wfn.org | Faith and Life commentary: In praise of compromise

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March 2, 2000        News media contact: Tim Tanton·(615)742-5470·Nashville,
Tenn.     10-21-71BP{110}

NOTE:  A head-and-shoulders photograph of the Rev. Phil Wogaman is
available.

A UMNS Commentary
By the Rev. Phil Wogaman*

Some years ago, while traveling with a group of youth in the Appalachian
Service Project, we came upon a lovely little church in the mountains of
east Tennessee.  It had a curious name: Compromise Church.  

There has got to be a story behind that name, I thought, and there was.  It
seems that when the church was built early in the 20th century, the small
congregation could not agree on a name. One faction wanted this, the other
wanted that. I don't recall now what the competing names were, but it is
said that the dispute was about to break up the church. Finally, one
inspired member said, "Oh, let's just call it 'Compromise Church.'"  

That may not be much of a name, but at least it saved the church.

Most of us are suspicious of compromise. It seems so unprincipled, so
lacking in character and conviction. Of course, behind our determination to
keep the faith there often lurks a competitive instinct. We don't want to
lose! That is especially so when reinforced by religion. We are fighting for
God, so our opponents must be against God. Maybe this is why church fights
tend to be so acrimonious: nobody wants to compromise the will of God, about
which everybody is so sure.

A deeper faith might lead to greater humility. Openness to compromise is
recognition that our adversaries may have some light from God that we
haven't yet seen, just as our contrary convictions also express part of the
truth. 

Sometimes a creative compromise simply means communicating better (as I
suspect was the case with "Compromise Church"). Sometimes it means holding
an issue open a while longer while we all learn more about it. Sometimes it
means a more equitable sharing of power and resources.  Sometimes it is a
graceful abandonment of claims that were not so important after all, as
illustrated in Acts 6:1-6. Sometimes it is being more patient with people we
love, giving them a little more time to work things through.  

Not all compromise is good, of course. But creative compromise can sometimes
express the grace of God more than stubbornness. Did not the apostle Paul
remind us that love "does not insist on its own way"?  (I Corinthians 13:4)

United Methodists will shortly gather for their once-in-four-years General
Conference. The air is already fraught with conflict and rumblings about
actions that might split the church. I take the disputes seriously, although
the spirit of United Methodism usually reaches for some kind of middle
ground.  For that to happen on the contentious issues this time around, it
seems to me that we should try to follow three rules:

First, we should avoid labeling anything as absolutely true until we are
absolutely sure that it is true - and even then we should be careful not to
close our minds to new insights. A great church knows when to avoid
premature closure - or how to retreat gracefully from the closures of the
past that have proved to be premature.

 
Second, we should try to avoid putting others in a position of appearing to
believe things they don't believe. Obviously, a church is centered on core
convictions, and those who simply do not share those beliefs or values are
not going to feel at home. But the tendency in church fights is to enlarge
the non-negotiable points unnecessarily.

Third, we should wherever possible to avoid using legal mechanisms as a way
of settling disputes of conscience. Do we, for example, really want to use
church law as a weapon to force the conscience of caring pastors? 

My prayer is that the United Methodist General Conference will provide the
world a model of how to resolve conflict with mutual respect and creative
compromise.

# # #

*Wogaman, pastor of Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, is a
seminary professor of Christian ethics and author. He is a clergy member of
the Baltimore-Washington Annual (regional) Conference.

Commentaries provided by United Methodist News Service do not necessarily
represent the opinions or policies of UMNS or the United Methodist Church.

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