Why Great Preaching Does Not Impact the Work of #UMCGC

So far there has been excellent preaching at General Conference. I am not saying this as one might say to the preacher as they leave the sanctuary to get to lunch. There really has been great preaching here. Powerful words, images, stories and metaphors. Prophetic calls to actions and even pricking the hearts of the most dug in hearts. Even the great fire of preaching is not taking the chill off the cold spirit of compassion at GC.

Then I was reminded of this infamous study made popular by Malcolm Gladwell:

A study at Princeton Theological Seminary asked seminarians to prepare a short, extemporaneous talk on a given biblical theme, and then walk over to a nearby building to present it.

Along the way to the presentation, each student ran into a man slumped in an alley, head down, eyes closed, coughing and groaning. The question was, “who would stop and help?”

The researchers included three variables: (1) the background of the subject - whether they had entered seminary as a way of helping people or not, (2) which parable they were to prepare - several were given the Good Samaritan parable as their subject, and (3) a time context, saying either that they were running several minutes late and should hurry up, or that they were early and had some time to spare. The results were interesting.

The first two variables had no effect. Whether somebody had devoted their life in service to their fellow man, or even whether they had just been reminded of the value of altruism by preparing a speech on the Good Samaritan, had no effect on whether they stopped and helped. "The only thing that really mattered was whether the student was in a rush. Of the group that was rushed, 10% stopped to help. Of the group who knew they had a few minutes to spare, 63% stopped." In other words, all of one's attitudes and feelings are over-ridden by subtle clues in the environment, they were rushed and in a hurry.

With all the talk about the merits of the rules, we have less time. We are rushed. And we know what happens to our ability to show compassion to others when we are rushed.

Great preaching does not impact the work of GC because we rush ourselves. Or in the words of Shigera Miyamoto, "A delayed games is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad."

#UMCGC, Family Reunion and Lawn Bowling

Here is what it is like to be at the General Conference 2016 so far. 

Imagine you are going to a family reunion. You pack your bags and include a fun game of badminton in your luggage. You did not know the rules of badminton but you spent some time brushing up on the rules over the previous months. You grow to like badminton and so you practice it so to ensure you understand the rules. Since you practice it you seem to get better at it and you are confident about playing badminton and finally getting the best of your cousin who always seems to win the family reunion games. Then you head off to the reunion excited to play badminton. 

When you arrive it is clear that everyone is excited to be there, but everyone realizes that everyone brought different games to play. Some also brought badminton but others brought bocce ball, still others brought croquet, yard darts, horseshoes, kick the can and cornhole.

As you break bread to share in the opening meal, you realize the variety of games brought by family members, but everyone sees in the yard of the hosting home has set up lawn bowling.

Some people are excited to try this new game. Others are concerned that they don't have the equipment. Others are worried that it is not a fair game for all. Still others are fearful of looking like a fool and loosing, for another year, to that one cousin that always beats you at everything! 

Lawn bowling is a game no one has ever played before or even knows the rules and there is great discussion about if it is possible to modify the rules of lawn bowling to "fit" the game each person is prepared to play. One person desires to use their mallets to move the lawn bowling ball, others think there should be a net along the outside to keep the lawn balls contained. Still others want to scrap lawn bowling and play the game they brought or at the very least ensure that we don't play badminton. And there are others who wonder on what authority anyone decided the family would play lawn bowling.

All the debate about what game the family should play makes the possibility to play any game impossible. The family not only cannot play a game but they cannot even delight in being in each other's company. 

So far, the one thing that is missing in the events in the conference is there is not play or delight or joy. It will not be much longer before the family begins to question if it is even worth getting together.

#UMCGC and the Good, Fast, Cheap Triangle

The Good, Fast, Cheap triangle looks like this:

You can only pick 2

Everyone at the General Conference (GC) desires it to be good, fast and cheap. The fact of the matter is, that is not possible not just for the GC but for all of life. So within the proceedings of the GC, there are camps that are established based upon some underlying values. While we can debate the values, I would submit that these three values (good, fast, cheap) are just as good as any to understand what seemed to happen today at the first day of the General Conference. The reality is that with these three values, you can only have up to two at any one time. 

At the GC, there are those who value this to be cheap and fast. The reality is that we would have a conference of low quality because decisions would be driven by speed and low cost. It would be a race to the bottom, like when we thought the Ford Pinto was a good idea.

There are those who desire the GC to be fast and good, but that is expensive. And that is an attractive way to operate. This is why the fastest cars on the market are also among the most expensive. 

There are those who desire the GC to be cheap and good and that really takes time to create. It is like rebuilding a car that you bought for $300 from the junkyard. You can rebuild it and make it high quality, but it will take a lot of time.

Of the parings, it seems that it is the third group (the one that takes the most time) is the least desirable paring among the bulk of GC delegates. So that leaves the expensive option or the less quality option camps to come to an agreement. 

As I heard the debate today, it dawned upon me that this tension between these three values may be just as valid of a reason to the gridlock we have found ourselves in. We want all three but can only have two. The question that I think about as I compose this reflection at 11pm is what two does God value? 

Full Inclusion Requires Exclusion #UMCGC

I am convinced that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life as John 14 says. My more progressive friends hesitate around this scripture while my more conservative friends embrace this scripture. The interesting thing is that both sides hesitate/embrace for the same reason - the exclusive claims that are attached to it. Progressives are not sure if Jesus is the only way, while conservatives are convinced he is. One side is apprehensive to exclusivity while the other side has it as an article of faith.

I would like to submit that the question needs to be not if Jesus is the way, but what exactly is the way of Jesus?

In his book, A New Christianity, Brian McLaren addresses this question: 

“If you want to know what God is like,” Jesus says, “look at me, my life, my way, my deeds, my character.” And what has that character been? One of exclusion, rejection, constriction, elitism, favoritism, and condemnation? Of course not! Jesus’ way has been compassion, healing, acceptance, forgiveness, inclusion, and love from beginning to end— whether with a visiting-by-night Pharisee, a Samaritan woman, a paralyzed man, a woman caught in adultery, or a man born blind.

It seems to me the Way of Jesus is the way of radical compassion and inclusion. And this radical inclusion leads us to Christ which in turn leads us to God. It is a cycle. Here is what I mean:

But here is the paradox that is often overlooked: the way of radical inclusion is the way of exclusion. The way of radical inclusion means that we exclude from our lives our own prejudices, judgments, condemnations, egos and self righteousness.

So my friends if we think that Christianity is exclusive, you may be correct. However, it is never exclusive of others. Christianity is the way of life that works to include others in a way that requires us to exclude our egos. This in part is what is meant by the need to die to ourselves so that Christ can live in us. When we exclude our own pride and ego and allow Christ to live in us, we find that way of Christ to be the way of radical and sometimes uncomfortable inclusion of the other.

Christ died for the world. Not for some select few or for the chosen ones. Christ died for the entire world. You cannot get more radically inclusive than that.

And yet in order to die for the sake of the whole world, Jesus had to exclude from his own ministry fear, hate, judgement and pride. He says in the garden prior to his arrest, “not my will but thine.”

Jesus is the way the truth and the life. The call for us today is are we willing to embrace the way of Jesus so that we may see the truth of his life?