This past October, I presented an overview of the Connectional Conference Plan to South Central Jurisdiction delegates at a gathering that was held to help them prepare for the 2019 Special Session of General Conference. Although many attending that meeting arrived assuming the Connectional Conference Plan would not get any traction at General Conference, I was surprised and intrigued by how many were more open to the plan’s potential as they began to better understand it. That experience has stayed with me, as has the reality of our increasing polarization around the One Church and Traditional Plans.

Recently, the Commission on a Way Forward moderators issued a letter inviting the church into a deeper discussion about the Connectional Conference Plan. In response to that invitation, and because I am concerned about our deepening polarization and the fact that the Connectional Conference Plan has yet to be fully explored, I have prepared a reflection that I have attached: An Opportunity to Take a Fresh Look at the Connectional Conference Plan.

Of course, I would love to receive your feedback. Even more importantly, however, I hope this offering will spur the church as a whole, and General Conference delegates in particular, to take a fresh look at the Connectional Conference Plan and include it in their continuing discernment about God’s Way Forward for the entire United Methodist Church.

Grace and peace,