General Conference 2004: Primer & Delegates

A major event in the life of the United Methodist Church will take place April 26-May 7 when the denomination’s General Conference convenes in Pittsburgh. General Conference is important to every church member because the conference’s actions are binding to the entire church. Realizing there are many United Methodists new to the denomination and many long-time United Methodists who don’t quite understand General Conference, the Advocate is printing this four-page section. Hopefully it will provide you important background information and spur you to want to keep up with what happens at the conference.

John Goodwin | UMNS

Delegates and visitors from around the world gather for opening worship at the United Methodist Church’s General Conference in 2000 in this file photo.

What is General Conference?
General Conference is the top policy-making body of The United Methodist Church. Church law states that no person or organization except the General Conference has authority to speak officially for the denomination.

When and where does it meet?
General Conference convenes every four years during the same years as U.S. presidential elections. The meeting sites are rotated among the church’s five geographic U.S. jurisdictions. The 1996 conference was held in Denver (Western Jurisdiction), the 2000 conference in Cleveland, Ohio (North Central Jurisdiction), and the 2004 conference will convene in Pittsburgh (Northeastern Jurisdiction).

What is the cost and who does the planning?
The cost of 2004 General Conference is expected to exceed $5 million. Of that, about $2 million will be spent for delegate expense (delegates receive a per diem amount for attending). The 16-member Commission on the General Conference selects the site and plans the conference.

Who are the delegates?
The voting delegates are limited to 1,000 and represent all regions of the church, not only in the U.S. but also United Methodist conferences in Europe, Asia and Africa. The delegates are evenly divided between clergy and laity and are elected by their respective annual conferences the year prior to General Conference. Church law mandates that each annual conference must have at least one clergy delegate and one lay delegate. Beyond that, a conference’s representation is based on the number of lay members and clergy members. North Georgia will send a 28-member delegation and South Georgia will send 14.

What does the conference do?
The conference revises The Book of Discipline (book of church law) and “Social Principles” and adopts resolutions on various moral, social, public policy and economic issues. It also approves plans and budgets for churchwide programs for the next four years. The delegates can propose amendments to the church’s Constitution but those must be ratified later by annual conferences. General Conference also elects members of the Judicial Council, the church’s “supreme court.”

Where do legislative proposals originate?
The primary sources of legislation are petitions and proposals that come from church agencies and organizations. Petition deadlines vary, depending on the source, but none may be submitted less than 150 days prior to the opening of the conference. Any organization, ordained minister or lay member of the church may petition the General Conference.

How many petitions will delegates handle?
Delegates will deal with approximately 1,600 legislative proposals, called petitions. Each will be assigned to a legislative committee comprised of elected delegates. The legislative committees are church and society, conferences, discipleship, faith and order, financial administration, general administration, global ministries, higher education and ministry, independent commissions, judicial administration and local church.

What is the legislative process?
As in the U.S. Congress, the bulk of General Conference business is conducted in legislative committees which receive the petitions and proposals; debate them; and determine what recommendation to make to the full body. The committees can vote approval or disapproval on petitions as submitted, or can rewrite or amend them, but the final decision on each petition is made by the full body of delegates.
If a legislative committee is mostly in agreement (concurrence) or disagreement (non-currence) about a specific proposal, it is placed on a “consent” calendar whereby the position of the legislative committee can be affirmed by the full body without being debated on the floor. However, items placed on consent calendars by legislative committees can be removed from the calendars and debated by the conference.

What is the role of the church’s bishops?
Members of the Council of Bishops attend General Conference but do not vote and cannot speak without permission from the delegates. A bishop presides at each plenary session. All bishops, active and retired, attend the entire conference.

What are some of the main events?
Dealing with legislation takes up the bulk of the conference’s time but there are always other highlights: a magnificent opening worship service which showcases the global nature of the church; worship and music each day featuring the diversity of United Methodists and styles of worship; an official Episcopal Address which will be given by Bishop Kenneth Carder of Mississippi; and an official Laity Address which will be given by Gloria Holt of Trussville, Ala. Also scheduled this year is a service of appreciation for African Americans who remained with the denomination during the segregation era.

What are some of the issues?
The issues primarily deal with a revision, addition or deletion to the Book of Discipline or are resolutions that represent the church’s stand on moral, social or global issues. Approved legislation is incorporated into a revised Book of Discipline, and resolutions are printed in the Book of Resolutions.
Since the beginning of this year the Advocate has featured stories on issues coming before the conference: a possible new general church structure, a denominational budget for 2005-2008, a new pension plan for clergy, the impact of the homosexual issue on the conference, a proposal to reduce the number of bishops in the U.S., a position paper on Holy Communion, a continuation of the Igniting Ministry advertising campaign, the continuation of various initiatives to strengthen ethnic groups within the church, and a proposal to establish a Division on Young People’s Ministries.
The decision in a church trial in Seattle to acquit a lesbian pastor, the Rev. Karen Dammann of “practices incompatible with Christian teaching” likely will be hotly debated at the conference and probably will spur some kind of action.
Other issues coming before the conference include a resolution on terrorism and war and other current issues; the establishment of a Global Education Fund to help UM institutions in Africa, Latin America, Europe and Asia improve the quality of their education; the creation of a National Comprehensive Plan for Town and Country Ministries; and a proposal to study men’s ministries within the denomination as a prelude to developing more effective resources.

