August 1, 2005

"More Than Numbers"

People are more than numbers. And yet our society seems to treat us like numbers. In any given week, how many times are you asked to recite your "number" -- your Social Security number, or your phone number, or your cell phone number, or your address, or your date of birth? Numbers, numbers, numbers -- I get tired of being treated like a number, a statistic, don't you?

I am glad that both our Conferences here in Indiana have voted to move away from the old apportionment system based upon membership. We are moving toward a tithing model where churches will contribute to the our connectional ministries based upon their financial strength (their current expense budget, mostly) rather than upon their number of members. I have noted in the reports from other annual conferences that we are not alone, since many conferences are moving toward a system of apportionments based upon a percentage of local church income (some up to as high at 17%). One can argue the issue of fairness in this new model, but I think that a major positive impact is that we will no longer "tax" a local church on the basis of its members, which means that we don't treat people like numbers. Here are some positive implications of this new model:

1. Churches won't have to be worried about holding confirmation classes and helping youth become disciples of Christ and members of the church. I have actually heard from several churches who told me that they have not confirmed youth in recent years, because "it would cost us money in terms of our apportionments to have those youth listed as members." I hope that our new tithing model will mean every church will hold confirmation classes to help their youth (and the youth from the community) to learn about the faith, to become disciples of Jesus, and to consider membership in the church.
2. Churches won't have to be in such a hurry to remove inactive members, especially those young adults who have moved out of town and have not yet gotten established in another church. Some studies have found that the vast majority of persons we have "removed by charge conference action" are young adults, often college students or persons in the military. Why have we been in such a rush to remove them? Because we have considered them a "number" and they have cost us money. I hope that now we will be more patient with those persons, keep in touch with them, and help them to find a new church in their new location.
3. Churches might be more free in welcoming new members. Many newer members are slow to grow in their stewardship, and so some churches have been reluctant to welcome them into membership, because "they will cost us more money in apportionments" than their limited giving might produce. Once again, we have tended to treat people like numbers rather than seeing them as disciples to be grown in faith and in stewardship. I hope that our new models of tithing will help those new members to learn to tithe, but in the meantime their giving will only be shared with the connectional ministries at the same rate of 10% while their giving grows.

People are more than numbers, and I am glad that our new apportionment system in each conference will treat them like disciples and not like members to be taxed. Who knows? Maybe one of these years we will come to Annual Conference and hear a wonderful number -- that the number of United Methodist disciples in Indiana is a growing number rather than the declining numbers we have become accustomed to for 40 years. Wouldn't it be great to hear from our statisticians report that we are growing in Sunday School attendance, in worship attendance, in new disciples by confession of faith, and in membership? That is a number that I would like to hear.

from Bishop Michael J. Coyner

Indiana Area of the United Methodist Church
"Making a Difference ... in Indiana
and around the world"

TOP OF PAGE