Conference Junkie

Over the last semester I've taken UM Polity and Discipline. I throughly enjoy United Methodist polity. I'm somewhat of a Conference nerd. Ok, I'll be honest...I'm totally a Conference nerd. It's what I do. I get so excited the night before Conference that I can't sleep. I planned my wedding around Conference so that I wouldn't have to miss Conference to be at my wedding. (FYI-I told Beth that I was willing to miss Conference this one time, but if we ever wanted to be together on our Anniversary, we should really rethink our plans). I almost skipped my high school graduation for Conference, but my Mom made me come home. I got home from Conference, graduated and drove back to Conference. Why do I love Conference so much? I love to see people and sing "And Are We Yet Alive" and deal with issues facing the church and see more people and talk about things and hear new ministry ideas and see more people (Can you tell that I'm an extrovert? I am!). Anyway, Polity was an enjoyable class because I got to think about all my experiences and Conferences and dream about more Conferences and whatnot. Yesterday was our Final, and I think that it had become evident to most of the class that I had some Conference experience, especially on the General level, so this morning I was approached by two different people at different times asking the same question..."Why does Conference (especially the General Conference) really matter? What has the General Conference ever done to help the local church?"

This was a tough question to answer, as I realize that most of what we do at General Conference has very little impact on the local church, and I readily admitted this to my classmates. In fact, I believe that one of the major issues at the General level (Conference, Boards and agencies, etc) is that we've forgotten what it looks like to be in a local church, especially in the small local church. Most of the lay delegates are unordained, full-time church staff who can take off two weeks of work to be at Conference. Many other lay delegates come from the big congregations in Conferences. To be elected to the General Conference on the clergy side of the board means that you've achieved enough and been around long enough to be recognizable. Normally this recognition means that you're in a big church or you're a college president or a district superintendent. While I realize that it's not true across the board (my friend and mentor is someone who remembers the Local Church and he models this well for me and for others), many people, clergy and laity, forget about the Local Church when we get to General Conference. We think that we're changing the world when we vote through a resolution that is to be sent to the US government. We think that we're dealing with deep and important issues when we hotly debate how many people from each jurisdiction should be represented on General agencies and how we should strongly recommend a particular policy to our UM colleges and universities. We think that everything we does is the end of the world, but often we forget the Local Church. We forget the pastors who have been in the Conference for 20 years, working for a little above minimum who must somehow interpret our decisions to the three people in their congregation who are paying attention to the decisions of the General Conference. We forget that passing a budget means going back to our churches and getting them to hoist their fair share. Sometimes we forget about the Local Church congregations.

But, at the same time, I see the General Conference as an integral part of UM Polity. Somehow we've got to set the structure and the framework for the Church as a whole. Somehow we've got to establish the way that Church Property is held and how Clergy and Laity are to be held accountable and what it means to be ordained as a deacon or elder. Somehow we've got to know that our money together can do more than our monies seperate. Somehow we've got to maintain a doctrine and a Disicipline and a way of life together. The General Conference establishes our Covenant of Life together as the people called Methodists. Too often it's politicized and built up and divisive, but when it comes down to it, we've got to know what it means to live as a United Methodist in a fallen world, and this then determines how the Local Churches carry out the mission of the Church, to make Disciples of Jesus Christ.

Finally, I don't think that we should write off Conference because it truly is a place where we experience a means of grace. Conference is a place to worship, to hear the Word proclaimed, to expand our relationships and grow our friendships. Conference is a place where God speaks. I heard my call into ordained ministry at Annual Conference, and I believe, that despite all of the challenges that the Conference (Annual or General) faces in the politicized scheme of things, God moves and works at Conference if we're watching. I believe that going to Annual Conference can change the way that we do ministry in our local churches, and I eagerly await the movement of the Holy Spirit at the next conference I attend. I'm so excited that I can't sleep.