ORDER, DISORDER, AND REORDER AND #UMCGC (PT. 2)

In a previous post, I shared about a metaphor Richard Rohr shares about spiritual formation. He asks us to imagine there are three boxes, "order", "disorder" and "reorder". Fr. Rohr believes that conservatives tend to get stuck in the "order" box. I shared in the previous post how important it is for the voice of our conservative sisters and brothers be heard. The desire for order is noble and essential for all of us. However, getting stuck in the box of order can lead to rigidity in thought (at best) and self-proclaimed defenders of what is pure (at worst). 

While conservatives may get stuck in the "order" box, according to Rohr, progressives tend to be stuck in the "disorder" box. Progressives are often the ones driven by dismantling the things that are ordered in an attempt to examine values, assumptions and advocate for any change that may be needed for the new day. It is something many people go through in their lives when we come to question why things are the way they are. We tend to push back on the rules and expectations that ordered our lives up to a point but now we examine why these rules and expectations are there to begin with. For anyone who has ever said they did not want to "become like my parent" is going through the process of disordering. Just as it is natural to order it is also natural to disorder the things in the world. Both have their place, assets and liabilities.

Disorder does not mean chaos

The progressive group in the UMC called "Love Prevails" is an example of the progressive tendency toward disorder. The movement advocates for three actions: Disclose(t), Divest, and Disrupt. These call to action are at their core expressions of disorder which you can read in their definition of each action.

Disclose(t) - We can no longer sit in silent acquiescence before the unjust laws of The United Methodist Church. The time has come and gone for behind-the-scenes, closeted support of LGBTQ people. As LGBTQ Christians and straight allies, we will speak out publicly about our lives, our families, our friends, and our ministries. We will claim equality for ourselves and for our LGBTQ brothers and sisters.

Divest - For too long, the cost of injustice has been hidden by our loyalty to the institution. Beginning now, we will redirect our time and treasure to efforts aimed at ending discrimination against LGBTQ people. We will divest our prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness from all structures within the church that support the status quo.

Disrupt - The time for polite persuasion has passed. To ensure discrimination no longer flows uninterrupted, we will protest and disrupt local, national and global events. We will undermine all policies that limit or deny the full participation of LGBTQ United Methodists in the life of the church. Through our media campaign and physical presence, we will stand in the way of business as usual.

I am not making a value judgement on these actions, only desire to point out that while Good News is locked into "Order", Love Prevails is locked into "Disorder". 

And perhaps the most frustrating thing for those of us in the middle is that both those locked into order or disorder feel they are correct and it is the other that is doing the damage to the denomination. The fact of the matter is, anytime anyone is locked in a box, there is a human desire for freedom. This is the Gospel proclamation. God desires that all be free from being locked in/up/out. Jesus did that work on the cross. We are all free from the shackles of sin and death because of his Grace and Love.

This is why the spiritual life is one that include the assets of order and disorder but also transcends the liabilities. Christianity points not toward life or death but toward resurrection. Or in this case, we are not to be people of order or disorder but a people of reorder. 

What would General Conference look like if it we include and transcend order and disorder to the "box" of reorder?

General Conference - What are the Signals in the Noise?

In case you are interested in the General Conference of the UMC happening in May 2016, you may have caught onto the fact that everyone has an opinion on every matter under the sun. In the middle of all this noise, one might wonder what are signals in all this noise? 

I have been charged with the task of trying to cultivate a collection of articles, recordings, videos, blogs, etc. You can see those articles by following the link at the top of the page "General Conference 2016"

While this project is still young and I am not doing as well as one might be able to do if they were professional tech communicators, I hope this site will be helpful for those that are interested to know what is happening at the GC2016 that is going to have an impact on the local church here in the central Texas area.

ORDER, DISORDER, AND REORDER AND #UMCGC (PT. 1)

Richard Rohr speaks about the spiritual life in a number of ways that are both accessible and refreshing. At the school he founded, he speaks about there are three boxes: Order, Disorder and Reorder. He goes on to say that conservatives tend to (but not always) get stuck in the Order box. There is a desire to make life as ordered as possible. So we set up rules, accountability, authorities, consequences (punitive if need be) all in the effort to create order. When you read the legislation being considered by the UMC at the May General Conference, there is a much legislation about keeping or expanding order.

For instance, in the March/April publication of the conservative magazine Good News, Thomas Lambrecht (UMC clergy person and VP or Good News) wrote the following (emphasis added): "We do not see the disagreement over marriage and sexuality as a major threat to the future of United Methodism. After all, we have survived with it for 40 years. Instead, the major cause for potential schism is the intentional disobedience and defiance of our denominational policies and requirement." (source)

With all the chatter and concern about LGBTQ issues and the church, the vice president of one of the most influential conservative publications in the UMC says the real threat is the current and potential future disorder that is happening. Rev. Lambrecht goes on to outline no less than nine pieces of legislation that Good News promotes all of which attempt to create greater Order in the UMC system.

This is the great work of our conservative sisters and brothers. It is the work of trying to order the life of the Church with agreed upon rules. I akin this work to that of trying to get children to play the game of soccer. You have to lay out the rules so that some sense of order may take shape. Otherwise you will have kids running out of bounds, using their hands to pick up the ball, kicking the referee in the shin, and nothing that looks like soccer. 

The concern among many is that the UMC is falling out of order. For some this is not a good thing, while for others, the disorder is a welcomed and good thing. To be clear, not all disorder is chaos. Take a look at this picture:

Ursus Wehrli - The Art of Clean Up

While they are both salads, one is more ordered than the other. The one that is disordered is not in chaos (that might be a fruit smoothie). It is however, non-linear and interconnected. It is messier and to some it may look like like chaos, however the fact of the matter is the salad on the right and the salad on the left are both salads. They just approach the nature of salad differently. 

So let us have some grace when it comes to dealing with our conservative brothers and sisters who may value order more than the more liberal voices who (according to Rohr) tend to get stuck in the "disorder". A forthcoming post will attempt to connect disorder and the UMC General Conference.