can this ever be over?

My old church has now signed, I’m curious if Triangle Church includes East Triangle Church or not.

I know, I know. It’s a document that provides a framework for certain global decisions to be made. For example, where will the ILC be? Will we have a global website? etc. As I have said before, I do not believe that many of these global questions are necessary at all.

I believe there should be multiple websites. For example, ICoC Hot News provides video. DToday should have competition. MissionMemo by Kelcy was a superior website for content, but now that Kelcy has moved on, there is space for another website with the same function. There should be another one for commentary. We keep hearing that the ICoC embraces a diversity of perspectives – a diversity of de-centralized websites would go a long way to communicate that.

I believe that there should be more regional conferences like the UnConference. There’s great power in an ILC, to be sure, but it’s too big to be a yearly event. Besides, more regional events allow for more specific foci. Or, in the case of the Unconference, it allows for underserved topics to be handled elsewhere.

As another example, Kris Boyer from Mpls/StPaul church has started a ministry to specifically address sexual issues, especially those germaine to the gay and lesbian population. Kris shares about his life and struggles, so it is from a person that has ‘been there’. This is a ministry that needs more publicity. Kris has two degrees in religion and theology, so he is more than qualified to teach on other topics as well. (I’d dare say, he’s more qualified to preach than most.) This deserves more coverage and more conversation – something that multiple websites would help foster.

It’s more than just websites, really. It is a shift in a way of thinking. My generation and the present generation have grown up with computers and the internet. We think about information and community in very different ways from previous generations. Communities are based in common experience with no geographic border. Communities are informal and self-organizing. For all the informality of these communities, though, there can be great depth within these communities. I’ve seen so many internet communities become passionate about all kinds of minutia because of a common love of the central idea. Religious communities are no different. It’s more than the endless doctrinal threads, it’s the groups of people that band together to encourage each other. These encouragement groups range from dealing with loss to dealing with sin.

What does this have to do with the UPC? Community is defined by the members of the group. Thanks to the internet, it is possible to build global communities in many diverse ways. The way to build community is not by presenting a list of doctrines that you must agree to 100% and ask for signatures. (The 100% thing is in the original UPC FAQ.) The continued coverage of who signs and who doesn’t sign makes no sense. Cooperation is being seen “on the ground”, so what purpose does the document serve? Gordon and others said that this would be temporary, but it still appears from time to time.

Who is continuing to ask these churches to sign? These churches said ‘no’ or ‘thinking about it’ in 2006. In order for them to change their minds, it is likely that someone is calling for a decision.

In the past, it was Bruce Williams. He has flown into New Mexico and other places. I still have the audio from Alberqueque. Steve Staten did some campaigning as well. We can read the FAQ or Mike Taliferro’s informal piece, but neither of these seem to get at the real questions. Why is this still important? Why hasn’t this gone away yet? Why are one or more persons still interested in getting people to sign?

Well, until San Francisco signs, I hope this will be the last that is heard on the matter until it goes away.

PS: One last, last thought: When churches are planted, will there be a breathless pause to see whether or not they sign the UPC? Speaking as one that attends a church seeking to plant churches, I’m curious if this unneeded step will become a thoughtless add-on to church planting.