SANCTIFYING GRACE --- TRANSFORMING GRACE
2008 LAITY ADDRESS AND REPORT ON GENERAL CONFERENCE

Bishop Hutchinson, Provost Cottrill, Secretary Rhoads, Members, Guests and Friends of the Louisiana Annual Conference, and my brothers and sisters in Christ:

On this occasion of the last Annual Conference in the quadrennium, a General Conference year in which it was the turn of the first-elected lay delegate to head the delegation, it is my honor to bring to you both the traditional laity address and a report on General Conference.  Due to time constraints and the great deal of information to be shared, this will be somewhat more of the latter than the former.

The Board of Laity’s report to you can be found beginning at page 64 of the Preconference Report, and includes reports of the laity-led ministries that are sponsored and supported by the Board. These reports contain highlights and important information about the work and ministry of the laity in response to the mission of the Annual Conference to raise up and equip spiritual leaders, and to make disciples of Jesus Christ.  I commend them to your reading, if you have not already done so. 

Many of the officers and at-large members of the Board of Laity are completing their terms of service this year.  As was announced at the laity session yesterday, donations have been made to the 1000 Club and the Daughenbaugh-Matheny Scholarship Fund in their honor, and in recognition of their service on the board.  However, I would like to take this opportunity to ask all of the outgoing, continuing and new officers and members of the Board of Laity to stand, so that the Annual Conference may recognize your leadership and service.

The theme of this year’s Annual Conference is “Sanctifying Grace,” what John Wesley also called “Christian perfection” -- the process of spiritual transformation by which we are “filled with the fullness of God,” to the end that God’s “humble, gentle, patient love…(rules) our tempers, words and actions,” and our lives are fully dedicated to Him.  We as United Methodists recognize that this process of transformation is not just for our personal sanctification and salvation, but also empowers, enables and equips us to “walk as Christ walked”--to love, reach out and witness and minister to our neighbors and to all of God’s children, so that they may also be able to know and to experience God’s saving and transforming grace.

The transforming element and power of sanctifying grace were recognized by General Conference this year when it approved the addition of language to the Book of Discipline, which now describes the mission of the church as making “disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”   The role of the laity in that transformation process was recognized and affirmed at General Conference by the addition of a new paragraph to the Book of Discipline, entitled “The Ministry of the Laity.”  Listen to its words:

“The ministry of the laity flows from a commitment to Christ’s outreaching love.  Lay members of the United Methodist Church are, by history and calling, active advocates of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Every lay person is called to carry out the General Commission…; every lay person is called to be missional.  The witness of the laity, their Christ-like examples of everyday living as well as the sharing of their own faith experiences of the Gospel is the primary evangelistic ministry through which all people will come to know Christ and the United Methodist Church will fulfill its mission.”

Those missional and evangelistic responsibilities of the laity were additionally accentuated when the General Conference voted to add “witness” to the liturgy of membership vows used when one makes a profession of membership, so that a new member will now make the pledge to support the church through “prayers, presence, witness, gifts, and service.”

Unfortunately, despite such a powerful and eloquent description of what we as laity are or should be about in our communities and in the world, the results have not always been reflective of those representations.  Poverty and strife continue to plague our hurting world, while our United Methodist Church is aging, and its numbers in the U.S. and Europe are declining.

The extent of the challenge before us was detailed in the State of the Church Report published by the Connectional Table of our denomination in the spring of 2007, which revealed the following:

Recognizing such discouraging statistics, North Georgia Conference Lay Leader Lyn Powell, in her laity address to General Conference, confronted us with the notion that “something has happened to the laity in the last 40 years.  Somehow, too many of us have disengaged from the idea of having a ministry of any kind, much less a transforming one.  And I submit to you,” she continued, “that it is no coincidence that when the laity disengaged from the ministry the denomination began to decline.”

Ms. Powell reminded us that “(i)t is not the calling of the laity to sit back and receive the ministry from the clergy.  It is the calling of the laity…to be equipped by the clergy to go out and do the ministry.”

