2012 United Methodist Quadrennial Conference Season--First Thoughts

Whoa. It has been quite a conference season. First the first time, I attended General and Jurisdictional Conferences (aside from a couple days at the SEJ during seminary). As my husband said, you just can’t understand what’s really happening without being there. Truer words may never have been spoken.

I attended both conferences as a spouse/observer, since my husband was a lay delegate. I’m very proud of him—he’s relatively new to our conference, having only come in 2007 to take a job as the director of one of our conference camp and retreat center, Manidokan. Those who know us know that we met because I helped interview him for that job! So it’s pretty good that at the delegate elections immediately after his arrival, he got a spot as a jurisdictional delegate.

I had intended to write more after General Conference, but I suspect most things that needed to be said have been said. For me personally, I learned A LOT not only about how General Conference operates, but also how our denomination functions. Lessons that really change the way I think about things.

Annual Conference happens each year, but is always an interesting and busy experience since I’m on the Arrangements Committee. It was of course interesting to see the dynamics of voting on our episcopal nominee(s), and seeing how the politics of the body I know best worked.

And then, there was Jurisdictional Conference. It was, by far, the most exhausting of them all for me. That is due to a few reasons. First, I had sole care of my 20 month old daughter (at GC, we interspersed conference happenings with family time and trips to the beach and Disney). Related to that, there was really very little to do with Anna. We spent long stretches of time walking the mall (that was undergoing renovation and so wasn’t in great form), and playing in the hotel room. By Friday, she was DONE. So was Mommy. :-p Second, the days were long and packed for my husband and the other delegates. Since so many ballots were required, the delegates hardly had a chance for bathroom breaks lest they miss a ballot! Days started right after an early breakfast, and lasted till 10 pm most nights. I needed to touch base with my DS about DCOM stuff as I get up to speed as the new chair, but our opportunity to talk involved a few quick greetings in passing (she was our delegation head). Really, it was that packed! Finally, the politics and dynamics of the election of bishops was really something, and required an emotional fortitude even just to observe first-hand, let alone take part in. On the mornings my husband had a chance to breath between breakfast and morning session, he had the candidate bios and his interview notes spread in front of him on the hotel bed to refresh his mind and help him think through the day’s balloting.

I suspect an entire blog post at least would be required to really begin to describe the dynamics of the episcopal elections, but what stands out to me most are a few things.

First, I continue to wonder about how clergy and laity see episcopal candidates differently. This is perhaps still also impacted by new vs. returning candidates. Several of our clergy posted about being excited about a number of candidates, while our lay delegates seemed less easily impressed—and even at that, impressed by different candidates altogether. I hope to talk to more of our delegates in the coming months to learn more about that. I have a sneaking suspicion the lay delegates had a more discerning view, but I’m interested to learn more about it.

Second, I was fully prepared to see the push for a diversity within the Council and College of Bishops. I agree this is important. But we saw this at work in a really interesting way in the NEJ. We had to elect three bishops. First, we pretty easily elected a white woman. Then, with a bit more work, but still relatively smoothly, a black man. But then we really hit a stalemate between a Latino woman and a white man. There were many who wanted to enhance the diversity of our college of bishops, and they pushed for the Latino woman. And we stayed stuck. For a long time.  We all seemed to agree that the Holy Spirit was trying to do something unexpected. I think few suspected what would happen.

In the end, the white man, Mark Webb, won. It was pronounced a war of attrition, and people seemed to feel immediately as if rather than the right candidate winning, one side just gave up. I suspect many first thought the Holy Spirit had left the building. Many were deeply diappointed.

As soon as the election happened, I packed Anna up and started walking to the Civic Center. In the time it took to get there, Mark Webb gave his acceptance speech, and the other candidates also came to the mic. Now there’s what the appropriate speech for such an occasion should be, “I want to thank my supporters who believed in me. I thank the Jurisdictional Conference for the opportunity to be considered. I congratulate Mark Webb, and I will support and pray for him and all our bishops as they serve.” Then, WALK AWAY from the microphone. That’s classy, and it’s gracious. In fact, I even think it's the "Christian" response. It's certainly the wise political move.

That is not, however, what she said.

From all accounts, her speech was bitter, childish and unfair. And included personal attacks against the bishop who presided over the session. She will never be able to run for the episcopacy again in our jurisdiction. I talked with or heard from several delegates who voted for her till the end, and who were terribly disappointed with how the voting ended.  As soon as she spoke—they thanked God their efforts had been in vain. They might now say, in fact, that the Holy Spirit had been trying to change their votes. The right person, of those two, won. Her speech was perhaps the best thing that could have happened for the sake of the Jurisdictional Conference. But it was just really sad that it did.

