Evangelicals prepare for 2008 meetings

Special-interest groups
ask delegates to work
for renewal in UMC

United Methodist News Service
MEMPHIS, Tenn.—Six evangelical special-interest groups asked delegates to the 2008 General and jurisdictional conferences to pray and plan for a “renewed and dynamic United Methodist Church.”
The Renewal and Reform Coalition sponsored the conference Oct. 26-27 at Christ UMC, Memphis. The coalition includes the Confessing Movement, Good News, RENEW, Life-Watch, Transforming Congregations and UMAction.
The meeting was to address what the groups consider the six most critical issues coming before the denom-ination’s top lawmaking body:






> General Conference in the context of a global church.
> Advocacy for women and children.
> The role of the Judicial Council.
> Doctrine, accountability, leadership and the Council of Bishops.
> Membership standards.
> Empowering the central conferences.
The 2008 General Conference meets April 23-May 2 in Fort Worth. The 992 delegates elected by annual conferences are to decide policy and approve a denominational budget for the next four years.
Jurisdictional conferences meet in July to elect new bishops for the five geographic conferences in the United States.
Ninety-eight delegates, including alternates, registered for the Memphis event, said Patricia L. Miller, executive director of the Confessing Movement.
“You don’t have to have a sense of direction as bad as mine to know The United Methodist Church is going the wrong way,” said the Rev. Robert L. Renfroe Jr. in opening the first session, called “General Conference in the Context of a Global Church.”
“In terms of membership, we are going the wrong way. In terms of attendance, we are going the wrong way. In terms of being able to raise up young men and young women who want to give their hearts and their passion and their lives to the cause of Christ in ministry of The United Methodist Church, we are going the wrong way.”
Renfroe, associate pastor of The Woodlands (Texas) UMC, said United Methodist evangelicals are indebted “to our brothers and sisters in the central conferences”—which are in Africa, Europe and Asia—because of their commitment to the poor and to Scripture.
Judge Ron Enns, Northwest Texas Conference, told participants the most important votes cast at General Conference will be for spots on the Judicial Council, the top court of the denomination.
“Five people on the Judicial Council can change church law,” he said. “It is imperative we elect evangelicals to the council.”