What, then, can we do to reverse this trend of decline?  What can we do to more faithfully and effectively respond to Christ’s calling?  In his insightful and challenging presentation to us at the Bishop’s Laity Retreat in March, Dr. Lovett Weems led many of our conference laity, and even some of our clergy, in an exploration of his work for the Council of Bishops which resulted in his publication entitled “Ten Provocative Questions for the United Methodist Church.” During the course of his weekend with us, Dr. Weems asked all of us to consider whether our ministries may have lost focus upon their original goals, and on our calling as Christians.   We had occasion to briefly consider his insights during our laity session yesterday. As Dr. Weems invited us to consider, perhaps we need to add a “so that” to everything we plan and do in ministry, to remind us that we do all of these “church” things “so that” God’s love and gospel may be shared, “so that” His children may be nurtured and protected from harm, “so that” disciples may be made, and “so that” lives --- and the world --- may be transformed.

Those of us who were honored and privileged to represent you at General Conference in April were encouraged to learn, though, that while our denomination certainly has its challenges, the news is not all bad, and that United Methodism and the Gospel of Christ are not in decline everywhere.  Between 1995 and 2004, while professing membership in the United States and Europe was diminishing, thousands of new spiritual seekers in Africa and Southeast Asia were flocking to United Methodist churches every day for spiritual nurture.  During that same decade, the number of professing members across Africa and Southeast Asia increased by more than 200 per cent.  In one of several inspiring messages delivered by Bishops to the gathered body at General Conference, Bishop Machado of Mozambique emotionally shared with us that he was a product of the United Methodist Church’s missionary and evangelistic efforts in the 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s.  Bishop Machado said that just as much of Africa has been transformed by decades of faithful work by United Methodists, so can the rest of the world be transformed.

But it won’t be by “just disciples,” he added.  “We need true disciples.  To transform the world,” he said, “we must be transformed ourselves.”  Then, in words that could have been expressed to this body as easily as to General Conference, Bishop Machado concluded: “…(T)he church is blessed with men and women, lay and clergy, with tremendous gifts and vitality.  We (just) need to do what we say.”

In the effort to respond to this challenge; to redirect our focus; and to transform ourselves and our discipleship, so that we in turn can more faithfully and effectively make disciples for the transformation of the world; the Council of Bishops in consultation with other denominational leaders has developed four areas of major focus and connectional collaboration to guide the future work of our denomination.  You heard them yesterday in the Episcopal address, but they bear repeating:

As we delegates learned, these four areas of focus and collaboration are already guiding the work of our denomination’s general agencies, and, as you heard from Bishop Hutchinson yesterday, our conference is also working intentionally in these areas. They offer the promise of changing our denominational focus from divisive social and doctrinal issues to positive opportunities for mission and ministry; from the specter of schism and separation, back to our true calling of discipleship and transformation.  Equally as important, their emphasis on practical, working, inviting discipleship rather than on doctrinal division and exclusivity offers the prospect of reminding us how to begin to regain and restore -- to our denomination and to our local churches -- the spiritual and evangelistic fervor that were the hallmarks of John Wesley’s ministry and teachings, the legacy of early Methodism, and the powerful model of Christian discipleship that we  as United Methodists have somehow misplaced -- and that has even been co-opted by  non-denominational community churches which utilize Wesleyan methods to experience remarkable growth, while our own churches continue to languish.

These four areas of focus and collaboration were mentioned frequently in the reports of general agencies that delegates heard, and in the debates in which delegates participated, with a renewed and intentional emphasis on mutual respect, civility and “Holy Conferencing.”  All of the approximately 1000 delegates also received a copy of Bishop Reuben Job’s book entitled Three Simple Rules that Will Change Your World: A Wesleyan Way of Living, containing John Wesley’s three simple, general rules for God’s church and His disciples:  Do no harm; do good; and stay in love with God.  These simple but powerful rules were also mentioned frequently during General Conference, and, at least from my observation, the stress given to the 4 areas of focus, the 3 Simple Rules and civility in debate elevated the atmosphere of deliberations substantially closer to the goal of “Holy Conferencing” than the confrontation that characterized much of the debate in previous General Conferences.

