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Good News at General ConferenceScott N. Field identifies the purpose of our legislative efforts
A time to prayJan Woodard explores the prayer plans for General Conference 2004
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COLUMNS
Editorial Are we serious about missions?
RENEW Women's Network Claims & counterclaims
The Next Generation Postmodernism: Is truth stranger than it used to be?
The Great Commission Great Commission believers
From the Heart The bride wore combat boots
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Film FocusBig Fish, Holes, U2 Go Home,
The Gospel of John, X2
The year 2004 will be challenging in the life of the United Methodist Church as we anticipate General Conference, April 26-May 7. During the four years since General Conference 2000, the push for reform has intensified. Those who hold to the authority of Scripture and to the basic doctrines of Christian faith, as outlined in our "Doctrinal Standards" and "Articles of Religion," have called our boards and agencies to accountability to those standards.
Women within the United Methodist Church have questioned the programs and policies of the Women's Division for years. Mostly, their letters or telephone calls were either unanswered, or the tone of the response to their specific concerns was, "If you really understood the issues as we do, you would not ask such questions."
The Renew Network (formerly the Evangelical Coalition for United Methodist Women) was formed in 1989. Today, thousands of women have voluntarily "connected" with Renew. The collective voices of these women are being heard-but not heeded. The Women's Division continues to reject these voices and to move forward with an agenda that is basically unchanged from the radical turn taken in the 1960s and 1970s. Beyond rejecting the voices, there is an attempt to discredit them with an inaccurate portrayal of who is speaking and what is being said. Rather than dealing with the well-documented claims of these women, they are portrayed as troublemakers who want to destroy the organization of United Methodist Women (UMW). Nothing could be further from the truth.
The Women's Division has a direct communications link with the women of the conference, district, and local UMW groups, therefore, we believe the misinformation begins with the Women's Division and is passed down. In this article, we will recount a few of the accusations reported to us. You may contact us for a more extensive report.
Women's Division allegation: It has been said that Renew wants to remove the word "Christ" from the statement in the Book of Discipline, "The Women's Division shall be actively engaged in fulfilling the mission of Christ and the Church and shall interpret the purpose of United Methodist Women." Added to this is the accusation that Renew wants to remove the name of Jesus from the Purpose Statement of United Methodist Women.
Renew's response: This claim relates to one of the legislative petitions Renew recommended for General Conference 2004. Unfortunately, "Christ" was inadvertently left out of one of the petitions. This was corrected. We are evangelical women who desire a Christ-centered, biblically-based leadership and would never leave out Christ. As for the claim that Renew desires to remove Jesus from the Purpose Statement of UMW, we have never recommended a change to the Purpose Statement.
Allegation: Renew has been criticized for recommending ecumenical resources to our network members. Sadly, one memorandum to all Conference UMW Presidents from Joyce Sohl, Deputy General Secretary of the Women's Division, was especially critical of our recommendation of some Assemblies of God evangelism material. "That denomination is not historically a part of the Wesleyan tradition nor related to the United Methodist Church," she wrote.
Response: Ms. Sohl's comments indicate both lack of knowledge of church history and a narrow provincialism not evident in any other statements of the Women's Division. The Assemblies of God, and quite a few other denominations and institutions (such as Asbury College, the Salvation Army, and the Church of the Nazarene), emerged from the Wesleyan "holiness movement."
Ms. Sohl rejects the use of a sister denomination, but participates in the Pluralism Project headed by Diana Eck, the foremost advocate for religious syncretism in the nation. Additionally, the Women's Division continues to use controversial Re-Imagining speakers at UMW events and to sanction a UMW District unit, whose stated purpose was to study Re-Imagining material. Yet, she is uncomfortable with Assemblies of God resources?
Allegation: Reports indicate that the Renew Network and the women partnered with it are being portrayed as "mean-spirited" and "out to destroy United Methodist Women."
