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‘Holy Conferencing’ focus of delegate gathering Amy Forbus, Dec 26, 2007
UMR PHOTO BY AMY FORBUS
Charles Akins (left), lay delegate from the Southwest Texas Conference, talks with Bishop Sally Dyck (Minnesota area) following her address to delegates gathered from across the South Central Jurisdiction.
By Amy Forbus Digital Community Builder
AUSTIN, Texas—General and Jurisdictional Conference delegates from across the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church gathered Dec. 1 to focus on holy conferencing and issues related to General Conference, particularly budget recommendations.
Attendees heard from three speakers and participated in a roundtable discussion of General Conference issues at the event, hosted by the Southwest Texas Conference at Austin Community College’s Eastview Campus.
Bishop Sally Dyck (Minnesota Area) reviewed the document “Guidelines for Holy Conferencing—What God Expects of Us,” and said that United Methodists can learn to practice holy conferencing in all areas of their lives.
The UMC is by no means the first group of believers to disagree on things, Bishop Dyck said, pointing out that even the disciples argued about who was the greatest among them.
“Not so with you,” said Bishop Dyck, quoting Jesus’ response in Luke 22:26. “It needs to be different with us as Christians.”
One of her hopes for General Conference, she said, is that the winners-and-losers mentality decreases. Using 1 John 4:20 as a guideline, she said, “If United Methodists go to General Conference professing love for God but get there and don’t love each other, they become liars.... Loving one another is the witness that we have to the world today.”
Sharing a reflection from John Wesley’s writings—“If we die without love, what will knowledge avail?”—Bishop Dyck encouraged attendees to think about that not only on an individual level but also in the denominational context. Some United Methodists, for instance, might wish that those with whom they disagree would leave the denomination.
“Sometimes we have to name the ugly truth in ourselves,” she said.
Building bridges
Since the Aug. 1 bridge collapse on Interstate 35 in Minneapolis—her episcopal area—Bishop Dyck said she’s been ruminating on the metaphor of bridge-building. When one part of the bridge collapsed, the whole structure fell because there was no redundancy system built into the bridge.
Redundancy systems are essential in metaphorical bridges, too, she added.
“One-to-one relationships in the United Methodist Church is the redundancy system that our organization needs to focus on. In your delegation, I know there needs to be a little redundancy system work. Get to know each other.”
Uniformity throughout United Methodism isn’t going to happen, nor should we want it to, she said, because God created diversity. But unity can come through recognizing our commonalities.
And United Methodists need to go beyond the idea of merely building a bridge between liberals and conservatives, she added. Instead of bridging a theological or doctrinal divide, church members need to build a bridge into the future.
To do that, Bishop Dyck suggested delegates get to know people with whom they disagree. She and Bishop Scott Jones (Kansas area) have formed such a partnership for bridge-building.
It’s been a learning experience, she said. When the two bishops attended the Reconciling Ministries Network convocation in 2005, things that wouldn’t have seemed inflammatory to her suddenly became so.
“You begin to see things differently and hear things differently,” she said, when you’re with someone who doesn’t hold the same views as most people at the event.
Conferencing guidelines
During small-group discussion, Bishop Dyck asked attendees to read verses from Colossians 3, on which the holy conferencing guidelines are based. Small groups discussed guidelines, answering questions such as, “What does the guideline mean?” “How easy or hard is it to live out?” “What does it mean at General Conference?” It takes time to do that kind of conferencing, meaning it probably can’t happen consistently on the floor of General Conference, Bishop Dyck said. But she added it can happen in legislative committees, and those who are chosen to lead committees should provide a context for and expectation of holy conferencing.
It’s important for United Methodists to practice holy conferencing because the nation will be watching what happens at General Conference, Bishop Dyck said. And secular media will likely focus more on protests and demonstrations than on conversations and decision-making, she added.
“How it is that we make the decisions may be every bit as important as what the decisions are.”
Vision and focus
Attendees also heard from Lyn Powell, who will deliver the Laity Address at General Conference 2008 and serves on a Council of Bishops task force that looks at membership loss.
Ms. Powell said a unified emphasis on the Council of Bishops’ Seven Vision Pathways and the Four Areas of Focus put forth by the Connectional Table will help address that kind of loss.
Those four areas—developing Christian leaders for the church and world, starting new congregations, engaging in ministry with the poor, and stamping out malaria and HIV/AIDS—apply to ministry at all levels of the church, from local congregations to the Council of Bishops and the general boards and agencies. Ms. Powell said such collaborative work has never happened before.
“Let us leave our differences at the front door and come together for worldwide ministry.... The world is waiting for a word from the church,” Ms. Powell said.
She quoted evangelist Billy Graham, who once said that with its structure, the UMC could change the world if it chooses. And General Conference 2008, Ms. Powell added, would be a great time to make that choice.
Budget overview
Don House, chair of the Texas Conference delegation and member of the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA), gave attendees an overview of budget recommendations for the 2009-2012 quadrennium.
The General church’s share of total expenditures has decreased from 4.25 percent in 1973 to 2.23 percent in 2003, and Mr. House gave two possible reasons for this shift: either it’s appropriate for the ministry at various levels of the church or it’s because funding mechanisms have failed. GCFA, he said, is not yet sure which explanation is correct.
The Connectional Table and GCFA are recommending a $641 million quadrennial budget, but the dollar amount allocated to the General church does not keep pace with inflation.
Mr. House cautioned delegates on budget items to watch for at General Conference 2008, such as multiple budgets being presented for the same agencies; unexpected add-ons to existing budgets; proposals to drop the current output-based budget and return to input-based budgeting; and failures to consider agency targets.
High interest level
Some 115 delegates from 11 of the jurisdiction’s 15 conferences were able to attend the event. Jay Brim, chair of the Southwest Texas Conference delegation, said others expressed disappointment about not being able to attend.
DVDs of the gathering will be available at cost for delegations that would like to view it as a group, Mr. Brim said. For information, visit www.umcswtx.org.
UMR PHOTO BY AMY FORBUS
“One-to-one relationships in the United Methodist Church is the redundancy system that our organization needs to focus on. In your delegation, I know there needs to be a little redundancy system work. Get to know each other.” 
