I will have to admit that this Annual Conference was different from last year for me, as I arrived and promptly got sick. It kind of limited me to having the energy for the daytime sessions only as I had ear, nose, and throat issues. Yet, the messages that this conference was a vital and important one. Going to Annual Conference gives one a broader view of what I call the Beast that is the United Methodist Church.

What is interesting about United Methodist Structure is that there really is no “head “ of the United Methodist Church, such as you may find in the person of the Pope in the Roman  Catholic Church. The “head” of the Minnesota Conference of the United Methodist Church is the Annual Conference, a meeting in which all of the clergy and lay representatives meet to discuss legislation, make reports, worship, and celebrate ministries. After the Conference dissolves for another year, the theoretical “head” of the Minnesota Conference dissolves. Likewise, General Conference, the meeting of all of the worldwide branches of the United Methodist Church, acts as the “leader” of the entire Methodist Church, and they meet only once every 4 years.

The United Methodist Church is best understood as a connectional system, where the various layers of hierarchy are connected to the Annual Conference. People speak of elders in “full connection” with the conference and other who are not in “full connection” such as local pastors, probationary members, etc. Also, once an elder in full connection, always an elder in full connection, even when retired or on leave. People often talk of their “connections” and “reconnecting” at the conference, and I can see why this conference is so important to the clergy in particular, as they can meet with and worship in a setting with peers, and in a setting where they don’t have to lead everything. Likewise, I was able to “re-connect” with several people that I pretty much didn’t see for a year, such as Debra Wells, our former pastor, and several of the seminary students who came as delegates again. I was able to speak with David Bard, the outgoing Northwest Conference Superintendent as well as my polity instructor, and made new connections with a lay delegate from Motley named Marie, and a pastor from Herron UMN in Brooklyn Park.  In all, there were approximately 900 total clergy, lay delegates, and others.

Well, I got out of work at 5 pm Tuesday, May 31^st  and started toward Saint Cloud. Two hours ought to be enough, eh? Anyway, as I was inching my way through Elk River, I have to admit I was thinking some un-Christian thoughts towards those that had delayed the light rail so long, as I needed the entire two hours plus to get there. Well, I arrived at my Bed and Breakfast (The Heritage House) at 6:45. Already, the “gathering music” had started and it was a race to get to the evening worship. After checking in at my accommodations, I made the short three block walk to where I registered and picked up my credentials and attended the evening worship at the Ritche Auditorium at Saint Cloud State University. I got there just in time to hear the Bishop give her opening address.

For those of you that have not met our bishop Sally Dyck, all I can say is that I encourage you to do so. The message that she gave that night still resonates soundly within me. Without saying much about the other bishops I have seen and met (and I did like them), I came to the realization that this bishop is truly a bishop of the people, and one with the vision to lead this church in Minnesota where it needs to go.

Bishop Dyck called for a “back to basics” approach to United Methodism. What we as a denomination need to do is to understand what it means to be a United Methodist. We are not Lutherans, Catholics, Seventh Day Adventists, or any other denomination – we are United Methodists. All of these denominations are Christian, yet we are United Methodist. Yet, many in the church have little understanding of United Methodist History or Polity. United Methodists need to know what is special about their heritage. We all received a book John Wesley: Holiness of Heart and Life. She also stated that she would come to any congregation that asked and lead a discussion on personal and social holiness. We are also able to get copies of this book for 1.00 if we mention we heard about it at the conference. I actually silently beamed with the sin of pride as we had had discussions on Wesley during our Sunday School class and the Bishop challenged us to do the same thing.

Personally, I have to admit that I consciously chose United Methodism. It is the uniqueness of what I see as a “big tent” denomination that encompasses liberal and conservative points of view. It is a denomination, at least in its polity, is accepting of all. The uniqueness of communion in the Methodist Church is the thing that seems simple, but I marvel at. At our table all are welcome. Once again, ALL ARE WELCOME. This is different from Catholisism or some Protestant branches in which communion is closed unless you are a member of that church or denomination. Symbolically, communion in this church stresses the uniqueness of this denomination – we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. I also like knowing where a church stands, and the fact that it is accountable to itself with defined polity and resolutions. (Get out the discipline and book of resolutions). In fact I was pretty excited to get my new copies of the 2004 Discipline and the 2004 Book of Resolutions for a little light reading.  Seriously, these books are wonderful resources and relatively inexpensive and I have found the valuable in helping me understand the difference between our denomination and others.

Along with the “big tent” philosophy is the understanding is that we all will never agree on every issue. Even the apostle Paul stated that he did not want us arguing on little tiny points of theology that cannot be resolved. We are to go out and preach the good news of Jesus Christ and put differences of minutia aside. I sometimes fear that it is the minutia that will destroy us in the end. Minutia tears us away from the big problems that really matter, such as alleviating the suffering of the poor, and, as Wesley stated, “doing all the good you can.”

We started day two with worship and the music of the Jumpin’ Jehosephats, complete with a tuba solo. I felt very Dixieland. The highlight of Day Two was the address to the laity (that’s me) by the Reverand Alex Awad, a general board of Ministries missionary serving in Palestine. What the Rev. Awad spoke on was the situation in the occupied Palestinian lands. In speaking of Israeli Prime Minister Sharon, Awad stated: “His country cannot continue to occupy the home of four million people forever…” He stated that since the 1967 Six days war, the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories has been seen as brutal and oppressive – actions that the Israeli government states are justifiable to prevent terroristic attacks, which has resulted in violence on both sides erupting repeatedly. Yet, there is hope, as he said: “You can feel it. You see more and more Israelis and international people protesting the erection of the wall. More and more Jewish newspapers are stating they are sick of the occupations and call on the Israeli government to end the occupation. Some of the best advocates for peace in the Holy Land are the Jewish People.

He stated that there are about 50,000 Christians in the Palestinian territories. They are not “new converts” but those that have held traditional Christian beliefs since the days of Paul the Apostle. There were at one time, many more Christians, but Christianity has seen a sharp decline since  Israel was established, as many Christians left the Holy Land. He is also thankful to the United Methodist Church for their giving to missions. “If not for missions giving I would not be able to do his work in Palestine. He expressed appreciation to the United Methodist Church in Minnesota for their “genuine concern for peace and Justice in the Holy Land. They are not only concerned about the problems, they are doing something about it.”

We also had a report on Ethnic Ministries which brought to mind that we still struggle as a denominaton in understanding the changing face of Minnesota. We still struggle in Minnesota with issues of racism and lack of diversity among the members of the United Methodist Church. It is thought that Minnesota Nice readily translates to everything looking good on the surface but underneath everything is messed up. As I gazed out upon the members of the annual conference, the first thought I had was, “gee, we’re kind of white out there, ya know.” As a church we need to learn, and learn soon, how to reach out to today’s minorities who down the road will become tomorrows majorities. As a church, we need to learn to reach out to those that are different from us.

There was also a lot of attention placed on the decline in membership of the United Methodist Church. Going from approximately 105,000 members in 1995, the membership in Minnesota currently rests at around 81,000 members. The Church has lost members nationwide every year since its merger in 1968. This continues to be an area of concern. Mainline religions are, on average, declining more than growing. This is not so much from people quitting but from the large number of Americans and Minnesotans that claim no church affiliation at all. What has become apparent is that it is incumbent upon us, the local church, to make our congregations vital again.

Consider this, our Discipline states this of the local church: The local church provides the most significant arena through which disciple-making occurs.  (I repeat).  It goes on to say “ Under the discipline of the Holy Spirit, the church exists for the maintenance of worship, the edification of believers, and the redemption of the word”

“It is primarily at the level of the local church that the church encounters the world. The local church is a strategic base from which Christians move out to the structures of society. The function of the local church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is to help people to accept and confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and to live their daily lives in light of their relationship with  God. Therefore, the local church is to minister to persons in the community where the church is located, to provide appropriate training and nurture to all, to cooperate in ministry with other local churches, to defend God’s creation and live as an ecologically responsible community, and to participate in the worldwide mission of the church.

This is quite a charge and quite a responsibility. As a congregation, we need to seriously think of how to fullfil this charge. The conference can only help with so much. The real evangelism, the real growing, the real vitality of the church is at the local church level. As a local church, if we are not totally committed to our mission, we cannot succeed. We need to get our message out not to those attending other denominations but to the large group that does not go to church at all. How do we make ourselves vital and important in a world that is vying for our attention all the time.

I have often struggled with what appeals to people about the large non-denominational “mega” churches. In some ways, the non-denominational churches are “easy” churches complete with stadium seating as in a movie theater, state of the art sound systems, and good entertainment value. Their largeness allows them to offer programs to everyone and be all things to all people and allow congregants to participate or not participate at any level they want. They also tend to lack the discipline and theology of established mainline churches – i.e. a discernable identity.

The nexus of the small church such as our demands so much more of the parishioners as we struggle to fill vacancies on boards and other projects and suffer from a lack of membership, not a lack of commitment. Those drawn to a smaller church are generally those who like a smaller community feeling and “family” feeling you get. Yet, small congregations generally are not poised for growth. The answer, I believe, is somehow making our message viable and accessable, and the only way we can do that is to become, as a congregation, well versed in the history and theology of this denominiation we call United Methodist. The bishop has challenged the churches to do so, and that hopefully will be our continuing mission. There have been some encouraging trends lately, as some conferences nationwide have gained membership and have lost members at a slower rate. Yet, we have a huge corner to turn.