Response: The women who are a part of the Renew Network are mainstream, faithful United Methodist women who serve in leadership capacities at the local, district, and conference levels of UMW, and within the general church. Their heartfelt beliefs center in the basic, historic doctrines of Christian faith held by most United Methodists. These women, however, are not afraid to question the leadership of the Women's Division when they observe program materials, policy statements, associations, and political and social advocacy with which they strongly disagree.
Allegation: Questions raised by Renew Network members are "completely baseless, or based on contorted information." One district president stated, "they are unwilling to back up any of their allegations with proof."
Response: These loosely hurled accusations fail to give specific instances where Renew or its members are in error. All our claims have been documented with information and resources directly from the Women's Division. Earlier letters written by individuals to the Women's Division lifted up specific, researched items of concern. When the Call for Reform of the Women's Division was initiated in the fall of 2001, a support document of specific grievances was prepared and distributed. Our Basis for Concern is a 28-page, well-researched booklet covering a twenty-year history of misdirection on the part of the Women's Division in six key areas of concern. All subsequent information we have distributed is based on first-hand observation through press representatives or through the review of resources produced by the Women's Division or statements made by leadership officials.
Allegation: From several sources it has been reported that Renew does not make its financial records available to the public while expecting the Women's Division to do so.
Response: The Women's Division, and all other boards and agencies, are mandated by General Conference to make their financial records available to those who request them. As the women's program arm of the Good News organization, Renew's finances come under the general accounting of that organization. As a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), our annual financial audited reports are available online at www.ECFA.org. A hard copy of the latest audited report is sent to those who request it.
Allegation: Renew has been informed that the book United Methodism @ Risk: A Wake Up Call has been circulating at district and conference UMW meetings and is being used to discredit Renew and the other renewal groups within the UM Church.
Response: This book was commissioned and released by The Information Project for United Methodists. An examination of the Information Project membership shows a readily recognized group of United Methodists who are well known for their liberal-minded views on political, social, and theological issues. The book is filled with misunderstanding and misrepresentation of renewal groups. Renew offers three separate analyses of United Methodism @ Risk and invites you to send for them.
Allegation: Claims have been made that the petitions Renew has recommended to General Conference 2004 are meant to destroy UMW; to give the vote for directors to the general church, who will "vote the wrong way"; to take away the autonomy of the Women's Division-putting the organization under men; to take funds raised by United Methodist Women and use those funds for local church projects rather than for missions to the poor and needy.
Response: These claims are false. The eight petitions Renew has recommended are to further aid in the Call for Reform of the Women's Division, since all other actions to date have not resulted in any substantive change by the Women's Division. The legislative agenda represented by the eight petitions includes the following goals: (1) Lift up Jesus Christ and follow the mission of the UM Church to make disciples of him; (2) Change the way directors are elected to the Women's Division in order to open up the process for a broader representation; (3) Assure that the Women's Division is accountable to the Discipline, financially and otherwise; (4) Make the UMW optional in the local church, allowing for other women's ministries (which is happening already); (5) Integrate the organization of UMW into the local church structure as are all other program ministries.
Each of these eight petitions has a clear, reasonable rationale behind it. You may contact Renew for a copy of these petitions and their supporting rationale. We encourage you to contact General Conference delegates and alert them to these petitions.
We received no word about the 17 legislative pieces submitted to General Conference by the Women's Division. The content of these petitions was not approved by local women, and they are likely unaware of their submission. Many of these petitions are highly controversial. Renew has asked experts in the various fields of the petitions to review them and prepare a brief analysis. We will send this information to General Conference delegates, and to all who request it. Longer papers will be prepared on more egregious petitions in order to provide delegates with answering points to them.
One would think issues could be dealt with honestly and openly without these ad hominem (attacking of one's opponent rather than dealing with the subject under discussion) attacks. Those who comprise the Renew Network believe members of United Methodist Women, who are the membership and who fund the organization, have the right to question staff and directors regarding documented grievances. Our intentions are noble, not self-serving, and our information is reliable. We invite all to study what we are sharing, and to consider joining the Call for Reform of the Women's Division.
Renew is the women's program arm of Good News. Visit our website at www.renewnetwork.org or call (706) 778-4812.
Click here to send your response plus the title of this article to us at Good News.