“It does not yet appear what we shall be…”

This was the refrain on Friday of the North Central Jurisdictional Conference, and it perfectly summarizes the spirit of the 4-day long gathering. Jurisdictional Conferences are gatherings of delegates from Annual Conferences in a geographical area. They meet every 4 years (a few months after General Conference) and most of the time they are focused on electing bishops, passing budgets, and the basic (often boring) work of the greater church.

This year, however, our jurisdiction didn’t elect any bishops, and we all traveled to the conference wondering what we would do for 4 whole days. “There’s really not much business, so can’t this be an email?”

Silly United Methodists…

How could we overlook our primary purpose as Christians—to gather together to worship our God and encourage one another? Did we forget that John Wesley (the founder of the Methodist movement) called us not to gather for “business,” but for “holy conferencing”—gathering together for spiritual formation, encouraging one another to faithfully serve and follow Jesus? The Holy Spirit showed up in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and we were reminded,

2 Beloved, now we are the children of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when Christ appears, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Again and again, throughout the four days, we were shown that as individuals, and as the people called United Methodists, God is forming and guiding and calling us to heal the harm that has been done—that we have been a part of—and work towards wholeness and reconciliation.

We acknowledged that we have strayed from the teachings of Jesus. We have given in to the temptations of the world to divide ourselves into “us” and “them;” we’ve excluded the marginalized; we’ve yearned for “more” and “bigger,” rather than just and true.

We repented of our sins against God and neighbor, and affirmed our commitment to God, saying, “I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou will…”

It does not yet appear what we shall be… and yet we trust that God is with us: guiding us, giving us wisdom, giving us joy for the journey.

I returned from Sioux Falls exhausted, yet filled with the Spirit and a renewed sense that creating safe spaces to grow with God and one another is a mission that can change the world.

So, with God’s wisdom and guidance, let’s go and do just that!