2024 Publications on Methodist Mission and Evangelism

As the year winds down, we are taking a moment to review scholarship on Methodist mission and evangelism from 2024. The following is a list of books and articles published since the beginning of the year by scholars in the Association of Methodist Professors of Mission, friends of the blog, and other scholars about topics related to Methodist mission and evangelism. Readers are encouraged to consult these sources for the latest in scholarship about Methodist mission and evangelism.

Peter J. Bellini, “John Wesley, the Almost Charismatic,” in Heirs of Pietism in World Christianity: The 19th to the 21st Centuries, edited by Wendy J. Deichmann & Scott T. Kisker (Wilmore, KY: First Fruits Press, 2024).

Brian J. Chalmers, Methodist Revivalism and Social Reform in the Paradise of Dissent 1838-1939 (North Melbourne: Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2024).

Paul W. Chilcote, “Charles Wesley and the “Peaceable Reign” of Christ,” Holiness 9 (2024).

Paul W. Chilcote, Cultivating Christlikeness: Loving as Jesus Loved (Nashville: Abingdon, 2024).

Paul W. Chilcote, The Fullest Possible Love: Living in Harmony with God and Neighbor (Nashville: Abingdon, 2024).

Paul W. Chilcote, The Quest for Love Divine: Select Essays in Wesleyan Thought and Practice (Cambridge: Lutterworth, 2024).

Paul W. Chilcote, “Songs of renewal: The language of renewal in the hymns of Charles Wesley,” The Journal of Religious History, Literature and Culture 10:2 (2024).

Sara Ashencaen Crabtree, An Historiography of Twentieth-century Women's Missionary Nursing through the Lives of Two Sisters: Doing the Lord's Work in Kenya and South India (New York: Routledge, 2024).

Taylor Denyer, “Ecclesiastic Empires: American Conflict and the UMC in Africa,” in Methodism and American Empire: Reflections on Decolonizing the Church, ed. by David W. Scott and Filipe Maia (Nashville: Abingdon, 2024).

Norma Dollaga, “The Diaconal Spirituality of Activism in the Philippines,” in Diaconal Studies: Lived Theology for the Church in North America, edited by Craig L. Nessan and Darryl W. Stephens (Oxford: Regnum Books International, 2024).

David N. Field, “Engagements with Non-British Cultures,” in The Routledge Companion to John Wesley, ed. by Clive Murray Norris and Joseph W. Cunningham (London: Routledge, 2024).

Benjamin L. Hartley, “John R. Mott amidst the students: Historical and missiological gleanings for today,” Missiology: An International Review (2024).

Benjamin L. Hartley, “The Problem and Promise of the Diaconate,” in Diaconal Studies: Lived Theology for the Church in North America, edited by Craig L. Nessan and Darryl W. Stephens (Oxford: Regnum Books International, 2024).

Arun W. Jones, “From courtesan to King: The conversion of Farzana,” Nidān: International Journal for Indian Studies 9:1 (2024).

Filipe Maia, Decolonizing Wesleyan Theology: Theological Engagements from the Underside of Methodism (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2024).

David L. McKenna, Seeing All Things Whole My Calling to Fulfill (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2024).

Martin Mujinga and Onias Chagudhuma, “Meaning beyond symbols!: A theological interpretation of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe’s logo,” Pharos Journal of Theology 105 (2024).

Eben Kanukayi Nhiwatiwa, By the Grace of God: My Life as an African Bishop (Nashville: Abingdon, 2024).

Joon-Sik Park, “The Worldwide Nature of The United Methodist Church: A Historical and Missiological Reflection,” in Methodism and American Empire: Reflections on Decolonizing the Church, ed. by David W. Scott and Filipe Maia (Nashville, Abingdon, 2024).

Angel D. Santiago-Vendrell, “Popular Catholicism Puerto Rican Style: The Virgin of Rincón, Human Agency, and Miracles,” Religions 15 (2024).

David W. Scott, “American Power in the Global Church in Ecumenical Methodist Perspective,” in Methodism and American Empire: Reflections on Decolonizing the Church, ed. by David W. Scott and Filipe Maia (Nashville: Abingdon, 2024).

David W. Scott and Filipe Maia, eds., Methodism and American Empire: Reflections on Decolonizing the Church (Nashville: Abingdon, 2024).

David W. Scott, “Review of Dana L. Robert, Allison Kach-Yawnghwe, and Morgan Crago, Creative Collaborations: Case Studies of North American Missional Practices,” Missiology, 52:1 (2024), 118-119.

Howard A. Snyder, Consider the Lilies: How Jesus Saves People and the Land: The Theology and Ecology of Salvation (Wilmore, KY: First Fruits, 2024).

Darryl W. Stephens, “Developing a Trauma-Informed Diaconal Praxis,” in Diaconal Studies: Lived Theology for the Church in North America, edited by Craig L. Nessan and Darryl W. Stephens (Oxford: Regnum Books International, 2024).

Darryl W. Stephens and Craig L. Nessan, eds., Diaconal Studies: Lived Theology for the Church in North America (Oxford: Regnum Books International, 2024).

Darryl W. Stephens, “A Global Ethic for a Divided Church,” in Methodism and American Empire: Reflections on Decolonizing the Church, ed. by David W. Scott and Filipe Maia (Nashville: Abingdon, 2024).

Darryl W. Stephens, Reckoning Methodism: Mission and Division in the Public Church (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2024).

Darrell L. Whiteman, Crossing Cultures with the Gospel: Anthropological Wisdom for Effective Christian Witness (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2024).

Darrell L. Whiteman, Forward to Jerusalem Burning: The Terror and Promise of the "Wrath of Love," by Robert L. Canfield (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2024).

Philip Wingeier-Rayo, “The Autonomous Process of Latin American Methodism: A Critical Review,” in Methodism and American Empire: Reflections on Decolonizing the Church, ed. by David W. Scott and Filipe Maia (Nashville: Abingdon, 2024).

Philip Wingeier-Rayo, “Latin America and the Caribbean,” in The Routledge Companion to John Wesley, ed. by Clive Murray Norris and Joseph W. Cunningham (London: Routledge, 2024).

Philip Wingeier-Rayo, “Review of In the Hands of God: How Evangelical Belonging Transforms Migrant Experiences in the U.S. by Johanna Bard Richlin,” Politics, Religion & Ideology 25 (2024).

Jae Hyoung Choi: St. Basil, Charity, and Justice

Today’s post is by Rev. Jae Hyoung Choi. Rev. Choi is Missionary in Residence with the General Board of Global Ministries.

I visited Kenya recently as a member of Global Ministries' core team for Global Mission Fellow (GMF) training. During the program, we had the opportunity to visit Kibera. A Kenyan guide mentioned that Kibera is one of the largest slums in the world, along with Soweto in South Africa, where I had a chance to visit during the 2019 Africa regional missionary gathering.

Observing GMFs engage in programs with children in Kibera brought back memories of Parola, an informal settlement in Manila, Philippines. Parola served as a refuge for those initially arriving in Manila to escape poverty, owing to its proximity to the bustling market called Divisoria. While Parola was smaller than Kibera, the living spaces were considerably narrower. Due to the illicit practice of electricity tapping, known as “jumping,” Parola often experienced fires.

I recalled a grandmother who tragically lost her beloved grandson in one such fire. While she went to the market to buy food, locking the door from outside for the child’s safety, the fire consumed her home. I also knew a woman raising nine children, three of her own and six brought by her husband from other women, who made ends meet by doing laundry in other people’s houses. Despite outward smiles, it seemed they might be silently shedding tears, enduring unspeakable suffering.

I pondered the meaning of missionary work for individuals facing ongoing poverty, injustice, and discrimination. What does it truly mean to “participate in God’s mission” amidst these challenges?

In recent months, I studied Basil, a figure from the fourth-century Cappadocian Fathers. While renowned for his Trinitarian theology, my focus delved into his social teachings and his acts of charity. 

His Christian ownership principles, rooted in natural law and the Scriptures, offer profound insights into contemporary socioeconomic and structural issues. Perhaps his concern for land issues in his homeland, Cappadocia, led him to advocate the Christian ownership principle based on the biblical mandate, “The land belongs to God (Leviticus 25:23),” which underscores a commitment to distributive justice and equitable resource access, promoting communal responsibility.

However, the historical evaluation of Basil’s charitable activities is divided. In 369 AD, a severe famine left many in poverty, some even starving to death. Basil mobilized his assets and connections to aid the poor, establishing the Basiliad, a massive complex dedicated to caring for the poor and sick, which moved Emperor Valens to donate land.

Yet, the church’s charity, including Basil’s, during that time is now facing reassessment in a new light. Historian Peter Brown notes that the eastern church during Basil’s time earned the title “Lovers of the Poor” not only due to its active charity but also because it was an era when the Roman Empire’s unjust economic system mass-produced the poor.

