Vital role of delegates

Written by Bishop Max Whitfield Monday, 30 May 2011 08:16

Members of Annual Conferences will elect delegates to General and Jurisdictional Conferences this month. The persons elected will play a vital role in the future of the denomination and of these conferences in particular. Some individuals may desire to be elected delegates in order to vote on three or four issues of particular importance to them. I fear they may fail to comprehend that they will be voting on hundreds of issues, some extremely unfamiliar to them. 

A few illustrations may help to demonstrate my point: delegates will decide whether every pastor is guaranteed a full time, full salaried position every year, regardless of whether there are sufficient churches capable of paying the salary; they will vote whether to reduce the size of the Board of Directors and number of the General Boards and Agencies; they also will decide whether to significantly change the Church’s Pension program; the organization of local churches; the education requirements for pastors; and how many bishops will serve around the world! These are just a few of the issues. 

Thirty-seven percent of all the delegates will come to General Conference from outside the United States. They will be concerned about issues on other continents.

The South Central Jurisdiction will elect three new bishops, and assign all 10 of the active bishops to their residential responsibilities. Bishops are elected after receiving at least sixty percent of votes from the delegates who are present and voting. Delegates will also determine the financial support for Lydia Patterson Institute, Mt. Sequoyah Conference and Retreat Center and the Wesley Foundation Ministry at Southern Methodist University.

Those elected to provide leadership for the United Methodist Church assume a great responsibility, requiring a significant amount of time before and after the conferences. They will decide issues that impact pastors, congregations, annual conferences, and the very direction the church will take in the next several years.  This places an enormous responsibility on those electing these persons. 

Are these elected persons called by God for these responsibilities? Are they willing to give the time and personal financial resources to serve effectively? Do they demonstrate a willingness to hear the implications of their decisions after petitions are amended in the legislative committees and perhaps a second or third time on the conference floor? Do the petitions and resolutions speak God’s word to the church and to society? Can those elected discern who God is calling to be a Bishop of the Church and who has the leadership ability to lead conferences for the next several years?

I pray the election of delegates this year will resemble a gathering for a prayer meeting more than a political convention. It is essential to see that those elected reflect the great diversity of the conference, include gender and racial diversity, and reflect the various sizes of congregations being served. When so few delegates are allotted to these conferences, the responsibilities are difficult to fulfill.  It requires members to prayerfully seek God’s will and direction. It also requires members of the annual conferences to seek the very will and heart of God. Let us strive for this attitude to be reflected in our conference sessions.

We need to graciously leave most of the issues and politics outside of the conference session, so that members of the annual conference will enter with hearts and minds open to the moving of God’s Spirit as they discern the persons God chooses to serve His Kingdom in this special way. May each member enter the Annual Conference sessions with his/her heart focused on being disciples of Jesus Christ.