wfn.org | Dialogues on Theological Diversity End

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CONTACT: Thomas S. McAnally			 (10-21-28-71B){102}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470 	  Feb. 23, 1998

NOTE: A full text of the "In Search of Unity" document mentioned in the
following story will be released by United Methodist News Service as
soon as it is available from the steering committee, probably March 2.
Check our World Wide Web page: http://www.umc.org/umns.html

Dialogues on theological diversity end, 
search for unity continues

				by Tom McAnally*

	DALLAS (UMNS) -- Participants in the second and final United
Methodist dialogue on theological diversity closed their two-day
sessions here Feb. 20 with a prayer for "the opening of doors and the
emergence of models whereby all of us can live as a family in the same
house."
	The 23 participants worked on "In Search of Unity," a document
of about a dozen pages, which is being edited by a steering committee
and will be released about March 2 (see separate story).
	In their document, the participants describe the two dialogues
as only a beginning, and they call on the Council of Bishops to lead the
way for continued conversations at every level across the denomination.
	The first dialogue with the same equal number of  participants
from both liberal and conservative wings of the church was held in
Nashville, Tenn., Nov. 20-21. The two events were sponsored by the
denomination's Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious
Concerns, with funds provided by the General Council on Ministries.
	In addition to the "In Search of Unity" document, the group
proposed that:
*	the Council of Bishops create a 24-member Committee on
Theological Dialogue to help the council foster "doctrinal reflection
and theological dialogue";
*	the Commission on Christian Unity help the council with staffing
and ensure that recommendations from the two recent dialogues be brought
to the attention of appropriate bodies within the church;
*	the Council of Bishops conduct its own dialogues "in order to
model for the church our journey toward unity," and that subsequently
the bishops and district superintendents provide a forum for dialogue
throughout each annual (regional) conference and at the local church
level;
*	the Council of Bishops prepare a teaching paper on the authority
of scripture and the authority of divine revelation for study throughout
the church;
*	time in a non-legislative session be provided at the 2000
General Conference for discussion or "holy conferencing," using a
teaching document produced by the bishops;
*	the editorial board of Quarterly Review, produced by the
church's Board of Higher Education and Ministry, consider publishing
articles to promote unity and to help individuals understand the
"classical faith of the church."
	In addition, the dialogue participants produced 10 "guidelines
for civility" for use when discussing theological diversity (see
separate story).
	For its proposed Committee on Theological Dialogue, participants
here resurrected a petition approved in the final hours of the 1996
General Conference but deleted from legislation because funding was not
provided.
	If the original legislation is followed, the 24-member committee
would include five active bishops, five people with doctorates in a
theological discipline, five clergy, five laity, and four members at
large. The group would meet twice a year to assist the Council of
Bishops "in finding ways of fostering doctrinal reflection and
theological dialogue at all levels . . . thereby helping the church
recover and update our distinctive doctrinal heritage . . . and enabling
doctrinal reinvigoration for the sake of authentic renewal, fruitful
evangelism and ecumenical dialogue."
	The design team directing the dialogues includes the Rev. Donald
E. Messer, president of Iliff School of Theology in Denver; the Rev.
Billy Abraham, professor of Wesley studies at Perkins School of Theology
at Southern Methodist University in Dallas; the Rev. Linda Thomas,
assistant professor of theology and anthropology at Garrett Evangelical
Theological Seminary in Evanston, Ill.; and the Rev. Maxie Dunnam,
president of Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky.
	Messer and Abraham are co-authors of Unity, Liberty and Charity:
Building Bridges Under Icy Waters, a book that deals with theological
diversity in the United Methodist Church.
	At least six participants in the dialogue are identified with
the Confessing Movement, an unofficial group calling the church to
doctrinal conformity. Another five are longtime activists who have
supported issues such as the acceptance and participation of homosexual
people in the life of the church.
	Four bishops have also participated: Judith Craig of the
church's Ohio West Area; Marion M. Edwards, Raleigh (N.C.) Area; Richard
C. Looney, South Georgia Area; and Joseph H. Yeakel, retired,
Smithsburg, Md.
	At the close of the dialogue here, each participant gave a
positive evaluation. At the same time, it was clear participants were no
closer to agreement on substantive matters than when they started.
	"The experience has been positive," said the Rev. Eradio
Valverde Jr., a pastor from Mission, Texas. "This is a big house with
many rooms called the United Methodist Church."
	Steering committee Messer said some had worried that the
dialogues might exacerbate differences. "That hasn't been true," he
said.
	The imagery of liberals and conservatives trying to live in the
same house, used frequently at the Nashville meeting, continued here.
	For some, it was likened to the biblical reference of "in my
Father's house there are many mansions." But for others, it was compared
to an unwanted guest who came into the house and stayed.
	The Rev. Joy Moore, director of women and ethnic ministries at
Asbury Theological Seminary, said United Methodists have been given a
house from generations past, a house they have come to like.  
"We've opened it to everybody," she said. "One of our neighbors came and
chose to stay . . . we spent a lot of time cleaning up their mess. They
don't follow the same rules we do . . . they have changed their address
to our house."
As a result of these unwanted guests, Moore said many United Methodists
don't want to live there anymore. She said many members are leaving the
denomination because, like the house, "the people living there don't
represent who the church used to be."
The Rev. McCalister Hollins, a pastor in Atlanta, agreed and disagreed
with the metaphor.
"It's God's house, not our house," he said. "Everybody in it is messy.
All of us are saved by the grace of God."  On the other hand, he said
determining house rules are important so "we can determine what God's
house is going to look like."
In what he called "musings", Looney pointed to reformed and orthodox
Jewish groups and wondered aloud if United Methodists might become a
common stream with "branches that recognize and respect one another."
Emphasizing that he is not recommending dividing the church, Looney
asked, "Can we recognize differences and try not to fight for control?"
He expressed regret that tensions within the church are preventing it
from doing God's work.
The Rev. Kent Millard, a pastor in Indianapolis, warned against
collapsing the poles too quickly.
"It is important for us to live with the tension. God didn't put us
together by accident." If there is a quick "divorce," he said, "we would
fail to learn what God is trying to teach us."
In a society that is polarized, Millard said, "we should model how
people can live together in the same house, who think radically
different but who live with the creative tension."
The possibility of a third dialogue, suggested at the first meeting in
Nashville, was eliminated when the steering committee surveyed the
participants and found that a significant majority could not meet at the
same time during the remainder of 1998. A 1999 gathering would be too
much of a distance from the Dallas meeting, said the Rev. Bruce Robbins,
New York, staff executive for the Commission on Christian Unity.
 #  #  #
* McAnally is director of United Methodist News Service, headquartered
in Nashville and with offices also in New York and Washington, D.C.

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