Some wonder whether Basil’s words were prophetic but his deeds were priestly. Why did Basil, who approached the core of social justice through his land ownership teachings, focus only on charity in practice?

Basil’s charitable work was intertwined with his ascetic monasticism, which was based on Hellenistic dualism. At that time, the monastic movement’s ultimate focus was the coming kingdom, emphasizing helping the poor rather than solving poverty itself.

The fundamental reason seems to be his dichotomous worldview dominating his ascetic monastic movement. Ioannes Karayannopoulos comments that Basil’s ultimate orientation was “to the other real life [heaven],” so “Basil does not consider it his duty to try to change [the present system].”

Today, charity remains essential to the church's mission. However, the church must hear that the world is voicing criticisms of its charity. Books like “Toxic Charity,” “When Helping Hurts,” and “When Charity Destroys Dignity” illustrate this phenomenon. Kibera, Soweto, and Parola call for justice beyond charity.

2023 Publications on Methodist Mission and Evangelism

As the year winds down, we are taking a moment to review scholarship on Methodist mission and evangelism from 2023. The following is a list of books and articles published since the beginning of the year by scholars in the Association of Methodist Professors of Mission or by other scholars about topics related to Methodist mission and evangelism. Readers are encouraged to consult these sources for the latest in scholarship about Methodist mission and evangelism.

Bellini, Peter J., Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and the Image of God: Can Machines Attain Consciousness and Receive Salvation? (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2023).

Bellini, Peter J., Thunderstruck: The Deliverance Ministry of John Wesley (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2023).

Chilcote, Paul W. "Mapping Global Methodist Theology," Holiness 8 (Aug. 2023), 76, https://doi.org/10.2478/holiness-2023-0011.

Chilcote, Paul W. Multiplying Love: A Vision of United Methodist Life Together (Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 2023).

Dharmaraj, Glory E., "Sisterhood and 'Sistering': Restating Relationships in the Cartography of Missional Collaborations – Dallas Bethlehem Center, A Case Study," in Creative Collaborations: Case Studies of North American Missional Practices, edited by Dana L. Robert, Allison Kach-Yawnghwe, and Morgan Crago (Oxford: Regnum, 2023).

Gordon, Sarah Barringer, "Staying in Place: Southern Methodists, the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, and Postwar Battles for Control of Church Property," The Journal of the Civil War Era 13 (2023), 281, https://doi.org/10.1353/cwe.2023.a905166.

Leffel, Gregory P., Charles J. Fensham, George R. Hunsberger, Robert A. Hunt, William N. Kenney, Gregg A. Okesson, Hendrik R. Pieterse, "What We Mean by Public Missiology," Missiology 51 (July 2023), 268, https://doi.org/10.1177/00918296231176757.

Kim-Cragg, David Andrew, "'We Take Hold of the White Man’s Worship with One Hand, but with the Other Hand We Hold Fast Our Fathers’ Worship': The Beginning of Indigenous Methodist Christianity and Its Expression in the Christian Guardian, Upper Canada circa 1829," Religions 14:2 (2023), 139; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14020139.

Park, Joon-Sik, "The Missional Implications of the Theology of H. Richard Niebuhr," International Bulletin of Mission Research 47 (July 2023), 380, https://doi.org/10.1177/23969393231168540.

Pedlar, James E., British Methodist Revivalism and the Eclipse of Ecclesiology (London: Routledge, 2023), https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003224327.

Robert, Dana L., The Dutch Reformed Women's Missionary Movement from the Cape and the Mt. Holyoke Connection (Mzuzu, South Africa: Luviri Press, 2023).

Robert, Dana L., "Introduction," in Restoring Identities: The Contextualizing Story of Christianity in Oceania, edited by Upolu Lumā Vaai and Mark A. Lamport (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2023).

Robert, Dana L., Allison Kach-Yawnghwe, and Morgan Crago, editors, Creative Collaborations: Case Studies of North American Missional Practices (Oxford: Regnum, 2023).

Robinson, Elaine A., Leading with Love: Spiritual Disciplines for Practical Leadership (Minneapolis: 1517 Media, 2023).

Santiago-Vendrell, Angel, and Misoon (Esther) Im, "The World Was Their Parish: Evangelistic Work of the Single Female Missionaries from the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, to Korea, 1887-1940," Religions 14:2 (2023), 262; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14020262.

Smith, Ronald E., Henry Clay Morrison: Remember the Old Paths (Wilmore, KY: Francis Asbury Institute, 2023).

Teasdale, Mark R. "A Bias for the Gospel," International Bulletin of Mission Research 47 (Jan. 2023), 69, https://doi.org/10.1177/23969393221100770.

Von Gonten, Kristen, "Emma Stone Poteet Pilley and Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Missions to Asia," Methodist History 61 (Apr. 2023), 13, https://doi.org/10.5325/methodisthist.61.1.0013.

Whiteman, Darrell L., "The Conversion of a Missionary: A Missiological Study of Acts 10," Missiology 51 (Jan. 2023), 19, https://doi.org/10.1177/00918296221117711.

Whiteman, Darrell L., "Foreword" to Laura Heikes, Finding God: Discovering the Divine in the Gritty and Unexpected (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2023).

Whiteman, Darrell L., "My Pilgrimage in Mission," International Bulletin of Mission Research 47 (July 2023), 536, https://doi.org/10.1177/23969393231173853.

Whiteman, Darrell L., "Remembering the American Society of Missiology 1973–2023: Remarks at the 50th Anniversary Banquet Celebration," Missiology 51 (Oct. 2023), 378, https://doi.org/10.1177/00918296231190918.

UM & Global 10th Anniversary Stats: Content

Today's post is by UM & Global blogmaster Dr. David W. Scott, Mission Theologian at the General Board of Global Ministries. The opinions and analysis expressed here are Dr. Scott's own and do not reflect in any way the official position of Global Ministries.

This blog is sponsored by the Association of Methodist Professors of Mission (formerly United Methodist Professors of Mission). At the AMPM meeting four weeks ago, I (David) offered a 10th anniversary update on the blog. After having shared statistics and reflections from that report about contributors in a previous blog post, in this post, I want to share in this post some statistics and reflections on blog content and the achievements of the blog.

Content

The tagline for UM & Global is "Dedicated to fostering conversations about the global nature of The United Methodist Church." Following that tagline, the blog has sought to publish material about mission, especially international mission, in the UMC, stories about and analysis of the UMC outside the United States, and stories about and analysis of denomination-wide news and trends, especially when these trends cross national boundaries.

If one looks at the "big bucket" tags that I have used to categorize UM & Global material, one sees the above foci reflected in the tags used to label content on the blog. In descending order of frequency of use, the most popular categories of content have been mission, global ecclesiology, theology, history, culture and diversity, global social issues, ecumenical and interreligious relationships, migration, central conferences, international partnerships, evangelism, reciprocal relationships, women, connectionalism, health, and education.

Looking at more specific tags, one sees General Conference, Africa, the United States, LGBT, resources, money, the Philippines, coronavirus, and A Way Forward added to the list. These categories reflect the geographic distribution of The United Methodist Church, its recent denomination-wide foci, and my own interests in talking about how money and resources shape the church and mission.

In terms of specific pieces, Pete Bellini's two pieces on "Global Mental Health and the Church" are the first and eighth most popular pieces of all time on the site. Dana L. Robert's piece "The 'Other' Issue of Gender: What Happens to United Methodist Women Leaders?" is the second most popular piece, and my piece "American UMC is a white people problem" is third.

UM & Global has also sought to create resources for those teaching and learning about mission and the global church. Among those resources are our Collections (compilations of articles on a theme) and YouTube playlists to help people access content (created by others) on topics related to mission and the global church.

Achievements

Ultimately, the question of significance is less about how much of something one has done and more about the impact of that work on others. In the regard, I think UM & Global and its contributors can feel some justifiable satisfaction. Articles from UM & Global have been widely read and discussed by those in the church. They have also been cited in academic publications and other blogs. In this regard, the blog has been able to strike a rare balance between accessibility to non-academic readers in the church and (enough) respectability among academic audiences.

Much of the content of UM & Global has been part of overarching series. Some of these series have had an impact beyond their individual component blog posts. The commentary series on Grace Upon Grace, one of the first series on the blog, helped re-spark interest in that document. A series of comments on Wonder, Love, and Praise, the draft ecclesiology document for the UMC, helped push revision of that document into Sent In Love in a more missional direction.

While it has not always been easy work to put together a consistent stream of reasonably high quality content, it has been satisfying work, and I (David) am grateful to the Association of Methodist Professors of Mission for the opportunity to take this project and run with it. I hope the results have served and will continue to serve to build up the church as a diverse, global body, deeply engaged in God's mission.

