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Council of Bishops report: Getting nimble again: Bishop calls Methodism a ‘movement’ Robin Russell, May 10, 2007
(c) 2007 DESIGN PICS
United Methodists need to "loosen up" and get moving in response to the promptings of the Spirit, says Council of Bishops President Janice Riggle Huie.
By Robin Russell Managing Editor
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- United Methodists need to get past their perception of themselves as an institution and once again become a "movement" that responds to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
And the denomination's bishops need to lead the way in becoming "nimble" in responding -- even if, at first, they feel as awkward as junior high kids learning to dance -- Bishop Janice Riggle Huie told the Council of Bishops in her April 30 presidential address.
"I don't know about you, but I'm ready to loosen up a little. I'm ready to move," she told 67 active and 60 retired United Methodist bishops at their six-day spring gathering. "I'm ready for the United Methodist Church to step forward into God's reign on earth as it is in heaven."
Among the things bishops see as a movement of God within the denomination is a renewed desire for United Methodist churches to become more effective and fruitful, and a new spirit of collaboration between church leaders, denominational agencies and boards, and individual members as they agree to focus on the same initiatives.
In other words, a unity in the Spirit that can help transform both the church and the world.
Still, the church in the U.S. is lagging, compared to its global counterparts.
Bishop Huie told council members of a recent trip to Côte d'Ivoire, where Texas United Methodists have formed a partnership. She said it was a "transformational experience" to see African church members who are excited about being United Methodists, and who were enthusiastic in worship, dedicated to evangelism and contagious in their joy.
"It was as though that conference was being carried along by the 'rush of a mighty wind,' she said. "For just a moment, I got a glimpse of what it might look like for the whole United Methodist Church to move into God's future."
One layperson in Côte d'Ivoire, she said, helped plan a sanctuary that will seat 2,500, in a country hard-hit by civil unrest and a daily struggle for existence. "My friends, he built it for people who aren't there. It was paid for by a disciple investing in the future.
"Where do you see the people of the United Methodist Church leading a movement of God in your episcopal area?" she asked fellow bishops. "What do those experiences of leadership that we witness, of movement, what do they tell us about our leadership as bishops of the United Methodist Church?"
As was true in the ministries of both Jesus and Methodism founder John Wesley, when people begin responding to the Spirit of God, things begin changing "from the margins of culture than from the centers of power and authority," Bishop Huie said.
African church members, she added, are simply following in Wesley's footsteps by working with people who have little economic and political power. Likewise, they are making the faith simple: "Do no harm. Do good. Attend the ordinances of God."
"It's in our DNA," Bishop Huie said.
Early Methodists were known for their ability to "move," not just through vast physical territory but also by crossing race, class and language barriers, she said. That responsiveness and determination helped them grow from less than 3 percent of all church members in 1776 to more than 34 percent by 1850 -- just 70 years later.
Amazingly, at one time, nearly one out of five Americans was associated with the Methodists.
In her own lifetime, however, Bishop Huie said she's seen United Methodists put higher value on the stability of their institutions and agencies -- even in an era of declining U.S. membership-than in responding to the promptings of the Holy Spirit toward evangelism and discipleship.
For one thing, clergy felt their work in making disciples was mostly complete in a "Christian nation," she said, including herself in that critique.
"My view of making disciples was limited primarily to those who were already there. And to be perfectly candid, responding to the 'promptings of the Holy Spirit' seemed slightly suspicious to me."
Demonstrating the denomination's current mindset, she held up a slim volume of the 1948 Book of Discipline, and then compared it to the bulky 2004 version, along with its Book of Resolutions and Book of Worship.
"Stability and order is good, but that's a lot of book," she said.
As the denomination approaches its 2008 General Conference, the membership crisis and threats of schism are forcing United Methodists to rethink how they do ministry, she said.
Still, change never comes easily. For many, following the Spirit might feel a bit chaotic, and even messy, Bishop Huie said. That's why bishops should take their cue from leaders of the U.S. Civil Rights movement -- who linked arms, kept moving and deflected assaults on one another -- as they lead the denomination in reclaiming its heritage as a movement of God.
"It won't be easy. We're going to take some hits," Bishop Huie said. "But God's Spirit is already moving in the world. We're catching glimpses of it everywhere. Joined together -- arm in arm -- this Council's calling is to lead the United Methodist Church to follow the Spirit of God.
"I believe this Council of Bishops is ready to lead that movement."
(c) 2007 DESIGN PICS
Bishop Huie told council members of a recent trip to Côte d'Ivoire, where Texas United Methodists have formed a partnership. She said it was a "transformational experience" to see African church members who are excited about being United Methodists, and who were enthusiastic in worship, dedicated to evangelism and contagious in their joy. 
