I Want a Liberated Church
image: “Caminhando Eu Vou Para Canaã” by Rev. Alex da Silva Souto, Armstrong Redwoods, CA, USA.
I was a delegate to the 2016 General Conference. Going into that conference, if you would have told me we could vote on what would eventually become the One Church Plan, I’d have voted for it enthusiastically. It seemed that progressives were going to be outvoted, so a chance at any movement was a start that we could build on to become an inclusive church. But something changed for me at that conference, and “good enough for a start” became not good enough for me.
Going into the 2019 Special Session, I was a proponent of the Simple Plan. It was just that: simple. Nobody had to endure firm rules that they felt violated their own covenant with God. We didn’t codify discrimination in church law by saying it was okay; we just hit the rewind button to before the incompatibility clause was added to the Discipline. Our church existed the better part of a couple of centuries without it, right? But I was called radical if I supported the Simple Plan. Most of the time, I heard it louder from my “progressive” siblings. It’ll never pass, it waters down support for a plan that can pass, yada, yada.
There is a nearly 50 year long tug of war going on for the United Methodist Church. The Traditional Plan was a pretty hefty tug. And now it seems like there are a lot of negotiations going on about which side is going to drop the rope first, who gets to keep the rope, and where the line in the sand should be drawn. Clearly, the “pullers” forgot what they are pulling for. A cross and flame insignia, pension plan, and buildings have taken front seat, people called to serve God in a different gender expression, identity, or love than those in power are relegated to the back. White, cis-gender, United Methodist men from the United States lead discussions about how to keep the church together, and their people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender siblings are left repeatedly asking for representation at the table. I am still stunned and embarrassed that the GC2019 gathering made no mention of LGBTQIA+ persons during the day of prayer (at least until it was demanded) when that is who we were there for!
Now some people claim to be pushing for the Simple Plan, but only a version of it has been rebranded by those very people who told me I was radical, impractical and unrealistic for supporting it. But it is being used in many cases to leverage institutional stability over lives.
I still dream of a fully inclusive, affirming church, one that places people over institution and values all as leaders, ministers, and pastors and not just membership numbers. One where those who have sat in positions of privilege and power get up and make space for those who have been told to be happy with the crumbs tossed their way. I want a church where radical love is always the answer. I want a liberated church.