News Roundup July 2023

Below is a run-down of significant (United) Methodist stories from the past month.

Bishop Bickerton Invites United Methodists to “Reclaim, Revive, and Renew”: Bishop Thomas Bickerton, chair of the Council of Bishops, issued a video inviting United Methodists to “reclaim, revive, and renew” their identity and mission as United Methodists: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVXM7j_aL6c.

Global Ministries and GBHEM Call for "A Season for Renewal": Global Ministries and GBHEM issued a joint statement promising "to work together to support our worldwide connection" during "a season for renewal" in the church: https://www.gbhem.org/news/a-season-for-renewal-and-a-joint-commitment-to-our-worldwide-connection/.

Estonian Methodists Leave UMC: Methodist churches in Estonia have finalized a process for leaving The United Methodist Church to become their own autonomous Methodist denomination: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/estonian-churches-leave-united-methodist-fold.

United Women in Faith Selects New Leader: United Women in Faith announced Sally Vonner as their new General Secretary and CEO: https://uwfaith.org/press/2023/united-women-in-faith-board-elects-sally-vonner-general-secretary-ceo/. Meanwhile, UMNS profiled retired UWF leader Harriett Olson: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/from-girlhood-activist-to-denominational-leader.

Methodists Celebrate International Partnerships: Methodists in several countries reaffirmed international partnerships, including Methodists in the following places:

• Uruguay and Great Britain (http://www.imu.org.uy/hermandad-lancashire/)
• Zimbabwe and Ireland (https://vimeo.com/834677792)
• Poland and Ireland (https://vimeo.com/834775172 and https://irishmethodist.org/world-mission-news/mci-formation-student-visits-umc-poland)
• Fiji and California (https://twitter.com/cnumc/status/1669758050259939347)
• Tanzania and New Jersey (https://www.gnjumc.org/news/greater-new-jersey-rekindles-cross-and-flame-connection-with-tanzania-united-methodists/)
• Liberia and North Carolina (https://www.umnews.org/en/news/butchery-plant-empowers-pig-farmers-in-liberia)
• Angola and Florida (https://express.adobe.com/page/OL1W56vQE3sRU/)

European Methodists Promote Sustainability: The Austria Annual Conference passed a resolution at their June meeting calling upon the Austrian government to advance the cause of environmental sustainability: https://www.emk.de/meldung/mut-machen-trotz-sorgen-angesichts-der-klimakrise, English translation: https://www-emk-de.translate.goog/meldung/mut-machen-trotz-sorgen-angesichts-der-klimakrise?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp. The Switzerland-France-North Africa Annual Conference voted to create a Creation Care group: https://emk-schweiz.ch/2023/06/16/arbeitsgruppe-fuer-umweltgerechtes-handeln-eingesetzt/, English translation: https://emk--schweiz-ch.translate.goog/2023/06/16/arbeitsgruppe-fuer-umweltgerechtes-handeln-eingesetzt/?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp.

2 Churches in Louisiana Become Solar-Powered Relief Centers: Two New-Orleans area churches have partnered with others to install solar electricity generation so that they can serve as community relief centers in the case of catastrophic loss of power: https://la-umc.org/newsdetail/new-orleans-umc-churches-to-serve-as-true-neighborhood-lighthouses-17041165.

Reports on IAMSCU Meeting: International Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges and Universities (IAMSCU) met in England in April. UMNS reported on that meeting: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/wesleys-vision-of-education-alive-and-well-today, and Adriana Murriello, newly elected president of the body, also offered reflections: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/knitting-bonds-of-love-and-hope-all-over-the-world.

Africa University Graduates Largest Class Yet: Africa University graduated over 950 students on June 10^th, including the first deaf student with a theology degree in Ghana (https://aunews.africau.edu/?p=2807) and the first PhD graduates in Business, Peace, Leadership and Governance: https://aunews.africau.edu/?p=2787 and https://www.umnews.org/en/news/africa-university-graduates-its-largest-class.

Czech United Methodists Support Hospital in Ukraine: As part of their response to the war in Ukraine, Czech United Methodists have been supporting a volunteer surgical hospital in Western Ukraine: https://emk-schweiz.ch/2023/06/06/16-betten-der-heilung-und-der-hoffnung/, English translation: https://emk--schweiz-ch.translate.goog/2023/06/06/16-betten-der-heilung-und-der-hoffnung/?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp.

Swiss Methodist Retirement Center Wins Mediation Prize: Haus Tabea has won the 2023 Swiss Mediation Prize for its work with elder mediation: https://emk-schweiz.ch/2023/06/07/haus-tabea-in-horgen-erhaelt-mediationspreis/, English translation: https://emk--schweiz-ch.translate.goog/2023/06/07/haus-tabea-in-horgen-erhaelt-mediationspreis/?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp.

Michigan United Methodists Welcome Refugees: The Michigan Annual Conference and the Immigration Law & Justice Network have shared stories of Michiganders welcoming refugees from Haiti (https://michiganumc.org/make-their-dreams-take-flight/) and Ukraine (https://iljnetwork.org/no-road-too-long/). In related news, applications for Global Ministries’ Mustard Seed Migration Grants are open until Oct. 1^st: https://umcmission.org/impact-story/mustard-seed-migration-grants/.

Woman Leaves Sanctuary at UMC Church: After receiving a Stay of Removal, Maria Chavalan Sut has left sanctuary at Wesley Memorial UMC in Charlottesville, VA: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/woman-builds-new-life-after-3-years-in-sanctuary.

Bishop Dyck Chosen as WCC Committee Head: Bishop Sally Dyck, the ecumenical officer of the UMC, has been selected as co-moderator of the Permanent Committee on Consensus and Collaboration (PCCC) of the World Council of Churches: https://www.oikoumene.org/news/wcc-central-committee-appoints-youth-advisors-commissions-and-working-groups.

Hawxhurst Elected President of Churches Uniting in Christ: Rev. Jean Hawxhurst, Ecumenical Staff Officer for the UMC Council of Bishops, has been elected as president of the multidenominational ecumenical group Churches Uniting in Christ: https://www.unitedmethodistbishops.org/newsdetail/cob-staffer-rev-dr-hawxhurst-to-lead-churches-uniting-in-christ-17455827.

Avitia Legarda Mourned: Longtime Global Ministries staff person Rev. Edgar Avitia Legarda, known for his work with Latin America, was mourned after his sudden passing on June 27. Global Ministries statement: https://umcmission.org/news-statements/global-ministries-grieves-at-the-death-of-rev-edgar-avitia-legarda/, UMNews story: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/global-ministries-staffer-mourned-near-and-far.

Commission on General Conference Meets: The Commission on General Conference, which is responsible for planning that meeting, met to continue to make preparations for the 2024 General Conference: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/what-to-expect-at-the-next-general-conference. They referred a question about petitions submitted by those who are no longer United Methodist to its Rules Committee: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/tackling-a-petitions-conundrum.

News Roundup - June 1, 2023

Below is a run-down of significant (United) Methodist stories from the past month.

Council of Bishops Recommended 2026 General Conference: At their May meeting, the Council of Bishops recommended the UMC hold a five-day General Conference in 2026. That session would count as a regular General Conference and also be focused on making significant changes to the denomination: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/bishops-call-for-general-conference-in-2026.

Much Lower UMC Budget Proposed: GCFA and the Connectional Table agreed to send a much lower denominational budget proposal to General Conference: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/as-church-exits-rise-proposed-budget-drops.

United Methodist Africa Forum Organizes: The United Methodist Africa Forum held its first meeting in Johannesburg in April, where it organized itself, elected leaders, and adopted policy positions, including support for greater regionalization in the church: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/new-caucus-supports-african-bishops-regionalization.

Global Ministries and East Africa Episcopal Area Announce End to Embargo: Global Ministries and the East Africa Episcopal Area announced the end to a decade-long embargo of funds from Global Ministries to East Africa. The embargo arose out of disputes over audit issues, which have been resolved: https://umcmission.org/may-2023/joint-announcement-the-general-board-of-global-ministries-and-east-africa-episcopal-area-restore-relationship/.

UMC Council of Bishops Meets: The United Methodist Council of Bishops met for its first in-person meeting since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The council sought to set a forward-looking tone amid church conflict and disaffiliations: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/amid-rupture-bishops-called-to-renew-church.

Connectional Table Reconsiders Restructuring: The Connectional Table voted at an April 27^th meeting to reconsider an earlier proposal for restructuring itself and reducing the number of members of the body: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/leadership-body-reconsiders-restructuring-plan.

