Defining unity

Rev. Jeremy Smith, in his blog Hacking Christianity, talks about unity within the United Methodist Church. It is an important topic because the denomination faces a unity question at the special General Conference next February. There is also a lot of buzz around the phrase, “a new form of unity.” So what does “unity” mean?

Already, in this diverse denomination, unity doesn’t mean uniformity. There may be a standard service in the hymnal, but few churches follow it. A service in the city, at a megachurch, at a Native American congregation, in the Philippines, or in Africa will all look different. Our polity statements include multiple viewpoints. Our Covenant is not international or national, but regional. We don’t require a set of beliefs. Even our guiding Book of Discipline is adapted by regions in Africa.

Unity means Diversity in Expression, United in Mission. The One Church plan to be voted on in February allows for each region, perhaps each congregation, to set its own guidance on such things as same-sex marriage. It may be flawed, but comes close to this version of unity.

But the Wesleyan Covenant Association and related conservative groups have a different definition of unity:

A new form of unity…seeks to bless progressive conferences as they form a new denomination that can be fully inclusive of LGBTQ persons. It provides for a similar kind of unity that the UMC has with the AME, CME, and AMEZ denominations today but envisions closer cooperation on mission.

This needs a translation. AME is African Methodist Episcopal. AMEZ is AME-Zion. I don’t remember what CME is. These are black denominations that split from the Methodist Church because of slavery and racism. They didn’t rejoin when the United Methodist Church was formed in 1968. So what the conservatives are saying is: We’ll bless your departure. Unity means we’ll all treat LGBTQ people the same way – our way.

Smith gets into Girardian scapegoat theory. When the dominant power structure of a group is challenged unanimity can only be restored when all become fixated on someone who can be held responsible. When that someone (or group) is expelled those who remain forge a new social unity in opposition to those who left. But they soon need someone else to hold responsible. Smith says the United Methodist Church is right now a textbook example of Girardian scapegoat theory.

An example of this at work is the Anglican Church of North America. They broke from the Episcopal Church over LGBTQ issues. Glad we got rid of them! And one of the first things they did was ban the ordination of women.

What should we be aiming for? Smith says “diversity without enmity” – “the church does not challenge the way we look at one another and hold one another.”