Seven pieces of institutional clutter the UMC needs to leave behind

Right now, the UMC, bound by institutional clutter, is unfree, rigid, divisive and has regulated creativity out of the system.

I’m a sucker for the “25 things you need to get rid of” article. Clutter drives me crazy.

I used to watch those hoarding TV shows. In so doing, I became aware of the ease of slipping into patterns like that. It takes constant effort to stay on top of it.

I’ve developed a habit of daily “tidying” to maintain control over the pervasiveness of clutter. And yes, I’m entranced by Marie Kondo’s book,  The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. Her basic philosophy: toss any item that does not give joy when touching it.

No question about it: the decluttered life is freer, flexible, more creative and unquestionably more joyful.

It continues to fascinate me that a church, based on the intentional, ecclesiastically awful, rule-breaking methods of John Wesley, now has elevated rule-keeping to the status of holiness.

Rules always beget more rules. They are worse than wire closet hangers. We have an overstuffed closet of rules. It is time for a ream-out.

Seven pieces of institutional clutter to discard

So, camping on these ideas plus my quirks, here are seven pieces of institutional clutter the UMC needs to leave behind.

One: The idea that relying on the Bible alone can answer all questions of theology, doctrine and church structure.