Global Ministries Africa Consultation Promotes Mission Partnership: Global Ministries’ African Mission Partners Consultation, held in April, brought together African UMC leaders and Global Ministries board members and staff to strengthen mission partnerships in Africa: https://umcmission.org/may-2023/consultation-charts-way-for-missional-church/ and https://umcmission.org/may-2023/partnership-in-mission-with-mutual-respect-and-accountability/.

BMCR Forges Connections with Africa: Black Methodists for Church Renewal, the Black caucus in the US UMC, worked to develop closer ties with Africa during its annual meeting, inviting Dr. Peter Mageto of Africa University to address the group: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/black-caucus-draws-closer-to-african-partners.

Irish Methodists and Polish United Methodists Continue Partnership: Polish United Methodist leaders visited Ireland to continue a partnership with the Methodist church there: https://irishmethodist.org/world-mission-news/visit-from-world-church-family.

North African United Methodists Affirm Connection: United Methodist pastors and a church leader from UMC congregations in Algeria and Tunisia met with UMC Bishops Patrick Streiff and Stefan Zürcher to reaffirm the role of those congregations in the future of the church: https://www.umc-cse.org/en/liste_552612-1028104/when-uncertainty-gives-way-to-new-courage-of-faith.html.

Korean-American UMCs Support Mongolia Amid Divisions: The Mongolia Mission held a recent summit for its Korean-American supporters. Despite the decision of some supporting churches to disaffiliate, the event stressed unity in mission: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/korean-churches-hope-to-continue-shared-mission-work-in-mongolia.

Czech United Methodists Vote to Become Autonomous: At the annual conference of the Czech UMC, participants voted to leave the denomination to become autonomous. They will follow the autonomy process laid out in the Book of Discipline, which requires General Conference approval: https://www.umc-cse.org/en/liste_552612-1030316/setting-the-course-in-czechia.html.

United Methodists Prepare for Changes to Migrant Ministries in the United States: After the end of the Title 42 migrant regulations, United Methodists involved in ministry with migrants have been preparing for possible increases or changes to the flow of migrants to the United States: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/amid-policy-changes-church-keeps-faith-with-migrants.

Chilean Methodists Support Migrants: With help from Connexio develop, the Swiss United Methodist development agency, Chilean Methodists have been working to support migrants to Chile: https://connexio.ch/index.php/2023/05/17/als-kirche-fuer-migrantinnen-da-srf-1-zeigt-reportage-aus-chile/.

Global Ministries Celebrates Historic Ministry of Asian and Pacific Islander Immigrants: In recognition of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Global Ministries has been shared stories of Asian and Pacific Islander immigrants who have contributed to United Methodist mission: https://umcmission.org/asian-american-and-pacific-islander-contributions-within-methodist-mission/.

Philippines UMC Promotes Conversations about Religion, Race, Gender, and Ability: The National United Methodist Youth Fellowship in the Philippines, the Philippines Board of Women's Work, and the General Commission on Religion and Race are launching an initiative called #CloseTheGap to promote conversations about religion, race, gender, and (dis)ability: https://www.gcorr.org/news/closethegap-initiative-launches-in-the-philippines.

Yambasu Agricultural Initiative Reinvests in Second Season: The various projects across Africa associated with Global Ministries’ Yambasu Agricultural Initiative are planning to reinvest profits from their first growing season into a second season: https://umcmission.org/may-2023/reinvestment-in-yambasu-initiative-projects-leads-to-growth/.

UMC Ministers to the HIV-Positive in Congo: The United Methodist Church in the Kivu Annual Conference, with support from Global Ministries, is supporting women living with HIV/AIDS as part of the Maternal and Child Health Program: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/church-gives-hope-to-people-living-with-hiv-in-congo.

United Methodists in Zimbabwe Combat Drug Abuse: At UMC-run high schools in Zimbabwe, church and school leaders have worked together to discourage drug abuse by students: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/united-methodists-join-fight-against-drug-abuse.

East Congo UMC and UMCOR Respond to Flooding: The Disaster Management Office of the East Congo Episcopal Area and UMCOR have begun responding to significant flooding in South Kivu, which killed several people: https://umcmission.org/may-2023/united-methodists-killed-in-congo-flooding/.

UMNS Supports Press Freedom: In an editorial published on World Press Freedom Day, May 3, Tim Tanton, Director of United Methodist News, explained what press freedom means to the church and why the church should support it: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/why-church-should-care-about-press-freedom.

Recommended Reading: Church Trauma Program Spreads Across Countries and Cultures

United Methodist News Service reported this week on the spread of a church-related program to help trauma survivors. The program has its roots in work carried out collaboratively by Congolese women and Harper Hill Global, a US-based non-profit led by Rev. Neelley Hicks. Hicks and Congolese women have been collaborating through the Mama Lynn Center to bring healing to Congolese women affected by rape.

From her awareness that work, Nigerian United Methodist leader Doris Adamu Jenis requested Hicks expand her work to Nigeria. Hicks collaborated with Joan Gillece, director of the Center for Innovation in Health Policy and Practice, to develop an online course that Jenis led in Nigeria and Uganda.

The program was so successful that Gillece asked Hicks to bring it to the United States. Hicks agreed, and developed several different versions of the curriculum, including a Native American one written by United Methodist clergy Rev. Carol Lakota Eastin “Morning Skyhawk” and the Rev. Michelle Oberwise Lacock “Morning Star Spirit.”

Thus, this curriculum spread from the Congo to Nigeria to Uganda to the United States and to Native communities within the United States. At every step of that way, women led the work.

This story is important because it shows a model of mission that spread from Africa to the United States and is not just about exporting "spiritual vitality" from Africa. There is a trope that reciprocal mission between the United States and Africa should involve Americans sharing financial resources and Africans sharing their spiritual resources. This example is significant because it points to other possibilities.

African leaders and African societies (and other leaders and societies around the world) are innovating missional approaches to problems including mental health, public health, climate change, poverty relief, and more. Missional efforts in the United States can and should look to countries around the world for best practices in mission and not just for spiritual vitality.

Caleb Kanyimb Mbaz: You Give Them Something to Eat

Today's post is by Rev. Caleb Kanyimb Mbaz. Rev. Kanyimb Mbaz is the head of the South Congo and Zambia Episcopal Area Disaster Management Office. This post is part of a series on food and mission.

Text: Matthew 14:16: “But Jesus said to them, ‘There’s no need to send them away. You give them something to eat.’”

In my evangelism course at Africa University, the late Professor Kurewa defined mission as a set of activities that accompany the gospel, including the establishment of schools, vocational centers, hospitals, orphanages, nutrition centers, women's mentoring centers for culinary programs, farms and so on. In this article, we will dwell on the relationship between mission and food. The Bible speaks to us through this text of a case of lack of food to feed 5000 people, not counting women and children. Food insecurity is a great and formidable weapon that is decimating our communities in these days.

Food insecurity
The food insecurity of the masses was sometimes in the Bible one of the great opportunities that God seized to convey his message of salvation in ancient times. It could go so far as to make people a refugee or even a slave of others because food is one of the basic necessities of life. A community can only become settled and productive when it reaches self-sufficiency in general and in particular with respect to food. Science proves to us that a population, a family or even a person who cannot feed themselves becomes unstable mentally and also physically.

Our country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, is classified among the food deficient countries. According to the latest IPC (Integrated food security Phase Classification), published on November 10, 27 million people in the DRC experience high levels of food insecurity between September and December 2021, which represents approximately 26.5% of the Congolese population.

According to the World Food Program, the number of people in a situation of acute food insecurity amounts to 27 million, making access to food a daily struggle for a significant part of the Congolese population. An estimated 3.4 million children suffer from acute malnutrition. It is possible for more people to eat only once a day compared to the three meals intended for each person. And often the meal on the table does not reflect good nutrition. The DRC is one of the biggest hunger crises in the world.

What then is the role of the church and its mission in the world where these symptoms are raging? What were the contexts of the introduction of the Christian religion in our communities?

Mission
In our villages at the entrance of the missionaries, certain commodities such as salt and sugar were effective means of clearing the way for the gospel. During our first food distribution in Kapanga to survivors of the Kamwina Nsapu conflict, done with a grant from UMCOR, we were faced with an indescribably large crowd that let us see the need, the lack, and the hunger. We had distributed the rations for the planned 3 days and people came from distant villages to come and get food, and we had neither the time nor the desire to preach because the distribution of the rations was itself the preaching.

