United, Or Untied?

The news overnight isn't good. I went to sleep in the wee hours of the morning with grave concerns on my heart for the future of our denomination. The rumors are that the Council of Bishops will make a presentation today to initiate a move toward splitting the church (live feed available here). And in this wired world, "rumors" doesn't mean a murmur from a few people making idle speculation: it means that my Twitter feed blew up with rants and prayers and prognostications. I learned how to find the "mute" feature on Twitter. It's amazing how much ugliness can be contained in 140 characters.

Here's the news this morning:

It's amazing how social media invites us all in to have a voice in the debate, or to stand on the sidelines and read the words of fired-up strangers as they scroll by. Whether the rumors are true or not (and we have some evidence to suggest that they are not true), there is no way that today can just be "business as usual." There is a lot of unrest in our system. Critical votes need to be taken on issues that people feel passionately about. A cloud of schism hangs over everything.

Please pray for our church. Pray that, in the midst of human passions, God's will may be sought, may be heeded, and may prevail.

Image designed by Todd Pick, CTC Conference Service Center
Director of Operations, who serves on the worship team
for General Conference.