When Looking at the Big Picture, Humility Helps

The General Conference of The United Methodist Church concluded its eleven-day quadrennial meeting on Friday. Every four years, people the world over gather together to examine the vision and mission of the UMC, look at and revamp ministries, set a budget, draw lines between who’s in and who’s out… Wait. What was that last one? Yes, ever since the “united” denomination’s first General Conference in 1972 – 44 years ago – who we exclude (or not) has been an unpleasant part of our self-understanding.

But 44 years is a long time for most of us. And maybe the church has grown up a bit. True, the GLBTQ+ are still waiting for acceptance and love; and I join in the lament over this. But also true, some people within the U.S. have begun to accept (and others are truly thrilled) that this worldwide church reflects – though, still imperfectly – this diversity more than ever before.

I was moved as I read this morning one of Dan Dick’s posts from his time at GC:

“But what would our world be like (will our world be like) if this General Conference never occurred? I am not sure that this past eleven days has made much of a difference, in the grand scheme of things. Our world still spins, God still reigns, Christ is still Redeemer and Savior, and God’s Holy Spirit still uplifts, guides, and sustains. Nothing changed. People are still nervous about our future. Elections will still take place this fall. LGBTQI persons still feel unwelcome and unloved. Evangelical Conservatives still feel the church has lost its moral compass. The moderate mainstream still doesn’t even know our church is so conflicted or what all the brew-ha-ha is all about. Millions still suffer and starve, while tens of thousands receive relief and aid from our denomination. On Sunday morning, tens of thousands of United Methodist congregations will gather for worship, mostly oblivious about what took place these past eleven days in Portland. But they will still worship God. They will still gather in Sunday school classes. They will still drink coffee and eat pastries and snacks. They will still seek after God in spite of what we have been doing, not generally because of it.”

It’s not any sense of futility Dan might feel that moves me – that’s sad and undoubtedly disappointing – but rather the recognition that in the grand scheme of things, God Is. That hasn’t changed.

So often when bad things happen, I go all in a dither, at least for a while. Maybe you do too. Eventually I come back to my center and I remember, ah, yes, God Is. I’m not responsible for it all, just my part. And I remember that I’m only one small piece of a terribly, wonderfully large picture. Our church,  indeed all churches, and even all faith communities – while adding up to a whole lot of people doing a whole lot of good (and some damage) – are still only a small piece of God’s intention for God’s good creation.

And there is comfort in that.