Charge Conference: The Importance of this Annual Meeting

Today at Bell Springs UMC we will be engaged in our annual Charge Conference later this evening.  For today's devotional, we're going to talk about the purpose, function and composition of the Charge Conference, as well as how this meeting may function differently in certain circumstances.

1. Holy Conferencing

Perhaps the biggest reason we hold Charge Conference each year is to have the opportunity to engage in holy conferencing, the act of gathering to plan for doing God's work in our community.  Sharing ideas, prayer and discussing the past and future of our church is all a part of holy conferencing.  Yes, we gather weekly during worship, but the purpose for holy conferencing is different in that we are worshipping through administration of our resources, our situation and our gifts and graces.  Furthermore, holy conferencing includes people from outside of the local church, such as the District Superintendent and other volunteers from the conference.  This is a unique time set aside for the mutual upbuilding of the church.

2. Celebrating God's Works

Another important part of the Charge Conference is to celebrate God's works over the past year.  First, the local church will report many of these works through different documents, such as the Pastor's Report, Finance Report, Trustees' Report, etc.  Secondly, we will discuss together how God has been moving in our congregation over the past year and perhaps further, giving thanks for the actions of the Holy Spirit in thriving our church.  Moreover, at the Charge Conference we have the privilege of witnessing these works to one another and therefore to take them to others in our community.  Gathering all of the information and stories together helps us not to forget how good God has been to us in the past.

3. Planning for the Future

Just as the Charge Conference looks in thankfulness to the past, it also turns an eye into the future to where God is leading us as a congregation.  Already, our congregation has begun to lay a framework for administering the church in 2016, and many of these key elements will be voted on and approved by the Charge Conference this evening.  Some examples include our annual budget, the pastor's salary, and our leadership team.  Preparing the way for the future, such that our church is able to live truly into God's will for our community, is a significant purpose of the Charge Conference.  Without prior planning, we might spend more of that future on unnecessary and costly administration when we could have been ready for making disciples of Jesus Christ for the glory of God's Kingdom.

4. Unifying the Congregation

Still another important piece of the Charge Conference is to help create and extend unity among the different families and leaders in the church.  The stories we tell of God's works in the past and future projects will bind us together further as a family, as we will be then given the opportunity to pray for one another, even for those ministries in which we do not directly have a hand.  Furthermore, reporting the various ministries of the church helps to keep everyone on the same page and quells rumors and misunderstandings which could hinder our shared work in the future.  Finally, the Charge Conference helps to illumine the ways in which our church is working with other churches in the connection or outside of the connection towards building the Kingdom of God.  All of these actions help to bind us together in the Holy Spirit through improved communication, prayer and mutual understanding.

5. Episcopal Partnership

The fifth and final point I'd like to make about the Charge Conference is that it is a time for the episcopacy, that is, the leadership of the bishop and his/her superintendent, to directly connect and partner with the local church towards shared ministry in the conference.  Once again, as United Methodists, we do not exist in a vacuum, and our church is not isolated from all others; we are united and in partnership with all other United Methodist churches directly through the oversight and leadership of the episcopacy.  This relationship is reciprocal; our church supports the wider mission of the United Methodist Church, and the wider United Methodist Church supports our church in our mission directly to our community.  The time we set aside for this Charge Conference allows for the episcopacy to analyze how they are best able to assist us in the local church.  The annual Charge Conference solidifies the relationship between the episcopacy through the district superintendent and the local church at Bell Springs UMC.  

Ways of Conducting the Charge Conference

There is more than one way to conduct the church's Charge Conference each year, which might be confusing.  The district superintendent is directly responsible for receiving the church's reports from each year and for engaging in this holy conferencing; but exactly how he/she does this is flexible.  Currently in the Murfreesboro District (which includes our church), the Rev. Dr. LeNoir Culbertson conducts Charge Conferences in what are known as clusters.  Multiple churches will gather together at a central location in their neighborhood to report and conference together as one.  Individual churches will vote on their business individually, but then the church representatives will gather together from many churches to celebrate and converse.  This helps to extend connectivity between churches in a geographical area, as well as free up the district superintendent's resources to allow for a better Charge Conference.

However, there are exceptions to this rule.  For example, this year, churches who have had a pastoral change in 2015 will conduct their Charge Conference individually at their building.  We at Bell Springs UMC are in this category; since the pastor has arrived in June of this year, we will otherwise be alone.  This is not a punishment by any means!  First, a new pastor is likely to need extra guidance under the supervision of a new district superintendent as to what he/she expects in preparation.  Also, the local church may need more time to discuss the pastoral transition with the district superintendent.  Since pastoral transitions tend to bring about a lot of change in the local church, our district superintendent has elected to hold our Charge Conference independently to provide the extra episcopal partnership we may need.