The transforming power of God’s sanctifying grace was also recognized in the theme of this year’s General Conference, which was “A Future with Hope – Making Disciples for Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World.”  Certainly the worldwide nature of God’s church and our denomination was apparent in much of the conference’s deliberations and decisions.  In the time remaining to me, let me touch upon a few highlights of what was accomplished:

A $642 million denominational budget was approved for the next quadrennium, which represents only a 1.2 per cent annual increase for a total increase of only 4.8 percent over the next four years.    Our own Don Avery and the rest of the GCFA worked diligently throughout conference to rein in additional spending requests, shift resources and negotiate with other general church agencies and the Connectional Table, with the almost unbelievable result that, despite the passage of legislation calling for the expenditure of some $3.7 million in unbudgeted funds, GCFA was able to accommodate those requests and not add one penny to the $642 million bottom line. 

In response to proposals from a task force studying the increasingly global nature of our denomination, approximately $600,000 of this new budget is pledged to the work of a committee which will make recommendations to the 2012 General Conference on how to change from a United States-centric structure to a more uniform, global structure.  23 constitutional amendments were passed which make it possible for this change to occur, assuming ratification by a 2/3 vote of the aggregate total of annual conferences and eventual approval of the recommended restructuring legislation.

In other legislative action related to worldwide United Methodism, Cote d’Ivoire in Africa, the newest and largest regional conference of the denomination with almost 700,000 members, received its full rights and responsibilities, which could result in greater representation of this West African country in future general conferences.  Delegates also approved $20 million for Africa University in Zimbabwe, and $2 million to help United Methodist theological schools in Africa train additional pastors. 

Bill Gates, Sr., father of the Microsoft founder and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, addressed the conference and thanked our denomination for being a partner in the Nothing But Nets campaign to eliminate malaria in Africa.  He reported that more than $20 million has been raised since the campaign began in 2006.  We also celebrated the award of $5 million from the Gates Foundation and the United Nations Foundation, in recognition of the strength and effectiveness of our denomination’s world-wide connection, to support a fund-raising and educational campaign to help prevent deaths related to malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.  In another remarkable addition to this great mission effort, some creative fundraising involving the auction and sale of basketballs autographed by the Council of Bishops resulted in the raising of an additional $429,000 during conference for the Nothing but Nets Campaign.

The work of United Methodism to fight disease, end poverty, and promote peace worldwide was positively reinforced in the address to General Conference by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a fellow Methodist, former political prisoner and now President of the African nation of Liberia, who noted that she was the “first African leader and the first female president” to address the General Conference.  In a message of thanks and hope, President Sirleaf celebrated the positive advances made in her country and other parts of Africa, and encouraged our church to continue its efforts to give meaning to the work of Almighty God by bringing dignity, hope, stability, and security to the people of Africa and to the world.

In the area of social principles, the church’s stance on issues pertaining to sexuality remains essentially unchanged.  The major discussion was on the statement in paragraph 161G of the Discipline, which states that the United Methodist Church does not condone the practice of homosexuality and considers this practice incompatible with Christian teaching.  Legislation seeking to substitute that statement with one declaring that “(f)aithful, thoughtful people who have grappled with this issue deeply disagree with one another, yet all seek a faithful witness” passed through committee and was lengthily debated on the floor, but a minority report ultimately prevailed.  The minority report, which passed by a final vote of 501-417,  retained and refined the essential language of the 2004 Discipline, and added the phrase that sexual relations are affirmed only within the covenant of monogamous, heterosexual marriage. 

Once this major debate was concluded, additional related legislation passed without extensive debate.  This included the prohibition of the ordination and appointment of self-avowed practicing homosexuals, and the prohibition of ministers to perform same-sex unions or marriages.

The new Social Creed proposed by the Board of Church and Society was approved, not as a new social creed but as a companion litany of poetic expression for the former Social Creed, which will remain.

A number of proposed resolutions calling for the divestment of church investment in companies that do business with Israel and which in doing so were said to “cause harm to Palestinians” were rolled into one petition that was overwhelmingly defeated.  A much publicized resolution that had called for divestment from the Caterpillar Corporation had been withdrawn before the conference began.  Instead, the conference called upon both Israelis and Palestinians to uphold U.N. resolutions and International Court of Justice rulings, and to come together to negotiate a peaceful solution to the Mid-East Crisis.

