UM Rogue Company Man

I would classify myself as a company man.  I have worked in a variety of fields from private industry, government and now the church.  In every venue of employment, I believe that I have faithfully worked to the satisfaction of my employers while learning and growing and responding to new and sometimes challenging opportunities.  I believe that I am a faithful husband, father and now grandfather and have provided a stable environment for those I love to thrive. 

I am currently serving as a company man of the United Methodist Church.  In our denomination, we itinerate to the appointment (faith community) which our bishop feels most appropriately fits the local church’s need and our gifts.  I have never once turned down a request to move.  Asked to go, I went.  Which, as a good company man, meant that our family was uprooted, children moved to new schools and spouse to a new job.  Each of our children were baptized, confirmed and now they are getting married in different local congregations.  Where ever possible, I have served faithful in a variety of positions in the local, district and annual conference.  And I believe that I have been an asset to our denomination and for the local churches I have served.  

  

I have always been proud to be a company man for the United Methodist Church.  When I was baptized at the age of 21, I was attending St John’s United Methodist/Presbyterian USA Church in the Wilde Lake Interfaith Center.  I was told that when I joined St John’s I needed to state which membership roll would I be listed on – the United Methodist or the Presbyterian USA.  I asked the resident pastor, “I like what you say, what are you?” He replied, “United Methodist!”  My response, “Then I am United Methodist!” 

I fell in love with Methodist way of life while living in Harrogate, England.  We attended a small British Methodist Church in town while supporting the Methodist preacher on the Base Protestant Chapel.  Whenever and wherever possible our vacations took us to places where John Wesley was known to have rode/preached/served and we made a point of checking them out.  It was upon our return to the United States and our settling in the United Methodist Church on Main Street Westminster, MD that I started to sense God’s call.  I left my professionalized career with the Federal Government to attend seminary and serve in my first appointment as a student local pastor.

As a company man, I have honored the company’s rules and regulations contained in the Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church.  Recently, some have affirmed the pending changes to the Book of Discipline because they will now be able to weld the Discipline like a sword, turning this book into a book of consequences and punitive measures, while the original English meaning of the word ‘Discipline” is more closely aligned to “structure” and “order.”   The Book of Discipline is intended to  order the polity of our denomination; it doesn’t gag the people of the church to remain silent in regards to its contents.  As a good company man, I can freely speak for or against anything the Book of Discipline contains as long as I state the stance of our denomination. 

As a company man in the United Methodist Church, I have come to appreciate the breadth and depth of our common life together.   With pride I would exclaim we are the church of Hillary Clinton and George Bush!  While not all United Methodist think alike, I have endeavored to say yes to Mr. Wesley’s questions, “Can we not all love alike?”

This company man has been on the payroll for nearly a quarter of a century. I sense that what was once a broad tent where evil, injustice and the “-ism”s of the world were denounced and the diversity of the church was celebrated has been set aside.  We have turned inward and we now call each other evil, unjust and all the while we permit the “-ism’s” to thrive in the church.  We have taken the broad tent and affirmed through legislation that in order to remain recognized as a representative of the company one only needs to check a small box. 

This company man has a confession.  I have never liked boundaries and I certainly don’t like to check boxes which makes one part of an exclusive club.  I never was successful at drawing in the lines in my children’s coloring books and frankly a check box is just an invitation to leave unchecked and to draw outside of it.  This may have at times meant I have been in favor and out of favor with management.  I will also say that I am not a good person—my sin is ever before me.  I know this to be true because what goes on inside my head (that thankfully for the most part stay there and are not vocalized) about things that are blatantly being affirmed by our denomination are of “an equal measure of evil” that surely cannot be of God.  I acknowledge that at times I have pushed the intent of our denominational rule book in favor of my understanding of God’s rule book.  And as a broken, sinful person I am sure that many would disagree with my understanding of God’s rule book; so I have simplified it down to Jesus’ command, “Love God and Love Others!”  And Jesus second rule, “Do not judge!” but this one is so much harder to follow than the first and keeps me in my sinful state before the throne of God.  I have always pushed to just the point where it was not quite considered denominational heresy.  I have made it clear and honored the boundaries in which our denominational rule book has defined this company man’s territory to officiate at a wedding where two people love each other.  I have also made it clear that I believe that as an Elder in this company, I can go anywhere and serve in any capacity on behalf of the company even if the company says otherwise—it just means that there may be ramifications in serving as Christ’s representative over the company’s.

This company man is at a “Y” intersection in his professional life with the company.  To check the small box and buy into the company’s small box culture or dust off the dirt from his soles (soul) and move on.  Which is exactly what the “small box culture” would rather this veteran of the church to do. Frankly, I resent being forced into a decision at this stage of life because it is both worrisome and scary.  The denomination which I love and have faithfully served has put me in this conundrum. Those who have advocated for this new system are pushing good company people out and refusing to see those who God has placed before us as a new generation of company people because they cannot check the box.  And at this point in time, I mentally gaze down two “no good” paths:  one leads to complicity of the small box culture and the other leads to resentment for the loss of professional life that I have given a quarter of my life to serve. 

There is a third option.  I can remain and be a thorn in the flesh of those who advocate for the small box culture and all the while refuse to check the box.  This would make a me a company man gone rogue.  A rogue, company man!   An oxymoron at its best!  Yet, it is a title that seems fitting at least until the denomination comes to its senses or Jesus Comes back and sets us all straight!