Other issues involved episcopal assignments. I was of course most interested in our annual conference, where we’ve had Bishop John Schol for eight years. Most people in our conference thought he’d be moving, but he kept giving indication that he thought he was staying.  This was a very different approach than, say, Bishop Dyck in MN, who stated she expected to be moved, and this allowed the MN annual conference to celebrate her ministry. Instead, in the BWC, it was like we had an awkward silence. Unfortunately, we won’t have a good opportunity, I think, to celebrate Bishop Schol’s time with us. And that is unfortunate.

It is, however, a good time for something new for us, and we’re excited to be receiving Bishop Marcus Matthews home to us! Eight years ago, Bishop Matthews was elected out of our conference, and it has been a wonderful surprise to many to receive him back. He’ll only be with us for four years, when he’ll retire, but it will be an opportunity, I think, for our conference to take a deep breath and really focus in on who we are and how we relate to one another. Bishop Matthews told us, when the delegation met with him and his wife after the assignments had been announced, that he hopes he (and all of us!) grow each day. Therefore, he said, he is of course not the same person he was when he left us eight years ago.

There seem to be two primary concerns people have about Bishop Matthews. First, there is the understandable concern that he’ll return and place his friends in leadership without giving all a fair shot. Most people who have acknowledged that also say of all people, he’s most likely to be aware of all those dynamics and handle them appropriately. The other concern is what will happen in four years. But that is getting ahead of ourselves. By and large, most seem really excited about the next four years. Indeed, Bishop Matthews’ former Administrative Assistant, from when he was a DS, attend Calvary. She could hardly contain her excitement Sunday. Admin. Assistants know more about what is really going on than anyone, so for his previous Admin. Asst. to be so excited I think speaks more powerfully than any other recommendation could!

I hope even though we may not have an ideal chance to celebrate Bishop and Mrs. Schol’s ministry with us, that we will have a good chance to do so at least. It is not only important to start things well, but also to end them well. Important for everyone. I hope those of you in the BWC will join me in praying for both Bishop and Mrs. Matthews as well as Bishop and Mrs. Schol.

Finally, this year’s jurisdictional conference also were colored by the case of Bishop Bledsoe and his forced retirement by the SCJ Episcopacy Committee. That is indeed a situation that many, many blog entries could be written about. I’ve been able to get some good info both from UMNS stories, as well as accounts from people more closely involved, but it is at any rate, a very unfortunate situation. It raises some important questions of church law, and we await the Judicial Council’s review of the situation when they meet in October.

My more immediate concern was for our sisters and brothers in the NM/NWTX annual conference, but I’ve learned that SCJ leadership are quite aware that they’re “taking one for the team,” and will be taken care of (currently they’re receiving interim bishops while things get sorted out and a path forward is determined and informed by the Judicial Council decision). Please join me in praying for all involved there as well.

So…it’s been a long few months, and definitely a crazy last week. I suspect anything you see online is going to tread lightly on the political issues. Those are the conversations people are having in person. But I have to say, and perhaps this is because I have a fairly high tolerance for politics in church (which many do not)—I have actually been pleasantly surprised by how people have conducted themselves, and how really the vast majority of people really are trying to do God’s will, not just fulfill their own personal politics motives. This is a pleasant surprise for me. I am, in fact, more confident of God’s presence in and through all these conference than I was before. There remain deep and important issues that I think God is calling us to act on which people are resisting. And change is not happening quickly enough. But I am proud of the way that people are trying to work through these issues and I pray that God will continue to work in and through us as we look to 2016 and hopefully some changes in stances, policies and structures that I believe will open us more fully to doing God’s work through the United Methodist Church.

Next Week's Jurisdictional Conferences

Today we begin preparations in earnest to leave first thing Monday morning for the Northeast Jurisdictional Conference (JC) in Charleston, WV. My husband Chris is a lay delegate from our Annual Conference, and the JC will spend the majority of its time dealing with the election of three bishops (to fill vacancies due to retirements in our jurisdiction).

There was a great deal of talk and disappointment after General Conference, and I have yet to really be able to pull my thoughts together to blog too much about it. Suffice to say, little tangible change will be felt, I suspect, by most local churches and pastors in the wake of GC. Jurisdictional Conferences (and in a related way, the Judicial Council), then, will be, I suspect what defines 2012 for the UMC.

