wfn.org | Bishops cool to first draft of 'transformational direction'

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

May 6, 1999  News media contact: Thomas S. McAnally*(615)742-5470*Nashville,
Tenn.   10-71B{254}

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (UMNS) - Bishops are generally less than enthusiastic
about the first draft of a proposed "transformational direction" for the
United Methodist Church, presented May 5 by the denomination's Connectional
Process Team (CPT).

The team was created by the 1996 General Conference to develop
recommendations about how the church should be in mission and ministry in
the next century.  Part of those recommendations to the 2000 General
Conference are to  include possible structures and organizations for the
denomination. 

The first draft, released in February, had been mailed to the bishops in
advance of their meeting in Chattanooga May 1-7.  Bishop Sharon Brown
Christopher of Springfield, Ill., chairwoman of the CPT, reminded the
bishops that they had been consulted by the team early and had been kept
updated throughout the process.

"The dialogue with the Council of Bishops was deep, rich and extremely
valuable to the CPT as it continues to move toward a final draft,"
Christopher told United Methodist News Service. She said the first draft was
intended to serve as a "launching pad for dialogue and discernment
throughout the church."  The team has solicited feedback from across the
church.  Its first draft can be found on the Internet at
http://www.umc.org/cpt .

The Rev. Minerva Carcano of Dallas, chairwoman of the team that wrote the
draft, said, "I left with the feeling that the bishops had engaged in
conversation and in the process. They were helpful.  It was not our
expectation that all would be affirmed. We have their input and can now go
back and revise the document."

Some bishops were critical of the first draft, saying it lacked  passion and
enthusiasm. Others praised the group for its efforts but said it was seeking
to accomplish too much in too short a period of  time. The final proposal
will be revised in September and sent to the May 2-12, 2000 General
Conference in Cleveland.  In light of this pressure, Bishop James K. Mathews
of Washington suggested the team "focus on the worldwide denomination and
delay the rest."

Bishop Lindsey Davis of Atlanta expressed the strongest criticism. "In an
attempt to help us be more global, the proposal would in effect do the
opposite," he said.

"I wanted to like this report," Davis said. "It is well intentioned but ill
conceived.  It is so far off the target I wish you would consider
withdrawing it." 

A proposal for a global conference comprising four representatives from
every annual (regional) conference, regardless of size, sparked the most
interest.  Retired Bishop Ole Borgen of Norway applauded the concept of a
global conference where issues relevant only to the United States would not
dominate.  The present General Conference, which meets every four years,
includes nearly 1,000 delegates, of whom at least 160 are from outside the
United States. 

Bishop Richard Looney of Macon, Ga., criticized the recommended membership
of such a global conference, saying it would disenfranchise members from
large U.S. conferences that would have no more delegates than a very small
conference elsewhere.  

Bishop William Boyd Grove of Charleston, W.Va., said the name of the
proposed conference should be changed since the United Methodist Church is
not global.  The denomination has conferences in Europe, Asia, the United
States and Africa.  Other Wesleyan denominations around the world, such as
the Methodist churches of Mexico, Puerto Rico and Great Britain, are
autonomous.

Looking at the CPT proposals regarding local churches and annual
conferences, Bishop Dan Solomon of Baton Rouge, La., disagreed with the
team's assertion that the local church is the heart of the church's life and
suggested another metaphor. "I suggest we use two little circles, one being
the annual conference and the other being the local church. The dynamic
between the two is the way we do mission and ministry."  In this approach,
he said the church's affirms connectionalism and prevents congregational
isolation.

CPT proposals regarding the Council of Bishops also prompted discussion
among the church leaders. Bishop Joseph Pennel of Richmond, Va.,  expressed
concern that the bishops might be mere executives with influence limited to
the annual conference. "Not many people answer to us," he observed. "We do
not have the authority to direct the church. Only the General Conference
does that." 

Carcano and Bishop Melvin G. Talbert, a CPT member from West Sacramento,
Calif., said the group had struggled with ways to free up bishops from
administrative details so they can have the time to be prophetic, spiritual
leaders. 

Bishop Kenneth Carder of Nashville, Tenn., deeply involved in the Council of
Bishops Initiative on Children and Poverty, expressed concern that the CPT
report did not address how such initiatives might refocus the church's
mission and ministry to represent a God who is biased in favor of the
impoverished. CPT members responded by saying that what is emerging in the
team is not yet reflected in the document. Carcano also acknowledged that
"the CPT, like the United Methodist Church, is not in total agreement about
the God we serve and how we are to be disciples in the world, how we do our
ministry and how we do mission in the world."

Bishop Joseph Sprague of Chicago expressed concern that organizational forms
often blunt the movement of the Holy Spirit.  The CPT, he added, may be
"trying to force birth before the gestation period is complete."

Bishop Emilio de Carvalho of Angola called the overall draft "superb" but
objected to the proposed continuation of the five geographic jurisdictions
in the proposed U.S. Central Conference. 

Presiding over the weeklong, semi-annual session of the council in
Chattanooga was Bishop George Bashore of Pittsburgh, whose one-year term
will come to a close at the end of the meeting Friday morning, May 7. He
will be succeeded by Bishop Robert Morgan of Louisville, Ky.  Secretary of
the council is Bishop Sharon Z. Rader of Madison, Wis.  The council includes
50 active bishops from the United States, 17 active bishops from Europe,
Africa and Asia, and about 65 retired bishops.
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