Key points:
- Bishop Sharma Lewis spoke early on April 26 as meetings at the Charlotte Convention Center continued for the General Conference of The United Methodist Church.
- Lewis urged delegates to let God influence their actions instead of trying to rely solely on their own judgement.
- The Mississippi Conference bishop used examples from her life to illustrate that human rationality has its limits, but God does not.
Bishop Sharma Lewis dropped to one knee and implored delegates to put their trust in God despite the human tendency to be “control freaks,” as the General Conference of The United Methodist Church began its workday on April 26.
“The human intellect battles constantly with trusting in God versus trusting in self,” the Mississippi Conference bishop preached during morning worship.
“We have the audacity to think that we accomplished great tasks by ourselves. Some of us even think that we will spend the next week or so making decisions for the future of The United Methodist Church and try to factor God out of the equation,” she said.
Lewis hastened to add that she was not suggesting the delegates refrain from using their intellect, but she encouraged them to leave room for the Holy Spirit in their deliberations as the conference continues through May 3.
“What we need to recognize as human beings is that life is beyond us,” Lewis said. “But life is never beyond God. We have a marvelous capacity to understand and be meaningful in the world, but we know that life is plagued with evil, mystery, tragic death and trouble beyond grasping or fixing.”
Lewis mentioned hard parts of her own journey to illustrate her point, including the sudden deaths of her sister from complications after a hysterectomy, an administrative assistant for the Mississippi Conference of pancreatic cancer and a friend after a car accident. She also mentioned several painful hip surgeries she endured.
She said it is important to trust in God, even when things seem bleak.
Just as we need to trust God in our personal journeys, she added, delegates need to do so as they wrestle with weighty issues such as regionalization and the role of LGBTQ people in the denomination.
General Conference photos
“I stand here this morning to challenge us that for the next couple of days we must decide as a denomination that we may not trust each other, but we’re going to trust in the Lord,” Lewis said.
The morning service also featured an interpretive dance and songs on the theme of trusting God. Prayers were led by the Rev. Rob Martin, assistant to the bishop of the Nashville Episcopal Area; Tiffany French-Goffe, a laywoman from the New York Conference and president of its board of trustees; and Erica Robinson-Johnson, director of connectional ministries for the New England Conference.
Lewis’ impassioned sermon injected gospel fervor into the cavernous Charlotte Convention Center, where United Methodists will decide on their direction after losing nearly 25% of U.S. churches to disaffiliation and the continuing recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, which long-delayed the denomination’s legislative assembly.
“I know we’re in the convention center, but can we make this our sanctuary?” Lewis asked. “Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. God knows what’s best for me, beyond my intellect, beyond my degrees and beyond my talents.”
Patterson is a UM News reporter in Nashville, Tennessee. Contact him at 615-742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free Daily or Weekly Digests.
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