The winds of change are blowing! Our main connecting body, the "Annual Conference" has been made up of the same churches since I began serving the Clyde UMC as pastor in 1988. Before then, the Northern Conference and the Central New York Conference had joined into the North Central New York. Now we are joining with three other conferences to form the Upper New York Conference: a feat which has never been done before. Why? It is all due to fewer members in the northeast, and some rule about how many churches / members a bishop rules over. This new Annual Conference will encompass all of New YorkState, minus the New York City area. What does this mean for the local churches?
At first, little to no change will be felt, especially for those less well connected to district and conference events and committee work. But as we go through our years, the local churches will feel some changes in how we feel connected to the other churches and how many churches we are relating to. Since the appointments of pastors are made through the Bishop and District Superintendents, now there will be a much larger pool to draw from and more distance pastors will move across. There may also be a greater sense of "distance" between the local churches and their episcopal leader, the Bishop. And laity and clergy doing the committee work of the Conference will have to travel further or tap into video conferencing over the net.
More contact will be needed by the District Supers to the local churches, as the DS's will manage more details of conference ministry. At the same time, helpers will be needed for them through paid part time help, or the volunteer efforts of District Associates, who will act on behalf of the supers to the local churches. The archetypal work - a - holic DS must give way to the Spirit - Filled area leader who learns how to share the managerial ministry with teams and give power away. Financial obligations will convey more and more to the local churches, as costs for health insurance, pensions and conference programs increase. This will challenge the smaller churches to tithe on their income to make ends meet, or fold. Our work will be to keep supporting the larger connection financially, while making grassroots connections locally and across the state. Our recent trek to Redbird alongside UM Christians from near Utica is one example of joining forces with folks we did not know. What would venture like this be like if conference money we had already paid, came back to help fund such a trip?
Where should we head? We should strengthen the church by decentralizing our governing power and giving more of it back to districts and clusters. When local churches feel disconnected to the larger whole, it only takes real felt support to flow back to the area to vitalize a real connection. The grass - root movements of ministry need to be recognized and supported with grants and personnel from the conference and district. The staff paid by our shared givings need to rub shoulders much more with local church laity where they live and minister, so the connections can be made in web - like fashion across a region.
Ecumenical ventures are vital now more than ever. No longer should churches be expected to tow the company line and support only United Methodist missions. Local mission efforts and locally chosen international missions give a church its own flavor, allowing congregations to forge their own identities. Primary loyalty must be shifted from denomination back to Christ as the head of the church, while acknowledging the allegiance to denomination provides us support. Denominations will only survive by giving place to this shift, which has already happened in the minds and hearts of local church leaders. We will find a new freedom in this spiritual surrender of power, which will strengthen the connection more than ever, since it will be centered in our Savior rather than in our sayings.
The winds of change are blowing. The church has a chance to shift from doing church as usual, to becoming the church of Jesus Christ again. This will only happen as we stop complaining about the winds, and put up our sails. Where will it take us? God knows. We can't control the wind, any more than we can control God. Does anyone know how to sail?
Pastor Jeff McDowell
Preaching in June: "The How - To's of Caring Evangelism"
