I want to propose a rule for the upcoming General Conference in Charlotte.
It is not one I expect we will adopt.
The rule is simple: The first speakers in every legislative group and the first speakers to every motion on the floor of the conference must be men and women from annual conferences that have actually grown since the last time the General Conference met.
This would have two effects.
First, it would give non-Americans a lot of air time. It would force us to listen to the perspectives from the parts of the church that are actually accomplishing our mission. It would lift up the voices of people who actually know what it is like to bring in new disciples.
Second, it might actually get us focused on our purpose for meeting in the first place.
I know there is a lot of work that needs to happen to keep the machine running. I appreciate that. I really do.
But in all the talk I’ve heard leading up to General Conference, I’ve not heard much talk about what we need to do to actually save more souls. For the last 50+ years, the United Methodist Church in America has been a withering shadow of its former Christ-proclaiming, soul-winning self. Every year, we counted fewer baptisms and fewer numbers, and somehow we convinced ourselves that it was okay because we ran lots of food pantries and marched in the right parades.
For decades, doctrinal disputes and disobedience rent the American church until, at last, we suffered one of the largest splintering of a denomination in the history of the United States. Depending on how you count it, we’ve lost a quarter to a third of our size in the last five years. At General Conference, the delegates will vote on a budget that is 44% smaller than the one they approved in 2016. Forty-four percent!
If American United Methodism were a college basketball team, we would have fired the coach by now.
Meanwhile, in Africa and Asia, United Methodists with much less of what the world counts as resources have been bringing people to Christ for the last 50-70 years to the point that the American church is no longer the largest part of the global UMC. Perhaps, just perhaps, they have something we in America should sit down and listen to.
I won’t pretend that everything is perfect in the African and Asian parts of our denomination, but at least they are actually doing what John Wesley said was supposed to be our only business on earth — saving souls.
How about we let them set the priorities and the agenda for the UMC for a while?
John Meunier 
Keep up the good work of calling attention to the ultimate priorities of the church. Your rule sounds intriguing if not passable. One can only hope. I admire your perseverance in the face of unimaginable odds. You are to be commended. As a Free Methodist I honor your commitment to calling as many people in your realm back to scriptural holiness as possible. I live in New Palestine, IN and have appreciated your writing for many years. History is not friendly in providing evidence of renewal among denominations/judicatories, what have wandered far from major, scriptural teachings. I pray for God’s wisdom to our “mother” body that clear witnesses will emerge to call attention to the primacy of historic, biblical teaching on holiness and righteousness. Your friend, John
Thank you, John, for writing. I will gladly stand in agreement with you in that prayer.
Great piece of clear-minded writing, John. I think the future the church has chosen for itself is baked into the cake By that I mean willful divagation away from the historic consensus (the received tradition). But the Africans may surprise. Their voices have grown more insistent on being heard.