The Good That Can Come From #SAVEMOUMCAMPS

My greatest fear has been that our conference's change to camping ministry has created a lot of distrust of denominational leadership, which has resulted in a "fight." Regardless of whose fault the "fight" is, fighting divides and makes enemies, and pushes both sides to dig in and "finish it." That is scary. Because I love all of you. I think fighting will push people away from our churches, especially younger people. There are too many issues that we can effect together that we need the Next Generation's input on.

And that's the good that can come of this. Young people have found a reason to organize and get excited about effecting change in our denomination. I've been to a few sessions of the Missouri Annual Conference, and there are a lot of people my parents age and older who attend, share their voice, and vote. I don't know the exact number, or percentage, but those of age 13-30 are a very small number in my experience. We need more young people to take an active role at these formal levels of the church governance. The system will change with new people involved, and decisions like this one about MOUM Camps will hopefully happen differently.

Anyone who is confirmed in the United Methodist Church is a voting member of the UMC and can serve on all teams, committees, boards, etc. The only one that has an age requirement is the Trustees, which requires you to be 18 or older to vote. You can even be a delegate to Annual Conference, Jurisdictional Conference, and General Conference. If I'm wrong about this, I hope somebody will correct me. Even if you're not an official delegate, you can still come and show support even if you can't have an official voice or vote.

What Will It Take For This To Happen?

1. Election as a Delegate, or to a Team

First, you need to get elected as a delegate to Annual Conference. Your pastor is the chair of the nominations committee, so you need to convince her (or him) to nominate you for leadership in the church. Specifically as a delegate to annual conference. This means, you need to prove that you're qualified and responsible to do the job your church is asking you to do. This is not just about you getting your way, but this is a responsibility for serving the whole body of our church. This will not be easy. It is possible that position is currently held by someone unwilling to let it go, and may feel "replaced" or "unwanted." That's not really your job to worry about because your pastor should take care of that. But, I want you to be aware that it could cause trouble that's not your fault. These nominations are approved at charge conference, which should be happening very soon, and may have already happened. Hopefully, you're not too late. If you can't convince the pastor ahead of charge conference, you could still nominate yourself at the Charge Conference. This will cause trouble too because most of the business has already been decided and just needs a rubber stamp of approval. You can also ask your District Superintendent if you can be a District At-Large Delegate. I also think there are some Youth At-Large delegate positions. Either way, you'll want to get this done in the next few months before the spots are gone.

The conference also has a nominations team. If you're interested in giving your time, energy and money to work on one of the conference teams/boards/committees, then talk to your pastor and figure out how to get your name in the hat. I think this last year, there was an online submission process. I remember getting emails about it. At the very least, you can find a conference journal and see who the nominations chair is, and ask that person.

2. Preparation

If you do manage to get elected as a delegate, then you'll need to get prepared and invested in the denomination and the Annual Conference. You will need a working knowledge of parliamentary procedure. You will need to research the budget and the issues. If you have a specific cause you're working for you'll need to make sure your position is intelligently and coherently put together and not just based on dramatic whims and feelings. Be prepared to listen, let go, see things differently, and be changed as much as you are to speak and fight for change.

You need to be prepared to sit through some boring stuff. Also be prepared to try to participate in worship amidst distractions and a business meeting atmosphere. It won't be worship services like what you're used to at church. Be prepared for workshops and chances to learn stuff to take back to your church. Be prepared to get up early during your summer vacation so you can make the morning bible study session. It will be a time to network and make new friends and enjoy spending time together.

3. MOre Preparation: Submitting Proposals and Resolutions

The Missouri Annual Conference has a method for how they place business on the agenda of the Annual Conference Session. You need to figure out that process and follow it perfectly. I think I can summarize this ok, but I'll be honest, I'm lazy and don't know the details. Basically, there's a deadline that things must be submitted to the Mission Council or some other team who will determine whether or not it is worthy for us to take up as business. If you miss the deadline or have a poorly worded or researched idea, then it probably won't make it. I could be wrong. Truth is I don't know really what the standards are for judging whether a proposal or resolution is worth the time of Annual Conference. I've never really worked on one before (shame on me). Anyway, you will need to have some idea of what our procedures are for getting things done. You probably won't be able to get much done this first year because you're not "in" yet (if you know what I mean). Maybe once you've earned your keep, then you can influence things.

4. Sacrifice

You (and if you're under 18, probably your parents) will have to make some sacrifices for you to attend the session of AC, and even more if you serve on a team/board/committee. It will take your time, money, and energy. You will probably rather do something else like play sports or video games, go on the family vacation, not miss that important activity (graduation, prom, state competition, senior trip, Boy/Girl Scout Camp, etc.). By making this a priority, you are forsaking others and it may cost you (grades, scholarships, state championships, etc.). It will be a sacrifice that pastors like me don't make because we're paid to do this stuff. Your parents will have to transport you or arrange for transportation. Also, if you're under 18, there will need to be supervision for safety/liability reasons, fortunately, the conference has a way for you to register as a youth delegate and will help coordinate that...or at least they used to, and I assume they still do and will into the future. The bottom line here is it's going to take some difficult sacrifices, and if you're under 18 or don't have your own transportation, those sacrifices will include your family too.

It's Worth It

I truly hope to see more young people engage at the Annual Conference level and in leadership in their local churches. This camp thing may be a catalyst for that. I hope so. Why? Because: AIDS, Malaria, LGBTQ issues, marriage equality, war, violence, poverty, global health, suicide rates, drugs, human trafficking, global warming, civil rights, declining congregations, a UMC whose average age is 57, etc. These are all things that we can effect in a greater way together than we can separately. We need the voice, vote, influence, and energy of people age 13-30 who are baptized professing members of our churches. These are issues well worth our sacrifices, time and effort to organize ourselves to work together on. This is not just about helping our churches and properties survive, but changing the world and our neighborhoods.

So please, don't get angry and disillusioned and walk away. Work with the system, and through the system, as disheartening as it can be. Don't let your energy die out. Use this as inspiration to really do something great for the world and our Church. Organize, listen, learn, engage. We have a lot of work to do, major work.

P.S.

The election of Jurisdictional Conference and General Conference delegates will be happening this year. Who knows, maybe Missouri can send the youngest delegation ever. We can only hope.