(Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News)

“Am I at a different General Conference than the United Methodist General Conference? There seems to be joy and rejoicing here in every corner instead of arguing.”

—Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa 

Back in 2010, I traveled with leaders from Western Pennsylvania to Zimbabwe. The purpose of the trip was to strengthen our relationships and ministry partnership with the leaders of the Zimbabwe East and West Annual Conferences. During our time in Zimbabwe, Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa and his Cabinet hosted us with heartwarming hospitality. At a dinner in his home one evening, Bishop Nhiwatiwa said something memorable to me over coffee. “The fact that you are here in my home” he said, “all the way from Pennsylvania, shows me that the heart of connectionalism in the United Methodist Church is still beating wildly.”

I thought back to that conversation during this morning’s time of worship as Bishop Nhiwatiwa preached to the delegates, volunteers, and guests the General Conference. After so many years of hearing disgruntled and disillusioned people casting aspersions at the theology, leadership, and ministry of the church I love, receiving what Bishop Nhiwatiwa preached today brought encouragement to my soul:

“There is no other denomination in the world, from my own witness, that does ministry with greater depth and deeper scope than the United Methodist Church…May the United Methodist Church forever continue to thrive for the sake of Jesus Christ!” 

It was a powerful moment for me—a clarion call from a longtime African Bishop to devote myself afresh to the unique ministry of this denomination that speaks of grace so eloquently and takes justice every bit as seriously as it takes prayer. 

A point of celebration: the monitoring of our communication in legislative sections revealed something significant: Of the people who spoke at microphones throughout the legislative sections over the last two days, 51.1% of the speakers were female. 47.9% were male. 1% were nonbinary. In a denomination that has long labored for gender equality and justice, this monitoring report inspires me to believe that United Methodism is becoming ever more faithfully the kind of church that incarnates Galatians 3:28: “There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” 

In this morning’s plenary session, one of the consent calendars that we approved included the passing of an important section of the Revised Social Principles. The approved section, now an official part of the Principles, includes 3 new protections for gender identity and 7 for sexual orientation. Here is one of the new protections:

“We condemn all attempts to deny individuals their basic rights or freedoms or to strip human beings of their inherent dignity and worth. We, therefore, reject within the church and wider society any act of discrimination, hatred, or violence directed against individual or groups based on national origin, tribal affiliation, ethnicity, age, gender identity, disability status, economic condition, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, or any other factors.”

There will be other segments of the Revised Social Principles coming before us as General Conference continues. The fact that we approved this segment so robustly, though, speaks an important word about United Methodism’s current spirit concerning the protection of all persons, including those whom the church has historically marginalized because of their gender identity or sexual orientation. This is a significant and hopeful beginning for other conversations about human sexuality later in the General Conference. 

We spent the remainder of the day in legislative sections, finishing our work. Tomorrow (Sunday) will be a day of worship and sabbath rest. I look forward to it.

Thank you for being with me through this experience.