The Games we play….

Someone stopped me today in the Convention Center to ask me what I did for a living. I explained, “ I study organizations, their communication, and how they work.” The questioner just shook his head and said, “Boy I bet the last three days have really given you something to write about.” To that all I could say was, “You ain’t lyin’.” Truth of the matter is, if this General Conference had been 8 years ago, I would have had at least 4 books by now and now be an MSNBC commentator (hey, if every other professor who has written a book can get a MSNBC show so can I) and a frequent guest on Meet the Press.

For the last 36 hours, the authors of Plan C have been huddled in Ballroom 24 of the Tampa Convention Center. Everybody knew where they were and folks came and went like it was a Quick Trip at 7:30am on a Monday morning. Do not be fooled by the misinformation some want to put out there—there were a little bit of everybody around that table—Plan B; IOT; Central Conference; and at a later stage, MFSA. What emerged was a plan that had a little bit of everybody’s ideas including MFSA’s. They demanded 10 points of reference and got 6 of them—that’s better than the Democrats in Congress can do. The plan shaves a considerable of board agency size while allowing for a more nimble structure, when you do a quick comparison, you will find that the representation of Plan C takes strong advice from the MFSA and Plan B.

The sticking point seems to be the fact that lost in this reorganization is the Commission on Race and Commission on Women (yes, I know their titles are longer but I have been typing them all day). What emerges is a single entity, called the Committee on Inclusion that keeps the same function but not the same structure. Frankly, what this means is the loss of some leaders/board members and any time there is loss there is anger. Don’t think the Archives folks are happy either. As an African American woman seeking ordination, do not think that I take issues of inclusion lightly. At SMU I am only one of two African American women tenured in my college and only one 9 African Americans tenured in a faculty of over 700. So I don’t want to hear anybody tell me about his or her stories of being excluded. Been there AND fighting that. I also know there are a number of ways to make sure voice and representation is obtained. Am I happy that these two key Commissions are lost? Nope but I understand the principal behind it. Reorganizations rarely make people happy—Why? Because like it or not reorganization means we must try a new way of doing things.

Late today, perhaps in rallying the troops several missives emerged on the Convention floor, around the hall in the gathering areas, and online accusing the Plan C folks of being racists, control freaks, who were Anti-woman, Anti-youth, and Anti-Central Conference. At first I thought, this wasn’t true and then I started reading it and hearing it for myself. Again, it became a better day to be a scholar than a member of the Church. When honest disagreement becomes dishonest character assassination—something has gone terribly terribly wrong with the Body of Christ.

Want to hear something crazy? There were actually people who are aligned with MFSA who said that they liked key elements of the plan but they refuse to support it because they don’t like the process. They actually said that they would rather vote everything down to teach the Church a lesson. Really? And you want to be taken seriously as the future leaders of the Church. I hate when Congressmen play chicken with my life and for daggone sure hate it when my fellow Methodists play chicken with my denomination.

Honestly, I only want the Church to have an honest debate with honest theological, structural, and organizational arguments. If those arguments are persuasive fine, if they are not fine but we have too much at stake to let pettiness, yes, I will say it even if no one else will—childishness, get in the way of sincere attempts by Methodists of all colors, political ideologies, agency commitments, etc to try to get our organizational ship in order.

The strategy of divide and destroy have rendered not just the United States but France, Spain, Italy, and much of Africa unable to move forward to address the shifting reality of the needs of its people. I am confused how these same politics will benefit a Church that carries the one message that can change the world into the place God intended it to be.

Let’s hope that those intending to play the game obstruction understand the lives they hold in their hands both inside and outside of the Church. If you are against the plan, vote no because you are against the plan. But if you know the plan is a good plan, then the only statement you make by voting against it is that your ego, your way, and your ideology are more important than the Church. If you choose this route, just own it. Don’t hide behind righteous indignation or moral superiority—just call it what it is—your move in the game of destroy the Church.