Supporting
the Connectional Church: Why, Why Not & Because
Reverend Doctor C. Dennis Shaw, Retired Elder in the Mountain Sky
Conference and a member of the Conference Council on Finance and Administration
This
is a first in a series of thought pieces addressing elements of why and towards
what end we are asked to support the United Methodist church beyond the local
church.
A frequent question in discussions of how
we support the United Methodist Church beyond the local church is: “what does our
church get back for paying our Mission Shares and Apportionment?”
I hear in the “what does our church
get back” question, a “why” question. Help us understand “why” we support the
Conference and levels beyond? Illustration: a university philosophy class had a
one-word final exam: Why? A passing answer was “why not” but excellence was
recognized when the answer was “Because.”
My answer to the “why” question is
“because”, but I offer you more than one word.
Our “because” is we United Methodists are
a connectional people. Connection is defined by the United Methodist Church as:
“The principle, basic to The United Methodist Church, that all leaders and
congregations are connected in a network of loyalties and commitments that
support, yet supersede, local concerns.[1]” [Note: footnotes do not automatically move you to the reference. You will need to scroll down. Sorry.]
Why do we support activities beyond
the local church? “Because” it is who we are. We are a network, and within this
network, we show loyalties and commitments to other United Methodist churches
and other expressions of Methodism in other countries. Interestingly, this
principle acknowledges that it both supports local concerns, but at times,
supersede those same local concerns. I will return to this in another article,
but not here.
As I read that UM definition of “connection”
echoes of Jesus speaking of himself from John 15 as the true vine and how we
are to remain in him merges in my head with Paul in 1 Corinthians 12
reminding us we are part of the body of Christ. If we remain in Christ and
acknowledge we are part of the body of Christ, then the logic of connectedness through
our denominational network suggests to me that our connectional understanding
is grounded biblically. I will return to a biblical grounding in each article
in this series.
Therefore, my “because” is because it
is who we are: a connectional people, with a scriptural emphasis, and this principle
was true in our creation story.
Duke theologian Laceye Warner writes:
“The … heritage of Wesleyan, Methodists, and Evangelical United Brethren …
emerged from a missional imperative ... This is distinctive since other
denominational traditions often trace their roots to disagreements regarding
confessional or doctrinal matters.”[2] Because
it is who we are. It is a principle within the “method” that makes us
“Methodists.”
I am mindful that “why not” in my
philosophy illustration gets a passing grade and “why not” must be dealt with.
“Why not” and trust, most often the
lack of trust, are related. Lack of trust rarely appears explicitly named in
the unwillingness to share conversation. However, trust is in short supply
across our nation and within our church. Laceye Warner, quoted earlier,
observes that trust is presumed present in our overall connection, but “when
trust is low, this becomes a weakness since there are few, if any clear
structures for accountability that almost maintain the connection.”[3] I
agree and expand that it is my take that what we don’t understand and when
trust is not present there is an assumption of waste and lack of need. As I
mentioned earlier, it is my plan that this piece will establish a baseline for
discussion, but I will follow it up with other pieces addressing more
specifically what the local church gets back. I believe it is considerable.
Our Book of Discipline places
great emphasis missionally on both the local church and the Conference. The
local church is “the basic unit in the connectional system” while at the same
time, the Conference is understood as “the fundamental body.” Our mission
statement reminds us that “Local churches and extension ministries of the
Church provide the most significant arenas through which disciple-making occurs.”[4]
Disciple-making takes place at the
local church (and extension ministries) but the equipping for that action is
facilitated through development and deployment of leaders by the Conference. I
believe the missional imperative for the Conference is leadership development
and deployment and discuss it a little here. My next article will focus on this more
specifically.
Fundamentally, the Wesleyan movement
has understood sharing as a vital part of who we are. A favorite image of mine
is a comparison of the Sea of Galilee with the Dead Sea. Both are nurtured by
inflows of water from the River Jordan. But the Sea of Galilee releases what is
received and gives back. The Dead Sea is not capable of this release, and the
water that flows in, stays, to become brackish and filled with minerals. The
Sea of Galilee teems with life, sustaining villages around its shores. The Dead
Sea is just that: dead.
The Sea of Galilee is compelled to
share, it is part of what it is. The Dead Sea is compelled to hoard, it is part
of what it is. Part of who we are as Methodists, people who are part of a
connection, says we are a people “connected in a network of loyalties and
commitments that support, yet supersede, local concerns.” Our support is a
both/and – both local and global. There are places around our world where the
connection teems with life, sustaining others around its shore.
Again, I plan for this article to be
an intellectual grounding in “why” and will unpack in a series to follow more
specifically what is it the local church gets back from Mission Shares and
Apportionments. Again, I think considerable.
References (and all will be linked to
their URL):
Barbara Carroll -- Minnesota Annual Conference – “What Does My Church Get Back from Apportionments”
Dennis Shaw – Mountain Sky Conference – “Defining our Mission Around Leadership Development”
Erik Alsgaard -- Baltimore-Washington Conference – “Connection makes the UMC Work”
Laceye Warner -- UM-Insight “Sent in Love”
Laura Rainwater -- “What does my church ‘get back’ from our apportionments”
North Carolina Annual Conference (and adapted from Minnesota article) – “Faith and Money: What do churches get from paying apportionment?”
The 2016 Book of Discipline
[1] Source: Sharing God's Gifts Glossary of United
Methodist Terms. And I plan in a
future piece to discuss a little about “supersede.” My take on that is that there are times the
greater good is superior to the local church, but for now, let’s not dwell on
this.
[2]
UM-Insight
by Laceye Warner
[4]¶ 120. The Mission—The mission of the Church
is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Local
churches and extension ministries of the Church provide the most significant
arenas through which disciple-making occurs. United Methodist Book of
Discipline, 2016.
