Rev. James Harnish prays that United Methodists exercise grace to maintain a faithful center.

REV. JAMES A. HARNISH
Retired Elder, Florida Conference

According to the New Testament book of Acts, surprising the church is the Holy Spirit’s idea of a good time.

When the leaders of the early church thought they had figured everything out or when they were at loggerheads and didn’t know where to turn, the Spirit would suddenly surprise them with a new way forward that they never expected.

My consistent prayer for our General Conference has been that the Spirit would once again surprise the church by opening a new or unexpected way through the conflicting convictions about same-sex relations that have divided our denomination for four decades. I described my hope for that surprise in an interview with Ministry Matters.

The irony is that Methodists have historically been people of the via media, the “middle way.” Not a mushy middle, but what Bishop Scott Jones calls “the extreme center.” It’s a clearly defined core of faith that allows space around the circumference for a variety of convictions as to how the faith is lived out.

In Portland, I experienced the Holy Spirit surprising the church in what one friend described as “the rise of the Methodist middle.” Magrey deVega described it as the parents in the front seat telling the squabbling children in the back seat to calm down. My experience at General Conference is consistent with Adam Hamilton’s description of “A Hopeful Way Forward.”

I was surprised…

• When the General Conference voted to ask the Council of Bishops to lead us in finding a way to unity through our division
• When the Bishops offered a wise option for a Commission that would not simply kick the can down the road, but would offer a specific plan for a way through our division into a new way of being together
• When I observed that the current and successive Presidents of the Council of Bishops are very wise people with exceptional gifts for leading with a non-anxious, moderating presence;
• When the GC finally adopted the Bishops’ proposal and held to it in spite of attempts by the folks on the extreme ends of the continuum to scuttle it.

My hope and prayer is that the Spirit will continue to surprise us by drawing together a Commission that will clearly define the center of our life together that will include grace-filled ways for those who find that center to be either too conservative or too progressive to find theirm way into other ways of ministry.

As I wrote this I remembered an 18th Century Anglican hymn says:

Sometimes a light surprises The Christian while he sings; It is the Lord who rises With healing in His wings; When comforts are declining, He grants the soul again A season of clear shining, To cheer it after rain.

I was surprised when I found it set to a new tune here, which only demonstrates that the Spirit still has surprises for all of us!

~Jim Harnish is the author of A Disciple’s Heart and Earn. Save. Give. He blogs at at JimHarnish.org. This feature first appeared in Ministry Matters, an online community of resources for church leaders.

Last Updated on October 23, 2023