How can I keep up?
The Advocate:
The Advocate will post stories on its Web site, www.wcadvocate.org, which will be available to anyone. The May 7 and May 15 papers will also feature conference coverage.
The General Conference Web site:
Visit www.gc2004.org to view continuous coverage. Track specific legislation at the site by clicking the link “Tracking Legislation.” A free electronic newsletter is also available through the site.
Conference communication offices:
In South Georgia, Kelly Roberson will post daily updates at www.sgaumc.com and will send out regular e-mails. In North Georgia, the Rev. Ed Tomlinson, the Rev. Mark Nugent and Tim McDaniel will post daily reports and interviews at www.ngumc.org. Georgia UMs can watch some events live through video streaming at both sites.

From South Georgia Bishop, Rev. Mike Watson:
‘Let’s pray the Holy Spirit will prevail’

Every United Methodist Christian is called to be in prayer for the upcoming General Conference of the United Methodist Church which is to be held in Pittsburgh April 27 - May 7. It has been four years since the last General Conference. We are called to pray that the Holy Spirit will be the prevailing spirit during this very significant upcoming conference.

It is the General Conference that has full legislative power over all distinctively connectional matters related to our church. It is the General Conference alone that speaks for our church. No person, publication, or organization has the authority to speak officially for the United Methodist Church. According to the constitution of our church, speaking for the church is a right reserved exclusively for the General Conference. There are equal numbers of clergy and lay delegates from around the world representing each of the annual conferences, missionary conferences, and provisional conferences throughout the entire denomination. Bishops have neither voice nor vote at General Conference. Bishops preside, but voting delegates determine church law. Bishops do not.

The delegates from Georgia to this session have been asked by the two bishops in Georgia to take their responsibilities very seriously. I have no doubt that these delegates will do that. They need our prayers as they give their prayerful consideration to the critical issues which will be addressed by this General Conference. One of the most important functions of every General Conference is the review and revision of The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church. The 2004 version of this book of church law will be written in Pittsburgh during this General Conference. The Book of Discipline is the covenant that binds United Methodists together in our love for Christ and for all people. It reflects our best corporate understanding of God’s call upon us to live out scriptural holiness in our time. United Methodism depends upon our commitment to this common covenant as we seek to follow Christ.

Let us pray that the delegates to General Conference will be informed by Holy Scripture, tradition, experience, and reason as they seek to be led by the Holy Spirit to legislate for our church. Let us pray that Christian unity, love, and grace will guide the conference. Let us pray that each delegate will be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ throughout the entire two weeks of conference sessions. Let us pray that, as a result, God’s will shall be done.

Mike Watson is bishop of the South Georgia Conference. He can be reached at bishopsga@ aol.com.

From North Georgia Bishop, Rev. Lindsey Davis:
‘My hope: return to missionary church'

Every four years United Methodists meet for two weeks in “holy conferencing.” Almost one thousand delegates will gather from around the world to worship, deliberate over 1,600 petitions and proposals, to set the budget for our international church for 2005-2008, to elect new members to the Judicial Council, and to establish the direction of our church for the near future. Several “hot button” issues will cause controversy for the General Conference. Prime among them again will be the issues surrounding sexual orientation and how we deal with them in our faith community. Such intradenominational disputes continue to cause us harm.

Since 1968 four of our five U.S. jurisdictions have lost membership. A factor in this decline has been the denominational quarrels which cause some people to depart and others to disengage. Most adults have all the conflict they need in their lives and avoid denominations where much spiritual energy is being spent on “in-fighting.” I hope and pray that somehow our General Conference can find a way to put the sexual orientation battle in its proper place among many societal issues we deal with and refocus us on evangelism and mission.

Financial issues have been prominent in pre-General Conference discussions. The projected budget by GCFA of $585.6 million is a 7.3 percent increase over the past quadrennium, but it is a 30.2 percent increase over the receipts we actually realized. Also, there are proposals to add an additional $80 million which, if approved, would represent a 48 percent increase over 2003 revenues. I just don’t see how we can seriously contemplate such increases to the general church budget. In contrast, our North Georgia CFA is recommending a 1.7 percent increase in our 2005 budget, but all that could go up if General Conference goes on a spending spree.

