my Methodist pledge to that regard.   Now, instead of urging abstinence and temperance, we are committing to rescue missions and treatment centers and trying to help families broken by drinking problems. The assumption is that UMs imbibe and so have drinking problems like everybody else.

Of even greater significance is our neglect and downplaying of Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and Family days. We might thank radical feminism for this de-emphasis. Unfortunately, this thinking has crept into progressive churches, or at least into the progressive bureaucracies of mainline churches. We are dealing with fewer couples getting married, a decreasing birth rate, confused gender identity, and an increasing inability of a rising generation to commit to long-standing stable relationships.

A related issue to those raised in this commentary is what might be called the top-heavy institutional bureaucracy that many of us consider a blight on United Methodism. The special days are mostly the programs and emphases of general church boards and agencies. One might comment that designing special Sundays around special causes gives the agencies something to do in order to justify their existence.

Is it possible that when we have so many causes going at the same time we might be detracting from local church programs and emphases? In 2004 the Church sent Call to Action legislation to the General Conference calling for cutting back and/or merging or at least revamping some of the agencies. The need for this legislation came about because of a study done by an outside firm which discovered that many local churches were not feeling served by the church’s bureaucracy. That issue failed at General Conference rather spectacularly. When it failed a number of progressives cheered.

The United Methodist Church at this very moment is facing a number of major decisions, some of which will come before the 2024 General Conference. Some of our leaders believe that the conference will commit to “regionalism” and the loosening of sexual standards, but that the church can continue as a big tent under which various theological groups, including traditionalists and evangelicals and Pentecostals, can live in unity. Others of us are fearful this cannot happen. We’ll see.

We pray for God’s guidance.

Riley B. Case is a retired United Methodist clergy member of the Indiana Conference who has for many years authored articles for the Confessing Movement. His articles are published in the Methodist Voices series appearing on Juicy Ecumenism, the blog of the Institute on Religion & Democracy.