A.W. Martin feels General
Conference 2012 must ‘make every effort to put the Book of Resolutions into serious play at every level of the
church's life.’
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| A.W. Martin Courtesy photo |
The theme of the 2012 General
Conference is "Make Disciples of Jesus Christ to Transform the
World." It summarizes the foundational mission statement of The United
Methodist Church.
There is one source in our
denomination, besides the Bible, that has the potential and promise of
converting United Methodist disciples, new and old, into agents of change who
can play a significant role in transforming the world. This is The Book of Resolutions.
The
Book of Resolutions is a wide-ranging, at times even inspiring, collection of
more than 350 official statements. The Book of
Resolutions contains most current social policies and
other, miscellaneous guidelines adopted by the General Conference, which
is the only official voice of The United Methodist Church.
The Resolutions
guide the work and ministry of the church on almost 200 subjects
presented in major categories of the Social Principles — The Natural World, The Nurturing Community, The Social Community, The
Economic Community, The Political Community, The World Community — and Other Resolutions. These statements point our denomination in
the direction of world transformation.
Congregations that take even a
few of these resolutions seriously will make at least a small contribution to
changing the world. Two examples graphically illustrate this point: the longest
of the "other resolutions" and the longest resolution in the six
major divisions.
Related information
"This Holy Mystery," our official understanding of the Lord's Supper, was approved in 2004 and is up for renewal at the approaching Conference. It has the power to revitalize a congregation. Wherever possible, worshipers will receive communion weekly, and they will grow in their awareness of "the real, personal, living presence of Jesus Christ." They will increasingly recognize how "the past, present, and future of the living Christ come together by the power of the Holy Spirit so that we may receive and embody Jesus Christ as God's saving gift for the whole world."
Potential of world-changing action
The comprehensive statement on
"Globalization and Its Impact on Human Dignity and Human Rights" was
approved in 2008 and so will almost certainly continue until at least 2016. It has
the capacity to propel congregations into action that could change the world.
The actions include actively supporting the United Nations to make it "a
responsible and effective global force in peacemaking and human rights" and supporting the Hague Agenda for Peace and Justice in the 21st
Century, the Pillars of Peace for the 21st Century, the Millennium
Development Compact and an International Criminal Court.
A congregation that accepts the
resolution on globalization will try to persuade the government of its country
to implement a wide variety of conventions, declarations, covenants, and
treaties, including the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and a treaty
banning land mines.
Such a congregation also will
work for the protection of the rights of women, children, migrant workers, and
indigenous persons. It will struggle for "the eradication of poverty and
the elimination of hunger, the ending of wars and the resolution of conflicts;
and the overcoming of ignorance, curing of diseases, and healing of
enmities."
It will also "foster
further cooperation among spiritual, religious, and ecumenical bodies for the
protection of religious freedom and belief;" engage in "the search
for shared spiritual, social, and ethical principles that engender peace and
justice;" and work for "the elimination of ideologies or practices of
colonialism and racial discrimination."
At the moment, however, the Book
of Resolutions has only limited influence in our denomination. As of August,
2011, the Publishing House reported sales of 21,300 copies, about 6,000 CD-ROMs,
1,400 online subscriptions and 600 downloads of the Book of Resolutions and
Book of Discipline together.
Take every possible step
General Conference 2012 should,
therefore, take every possible step to enhance the influence of the Book of Resolutions. The Conference
should:
1. Reject petitions that would
limit its use. This includes turning down efforts to virtually eliminate it, restrict
the length of proposed resolutions and limit the role of general boards in
preparation.
Lesser understanding of Book of Resolutions
-
Pastors responding to a recent online survey developed by United Methodist Communications indicated that they have less understanding of the Book of Resolutions than the Book of Discipline and the overall structure of The United Methodist Church. While 84 percent of pastors responded that they “understand well” the organization of the church and 67 percent described their knowledge of the Book of Discipline similarly, only 32 percent believed they understand the Book of Resolutions well.
- When asked about specific areas covered by these documents, the level of understanding dropped precipitously.
- Survey invitations went to 5200 randomly selected pastors and church offices of which 36 percent were opened. Of those emails, United Methodist Communications received 1018 completed surveys. The Western North Carolina Annual Conference also distributed a number of invitations with similar levels of response.
- “We have a consistent pattern with many of our research projects,” said Chuck Niedringhaus, Director of Product Marketing and Research for United Methodist Communications, who worked on the project. “Many of the important, guiding documents of the church, like the Book of Discipline and the Book of Resolutions are not completely understood by its local leaders. Many pastors understand the Book of Discipline as it applies to local church organization, but our research suggests that the level of comprehension falters when the full scope of the document is presented.”
2. Make the Book of Resolutions
available free of charge online. An easy way to achieve this would be to amend
and approve the petition that would require electronic publication of the Book
of Discipline (# 20797). Both works should be easily accessible in at least all
of the languages used at General Conference. (Much of the translation work has
already been done in preparation for the Conference.)
Soon after the Conference, the secretary, who is responsible for the publication of the Book of Resolutions, and its editors need also to take steps to make the User's Guide that introduces it more effective. These include:
3. Strengthen the Book of Discipline’s statement about
the status of the Book of Resolutions
(¶ 510.2). The Discipline currently
holds that resolutions "are considered official expressions of The United
Methodist Church … ," thus raising the question "considered by whom?”
There should be a straightforward affirmation that the resolutions are official expressions of the
church.
4. Require that an index of
Scripture passages be included in the Book
of Resolutions, thus greatly expanding its possible use in sermons and
Bible studies.
Soon after the Conference, the secretary, who is responsible for the publication of the Book of Resolutions, and its editors need also to take steps to make the User's Guide that introduces it more effective. These include:
1. Reword to emphasize its
potentially key role in world transformation.
2. Remove sweeping generalizations
about the authority of the Book of
Resolutions. Each resolution should be allowed to stand on
its own with the force that the General Conference gave it. This can range from
merely encouraging actions to directly requiring them.
3. Correct the implication
that agreement or disagreement with the Book of Resolutions is a matter of
indifference. In light of its capacity to shape world-changing disciples, the
Book of Resolutions is of supreme importance.
The Book of Resolutions is a product of The United Methodist Church,
belongs to the church, and should be available to the church for the widest possible
use. If the approaching General Conference is fully to respect its theme
about making disciples for world transformation, it must reject all
"penny-wise, pound-foolish" proposals and make every effort to put
the Book of Resolutions into
serious play at every level of the church's life.
*A.W. Martin is Professor of
Religion Emeritus, Oklahoma City University and a retired elder, Arkansas
Annual (regional) Conference, United Methodist Church.