Methodists Join Unity Pact Amid Divisions

By Audrey Barrick, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, May 29, 2007

A "unity" resolution is making its way through the United Methodist Church with little debate as the denomination remains wracked over such issues as homosexuality.

"This is the first time in many years we've had this degree of collaboration going on," said Bishop Bruce Ough, chairman of the Council of Bishops planning team that started the process of signing the resolution, according to the United Methodist News Service.

Groups in the United Methodist Church have signed on to a resolution that outlines four mission initiatives for the 8 million-member denomination – the second largest among Protestant groups in the nation. The initiatives include leadership development, building new congregations and revitalizing existing ones, ministry with the poor, and combating diseases of poverty.

"I think what we're saying is that it's time to be very serious about collaboration," said the Rev. Larry Hollon, chief executive of United Methodist Communications, who drafted the unity resolution and began circulating it within the denomination in spring.

The United Methodist Publishing House, the General Board of Discipleship, the General Board of Global Ministries, the General Board of Church and Society, and the Genral Commission on Religion and Race are some of the Methodist agencies that have signed on, approving the resolution. A budget proposal of nearly $642 million centered around the four mission initiatives for 2009-2012 was also made by the Connectional Table and the governing board for the Council on Finance and Administration.

The initiatives come years after United Methodists adopted a 2004 resolution affirming the unity of the church. At a time when the matter of amicable separation was on the discussion table as some feared the church was about to split over issues like homosexuality, delegates at the General Conference affirmed the church's commitment to work together for their common mission of making disciples throughout the world by adopting the unity resolution.

The 2004 General Conference had reaffirmed the church's stance that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. Some conference delegates had said talks of splitting were premature because the church had not had honest dialogue yet.

United Methodists will meet again next spring for the 2008 General Conference (Apr. 23-May 2) in Fort Worth, Texas. In the meantime, the church is making efforts to unify around a common vision and on the church's priorities before heading into the national meeting, held every four years.

"We're at a critical juncture because we are searching for a crisp message that will bring everybody along as we go into General Conference, and even more importantly as we come out of General Conference," said Ough, according to UMNS. "When we leave General Conference, we want to have a way to talk about this so that the person in the pew can get up and say, 'Oh, I get it. Now I understand what the people of The United Methodist Church are all about.'"