In the United Methodist Church world in Africa, agriculture, however crucial, was one of the major programs that rarely responded to food or nutritional emergencies, on the one hand because of weaknesses including inadequate road infrastructure, low production in the face of overpopulation, as well as the lack of sustainability. All this has not made it possible to convey the gospel with full success and thus strengthen the mission of the church. We need many more programs with activities to nurture our communities and this seems to be one of the great responsibilities of the church in mission. These programs must be direct in terms of food production by strengthening agro-processing or establishing distribution points for those who cannot do agricultural activities. Because it should be mentioned that the elderly, children, pregnant women, the sick, those with disabilities, and even old widows cannot go to cultivate or work for their survival while social security is almost non-existent. What is the message we preach to the hungry?

Resolving urgency leads to sustainability
For some time, preaching has centered its message on work, saying that he who does not work does not eat. This is a very good thing because God has blessed the work of humans. However, in a context where famine is acute and creating malnourished people in our communities, can we still talk about work in the foreground? Which precedes the other – eating or working? For a community with a large percentage of minors versus a low percent group of men and women capable of looking for work? These are the questions our communities face and need to be answered. But then, it happens that many preachers talk about work, forgetting to mention that in order to work, one must have eaten. I find this theology discriminatory because it targets a class of people and encourages them to do better, forgetting those who are not physically able to work. Food cannot be a slogan, neither a promise nor an incentive in our communities but an urgent reality of putting it on the table first, after which the production program can follow.

You give them something to eat
However, there is a connection between mission and food. A link that has nothing to do with food intervention as corruption but as a need to be filled because “a hungry stomach has no ears,” as they say. In our experience, this connection is direct. Christ then said to them with these words: " You give them something to eat."

It is these gospel terms that speak to the connection between mission and food. In reference to our experience in responding to disasters, food was the most appreciated intervention in all the communities where we intervened, including environments considered agricultural. All this because food is not only precious, but also difficult to find considering the cost of living. In both rural and urban areas, the population has difficulty obtaining food that can bind together the two ends of the month. According to statistics, in Congo and in Katanga province, people could go for a long time without eating because of lack, and this is so horrible. In relation to the question of human rights, food is first on the list of basic needs, and we talk about adequate food.

A punctual intervention of food to the needy not only reinforces the mission of the church but also maintains its continuity. In a purely food-deficient context, as shown by the biblical text quoted above – “You give them something to eat.” – an emergency imposes itself; it does not wait for an agricultural program so that it is very important and sustainable though. The food emergency in our community is glaring. It is like the hunger of a child who will not wait for his father to go to work to come back to him with something to snack on, but demands an intervention that is here and now, "Hic and Nunc.” We found in the territory of Kipushi families who take turns eating; that is to say when some eat today, tomorrow they will not eat and so on.

The way forward
We would like to encourage programs not only on food production through agriculture but also to strengthen the mechanisms for the availability of basic food products through specific programs, among others, for street children, widows, orphans, those displaced from wars, food refugees and so many others because even asylum seekers living in the Congo end up suffering in one way or another from food insecurity.

The United Methodist Church needs to take the initiative to train nutritionists and to mentor and equip them to help our communities not only to select nutritious foods but above all to follow programs that support adequate and tangible food interventions.

During the Global Ministries agricultural forum held in South Africa in Johannesburg, the resolution to seek arable land for sustainable agriculture programs is to be encouraged, and yet it requires another element, that of initiating at the base the idea of cooperatives of small farmers, especially for women. This should be done because women will be able to participate in their own development by responding immediately and directly to their food needs and those of their families, since in Africa women are still at the center of the domestic economy. It is also desirable to be able to design food education awareness programs and thus include food programs in our schools, as in the old days when food was offered in schools and training centers to strengthen the health of students. With this program hunger is fought at the source in favor of those who have left home without having had the chance to eat something.

We cannot end our remarks without mentioning some reflections that support our contribution based on our experience in the context of food insecurity. "Cultivating a field is good, but starting by feeding yourself is better." "A hungry producer cannot produce to eat.” And when he produces, he assures his sustenance, but when he eats, he ensures his survival. Making food available to the hungry is more than a spoken gospel.

So, food is the servant of the mission. It is still in our communities the feet of the gospel. Christ used it to convey the message of salvation by commanding his disciples. “You give them something to eat.” In the practice of disaster response in our context, food comes first – available food, not the seed, because the population could die with the seed in the ground or in the house while waiting for the rainy season in this context of global warming. Thus, the best mission is the one that takes action to preserve the community from hunger. The mission of the Church is based not only on preaching but on the response to vital needs and in our context, it is daily food for daily strength.

Ann Hidalgo: Universidad Bíblica Latinoamericana and a New Vision of Mission

Today's post is by Dr. Ann Hidalgo. Dr. Hidalgo is a missionary for Global Ministries and professor of theological sciences at Universidad Bíblica Latinoamericana in Costa Rica.

I write to you from San José, Costa Rica, where I teach as a professor of feminist theology at the Universidad Bíblica Latinoamericana (UBL). A Methodist institution, the UBL has a long history as one of the foremost ecumenical Protestant centers of theological education in Latin America. In fact, next year, the UBL will begin celebrating its centennial.

From its earliest beginnings in 1922 as the Biblical School for Women and its formal establishment as the Biblical Institute of Costa Rica the following year, the institution has evolved continually to meet the changing needs for theological education in the region. In 1941, it was renamed the Latin American Biblical Seminary to mark the establishment of correspondence courses throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, and in 1997, it received formal Costa Rican accreditation as the Latin American Biblical University. Today it offers degree programs in theology and biblical studies at the bachelor, licensure, and masters levels, as well as a variety of certificate programs.

I first visited the UBL in 2013 when I was a doctoral student at Claremont School of Theology. At the time, I was preparing for my qualifying exams. In addition to my time spent in the library (marveling over the Spanish-language resources from Latin America that are seldom available in the United States), I sat in on some classes and participated in the weekly chapel services and other events. I was fascinated by the depth and richness of the classroom conversations, teaching, and preaching. In other circumstances, drawing a community together from different countries, denominational backgrounds, and genuinely different life experiences might be a recipe for conflict and discord, but, at the UBL, I experienced warmth, curiosity, generosity, a passion for learning, and a deep desire to develop the skills necessary to be of service in the churches and in society.

Last year, I accepted a position as a missionary with GBGM, and in December, my husband and I moved from the United States to Costa Rica. In January, I began teaching courses in feminist theology at the UBL. While the pandemic sent nearly all of our residential students home and moved all classes online, in this first year, I have taught students in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, and Spain. The UBL’s other online events, such as lectures and conferences, have regularly attracted participants from all over Latin America, the Caribbean, and beyond.

These experiences might suggest that I would have something to say about the connection between mission and theological education.

I have to confess, however, that I am as unlikely a missionary as you can imagine. Or, at least, that is how it seemed to me.

To start with the obvious, I am not a Methodist. I am a Catholic who typically attends church with my husband, an ordained pastor with the Disciples of Christ. Fortunately for me, that did not prove to be an obstacle for working with GBGM. Next, I am not ordained. While not a requirement for my position, GBGM’s application is full of language asking for call stories and visions of ministry. To me, as an academic, the application felt quite foreign.

But perhaps most significantly, my academic work has focused on the decolonial critique of the Christian churches in Latin America. From this perspective, the work of missionaries—whether in the 16th century or today—is more often seen as the source of problems than of grace. The decolonial perspective has rightly identified instances in which evangelism served as one arm of a larger political and economic project of domination, in which the teaching of religion conveyed a message of cultural inferiority to the recipients, in which the Christian churches failed to protect the most vulnerable, and in which newly established Christian communities were expected to remain subservient and were not encouraged to develop local leadership and authority.

During my application process, I was surprised to learn that GBGM has retained the title missionary, while other denominations have adopted titles like mission coworker to signal an updated vision of ministry. My experience as I filled out my application was one of mixed feelings: I was thrilled about the possibility of returning to the UBL to teach and, at the same time, genuinely uncomfortable with the title of missionary.

I wish I could tell you that this internal argument is a thing of the past. I can, however, share with you two hopeful signs that I have found encouraging.

The first is the GBGM motto for ministry: from everywhere to everywhere. As I participated in the training sessions, I was pleased to see that these were not empty words. The approximately twenty members of my training cohort came from Asia, Africa, and the Americas, significantly reducing my fears that GBGM’s work was yet another act of United States-based cultural imperialism.

The second emerged in a conversation with Dr. Elisabeth Cook, the rector at the UBL. While describing the many relationships that the UBL maintains with churches, denominations, nonprofit organizations, and other funding bodies, Dr. Cook explained that the UBL occasionally has refused funding offers when the donor organization was unwilling to relate as an equal partner. As an institution, the UBL is willing to forego much-needed cash if the other organization intends to impose projects or activities that are incompatible with the UBL mission. Again, I was grateful for this encouraging bit of news that contradicted my (admittedly pessimistic) view about how loudly money talks.

