On Burning Bridges

Preston Howard was quick to reply to my concern about the condition of the Trinity parsonage, telling me that the S-PRC had not known of its sorry state until I informed him. He assured me that Trinity was very much looking forward to me being their associate pastor and that the house would be in first-class shape upon our family’s arrival. Still not having heard anything from Susan Davies (nor would I ever) about the new church start in Omaha, I decided that it was incumbent upon me to inform my current superintendent, Jim Brewer, about my decision to move to the Desert Southwest. Nate had assured me that Bishop Elias Galvan had informed Nebraska Bishop Joel Martinez of the impending change, but if he had the word had never gotten to Brewer. Jim literally exploded, condemning my actions as traitorous. When Brewer went to Martinez it came as news to him, as well, and it was only after Martinez called Galvan that my “new” bishop conceded that he had heard something from Holt about the arrangements being made in Las Vegas but had never been specifically asked to communicate with Nebraska. I have found it a given that the higher one is placed in the UMC hierarchy, the more infallible and inerrant one becomes. I earned a personal visit with Bishop Martinez at which he had no interest in hearing about my never having heard from Davies because his purpose was to inform me that while he didn’t have to let me go to Nebraska he was going to approve the move because he no longer wanted me in his conference. Jim Brewer made it a point to tell me never to even think about returning. Nate was disingenuous about failing to properly communicate with Bishop Galvan and told me not to worry because the important thing was that I was being accepted back into the Desert Southwest; i.e. don’t worry about what they’re saying and doing in Nebraska because you’ll never see them again. I truly regretted that this was way my relationship to the Nebraska Annual Conference was ending, and I wrote a letter to Bishop Martinez telling him as much, but the only course left was in the direction of a highly ambiguous appointment to Las Vegas Trinity UMC.