After UMC Next

We wrapped up the UMC Next gathering just a few hours ago. A few thoughts as we prepare for what comes after.

1. The event was good. In the earliest stages of organization there was concern about having an inclusive leadership team. The concerns were heard and addressed, and a fantastic group of 17 led us through the three days together.

2. The event was hard. After the 2016 General Conference, Tom Berlin gave us a really helpful map for understanding the different groups within our denomination - four groups based on progressive/traditional and compatible/incompatible. The map was helpful but I discovered this week that we are much more complicated. I'm hoping to blog tomorrow on an expanded version of this map with 12 groups instead of four. nine different groups in my twelve group format would have felt welcome to attend UMC Next. It will not be possible for all nine to live in the same denomination. So if our goal was to reach complete consensus we were set up to fail.

3. We were able to reach some significant consensus. We adopted four principles to guide our future work. That's a significant accomplishment. As we journey forward and further refine our principles I expect three of the nine groups will find they can't continue in the long term - but it's not clear which three.

4. The key question for the moment - Is resistance futile or is resisting the resistance futile? One of the four commitments that we agreed to is rejection of the Traditional Plan and resistance to its implementation. Frankly, some forms of resistance are pretty easy to accomplish. It will begin with some annual conference sessions this year. It will expand after new rules take affect January 1. It will continue at General Conference 2020. Those of us in the One Church Coalition worked very hard at ensuring there would be no protests at General Conference 2019. It will not be possible to stop at least one of the twelve groupings within the denomination from significant protests in 2020. I really mean that. It will happen - it cannot be stopped. I don't think every group represented at UMC Next will vocally resist. Some probably will choose not to resist for a long period of time. But I guarantee that a significant number will resist for a significant period of time.

"Traditional Incompatabilists" - one of Rev. Berlin's groupings - are going to be the first people with a hard decision to make. They need to understand that when we said in St. Louis that we will not be moved we meant it. Our baptismal covenant to resist evil and injustice is part of our commitment to the United Methodist Church. A General Conference decision does not take precedence over our baptismal covenant.