Benton Heisler likens the 2016 General Conference to a race guided by God’s amazing grace.

REV. BENTON HEISLER
Director of Connectional Ministries

“If you make my Word your home, you will indeed be my disciples.  You will know the truth and the truth will set you free (John 8:13 New Jerusalem Bible.)”  Each article I write for this column is based in the guidance of a particular Scripture passage. I trust these reflections will assist you in your own faithful witness and service as a Disciple of Jesus Christ.

The writer of Hebrews 12:1 reminds us that, “We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.  So run the race with perseverance.”   The race image seems so fitting for the trip to General Conference, which included moments I thought I may just be entering the great cloud of witnesses.

I only fly one or two times a year, so each trip feels to me like my own version of the CBS television series, “The Amazing Race”.  What deadline will I need to make?  Who will I meet along the way?  How will I overcome any particular obstacles?  What unique cultural difference will I encounter?

I awoke at 3:30 am Monday so that I could make my early departure from Grand Rapids to Portland, via Atlanta.  (Yeah, that made sense right?)

I have yet to stand in line at the Grand Rapids airport, with hundreds of people, and see someone I actually know.  However, I arrive in Atlanta, go to the necessary gate and there is Bill, an acquaintance from the North Georgia Conference of the UMC.  Sitting on the plane in the two rows in front of me is a group of seminary students from Chandler School of Theology in Atlanta.  A man walks past my row and he is wearing a UMC “Disciple” t-shirt.  It is clear we are all among UMC friends.  The bond only got stronger as we all wondered if we were going to die together!

Even at 41,000 feet the pilot could find little stable air to travel through.  The massive storms that were raging below across Oklahoma and other states reached deep into the atmosphere with turbulence.  Our heads and bodies bobbed around like an amusement ride.  The flight attendants and their carts of drinks and snacks were sent scrambling to “lock down.”  (I once timed the Raptor at Cedar Point.  I believe lasted for 95 seconds.)  This “ultra-speed rolling coaster” of a 767 shook for over 95 MINUTES.  The students were scrambling to find the “courtesy bags” in the seat pockets.  One of their classmates, a row ahead of me, was in really poor shape…enough details about that!  (Upon landing, one of them shared the news footage of the plane that had lost the engine cover about the same time!)

Somewhere over Wyoming, Utah or eastern Oregon, “Jesus calmed the storm” and we glided in amidst blue skies and the snow-capped mountains around Mt. Hood.  It was a welcomed sight to move through the terminal in Portland and be greeted by countless green vests of UMC “welcome volunteers”.  They were sporting smiling faces and an eager willingness to be of assistance. (We will all have a similar experience at MSU for our Annual Conference as the red-vested “Grace Team” meets us with extravagant hospitality.)

One volunteer, John, was quick to help me locate the rail shuttle, a map of all the shuttle routes and times, provide a complimentary train pass and even a willingness to help with my luggage.  I accepted the train pass and declined the luggage help.  (I figured dragging luggage was part of my “get fit in Portland” regimen!)

Little did I know that what looked like a few hundred feet on the Google map was over a ½ mile when I exited the last stop of the light rail train, 15 miles from the Convention Center.  I began my trek toward the hotel I could even see by walking across a massive mall parking lot, past the Chick-Fil-A and the “East End Fitness Center”.  (I muttered to myself…”Send some of those fitness junkies out here and see how well they do in the ½ mile, blazing sun, 75-pound luggage pull contest!!!”

I arrived at the hotel desk only to realize I had come in “third” in my amazing UMC race to Portland.  (Well really I don’t know, what place I was in, but there were two United Methodists checking in ahead of me.)  I recalled the others I had witnessed along the way, the tired, the vulnerable, the outcast, the restless ones…. I wondered where they “finished” at the end of the day?

After some supper, I needed a good leisurely walk, without the luggage, to relax a bit, so I headed to the mall.  Specifically I entered the REI store.  The clerks were all friendly and eager to help.  (I imagined what hospitality lessons a local church might learn from their bright smiles and willing spirits.)

For those of you not familiar with REI, they are one of the leading outdoor equipment providers.  If you run, bike, hike, back pack, kayak, climb mountains and like to eat freeze dried meals from a pouch, REI is the store for you!  As I stood gazing at the ropes and gear necessary for a trek up Mt. Everest, the clerk offered assistance.  I replied, “No thanks, I think I am 30-40 years late in this aisle.  I got winded coming up the stairs! Lol”

It was the comments from the bike repair section that caught my ear.  One clerk walked by and asked the guy with the bike grease on his hands, “How are you doing today?”

“Oh, you know me, just changing the world, one bike at a time!”

I really hope our time here in Portland will be at least as productive as this guy’s vision for his work… “Just changing the world, one [LIFE] at a time.” 

The delegates gathered here face a number of significant issues that have the capacity to impact countless lives.  They will make decisions that will satisfy some and dissatisfy others.  My prayer is that we all remember the “cloud of witnesses” that have run this race before us, changing the world, one life at a time.  When it is all over, that is what will really matter, the one life of Christ which has given eternal life to all who will call him Lord and Savior.

I pray that General Conference can meet the declaration of the writer of Habakkuk 2:2 “Make the vision plain, so the one who runs may read it…”  There is a lot of turbulence in the culture, threatening a smooth ride or an uneventful race.  We can either allow our vision to draw us together in faith or we can let fear distract and exhaust us as we try to control that which is beyond our influence.

I am confident that God, who made these mountains, calmed the storm, healed the sick, forgave the sinner, and has loved us all, will be present among us and guide us by God’s amazing grace.

Last Updated on December 15, 2023