In addition to the pending decision from the Judicial Council on the GC legislation dealing with guaranteed appointments, the Judicial Council will likely, pending an official vote at the SCJ by the Episcopacy Committee, be ruling on an unprecedented and landmark case involving Bishop Bledsoe involving what measures the Book of Discipline currently provides for getting rid of bishops despite lifetime episcopacy. If the decision proceeds as currently planned, and is upheld, it offers the UMC as tool for dealing with episcopal leaders in the same way they seem to want to have the freedom to deal with the rest of us. It’s hard to not see this as a welcome door (should, in rare case, it be needed).

Jurisdictional Conferences (well, three of them at least) will be voting to fill something like 11 open episcopal positions in three (of the five US) jurisdictions. In all five jurisdictions, Episcopacy Committees will be discerning and assigning bishops to episcopal areas (or annual conferences, some episcopal areas have multiple annual conferences, though ours—the Baltimore Washington Conference—has its own bishop).

Just like the appointment of a pastor to a local church has an immense impact on that congregation, so too does the assignment of a bishop have a huge impact on an annual conference. The tone and mood of the conference is perhaps the most significant (and hardest to quantify) way this happens. But episcopal leaders also have the very real task of helping set priorities, select top conference leadership, and that responsibility which makes them more powerful than any other Protestant bishops—the appointment of clergy.

As much as it will be very interesting to see how things go down across the UMC in the United States next week (all Jurisdictional Conferences must start at the same time, due to voting rules), it has also been interesting to see how bishops have dealt with the impending decisions that will be made.

First, there are the current bishops. The general practice is for bishops to be in an episcopal area for eight years, and in special circumstances, twelve years. An example of the latter was Bishop Joe Yeakel, who completed eight years in our annual conference, and with retirement only one more quadrennium away, was allow to stay (he was also widely loved and respected in the BWC). It’s been interesting this year to see the difference in how our own bishop, John Schol, and the bishop in Minnesota, Sally Dyck, have approached the end of their eight years in their ACs. Bishop Dyck is well-loved in Minnesota, it seems, but she made it very clear she expected to be moved, as she was approaching the end of eight years. They celebrated her at annual conference, and there has been a great clarity about everyone’s expectations.

Meanwhile, in my annual conference, there is a great murkiness and confusion because our bishop seems to believe twelve years is the norm. While many anticipate a move in the normal course of things, most indications suggest he does not. As a result, should he be moved, will will not have had a chance to prepare for it as well or celebrate his ministry here. That is unfortunate. Then again, if he’s right and he is returned here, I guess we’ve saved some time. The tone in the two conferences though, seems very different, and it remains to be seen which has been more helpful. Though I have suspicions.

The second part that’s been interesting has been the gearing up for the elections itself. With rules in the NEJ barring overt campaigning (well, really any campaigning, but people find a way) there has been little direct work on this, though annual conference and recognized special interest groups are allowed to make official nominations. Those so nominated receive an advantage in the process leading up to elections at JC, though nominations, I believe, are still technically allowed from the floor.

Watching the process this year, while I am glad we contain the politicking, but I’m also concerned that there is a need for some filtering that has not yet happened. But I’m anxious to see how that is handled at JC. I’m trusting it will be—and since this is my first NEJ JC (I’ve once attended the SEJ while in seminary), I’m very interested to see how the process is handled.

All in all, next week will be very interesting and very important for the future not only of our jurisdictions, but also for our local churches and the United Methodist Church. Please join me in praying for the candidates who will be considered for the episcopacy, and for the discernment of the delegates as they decide (then assign) our bishops.

Right Questions vs. Right Answers

I’ve noted before my love of the Harvard Business Review. I used to read church leadership stuff. Then I realized most of it was re-digested info from HBR. Two or three years later. Now I just read the HBR and do the business-to-church adaptation myself.

This past week, there have been several great articles that have really gotten me thinking.

The first is an article titled, "The End of SolutionSales," by Brent Adamson, Matthew Dixon, and Nicholas Toman. It’s a pretty long and involved article, and has several interesting insights. What really jump at me was the part where they talk about how the idea that sales people are providing a solution the customer needs to find is no longer working. People have access to tons of information online, and they come armed to the sales/purchasing process.

