United Methodists have a deep love for their church and passion for their beliefs, but they are less satisfied with its structure and say too many resources are used in administration and bureaucracy.
They are also both hopeful and concerned about the future of The United Methodist Church.
So say the results of surveys that are the basis for a State of the Church report scheduled for churchwide release in mid-June. The surveys were conducted between June and September of 2006, and involved interviewing a cross-section of about 3,000 United Methodist clergy, lay leaders and members from across the globe.
The report was commissioned in 2005 by the church’s Connectional Table, the leadership entity that coordinates the mission, ministries and resources for the denomination. The project represents the first time the church has attempted to produce a comprehensive overview of the life of the church, according to Twila Glenn, a Connectional Table member from the denomination’s Iowa Annual (regional) Conference.
Emerging from the findings were opinions on topics as diverse as prayer, clergy leadership, church cliques, homosexuality and war.
The surveys found that United Methodists strongly affirm their belief in God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Church members generally rank the denomination’s open table for Holy Communion as extremely important. And they identify the church’s highest priorities as Scripture, children, reaching out to the unchurched and ending racial divisions within the church.
Seventy-two percent of clergy and 61 percent laity who were surveyed agree at least somewhat that the church “uses too much of available financial and human resources in administration and bureaucracy.”
“passion for their beliefs”
…Worshipping in UM churches in Kentucky, I saw genuine passion for true Christian belief and action. Going to the church I grew up in in Washington state the only passions I saw were for pot-lucks and liberal political activism.