Challenge, Conflict, Confusion, and Community

As I write this article, the Virginia Annual Conference has just finished its second Annual Conference special session to vote on 34 churches to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church. While it was going on, I couldn’t help but wonder and pray for my first two churches in Patrick County who disaffiliated, and my friend’s church in Stuart who did the same, as well as my good friend’s church in New Town that hasn’t disaffiliated. We have always lived in challenging times, but some times feel confusing as well. I am conflicted about the outcome, the process, and the future of these different churches, as well as the UMC in Virginia and elsewhere.

The gospel has always represented challenge and community. Wherever Jesus or his disciples went, their presence and teaching did challenge people. Sometimes, the challenge was to long-held beliefs, sometimes to customs, sometimes to economic practices. Jesus challenged how people looked at the Sabbath, kept their obligations to spouses and parents, and how they viewed God. So, challenge is a feature of the gospel, not something manufactured. If the gospel doesn’t challenge us, we probably aren’t hearing it, or we have already heard it and adjusted ourselves to it. Likewise, the gospel has always had as a feature the creation of community. If we search for teaching and examples of unity and community, they are clearly present in the New Testament.

At the same time, while conflict isn’t a “feature” of the gospel, it isn’t unusual to find conflict around the gospel. Mary and Joseph experienced it, as did Jesus’ family, and the early church. A direct example of conflict to me has always been the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas over John Mark, a disagreement so sharp that they parted company (see Acts 15:37-41). It is possible for believers to eventually come together, like Paul and John Mark finally did (see Colossians 4:10, 2 Timothy 4:11), but there are no guarantees. I am reminded of a story I read about C.S. Lewis, who did not speak with a man who had been a close friend of his for several decades, and who only late in life decided to “bury the hatchet” as the phrase goes. I do not expect the split between the United Methodist Church and the Global Methodist Church (GMC) to be resolved quickly, if ever, but I do believe we as individuals do not need to close doors to each other even if we disagree sharply. Each situation will take its own course.

However, confusion is a temporary feature of the human condition. I find when I say that I am confused about something, I am usually saying, “I don’t know what to do about it.” I probably have no confusion about what is happening, and what I believe is right, but I am at a loss to understand it in such a way that my path forward is clear. The confusion about my path is probably due to conflicting emotions, conflicting priorities, and conflicting values. That is, I say I am confused because I can’t sort out what my priorities ought to be. Confusion is neither a feature of the gospel, nor is it an expected result. Confusion is the temporary place we find ourselves in while we decide how much more deeply we are willing to go to follow Jesus.

So – challenge is what the gospel presents us. That challenge can lead to conflict, but it will ultimately build community. Meanwhile, confusion is a product of being human, having divided loyalties somewhere in our hearts. Confusion is temporary, though. In the end, we will choose, and even if we choose to be loyal to something beside the gospel, confusion will go away. In the meantime, confusion is a sign that we need to keep pushing forward until clarity comes.

I write this rather lengthy article in the hope that any confusion you may have about disaffiliation or about where our church is going will be temporary. One thing I can say with absolute clarity is that our Church Council is in agreement that we want to keep going into the future – together. I hope you will join us in that clarity. Jesus has brought us together, and even though we do not see everything the same way, we believe Jesus brought us together, and that reality is important, more important than any single point of view.