A great illustration they used told of a top sales person who came to a presentation with the info the client requested, said he wasn’t going to present it, that he was sure they could read it over later. Instead, he used his time to explain what he thought they should have been looking for—the questions and qualities that should have been priorities.

So the long and short of my reflection is this…what is, instead of trying to share the gospel with people by telling them we have the answers, we approached it as an opportunity to help teach them how to think ABOUT the decision they face—about how they will understand God and how they will integrate their faith and beliefs into all of there lives. This is, I think, a very subtle shift for some, but for many, I think this is a radical reframing of the entire thing that could offer immense success in a world where people can Wikipedia even Christian theology and Google searches offer up an overwhelming plate of answers, all claiming to be the right ones.

Starting Year 4

Yesterday marked the start of my fourth appointment year at Calvary. Which means at the end of this year, I will have been at Calvary as long as I was at my first appointment. Such a milestone certainly invites reflection, both on my time at Calvary as well as the different ministry settings of the two appointments. It also begs the question (which must necessarily go unanswered) of what year 5 (God willing) and beyond holds.

Itineracy is a funny thing. Well, maybe not so much funny. Good or bad, it's what we sign up for as United Methodist pastors. It allows for moves when they are needed--if you're fortunate. It also makes for moves perhaps when you are not ready. Most of all, it guarantees that everyone involved (except the bishops, I suppose) remembers that they are not in charge.

I am loving being at Calvary, and our family feels so blessed to be part of the community here. It has and continues to provide me with many lessons, and I am very cognoscente of the way it is constantly pushing me to grow. The difficulty of trying to write a blog about this, is that many of the things that have and continue to help me grow, and some of both the joys and challenges are ongoing, and not really appropriate fodder for a blog.

Here is some, though, of what I think of when I reflect this year on my three years at Calvary:

-Awesome lay people. We have some really gifted lay people who are so committed to the work at Calvary. Moving forward, we need to find more ways to connect people to opportunities to serve, and we need to make sure all we're doing is being done effectively and efficiently, and with clear visions and goals. I believe that if people see their gifts, time and resources being used well and making a difference, they will give sacrificially. We need to make sure that is happening.

-Pride in our congregation and "stuff." I love that folks at Calvary take such pride in the quality of the programs at Calvary, and in the spaces that make it happen. A building does not a congregation make, but I think the way our building is so cared for evidences the good stewardship that the congregation seeks to have for all areas and resources. We need to communicate the impact of that more effectively--so that people see what a difference that care really makes for programs, like our recent VBS, for example. We also need to take care to apply that same high standard to all we do--holding one another and our leaders and staff to a high standard. In a constructive way that seeks to make more and stronger disciples, we need to be honest about when changes or shifted use of resources are needed to raise the quality of our ministries.

-Authentic relationships. Nothing defines Calvary more than the strength of our relationships. It is why people visit Calvary and never leave (you can only imagine the people who planned to church-shop but never made to another church because of the hospitality and welcome they received). Relationships matter, but we need to be intentional about cultivating these. At a church the size of Calvary, and especially as we continue to grow, these relationships do not happen as casually as we might like. We also need to find ways to cultivate relationships across the naturally-formed groupings. It's natural and appropriate for people to connect with a small group within the congregation as their primary connection. We just need to make sure they are also involved in an every-evolving wider network.

-Dream big. For the past few years, we've been trying to dream together about where Calvary will be in the future. We need to start naming big, specific goals that excite us and call us to do more and do better. Beyond just doing more of the same, or doing what we're doing better, we need to stretch ourselves. If we're not, we're probably not following God's call. The vision we shared this past Sunday for vastly expanding the VBS program--a vision that only requires 10 more adults to happen--is just such a vision.What other dreams has God given us?

-Grow disciples. One of our strengths at Calvary is our adult education programs. I love that we have so many adult Sunday School classes. But we could and should be doing more. We need more people to step up to help lead studies, and we need ideas for creative ways to help adults grow in their faith and understanding.

These are just some of the areas that make me excited about what's happening at Calvary, and which also, I believe draw us into the future. Though the talk for a while in church leadership and business was to look for weaknesses and try to eliminate or moderate them, lately the prevailing wisdom suggests focusing of strengths and building on those. To move into the future with energy, excitement and moving into growth, we need to celebrate our strengths and use them as vehicles for growth and improvement. I think we're beginning to make some fundamental changes to our leadership, structure and operating systems that will allow for that to happen, and I hope you'll share any ideas you have.

Most of all, it's been a blessing to serve at Calvary, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds!