At It Again!

Well, we United Methodists are at it again. Right now, as every four years, we are gathered together for General Conference, which is the church’s legislative body, to tend to the business of the larger church. There are 992 delegates from 50 countries in Fort Worth, TX until May 2, and I will confess that while I see the need for General Conference, I wish the church at large would put as much energy in making disciples of Jesus Christ as we put in perpetuating the machinery of the church. At times it does seem as if the tail is wagging the dog! Nevertheless, conferences and the business of the church will go on, and we will, if we truly follow Christ, make disciples. I was pleased with Bishop Christopher’s opening address to the Conference in which she acknowledged the fact that the church in the United States is dying…we must always honestly face the facts before we can affect change. I also found hope in the fact that while we are an aging, declining denomination in the US, with the average member age of 57; the church grew by over 200% in Africa and Southeast Asia! She pointed out some of the many distractions we face, but returned to Wesley’s three rules as the foundation for our future: do no harm, do good, love God. You can go to www.umc.org for links to a daily wrap up on General Conference, or to our Annual Conference’s website: www.igrc.org for articles/blog on General Conference.