The UBL itself has become for me a symbol of mission. It is committed to reading the signs of the times in order to adapt to better meet the needs for theological education in the region. It acknowledges and celebrates its roots as a mission project and its long history of collaboration with a variety of Christian churches, but it is not willing to compromise its institutional identity in order to balance the books. Likewise, it is dedicated to walking alongside its students throughout their educational journeys and its graduates as they engage in their ministries in Latin America and beyond.

Despite my misgivings, this is a vision of mission I can embrace.

UMC Deacons at 25: The Progress of the UMC Diaconate

Today’s post is by Deacon Benjamin L. Hartley and Deacon Paul E. Van Buren. Paul E. Van Buren is a retired deacon residing in the Nashville, Tennessee area. Benjamin L. Hartley is a deacon in the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference and is living in Seattle, Washington. In the fall, he will be joining the Seattle Pacific University School of Theology as an Associate Professor of Mission and World Christianity. He writes occasional blog posts at https://missionandmethodism.net/blog/

In 1998 Paul Van Buren of the Section of Deacons and Diaconal Ministry in GBHEM and I wrote a book together about the UMC’s new understanding of the diaconate. I was a second year MDiv student at Boston University filled with enthusiasm for what the new diaconate could be. The Deacon: Ministry through Words of Faith and Acts of Love was the first book to provide theological and practical guidance on our denomination’s understanding of deacons after the 1996 General Conference decision to institute the Order of Deacon as a full and equal order.

To celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the Order of Deacon, Paul and I had a conversation about the book, the progress of the UMC diaconate, and our hopes for the future. This post contains the second part of that conversation.

Ben Hartley: Because my academic career has not been at United Methodist colleges or universities but at American Baptist, Quaker, and (in a few months) Free Methodist ones, it has been hard for me to have a birds-eye view of UMC deacons. You have a better sense of that, Paul, and even followed up with people whose stories we included in our book. Are you pleased by what you see deacons doing now? Did you think the diaconate would look differently after 25 years?

Paul Van Buren: This is a good question, Ben. How are they living out their calling? Initially, most of the deacons were employed by local churches and agencies as Christian Educators, musicians, administrators, and some as pastors of outreach and mission. About three-fourths of them were women with a master’s level of training in some specialization. Today, twenty-five years later, the range of appointments has expanded beyond the local church, especially as opportunities within the local church are shrinking. The gradual trend has been that more candidates are getting a Master of Divinity degree in addition to a specialization which gives them more flexibility for employment. I have been told by some seminary faculty that the students attracted to the ministry of the deacons are as qualified or better than those preparing to be elders.

According to a Lewis Center for Church Leadership Report from 2020, the number of newly ordained deacons is growing and the percent of deacons under age 35 has increased over the last ten years. According to this study, approximately three-fourths of the deacons in the UMC are employed in the Southeast and South-Central jurisdictions of this country. There is also a significant increase in the number of young men entering the United Methodist diaconate, (an increase from 20% in 2019 to 26% in 2020). The gender ratio is still that 27% of candidates in the UMC diaconate are men compared to 73% who are women. It is important, however, to bear in mind that this study is based on data derived from the denomination’s pension program. Many deacons were not included in that study because they are not part of that program. There are currently 1,424 active deacons in the UMC.

Clearly, there are unlimited needs and possibilities for deacons to serve beyond the local church in varieties of service agencies as their primary appointment while still having a secondary appointment in a local church usually without pay. For example, Bruce Maxwell, whom we interviewed for the book, is still doing chaplaincy ministry at truck stops to truck drivers. Randy Lewis is still coordinating outreach ministry of a local church, and Rae Frank is still involved in hospice ministry. But it is not unusual for the deacon to piece together a variety of ministries both for support and new awareness of needs. I would estimate one-fourth of the deacons in our denomination are employed in a secular setting outside a local church and/or a church agency.

Ben Hartley: Paul, you have also been really engaged outside of North America in encouraging the ministry of deacons. How would you say the new understanding of the deacon has been received in different places around the world?

Paul Van Buren: Ben, it was twenty years ago I was provided an opportunity to attend eight annual conferences in four African countries, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Democratic Republic of the Congo. Although the United Methodist Churches in these countries were still using an outdated Book of Discipline of the Central Conference, the bishops of these countries were interested in the recently approved ministry of the ordained deacon for those persons employed by church agencies in the areas of health, education, administration, and missions. We interviewed a number of young people who had been trained as “missioners” who were interested in and identified with the calling to be a deacon. The primary problem we found was some of them wanted to use the designation of deacon to start their own local congregation and function as a pastor without meeting all of requirements of training and approval of the board for ordination. There was also the problem of the two-step ordination still in practice that shaped the mindset that a deacon was on the way to becoming an elder. That was an outlook for many in the United States to change as well!

Countries that have Roman Catholic permanent deacons are more advanced in having an established Order of Deacon with a well-defined role in the church. The episcopal structure of the Roman Catholic church and several Protestant denominations lends itself to an understanding of the Order of Deacon that is missional, prophetic, and innovative as well as accountable to a Bishop for an appointment. On this basis I would expect to see growth in the diaconate eventually, but at this time there are few and only isolated cases of persons ordained to the Order of Deacon in many of the African countries with which I am familiar.

Ben Hartley: I do wonder what will happen to the ecumenical diaconate when (and I do think it is a matter of when) the Roman Catholic Church decides to ordain women to the diaconate. That will be quite a shift!

In your many years of service as a deacon, what story from your own ministry comes to mind that best represents what the diaconate truly is or could be? Do you have a time when your heart, body, and mind all shouted with delight, “Yessss. This is what it means to be a deacon!”

Paul Van Buren:Your reference to “many years of service” totals sixty years! It is much easier for me to respond to years of identity with servanthood ministry beginning with our General Board of Global Ministry as a missionary. I knew I was a deacon long before the church recognized it!

At the same time our denomination approved the formation of the Order of Deacon in 1996, it also approved the establishment of a world-class university in Africa. The Board where I was employed was given the responsibility, and I happened to have the agricultural training needed in international development to coordinate the creation of the Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources. When my boss “sanctified” this appointment as my ministry as a deacon, that is when I proclaimed “Yesss!” That eventually led to me to coordinating the Faculty of Health and later a ministry of rehabilitation of persons in Zimbabwe living with HIV and AIDS. That project was accepted as a model of the ministry of the deacon by our church. Another big “Yesss!”

Ben Hartley:I’ve been inspired, as you know, by the linguistic research on diakonia that Australian Roman Catholic scholar John N. Collins has done.[1] He highlights the concept of “go-between” or “emissary” for the diaconate, and I have tried to embody that in my academic writing on Christian social welfare history, urban history, and my current project to write a new biography of Methodist Nobel Peace Prize laureate John R. Mott (1865-1955). The working title for that biography is one that will make you smile, Paul. It is “World Christianity’s Emissary.” Of course, Mott was not a deacon, but I think he was animated by some of the spirit of the diaconate as it has been understood over the centuries. Working on that biography is a “yes” to my calling as a deacon. Writing a historical article on the history of UMCOR for its 75^th anniversary also prompted a heartfelt “Yesss!” But beyond the writing projects, I think where I most feel like I have done the work of the deacon is when I have led my little congregation in Oregon to pray for one of the kids in the correctional facility that I visited or when I’ve pick up the crumbs of bread after communion. Those quiet and even awkward activities are moments when my deacon’s heart whispers a “Yesss!” too.

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[1] Research stemming from Collins’s work decades ago continues. The latest scholarly volume in this regard is Bart J. Koet, Edwina Murphy, and Esko Ryokas (eds.), Deacons and Diakonia in Early Christianity (Tuebingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2019).

Recommended Viewing: UMW Voices from the Field

United Methodist Women hosts an occasional video series entitled "Voices from the Field," which features the work that UMW does in partnership with its regional missionaries and other partners around the world. The next Voices from the Field event will happen on Monday, May 10th at 10:00am EDT. The topic is "Standing with Women Leaders from Africa and Latin America,” featuring Regional Missionaries Elmira Sellu, Andrea Reily Rocha Soares, Catherine Akale, and Finda Quiwa. Interested readers can register here. Sellu and Soares have also both written about their work as regional missionaries in separate chapters in a newly-released book, The Practice of Mission in Global Methodism, edited by UM & Global blogmaster David W. Scott and Darryl W. Stephens.

Clergy vs. Laity Membership Numbers

Today's post is by UM & Global blogmaster Dr. David W. Scott, Mission Theologian at the General Board of Global Ministries. The opinions and analysis expressed here are Dr. Scott's own and do not reflect in any way the official position of Global Ministries.

Following up on comments that Bob Harman has made on previous blogs, I constructed a table of lay membership and clergy numbers by annual conference for the last three quadrennium. Per Bob’s suggestion, this was an attempt to get a different perspective on the rates of growth and decline in the church in various countries.

