Mightily Weak

Undertaking major changes goes more smoothly when there is support for what’s being done. In the case of the Tri-Church Parish it was understandable that such support might not be readily forthcoming from the parishioners affected, and so I looked to my district superintendent, the Rev. Dr. James Brewer. I sincerely complimented Jim’s wife, Carol, as the best D.S. I ever worked with/for/under, but it quickly became apparent to me that leadership qualities do not emerge simply by virtue of marriage. Jim is a very large man with a robust baritone that easily dominates nearly any discussion. And, as I have found to be true of almost everyone the higher up you go in the United Methodist hierarchy, the thought never crossed Jim’s mind that he might not know everything about everything. Much as No Child Left Behind has narrowed the scope of education to teaching for the test, apportionments (that UM tax) often become the measure by which the local pastor is evaluated. Therefore, if you’re paying your apportionments, you’re a good pastor. If you’re not, you’re not. When a local congregation perceives that it is being slighted or ignored by the annual conference, one of the quickest ways to regain attention—albeit negative—is to withhold apportionments payments. Even the casual reader can see that this issue was compounded for the Tri-Church by its federated composition as the Uehling UCC church did not factor into the UM calculation of apportionments. After lengthy discussions with Uehling’s board, I finally convinced Jim to attend one of their meetings to contemplate what might be entailed in returning the church to its UCC roots. With an insensitivity I had not anticipated, Brewer informed the Uehling folks that they were free to do whatever they wanted because he really didn’t care; they weren’t United Methodists and therefore not his responsibility. Trying hard to put into practice Henri Nouwen’s concept of the wounded healer, I worked with the Uehling congregation to eventually reunite them with their own denomination without any support from my D.S. or The United Methodist Church. It was a bittersweet success, but I have heard since that the Uehling congregation prospered after being liberated from the Tri-Church. Now it was time to work with West Side.