Related to the budget issues is a proposal to trim the number of bishops by five. Given our membership decline and the cost of health insurance for active and retired bishops, I certainly think that restructuring our spiritual leadership is a prudent move.

Most of all, I would like to see our church begin to make a dramatic turn toward a future where we become, once again, a missionary church deeply committed to the transformation of individuals and our society. I yearn for something to happen at General Conference which reminds all of us that Jesus is Lord and the only hope for our church and our world. In the midst of legislative committees, Robert’s Rules of Order, caucuses, protest groups, and political strategies, I pray that we do not fall away from Christ or each other.

Lindsey Davis is bishop of the North Georgia Conference. He can be reached at bishop@ngumc.org.

North Georgia’s clergy delegation to General Conference includes: from left, first row, Alice Rogers, David Naglee, Mary Gene Lee, Jane Brooks and Phil DeMore. Standing, from left, Ed Tomlinson, Walter Kimbrough, John Simmons, Wiley Stephens, Bridgette Young, David Jones, Dee Shelnutt, Jonathan Holston, and Jamie Jenkins.

North Georgia’s laity delegation to General Conference includes: from left, first row, Mathew Pinson, Betty Whitten, Betty Ellison, Lyn Powell, Dick Williamson. Standing, from left: Hiram Bobo, Joe Kilpatrick, Joel Mooneyhan, Joe Whittemore, Chuck Lanier, Paul Belk, Harvey Johnson and Hank Huckaby.

South Georgia’s clergy delegation to General Conference includes: front row from left, Bob Moon, Tim Bagwell, James Swanson, Hal Brady. Back row, from left: Robert Beckum, Hugh Davis, Jim Rush, Mike McAfee, Cindy Autry, Creede Hinshaw.

South Georgia’s laity delegation to General Conference includes: Bill Hatcher, Judge Taylor Philips, Beth Randall, Sunshine Bird, Charlene Black, Flo Sapp Martin, Miriam Hagan, Col. James Jackson and Steve Rumford.

North Georgia Clergy:
Jonathan Holston
Superintendent, Atlanta-Decatur-Oxford-District
adox@bellsouth.net

Bridgette Young
Associate Dean of the Chapel, Emory University
bdyoung@emory.edu

Clergy Alternates:
Harvey Palmer
Superintendent, Rome- Carrollton District
hpalmer3@bellsouth.net

North Georgia Lay:
Joe Whittemore
Hartwell First UMC
Certified public accountant
wscpas@hartcom.net

Joel Mooneyhan
Trinity UMC, Cartersville
Student, Reinhardt College
jemooneyhan@hotmail.com

Hiram Bobo
Mt. Pisgah UMC, Alpharetta
Retired safety director
hbobojr@bellsouth.net

Joe Kilpatrick
Tucker First UMC
Certified public accountant
jwkilpatrick@bellsouth.net

Dick Williamson
Gainesville First
Retired small business owner
rlw1098@charter.net

Hank Huckaby
Athens First UMC
Vice-president, University of Georgia
huckabyly@uga.edu

Charles Lanier
Aldersgate UMC, Augusta
Certified financial planner
edr505@aol.com

Betty Whitten
Athens First UMC
Retired professor, University of Georgia
bwhitten@uga.edu

Harvey Johnson
St. Mark UMC, Augusta
Business owner/entrepreneur
Apexchicken@aol.com

Claudette Bryson
Metropolitan UMC,Rome
Retired registered nurse
claudette@brysonworld.com

Lay Alternates:
Marget Sikes
Varnell UMC
Homemaker/substitute teacher
gakidsmom@charter.net

Shan Yohan
St. Timothy UMC,
Stone Mountain
Retired college professor
shanyohan@aol.com

South Georgia Clergy:
James Swanson
Superintendent, Savannah District
sdoffice@bellsouth.net

Clergy Alternates:
Bob Moon
Senior Pastor, Martha Bowman UMC, Macon
bob@marthabowman.org

South Georgia Lay:
Charlene Black
Statesboro First UMC
College educator/administrator
charlenerblack@hotmail.com

J. Taylor Phillips
Mulberry Street UMC
Senior judge, state of Georgia
Tphillips@co.bibb.ga.us

Miriam Carruth Hagan
Pittman Park UMC, Statesboro
Conference director of administrative services
miriam@sgaumc.com

Steve Rumford
Mulberry Street UMC, Macon
President, Methodist Home
steve.rumford@themethodisthome.org

Lay Alternates:
Flo Martin
Christ UMC, Warner Robins
UM curriculum representative
tomflomartin920@cs.com

James C. Jackson
St. Mary’s Road UMC,
Columbus
Retired Army colonel, businessman
jaalij@aol.com