The 2016 General Conference created a “Commission on a Way Forward” to research and bring potential resolutions to our inner conflict over sexual identity and practices with in the United Methodist Church. A special session of General Conference will meet in St. Louis, MO in February of 2019 to take action on the report.

Since loyal people of faith hold positions that are diametrically opposed to each other on this topic; this is a daunting task.

The commission has published an interim report. It does not state what they will propose in detail. It does share their guiding principles and goals for the process. What follows below is my summary of an 18-page report.

Purpose of the Commission

• Simplicity of Proposal
  
• Resolution of Impasse
  

Goal for the Future of the Denomination

• Allow for Contextualization of Structure
  
• Enable people with contradictory convictions to flourish
  
• Concerns and goals related to human sexuality vary widely across the globe.
  
• Conferences are not of one mind on ordination and marriage of LGBTQ persons
  
• Some changes within the U.S. church may pose a potential threat to the vital mission of our Central Conferences
  

Changes to be Made to Allow Implementation

• It may mean multiple versions of the Book of Discipline
  
• Maintain global connection in loosely configured structure
  
• Allowance for those who don’t adopt a revised structure
  
• The way forward cannot be an extension of our path of conflict
  
• We value simpler structure and processes and a thinner Book of Discipline.
  
• We need enough structural freedom so that no one has to compromise their deeply held beliefs
  
• Schism would be a tragic weakening of our mission while the current reality is also harming our mission
  

I will be very interested to read the final report when it is available. I post summaries of the proposals on this Blog as time and space allow. We need to pray for the work of the commission.