One divestment petition did pass, however, which called on United Methodists to cease investment in companies which support the government of Sudan, as a denominational statement against the genocide occurring in that area.

Concerned about finances, the conference approved a plan that will result in one less bishop in four of the five U.S. jurisdictions, beginning in 2012.  The savings will be used to fund new Episcopal areas elsewhere in the world. 

The conference voted to continue a Study on the Ministry authorized by the 2004 General Conference.  This study group continues to address the ordering of ministry, the separation of ordination and conference membership, and the streamlining of the ordained ministry candidacy process.  Some petitions in this area were passed, however, including legislation that would allow deacons to serve communion under certain circumstances, and a proposed constititutional amendment which, if later ratified, would grant deacons, associate members, provisional members and certain Local Pastors the right to vote on General Conference delegates. 

Other proposed constitutional amendments which passed, but must still receive Annual Conference ratification, include the following:

While General Conference did not do away with the guaranteed appointment system for pastors, the Discipline was amended to give bishops procedures for terminating an ineffective pastor’s appointment.  Pastors will be expected to be available for an appointment, participate in a review process annually, show evidence of continuing effectiveness in ministry, and show professional growth.

Delegates approved the creation of a hymnal revision committee and authorized it to bring a proposed hymnal to the 2012 General Conference.  An additional group will investigate the possibility of an Africana hymnal that would incorporate music and liturgy from Africa, as well as Caribbean, African-American and other traditions with African roots.

A number of milestones were celebrated this year.  In the first quadrennial Young People’s Address to General Conference, six young people with different backgrounds and perspectives shared their thoughts and opinions on important issues facing our denomination, and expressed a sense of hope for the well-being of the church, but also voiced concern for its inclusiveness and acceptance. 

A full communion agreement with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was approved, under which each denomination would recognize the other’s ministry and mission, the authenticity of the other’s baptism and Eucharist, and the interchangeability of ordained ministers.  The Evangelical Lutheran Church will consider and act upon the agreement when it meets in 2009.

The 40th anniversary of the founding of United Methodism was celebrated, which also marked the 40th anniversary of the dissolution of the racially based Central Jurisdiction, and the formation of the Commission on Religion and Race.  Additionally recognized were the 60th anniversary of the Advance, and the 100th anniversary of ministry to Methodist men, the Social Creed, and the Board of Pension and Health Benefits.

In news of particular interest to Louisiana, Bishop Hutchinson, supported by our Louisiana delegation, all clad in our disaster recovery ministry shirts, participated in a “Katrina Report”, in which it was noted with gratitude that church members have raised $3 million to restore churches damaged by Hurricane Katrina; and that more than $60 million has been given through UMCOR for humanitarian aid along the Gulf Coast.  At the same time, delegates were also cautioned that Katrina fatigue is real; that unrepaired devastation is still in evidence; and that much, much more still remains to be accomplished.

In a very special treat for our delegation and for the entire assembly, our own Bishop Hutchinson was one of the select few Bishops asked to preach to General Conference.  In his address, he challenged all of us to reflect upon our baptism, and to question whether we have been renewed from above as well as below, whether we have been moved by both the water and the spirit, and, quoting one of his district superintendents whom he did not identify, but who sounded suspiciously like Rev. Roger Lathan, whether we have been moved yet from the “My, my, my” state of Baptism to the “Yes, indeed!” state of Baptism.  I can perhaps be accused of bias, but I think I can safely say that his address was the best and most well received during all of General Conference.

Finally, the retirement age of ordained clergy was extended from 70 to 72, and, in that very important piece of legislation for us as Louisiana United Methodists, the retirement age of bishops was increased from 66 to 68, effective immediately.   It was with great joy that we learned that, after prayerful deliberation and discernment, Bishop Hutchinson and Kay have decided to take advantage of this unexpected opportunity, postpone retirement and continue their active ministry, and that Bishop Hutchinson will remain an active bishop for 4 more years.  Our Conference Committee on the Episcopacy is already in the process of taking all possible steps to ensure his reassignment to Louisiana by the Jurisdictional Conference in July. 

