The Radical Center

"Would to God that all party names and unscriptural phrases and forms which have divided the Christian world were forgot and that we might all agree to sit down together as humble loving disciples, and at the feet of our common master to hear his word, to abide in his spirit and to transcribe his life in our own." John Wesley as quoted by Adam Hamilton in Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White.





At the General Conference of the United Methodist Church, 2004, there was a bit of stir about a resolution that might come to the floor to present the idea of "amicable separation." On Friday morning, the last day of General Conference, Bruce Robbins and the late Bill Hinson were permitted to address the conference for the purpose of addressing the rumors. We were told a group of persons representing the so called progressive side of the church and the so called conservative side of the church had been exploring how to co-exist in a time of great division. The conversation stalled and no conclusions were drawn. Essentially, the disagreements were, and are, around Biblical authority and the growing frustration that the doors of the United Methodist Church were in fact, not as open as we sometimes think. (A full explanation of the factors leading up to this can be found in Dr. Stan Copeland's book, Lord, He Went.)After Hinson and Robbins presented, a resolution calling for unity in the church was offered. It was a carefully crafted statement with essentially no practical way to achieve unity built into the resolution. During that debate, I was recognized by the chair to speak in favor of the resolution. I spoke about another voice in the church that was represented by neither the left nor the right. I used a phrase that, in retrospect, has not been well received by some in our beloved denomination. I spoke of the wide middle of the church. The link here will give you a verbatim of the session at General Conference during the unity debate.



http://www.gc2004.org/interior_print.asp?ptid=17&mid=4722&pagemode=print



If given the opportunity to speak today, I would frame the conversation a bit differently. My sense is that the middle language does not capture the passion and depth of faith with which many of our tribe hold. Thus, finding a way to give voice to this crucial conversation is critical. Adam Hamilton is instructive. In his book, Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White, Hamilton calls us the "radical center." Bishop Scott Jones, speaking theologically, refers to language that centers us theologically in Jesus' command to "love God and love neighbor." He refers to it as the "extreme center" and has a book by that title. I believe Hamilton gets it right. The radical center is that which holds us to our roots in the Christian Tradition as well as our Wesleyan heritage, calling us to love God and neighbor. We cannot be lost in a theologically one-sided faith. Evangelism and social holiness are rooted in one gospel, not two. Holding these two carefully, thoughtfully and prayerfully together keeps us from a divided heart. Jesus held Matthew 25, “the least of these” with Matthew 28, “Go into all the world and make disciples," together by both word and deed.





There is nothing moderate about holding the center. In fact, it is demanding, perhaps more demanding, than living on the one side of the theological spectrum or the other.





In the coming weeks, among other things, I intend blog here about those ideas under three headings: "Rooted in Scripture", "Centered in Christ" and "Serving in Love".





Hopefully, this will be a place to begin a conversation that will allow some bridge building to be done.





I welcome your comments and look forward to the conversation.