The full data set is linked above for those who are interested. Rather than try to put that table into this blog (which is a formatting nightmare), I will instead share three reflections on what I have seen in the data as I have reviewed it.

Clergy Membership Data Is Not Necessarily More Reliable that Lay Membership Data
Membership data has a number of notorious problems: different definitions of membership, non-active members on membership rolls, out-of-date membership numbers, difficulty in assessing membership numbers in remote areas, etc. For a variety of reasons, problems with membership data tend to be especially (but not exclusively) present in the central conferences.

When looking over membership numbers, then, there can be sudden and (to the outside observer unfamiliar with a local context) confusing jumps in membership (up or down) or missing data for some annual conferences for a quadrennium.

For these reasons, it would be nice if clergy numbers gave a more consistent story. However, it does not appear that they do so in all cases.

There is still plenty of instances in which clergy numbers are missing for an annual conference for a quadrennium. There are still instances in which clergy numbers suddenly jump significantly up or down for reasons that are not clear to outside observers. It seems possible that different annual conferences may be using different methods of calculating clergy numbers. (More on that in a minute.)

For all these reasons, clergy numbers are not a perfect dataset that one can use to help sort out questions raised by lay membership.

The Roles (and Perhaps Definitions) of Clergy Are Very Different in Different Contexts
When one compares the ratio of laity to clergy in different areas of the world, it allows one to see just how different that role is in different locations. Having one clergyperson for every 16 lay members (as in Northwest Russia in 2014) is a very different model of church than having one clergyperson for every 5507 lay members (as in Cote d’Ivoire in the same year).

There are a lot of factors that could be behind such variation: average congregational size, number of congregations served per clergyperson, number of clergypersons in extension ministry, number of congregations served by lay leaders or others not included in the category of clergy.

It is also quite possible that there is some variation around the world in terms of who is included in the category of “clergy.” While one might presume that this category includes ordained, active clergy, The United Methodist Church is notoriously fuzzy in terms of who counts as clergy: What about people who are commissioned but not ordained? What about associate members of conference? What about licensed local pastors? What about retirees serving part-time? The list goes on.

Even differences in one or two of these categories for defining who is included in the count could lead to significant differences across contexts in the number of clergypersons counted.

Still, differences in definition aside, clergypersons in parts of Africa are clearly serving many more lay people than clergypersons elsewhere in the connection. This difference probably stems from both greater demands on clergy in these parts of Africa (again, more on that in a minute) and greater lay leadership of the church there.

Tracking Clergy Membership Is Important
In The United Methodist Church, there is a lot of attention paid to lay membership numbers as an indicator of denominational health: where membership is increasing, where it is decreasing, etc. At times, this focus on lay membership can seem like a bit of an obsession even.

At the same time as all this attention is paid to lay membership, relatively little attention is paid to clergy membership. The attention that is paid tends to be focused on clergy membership as an indicator of justice: The ratio of women to men, the presence of clergy of various races, nationalities, and ages.

This focus on clergy membership as an indicator of justice is good and appropriate. But I think that the UMC should also pay more attention to clergy membership and the ratio of laity to clergy as indicators of denominational health, rather than focusing exclusively on lay membership for that purpose.

Here are three examples of what attention to clergy numbers and the ration of laity to clergy can tell us about the health of the denomination in various places:

It can tell us about the membership stability of the church. Areas where there is significant growth in lay membership should be accompanied, sooner or later, by an increase in the number of clergy. Otherwise, there is a real risk that the increased lay membership will not remain in the UMC, if people feel neglected or ignored by the leadership of the church. Even in instances of flat lay membership, a drop in the number of clergy may spell impending declines in lay membership as well.

It can tell us about the financial stability of the church. In much of the United States, there has been a decline in both lay and clergy membership. But the two rates of decline are not always equal. Thus, over the past three quadrennium, there are fewer lay people per clergy person. This means fewer people giving towards the support of clergy salaries (along with buildings and connectional ministries). Ultimately, this means that the dominant current model of full-time clergy serving single point charges is becoming less financially sustainable.

It can tell us about the health and well-being of clergy. When clergy are asked to do ever more and serve ever more members, or when clergy are left struggling to make budgets meet every year, that can take a toll on clergy health and well-being. Thus, there are risks for clergy burn-out both in areas where the church is growing and in areas where it is declining, even while those are not the same.

Clergy, however, are one of the church’s most important resources. I am a proud lay person, and I believe in lay leadership in the church, but I also recognize that a healthy denomination requires healthy clergypersons to help lead it.

In the early days of Methodism as a revival movement led by John Wesley, Methodism was not defined by the number of laity connected to it. It was defined as by the group of preachers in connection with Wesley, preachers who supported each other in the work of spreading the revival.

I do not want to go back to a clergy-dominated model, nor do I want to understate the vital role of lay leadership in forwarding the Wesleyan revival. Still, I think there is an insight there worth recovering: Healthy movements have healthy leadership.

In focusing on the health of our denomination, the health of our clergy leaders must be a central part of that conversation. Paying more attention to data trends about clergy numbers is one way to help engage in that conversation.

Health Mission and Learning Across Contexts

Today's post is by UM & Global blogmaster Dr. David W. Scott, Mission Theologian at the General Board of Global Ministries. It is an adaptation of remarks made to the All People's Conference hosted by United Methodist Church and Community Development for All People. The opinions and analysis expressed here are Dr. Scott's own and do not reflect in any way the official position of Global Ministries.

In reflecting on my understandings of biblical and Wesleyan theologies of health and healing, I think about a number of insights offered up by those theologies—that health is multifaceted and not confined to physical health, that individual health is connected to communal and national health, that there is a connection between health and sin including injustice, and that healing involves healing relationships.

Yet, such theology is not my area of expertise, so when asked to reflect publicly on the practice of health mission, I want to talk about something that does directly connect to my expertise: the importance of learning cross-culturally and across contexts, including learning about health and healing around the world.

Some quick definitions first:

A context is the setting where people live, work, and go about their lives. It can be a neighborhood, city, region, etc. Contexts are characterized by unique socio-economic, cultural, ethno-racial, political, historical, and other traits. So, each context in unique in some way, even as it also shares some things with other contexts.

A culture is a way of thinking about the world shared by a group of people. There can be local, regional, and national cultures; cultures shared by different ethnic or racial groups; cultures for groups defined by common interests; etc. A culture is characterized by a common set of beliefs, assumptions, and values. Cultures are an important part, but not the only part, of what makes a context unique.

First, I want to argue that learning across cultures and contexts is intrinsic to the practice of Christian mission. My definition of mission, which I lay out in my book Crossing Boundaries, is that mission is “cultivating relationships across boundaries for the sake of fostering conversations in word and deed about the nature of God’s good news.”

This definition mentions “relationships across boundaries,” and that means connecting to others across contexts and cultures. There are many types of boundaries—cultural, linguistic, geographic, political, socioeconomic, etc. But whatever type of boundary is involved, mission involves interacting with people who are different from us.

This definition of mission also mentions “conversations in word and deed about the nature of God’s good news,” and that means that mission involves talking and working with those who are different from us and learning from them in the process, just as we hope to share something with them at the same time. This learning goes both ways, as a good conversation does, and cannot be one-sided in which we only talk but do not listen and learn as well.

This process of learning through mission helps us better understand God and God’s good news because others will have different experiences of God than we do, different ways of thinking theologically, different conclusions that they reach from reading the Bible, and different senses of what would be good or new or life-giving within their own lives. Thus, when we engage in mission, we encounter these other ways of thinking and we thereby gain new insights into the ways in which God loves and redeems the world.

And while our ultimate goal in mission might be mutually learning more about God, along the way we are certain to learn about other things as well—we are going to learn about our mission partners’ lives and the ways in which they think about and experience the world around them. Learning about those other aspects of our mission partners’ lives and ministries is essential to being able to really understand what they can teach us about God.

Learning from those who are different than us can happen in a variety of settings. There are differences in cultures and contexts within the United States—southern Louisiana is different than rural Maine is different than metro San Francisco—and I’m sure that you’ve encountered and hopefully discussed some of those differences among contexts already during the conference. Cultures and contexts also differ internationally, often to a greater degree than they do within a single country such as the United States. So, while it is good to learn across contexts within the United States, it is also good to learn across contexts internationally.

The importance of learning across contexts applies to the field of health, both as a form of mission and ministry, and as an important aspect of health work itself. In fact, there is probably more learning across contexts in health than in many other fields. “Global health” is a field of study in prestigious medical schools that examines what we can learn about health and healing across countries, contexts, and cultures. For instance, the United States spends twice as much as on health care than other affluent nations and yet has the lowest life expectancy and highest suicide rate of any affluent country. Why do we spend more and end up less healthy? That sort of question can only be answered by learning across contexts.