The exemplary leadership of Bishop Hutchinson was recognized one final time, through his selection to serve as chair during the critical last afternoon and evening of General Conference, to guide the body through the very substantial number of petitions through which we still needed to wade in order to complete our work.  In his usual graceful and encouraging fashion, Bishop Hutchinson gently prodded a very tired and reluctant group of delegates on, and by the grace of God and the patient diligence of his direction conference delegates were able to complete our consideration and action on every single one of the total 1,564 petitions that originally faced us, a goal that has not always been reached in past General Conferences.

This summary has touched on really just a few of the highlights of our time in Fort Worth.  For those of you who are interested in learning more about these and other accomplishments of General Conference, or issues of special interest to you, there are links on our conference web site, La-umc.org, to archived news items about conference as well as to the web site for General Conference.

As you know – because you elected them – you were represented by a group of clergy and lay people who took their duties and responsibilities as delegates very seriously; who read and studied petitions until their eyes crossed; who met together several times before General Conference to study, discuss, interview Episcopal candidates and strengthen their bonds to each other and to God’s church; and who diligently served you and our denomination through 10 long, long days and short, short evenings with very little rest.  I would like to ask my fellow sleep-deprived delegates and alternates, and those additional folks who served in support and administrative capacities at conference, to stand and remain standing so that you may recognize them.  Please hold your response until I have named them all:  Lay delegates and alternates in addition to myself who participated at General Conference were: Anita Crump, Sarah Kreutziger, Carolyn Dove, Terrel Deville, Rachel Scott, Lane Cotton Winn and Jared Williams.  Clergy delegates and alternates who participated were: Bob Burgess, Andy Goff, Chris Andrews, Ellen Alston, Bernadine Johnson, Callie Crawford, Pat Day, Don Avery, and Danny Gleason.  Participating in support and administrative capacities were: Dick and Francey Hooten, Frank and Mary Poole, Lottie Palazzo, Clifton Conrad, Donnie Wilkinson, and Darryl Tate.  Please let them know how much their efforts on behalf of you and our church are appreciated.

Well, that’s about a wrap on another year, another quadrennium, and another General Conference.   As a point of personal privilege, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all of you for your trust in me and your patience as I have endeavored to serve you these last three years.  I also want to thank my dear friends and colleagues on the Board of Laity, who have been so supportive of me and who are the real lay leaders of this conference.  Finally, I want to thank my wife, Carol, our children, my sisters and my extended family for their love, their patience and their support as so many times my responsibilities diminished the time I had available to and with them.

On your tables there are three “show and tell” pieces.  One is a brochure entitled “Ministry of the Laity” which explains in more detail the nature of our calling and some of the ways our denomination makes available to you to express your witness.  The second is a Lay Ministry Equipping Resources Catalogue for 2008, which gives you access to helpful ministry aids.  The last is a fortune cookie, which, if you haven’t already opened it, is a “tasteful” reminder of John Wesley’s three simple rules for all disciples:  Do no harm, Do good,  Stay in love with God. 

Let these serve as reminders to us all that, as Lyn Powell warned us at conference, we cannot afford to sit idly by and wait for clergy to do the ministry of God’s church.  There is simply no reason why anyone should ever believe any talk of sanctifying grace and God’s transforming power, unless they can see that transformation taking place in us – and through us, in the world. 

As was formally affirmed at conference, it is our witness, our Christ-like examples of everyday living, our sharing of our own faith experiences of the Gospel, that are the primary, practical tools through which people will come to know Christ.  And, like the infant child who so moved Katie McKay when she was christening to her, as she described during the Laity Breakfast this morning, you and I are delivering sermons daily --- even when we don’t or can’t realize it.  To be sure, as Barbara Brown Taylor puts it, “(o)ur lives are God’s sign language in a sin-sick world, and God has promised us the (sanctifying) grace,” the transforming grace, that “we need to point the way home.”

Brothers and Sisters:  Do no harm.  Do good.  Stay in love with God.  And through His sanctifying grace, be transformed so that you, we, can transform others.   So let it be.  Amen.