Ten days ago I had the privilege of attending a two-day conference in Dar es Salaam led by The Africa Forum. The conference has not had enough coverage. It was, I believe, very significant for multiple reasons.
1. The conference was the first truly trans-continental conference entirely organized and led by Africans. Traditionalist media has implied that it was led by people from the U.S. That's not true. There were maybe two dozen attendees from outside the continent. Most of said, at most, a 90 second greeting to the group. Nearly every major presentation was led by Africans and 100% of the guests were invited to attend by Africans. Attendees spanned the continent and came from nearly every annual conference in Africa. Compared this to African Voices for Unity which is primarily Nigerian and the Africa Initiative which is primarily West African and largely U.S. led.
2. The conference's outcome was not predetermined. Resolutions that were adopted were written during the conference by a committee, discussed by the whole body (note that when I say the whole body I am referring only to those from Africa. Observers sat at the side throughout the conference and did not participate.), amended, and approved.
3. The results are clearly African. Personally, I was pleased with most of the resolutions that were adopted. The key one I didn't like was amending the resolution supporting the Global Social Principles by adding the language of "a man and a woman" to marriage. I promise you if the U.S. observers were influencing the outcome this would not have been included. But it is representative of what the large majority of Africans believe. On the other hand, the group very much wants to stay United Methodist and agreed that regionalization is a way to do that. This also fits with what many of us would expect. The catch remains what has always been the case - can we remain a United church and a regional church? I think the answer is yes. The group in Tanzania thinks the answer is yes. Time will tell.
4. Leadership was broad-based. Regardless of where they are on the theological divide, I'm tired of hearing from all the same people. In the U.S. we see the same two or three people writing or speaking "for Africans" over and over again. The African Forum's leadership team functioned like a team. Multiple voices were heard and respected including people whose names you likely are familiar with and people who you are not familiar with.
5. No to Disaffiliation. This really surprised me. The line U.S. traditionalists had fed me was Africans would be willing to vote for regionalization if the 2024 General Conference passed some version of paragraph 2553 for them. I believed them. Based on the Tanzania conference, that sentiment could not be more wrong. I'm convinced that regionalization would be LESS likely to pass if it included a disaffiliation option. Opposition to disaffiliation was overwhelming.
5. Implications for General Conference and beyond. I haven't counted the votes. I don't have any predictions about what will happen at General Conference. What I do know is that those who have said GC24 will pit the U.S. against the world are wrong. In Tanzania, the U.S. was quiet while Africans talked with each other. We answered questions from our perspective when asked. Every person there was treated with respect and appreciation. I believe the traditionalist leadership in the U.S. wants GC24 to be a trainwreck. Nobody else wants that. They want us to fail. Nobody else wants that. Those who have wanted to leave has largely gone. If they leave us alone (they won't) then all will be well. If they continue to meddle in a church they have abandoned (they will) then I think all will still be well. Our relationships and mutual understanding will continue to grow and Christ will be worshipped and witnessed to through the UMC across the globe.
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