But in the future we will almost certainly see new ways of holding the Charge Conference.  In previous churches where I have served, I have seen a hybrid of the above two systems, where paperwork was handled separately from conferencing, with ordained pastors leading the voting, without the presence of the district superintendent.  The Book of Discipline, the United Methodist book of church law, allows for flexibility and creativity dependent upon the situation of the local church and episcopacy.  And my prayer is that in the future, we would also be flexible should we be asked to undergo Charge Conference in a new way.  

The above five points, however, do not change from area to area.  At all United Methodist Charge Conferences, there needs to be an opportunity for holy conferencing between all present, which by the way includes any member of the local church who wishes to attend.  No matter where we are, the Charge Conference should be looking to the past in thankfulness of God's loving works, while also planning ahead into the future to await God's plans.  The Charge Conference should always develop connectivity, trust and partnership between the members of the church, as well as between the church and episcopacy.  This is an opportunity for all to gather in God's name for the upbuilding of God's Kingdom.

And no matter how we gather, whether at Charge Conference or otherwise throughout the year, let us always do so in gentleness and love, as is befitting our identity in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior, who is, and was, and is to come again.

Presence and the Community of Faith

"Best of all is God is with us." --John Wesley, founder of Methodism

God is great.  God has created the universe and everything in it, imparting a special image upon humankind and cultivating the earth with a delicate and purposeful touch.  God is so large and unsearchable that we can only imagine all the things God could do if God desired.  But out of everything that God is capable of doing, God has chosen for his mission to primarily be one of presence, to be with us as his children.  This is our celebration and joy, that our Father who art in heaven would so constantly delve into our midst, even though we first turned away from God.  

God's decision to be God with us, Immanuel, in the flesh through Jesus Christ, is the boldest claim of Christianity and is the center of everything we are and believe.  Yes, God has saved us through his Son, but he has only done so because he resolved to spend eternity dwelling with us.  Yes, God works miracles of healing and reconciliation, but only because first he chose to be in solidarity with us throughout our lives.  Everything in Scripture can be routed back to the idea that God wants to be in relationship with us, all of us, forever; so what does that mean for us at Bell Springs UMC, for our church's mission to the community?  

If God's greatest act of love is to be with us, then our greatest act of love is to be with God as well, and to be with one another.  Often when we think of giving to others, we think of wealth, skills or other goods that they need.  But the greatest gift we can offer anyone is the gift of ourselves, the gift of presence.  When we think about growing in God's love and developing as Christians, as more deeply committed disciples of Jesus Christ, we cannot do so without intentionally being present with people as God has already chosen to be with us.  If you want to come closer to God, then coming closer to God's children is an excellent place to begin.

God's being with us is not limited to the spiritual realm.  God has proven that God has decided to be with us in the flesh, which we of course know because Jesus Christ came to be with us in person.  Even though it may seem that God is too big or beyond us to become this intimate, he appeared in Christ to show that God is fully resolute to be with us physically and relationally.  But God does not stop there, as Jesus was not simply roaming the streets trying to convince us of anything.  Jesus Christ intentionally takes the time to form relationships with people in order to connect emotionally.  Think of the time when Jesus wept over the death of Lazarus; the time when Jesus was betrayed by his own disciples; the time when he cared for the Samaritan woman at the well.  God has resolved to be with us physically, spiritually and emotionally, and we are called to do the same as his disciples.  This presence does not happen automatically; it is with great intention that we form such relationships with new people and enter into their lives in an intimate way which transforms them and us.

So if God's greatest gift is to be with us fully, and our greatest gift to one another is to be with one another fully, then inviting others into our midst is the single greatest gift we have to offer.  Often, churches run membership drives and campaigns out of a desire to build up their own church and even carry out their own agenda.  But this is not our motivation at Bell Springs.  If we seek to carry out God's mission for us, then we will act like we believe that God is with us, and we will intentionally enter into relationship with those around us with the goal of inviting them into our church so that they may know the God who has amazingly and unselfishly decided to be God with them.  The mission of God--Father, Son and Holy Spirit--is to be with us fully, and for us to be fully with him.  The church is merely those who have gathered to begin this process, and we cannot grow in this mission without more people inviting more people to be with God.  How could we claim to be God's disciples without inviting everyone we can to be with us, to be with God, and to participate in God's Kingdom here on earth through the church?

The Cost of Discipleship

On Sunday we discussed how as Christians living into the mission of God, we cannot be complacent in our faith, but instead must be intentional about being disciples of Jesus Christ.  It is far too easy, especially in America, to assume that because we are saved that we are automatically living into Christ's calling upon our lives.  Worse still, some people believe that if they just don't sin in a few major ways, such as avoiding murder or adultery, that they have completed living into their calling.  While avoiding sin is definitely part of the healing process of sanctification, it is only one small part of our calling; we are challenged to give all of ourselves to Christ, no longer living to pursue our own agendas, but rather pursuing the Kingdom of God.  Today let's look more closely at Luke 14:25-33 to look at the massive cost of discipleship, to see just how intentional we are supposed to be in our faith for Jesus Christ.

