The cool in the morning air signals a looming shift from summer to fall. Next.
As such, our kids have begrudgingly traded sand buckets for lunch boxes. Next.
It’s not even October and there’s already a giant inflatable Halloween spider donning the front yard of my neighbor’s home. Next.
On so many levels, we’ve given the nod to next. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s a normal rhythm of life, even though we have a tendency to bypass now in anticipation of next (you’ve got to admit: the spider sighting in September is a bit soon).
At any rate, you may be wondering, “What’s next in the church,” namely as we navigate communal life after General Conference? Since late April, early May—via our Sunday Evening Circles—we’ve gathered to discuss, wrestle, learn and deliberate over where we go from here given our global delegation’s decision to remove the restrictive language that previously prohibited United Methodist pastors to conduct same-sex weddings as well as conference boards to ordain openly gay clergy. The permutations of such changes has found us in celebration, consternation and everything in-between. We’ve learned, however, that the church (within and without) is no stranger to seasons of strife and uncertainty. Change is a given; it is always challenging, but there’s much to be said about how we manage transition. Change is the “what.” Transition, alternately, deals with “how.” From a pastoral leadership perspective, to label this transient season a challenging time would be a gross understatement. It’s been tough for pastors as of recent. Despite the bevy of nerves involved, it’s a necessary component of leading, especially when many of us ruminate over the notion of next.
So what is next for us? Where do we go from here? Is it business as usual? Do we sit on our hands? Some assume that “the decision” has been made and there’s nothing for us to do. Others are concerned that there are elements that are out of our control and that we’re at the mercy of “the powers to be.” Straw men and assumptions can be constructed from all sides. Subsequently, I’m writing as a means to help us navigate this next component of our communal life together. Just so you know: there’s no possible way that I can be comprehensive in this matter. Some question marks remain relative to moving forward and, in turn, our process will be somewhat of a living organism. Alas, I’ll do my best to shed some light on what we can expect as we eyeball the weeks and months ahead and (in the name of efficiency and clarity), I do so by way of a Q&A:
“So, General Conference has come and gone and there’s no more for us to do. Right?”
Wrong. To be clear, as a denominational body, we are structured so that leverage always exists on the local level. What’s that mean? In a word, it means that our General Conference delegation has essentially left the decision-making on matters such as these to individual local churches and pastors. On the local level, these matters are particularly important for church trustees and pastor-parish relation committees.
“What do church trustees and pastor-parish relation committees do and why is this matter pertinent to those bodies specifically?”
Unlike other denominational communities wherein “trustees” operate in a unique governmental/administrative capacity, UM church trustees oversee and manage all real property of the church, including the parsonage. They essentially look after the physical plant, making sure that all facilities are maintained, functioning and effective for the ongoing work of mission and ministry in the community. A function of the trustees, therefore, is to set building use policy for events that occur in and around church property (i.e. space rental, events, meetings, conferences and community-wide gatherings that might require use of the church’s facilities).
Christ Church has long since implemented facility use agreements for a number of events, namely that of weddings. Since the language within our denomination’s doctrinal stance related to human sexuality has changed, local church trustee teams will now be charged with drafting facility use agreements for weddings that invariably possess a theological bent. In other words, prior to May 2024, the UM Book of Discipline (the denomination’s document of governing doctrines and standards) was explicit in it’s stance, which prohibited same-sex weddings as well as the ordination of gay clergy. Since the restrictive language has been removed, local church trustees are now charged with the responsibility of creating specific policies that guide facility use in this particular vein.
Consonantly, local church pastor-parish relation committees (or Staff-Parish Relation Committee, SPRC) serve as systems of support from the congregation to the pastor and staff. This team serves as a sounding board from the congregation to the pastoral staff and vice versa. SPRC is not only responsible for regular pastoral and staff evaluations, it is also an instrumental part in assisting the bishop and cabinet of district superintendents to discern needs for clergy leadership in the event the current pastor is reassigned and there is a need to appoint a new clergyperson. During such consultations moving forward, it will be important that members of SPRC possess a sound understanding of the type of clergy Christ Church will need in order to lead well internally and to remain missionally vital in the community at large.
In each instance, the church Trustees (in crafting wedding policy) and SPRC (in assessing leadership needs of current and future clergy) would want to operate with as much of an informed voice as possible. This would involve having a representative understanding of CUMC’s membership. This is where your voice is valued.
“So what now?”
In the coming weeks, I will initiate dialogue with members of Christ UMC’s Discipleship Council. From there, the Council will begin work crafting a mechanism/process that will allow us to collect as much feedback and information from this congregation’s membership as is possible. We desire to do this the right way. While it may seem efficient to pursue a measure to address matters in one fell swoop, it is our intention to engage in a process that is thoughtful, thorough, clear and effective.
In the meantime, my door is always open for you if you have questions or concerns about the days ahead. It is my hope that you will agree with us in prayer for wisdom, patience, and courage to possess the mind of Christ as we sojourn together in this season, navigating now and looking toward next with ready anticipation.