But the United States can also learn from less affluent countries. Many think of health as being “better” in developed countries, and it’s true that there is a correlation between the relative income of a country and some of its health outcomes, especially as they relate to maternal and child health and certain infectious diseases.

But wealth is not the only indicator of health outcomes, and even to the extent it is, that does not mean that those in affluent countries have nothing to learn from those in developing countries. Education and women’s rights are also important indicators of a country’s health outcomes, and these vary within income brackets. Countries with better educational and women’s rights outcomes should be models for others. And affluent countries have more of certain types of diseases, especially mental health issues and chronic diseases related to diet or a sedentary lifestyle. Thus, the question, “Why is there more depression in the United States than in Mozambique?” is just as fair to ask as the question, “Why is there more malaria in Mozambique than in the United States?”

Moreover, there are many different models for arranging a health system, and developing countries often take innovative approaches to their health systems in ways that affluent countries can learn from. Remote access to health services is one such area. For example, the Gates Foundation has partnered with health providers in Malawi and Ghana to expand access to health care information and advice via cell phones, especially in rural, hard-to-reach areas. The challenge of providing health services in rural, hard-to-reach areas applies in the United States just as it does in Malawi.

Public health is another area in which developing countries can serve as models. Many countries in West Africa learned significantly from their experience with the Ebola epidemic in 2014. Experts cite African nations’ long experience with confronting public health epidemics such as Ebola and AIDS as a primary reason why Africa has been one of the regions of the world least affected by the coronavirus pandemic. In a Washington Post opinion piece about African success in combatting coronavirus, Karen Attiah says, “This pandemic has coincided with a global movement challenging anti-Black racism and white supremacy. This should have been a moment for media outlets to challenge corrosive narratives about Africa and the idea that Africans are not capable of effective policy-making. We could be learning from the experiences that Africans and their governments have had with pandemics and viral diseases, including Ebola and AIDS.”

Beyond outcomes, there are a wealth of different ways of thinking about health and healing in cultures across the world, and these various views also represent resources for learning, sharing, and developing our own perspectives on disease and healing. For instance, in many cultures outside of the West, the psychosomatic nature of disease is much better understood—that disease and healing are not only about what happens in the body, but about the ways in which the body, spirit, emotions, and social setting are out of harmony or in harmony.

And while people in the United States have been recently focused on the connection between diet and health, there are literally millennia of thinking about this issue in other cultures around the world that can offer potential insights.

For all these reasons, there are a variety of things we can learn from others around the world about health and healing.

And when these others are mission partners or are fellow Christians or even fellow United Methodists who are confronting the same sorts of challenges in their mission work and ministry that we are in ours, the potential for learning is that much greater, and it extends not only to health per se but about our shared faith and how health intersects with our faith and our practices of mission and ministry. There is much to be learned, even as we ourselves have things to offer and teach in return.

UMC Ecumenical Partnerships: Multilateral Partnerships

Today's post is by UM & Global blogmaster Dr. David W. Scott, Mission Theologian at the General Board of Global Ministries. The opinions and analysis expressed here are Dr. Scott's own and do not reflect in any way the official position of Global Ministries.

Last week, I wrote about the variety of one-to-one bilateral ecumenical partnerships in which The United Methodist Church is engaged. This week, I will share some information about the UMC’s multilateral partnerships, that is, the groups or consortia of which the UMC is a member along with several other denominations. Some of these are Methodist-specific. Some are more broadly ecumenical.

The multilateral Methodist group that jumps first to many people’s minds is the World Methodist Council (WMC). The UMC’s membership in the WMC is stipulated in ¶433.1 of the Book of Discipline. The WMC includes 72 distinct Methodist, Wesleyan, and historically related united/uniting denominations. Some of these denominations are nationally based and some are international. In the WMC’s listing of denominations, some regional bodies of international denominations are listed separately, so the cited number of members varies. There are some very small Methodist denominations around the world that are not members of the WMC, but it includes almost all of any significant size. This blog has produced maps of the members of the WMC.

The WMC originated as the Ecumenical Methodist Conference, first held in 1881. The Conference gave way to the Council in 1951. The WMC continues to host a conference every five years, along with working groups and other programming. The WMC has a number of related organizations, such as the World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women, and programs, such as the Oxford Institute for Methodist Theological Studies, that further promote intra-Methodist collaboration, but these are all built upon the framework of the WMC.

The World Methodist Council, however, is not the only group that brings together multiple Methodist denominations. There are also regional groups separate from, though associated with, the WMC. The UMC participates (through Global Ministries) in the Council of Evangelical Methodist Churches in Latin American and Caribbean, or CIEMAL by its Spanish acronym. It participates (through the European central conferences) in the European Methodist Council. It participates (through the Philippines) in the Asian Methodist Council. Most, if not all, members of these regional groups are also members of the WMC, but the regional organizations allow for more regular meetings and closer collaboration on certain matters. CIEMAL and the European Methodist Council are particularly active.

In the United States, there are two further multilateral Methodist ecumenical partnerships in which the UMC participates. The Pan-Methodist Commission brings together the UMC and the five historically black Methodist denominations (the African Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zion, Christian Methodist Episcopal, Union American Methodist Episcopal and First African Union Methodist Protestant Churches). Although the AME, AME Zion, and CME are also international denominations, most of the work of the Pan-Methodist Commission is fairly US-focused. UMC membership is stipulated in ¶433.2 of the Book of Discipline.

The Wesleyan Holiness Connection brings together the UMC and historically related Wesleyan/Holiness denominations, including the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Assemblies of God, Brethren in Christ Church, Christian & Missionary Alliance, Church of God in Christ, Church of God Ministries, Church of God - Cleveland, Church of the Nazarene, Free Methodist Church, Grace Communion International, International Pentecostal Holiness Church, Shield of Faith, The Evangelical Church, The Foursquare Church, The Salvation Army, and the Wesleyan Church. Most of the work of the Wesleyan Holiness Connection is US-focused, but it does have regional networks in the Philippines, UK, and Brazil. The UMC tends to be a minor participant in this group.

The UMC is also a part of a number of broadly ecumenical partnerships with denominations beyond the Methodist family. Many of these take the form of “Councils of Churches.” The UMC is, as required by Book of Discipline ¶434.3, a member of World Council of Churches. The World Council of Churches brings together Protestant, Orthodox, and indigenous churches from around the world and is one of the most significant international ecumenical bodies.

The Book of Discipline indicates in ¶434.2.a that the UMC will be a members of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, a group of Protestant and Orthodox denominations. ¶434.1 requires that the UMC be a part of Churches Uniting in Christ, another US-based ecumenical organization of predominantly white and predominantly black mainline denominations seeking to “live into unity.” ¶434.2.c directs the UMC to seek observer status in the National Association of Evangelicals, the main ecumenical body of evangelical denominations in the United States. Many, though not all, US Annual Conferences are also members of statewide councils of churches, though that is not addressed in the Book of Discipline.

¶434.2.b leaves open the possibility that the UMC may be part of other national councils of churches, at the discretion of leaders of the UMC in those countries. The Council of Bishops has identified at least seven other countries where the UMC is part of national councils of churches, as well as the All-Africa Conference of Churches, Christian Conference of Asia, and several Europe-wide bodies, but this may not be a complete list. The difference between official recognition of US-based ecumenical relationships and the lack of awareness of ecumenical relationships in other countries should be noted as another example of the denomination’s US-centric nature.

There are numerous other ecumenical partnerships in which parts of the UMC participate. These include those focused on work on a particular topic (for example, Religions for Peace International), to programmatic bodies supported by multiple denominations (for example, Church World Service), to groups for ecumenical dialogue (for example, the Global Christian Forum), to regional bodies (for example, European Methodist Youth and Children). I will not attempt a comprehensive list here, though readers can find more information on the Council of Bishops’ website.

The thing to keep in mind about all of these multilateral ecumenical partnerships is that they do not necessarily imply close, direct collaboration between any two given member denominations. Often, the UMC will send one person or a handful of people to conferences or other meetings that may happen as infrequently as once every 5-10 years. This sort of arrangement does not yield close relationships.

Where these ecumenical partnerships tend to be more robust is those that involve ongoing cooperative work in which the UMC and other denominations meet frequently and each contribute resources. These sorts of partnerships work because they have active buy-in from boards, agencies, central conferences, annual conferences, or other units of the church designated to carry out programmatic activities. The downside of this sort of relationships is that other United Methodists outside of these units of the church tend to be uninvolved and often unaware of these partnerships. That problem may not be entirely solvable, but through greater exchange of information, awareness can be increased.