In many United Methodist circles, debate over the role of gays and lesbians in the church automatically sparks controversy and creates sometimes-bitter divisions.

The opposite occurred when the study committee tasked to craft a worldwide vision for The United Methodist Church met in Manila, the Philippines April 19-22.

Acknowledging the ongoing debate over homosexuality could easily overshadow their work, committee members tackled it first when they began considering who should set qualifications for ordination of ministers around the world.

Their decision, to recommend the church-wide General Conference determine qualifications for ordained ministry leaves unchanged the current process for deciding this contentious issue.

“While some will view this as a victory for one side in the debate, the committee believes it best to advance the worldwide nature of the church and leave this process as it is,” said Bishop Scott Jones of the Kansas Area, chair of the committee.

That decision was one of a number of key actions taken by the committee as it started to shape its report for the 2012 General Conference in Tampa, Fla.

In addition to recommending that the General Conference continue to have authority to determine ministerial qualifications around the world, the committee supported:
• Granting more autonomy to regional worldwide United Methodist bodies while retaining the denomination’s unique connectional nature. That includes allowing regional bodies around the world to determine if bishops are elected for life, or to shorter terms in office.
• Shortening and simplifying the Book of Discipline, now mainly North American in focus so it can be effectively used around the world.
• Continuing the Council of Bishops as a key unifying force in the denomination, as bishops serve to connect United Methodists around the world.
• Keeping the denomination’s Social Principles, which have guided the denomination’s Wesleyan commitment to social justice, in the Book of Discipline.
• Keeping doctrinal standards such as the Articles of Religion, Confession of Faith and General Rules as binding for the worldwide church.

After much discussion, the committee agreed more research and input is needed on the role of general agencies. That debate focuses on which of the church’s general agencies are U.S.-focused, and which are truly worldwide in nature. A main issue is whether entities outside the United States should have their own agencies, or whether some general agencies should be located outside the U.S.

The discussion over homosexuality was a catalyzing moment for the committee.

The Rev. Dr. Kathy Stengel of the Western New York Annual Conference said taking the issue away from the General Conference would guarantee defeat at the 2012 General Conference of anything the committee proposes.

“I am not willing to sacrifice the work of the committee over the issue of homosexuality,” said an emotional Dr. Marjorie Suchocki, a California theologian who supports ordination of practicing gays and lesbians.

Despite the varying views on the emotional issue, the hour-long conversation over homosexuality remained civil and respectful.

“We struggled… We believed this was a core principle that needed to be held with the general conference,” said the Rev. Timothy McClendon of the South Carolina Annual Conference, adding the Judicial Council has ruled ordination “is not local, not provincial, but is worldwide.”

Created by the 2008 General Conference, the 20-member committee is seeking to develop a just, balanced framework for a denomination whose focus, historically dominated by the United States, is shifting to Africa, Europe, and the Philippines.

Jones said the Manila meeting was extremely profitable.

“We are making quite a list of how we might live more fully in our worldwide nature. We have seen a vision of The United Methodist Church as a worldwide embodiment of Christ,” Jones said, adding, he had to “remind (everyone) we are not going to fix everything.”

Members of the committee represent the U.S. Africa, Europe, and the Philippines. Its members include bishops, theologians, experts on church law, laypersons, and ethnic caucuses.

Committee member the Rev. Forbes Matonga of Zimbabwe said the committee’s work is vital for United Methodists who live outside the United States.

“Connectionalism is not top down, but side-by-side. If we decentralize, we empower our denomination to be more involved regionally,” Matonga said. “By creating this structure we are giving more legitimacy to our churches (outside the United States)”

The committee adopted a vision statement to guide the rest of its work. “We see a worldwide United Methodist Church driven to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. To live more fully into this vision, we are working toward deeper connections throughout the church, greater local authority, and more equitable sharing of power and representation around the world.”

The committee will next meet in August in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. That meeting will be preceded by a series of listening post sessions in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Liberia. The committee’s full report for the 2012 General Conference is due to is completed by July 2011.

(Stephen Drachler is the communications consultant for the Committee to Study the Worldwide Nature of The United Methodist Church)