General Conference 2019: A 2022 Epilogue

The day after the South Central Jurisdiction's election of bishops made history, I commented to a delegate how grateful I was that the election surpassed my already high expectations. She simply said, "David, we are just doing what we were elected to do."

It's true. 

In the aftermath of the 2019 General Conference, a conference that passed draconian language that you can read about here, here, and here, our Annual Conferences in the U.S. elected delegations that were, on average, over 75% progressive and centrist. These elections happened because we understood clearly that the Traditional Plan adopted by General Conference did not represent a future that the majority of United Methodists would want to be part of. Other reactions included the Connectional Table's plan for regionalization as well as the Christmas Covenant, a similar plan written by people outside the U.S. Across the globe, and particularly in the U.S., we vowed that this mean-spirited plan would not stand unchallenged. The election of bishops and passing of resolutions the first week of November, 2022 was the fruit of that vow.

This context is important. As I predicted the week before the elections, we are now hearing traditionalist leaders calling the elections proof that there is no place for anybody other than extreme progressives in the denomination. This is a misstatement for three reasons. First, our vocabulary is wrong. When you hear most of us talk about "progressive" and "traditional," we are not talking about a holistic theology. When I was in seminary, one person labeled me as "ultra-conservative" because of my beliefs. I don't think that was a fair assessment, but it is fair to say my core beliefs have not changed since then. I still believe all the basic tenets of the Christian faith and could, today, sign off on nearly every aspect of the Global Methodist Church's doctrinal and social statements. In many ways, I have a very "traditional" theology. But my interpretation of scripture has led me to a less traditional understanding of human sexuality, thus earning me the label of "progressive." I'm labeled progressive only because I believe in a) full-inclusion of people who are LGBTQ+ and b) a Church that allows for wide differences in opinion. If we must put people into groups, there is only one group who is being rejected by the denomination right now - the "traditional incompatibilists" who, by their own admission, believe that they cannot share a denomination with people like me. To be clear, even these people would be welcome to stay - they have chosen of their accord to identify themselves as people who cannot stay. 

The second reason bishop elections were not proof that conservatives must leave is that it is not the case that only theological progressives were elected. To be fair, I don't know the full beliefs of any of the elected bishops. I do know that there was no theological test of the candidates to make sure they were not orthodox. The WCA's Jay Therrell actually gives good evidence. Therrell is becoming famous for his unfiltered venting. His predecessor, Keith Boyette, was always measured and under control. Therrell comes across as someone holding a personal grudge. Yet even Therrell could come up with objections to only four of the thirteen bishops elected. The objections to those four are that one is gay (true - and with this we get to the heart of the matter), one made a poorly worded speech at GC2019 (true - my friend Tom Berlin was not the only person who could have chosen their words better during that highly emotional week, but all who know him understand the snippet that is being taken does not reflect his heart), and one didn't speak in an orthodox way of the incarnation (what really happened is she didn't answer a "gotcha" question the way the asker wanted her to and instead gave an on-the-spot answer that was theologically rich). The fourth objection, in my opinion, is potentially a legitimate concern that I would have asked clarifying questions about if the candidate had been in my jurisdiction. It is true that no "traditional incompatibilists" were elected - that is, we did not elect any bishops who believed they could not stay in a "big tent" denomination. 

Finally, we have to consider the nature of the episcopacy. A bishop has two complementary roles - as a member of the Council (and colleges) of Bishops and thus the General Church and as a Resident Bishop. Every bishop serves in both capacities. As one who appreciates the gift of theological diversity, if we were electing bishops only to serve on the Council of Bishops I would have intentionally endorsed candidates from a variety of perspectives. We are stronger when we have a variety of beliefs represented at the table. However, every bishop serves an executive function within a geographic area. We could not elect a bishop who would use that executive function to bring further harm to LGBTQ+ people in the immediate area they serve. It's really that simple. 

This year's jurisdictional conferences were not a rejection of people with a certain theological perspective. They were not a turning point in denominational history. They were the fulfillment of a promise delegates made when they were elected three years ago.