The Scripture reads as follows: "Now large crowds were traveling with  him; and he turned and said to them, 'Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.  Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.  For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it?  Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'  Or what kind, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand?  If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace.  So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.'"

This is one of the hardest sections of Scripture to take seriously, because it appears to hold a lot in contradiction with both other teachings and with our lifestyles as Christians.  First, let's tackle the section about hating our family members.  This seems to be especially difficult because in the church in the 20th century, we have upheld family values higher than anything else.  If we have any reason to be suspicious of traditional family values, raising the family to the highest unit in our faith, this Scripture is the reason.  How can God call us to loving our neighbor but hating our own family?!  What kind of God is this, who would have us forsake our own children?!

Well, we know from Scripture that loving others as ourselves is certainly part of the Christian life.  So we know for certain that loving our family in a sacrificial way is on track with Christ's calling upon our lives.  But in history and human psychology, we tend to put our family above all things.  We have the belief that blood runs thicker than water.  When Christ tells us to hate our family, he is calling us to reject the notion that blood family relationships are first and foremost in the Kingdom of Heaven.  How many times does Christ call people unrelated to him his "brothers"?  Many, and for good reason; Christ is redefining the way human relationships work by dissolving traditional family ties in favor of incorporating all of humanity together in a common family.  Treating people with privilege because you are related by blood is not compatible with the Gospel; rather, we are called to treat all people around us as brothers and sisters of the same family.  This is very difficult because we love our family so much, and with good reason!  But when you consider the cost of discipleship, you have to consider this in your calculations.  If we claim to be Christian but put our own family well ahead of our brothers and sisters in our community, we are living in sin and need God to forgive us and accept our repentance.  It doesn't mean you can't take care of your family members; it means that you are to consider all those around you as your family, with the same love and passion which you offer your spouse, children, parents and siblings.  If we were to use this Scripture as a test for how well the church is doing in the world, we would receive a failing grade for sure.

Next, it is so often in the church in the world today that we encourage people to become Christian and join the church without preparing them for the road to discipleship that is difficult and incredibly costly.  It's far too easy for people to "get saved" only to live their lives as usual, with no strings attached, with a ticket to heaven in hand.  Being a Christian is not something that we add to our lives in order to have eternal security; it is something that provokes us to give up our entire lives, our own identities, for the sake of God's Kingdom, in this world and the next.  Being a Christian is like building a tower; it comes at great cost, and it is unwise to begin building this tower without any real intention to complete it.  We claim to be Christians, that we would give our lives over to God, only to take back our promises in an effort to live our lives just as we please.  Our agendas take precedence over God's, and we simply use Christianity and God as an effort to pursue those agendas.  We are called to have our agendas go unfulfilled so that God's agenda might become a reality in this world.  We are called to give up our identities, our selves, everything that we relate to and are, and instead become empty vessels for God's sake, for the redemption of the world and the coming of the Kingdom.  And when we share this radical Gospel with the world, we ought to prepare them by giving them the costs up front, so that they know whether or not they'd like to pursue this alternative lifestyle of discipleship.

Simply put, the cost of discipleship is the cross.  Christians are called to death--not a fun death, not a happy death, but a painful, sacrificial death, alongside Christ who dies in solidarity with us.  This death continues every day, a death to ourselves that leads us away from doing whatever we feel like doing and turns us to prioritize the Kingdom of Heaven in our daily actions.  And in this death there is resurrection, a rebirth that confounds the world and all of its research, philosophy and politics.  No longer are we prisoners in our own bodies, but rather we are made new creations, people who are unlike ourselves in the flesh, made anew more like Christ with each passing moment.  We are not resurrected without Christ; rather, we are resurrected into Christ's own body, and counted as one of God's children.  Even though the cost is extremely high, the reward is that we would be with God in a new, profound way, and that we would be with this God for eternity.  Eternal life is meaningless if you don't really love God, because you'll have to put up with him forever!  People who hate God are  not so much "sent" to eternal separation as many have suggested; if anyone hates God, why on earth would they want to spend eternity with him?!  The cost of eternity is giving up yourself and living with God on earth for this brief moment; if you don't want to do that for a short time period, then why would you want to do that forever?!  I'm convinced that eternal separation only happens when human beings desire for it to be so, because we have decided in this life that we'll give anything to escape God and live for ourselves.  And there are plenty of self-proclaimed Christians who spend their whole lives avoiding God's Kingdom in an effort to build their own kingdoms, their own legacies, and avoid the cross at all costs.  

When you consider your faith, your Christianity, your life in church, think about the costs again--and see whether you're truly ready to pay the price, to love one another at all costs, to give yourself over fully to the cross, to embrace the death that comes with each day.  I encourage you to see that the price is worth a life with our gracious and loving God; but if you don't truly love God, the price will be truly insurmountable, and all will be able to see the unfinished tower of  your life.