A Picture of Who We Ought to Be

By June 28, 2019

Of special interest and a definite positive note to put a wrap on the CTC three-day Annual Conference meeting, held June 9-12  at the Arlington Convention Center and First United Methodist Church of Hurst, was the resolution presented by Dr. Bruster regarding the result of the UMC Next Meeting held during May in Kansas. “For some people, including the signers of that resolution, including myself,  this resolution was an affirmation for all the work that went into and came out of the UMCNext meeting in Kansas City,” Dr. Bruster explains. “It affirmed those four points established by UMCNext and also shared those points with the conference for information, as we all pledged to do. It was the product of work by several people who attended the May meeting.” (Read the full resolution here)

According to Dr. Bruster, although the resolution itself centered on the four points established by UMNext, what made this presentation both memorable and hopeful for the future of our denomination was its “Friendly Amendment,”  presented jointly by Dr. Bruster and David Alexander. “When I presented that resolution, David Alexander stood next to me. David is a traditionalist, and he proposed an amendment to the resolution that we accepted as a friendly amendment.” Dr. Bruster adds that because this resolution passed by close to 70 percent, it is a good indicator that all sides of this issue are willing and amenable to conversation and prayer and further discussion of our way forward together.

Of particular interest to all sides of this heated issues in the United Methodist denomination, however, is the friendly amendment that reads:

“ . . . And Whereas: We believe that we must all continue to pray for the future of our denomination and the ongoing fruitfulness of every local congregation,

Therefore, be it resolved: That we as members of the Central Texas Annual Conference commit ourselves to continuing to listen to one another, to be in dialogue with one another, to pray for one another, and above all, to love one another as Christ loves each and all of us.”

Dr. Bruster says he believes that the passing of this resolution with its Friendly Amendment is a very good sign of conversations to come. “Instead of creating winners and losers with this resolution, we created the opportunity for conversation, which was our main goal.” Dr. Bruster adds that this process was really a great experience, working across the aisle, so to speak. “What we presented to the annual conference was a picture of who we ought to be.”