THE GENERAL CONFERENCE STAYS
THE COURSE
by Ira Gallaway
As one reflects upon the recent General
Conference of The United Methodist Church held in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , it is readily apparent that the
Conference was committed to the orthodox Christian faith and
moral teaching of Scripture and the tradition of the Church with
regard to human sexuality. Again, the pro-homosexual lobby made
a determined effort to change Church law with regard to the
practice of homosexuality.
The Conference voted clearly to
strengthen Paragraph 304.3 which states that “the practice of
homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching”. This
action is in positive accord with the teaching of scripture,
over 2000 years of Judea-Christian tradition, and over 97% of
all Christendom. The Conference also passed legislation to
ensure that no Conference agency could promote the acceptance of
homosexuality. The “performing of same-sex wedding ceremonies
was added as a chargeable offense”. The Conference passed
legislation in support of laws defining marriage as between one
man and one woman. While the Conference stayed the course on
the biblical understanding of human sexuality, it is deeply
regrettable that The General Conference had to spend so much
time on the divisive issue of homosexual practice.
For a number of years the Western
Jurisdiction has been over-represented at General Conference and
on the membership of Boards and Agencies with greater numbers
than their membership would fairly indicate. The 2000 General
Conference made adjustments to General Conference representation
and the 2004 delegates passed legislation to ensure that
composition of Boards and Agencies would more correctly reflect
the membership of each Conference. This will benefit the
growing Conferences in the United States ,
and especially the Central Conferences overseas.
The General Conference abolished the
General Council on Ministries and established a “Connectional
Table” as a coordinating group for the Mission and Ministry of
the Church. This group will include 47 members. General
Secretaries of Boards and Agencies will have voice but not
vote. This compares with a much larger proposal of 134 members
as recommended by the “Living Into The Future” task-force
recommendation. The General Council on Finance and
Administration was retained as a separate entity. One would
wonder if the delegates saw any conflict with the constitutional
provision which states that the Council of Bishops shall “plan
for the general oversight and promotion of the temporal and
spiritual interests of the entire Church and for carrying into
effect the rules, regulations and responsibilities prescribed
and enjoined by the General Conference”, (paragraph 45, article
III). Will any new structure matter much if we are not faithful
to the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church and seek to win the
world for Christ?
All in all, the legislation passed by
this General Conference was much more positive than not.
However, one wonders where Methodism has lost its zeal for
evangelism and mission outreach to the ends of the earth.
We would make the plea to all of our
supporters that you would ‘stay the course’. If you leave The
United Methodist Church, we are weakened. If you stay on as an
active member of your local Church and live out a vigorous
apostolic faith, continuing your support of The Confessing
Movement, we are stronger and God will bless our witness.
Thanks be to God for the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. We
are grateful for your support.
