Seeing a Way Forward: The Rev. Tom Berlin

The Rev. Tom Berlin

The Rev. Tom Berlin, lead pastor of Floris United Methodist Church in Herndon, Virginia, was a member of the Commission on a Way Forward and submitted the One Church Plan legislation to General Conference.

Berlin spoke with UM News as part of “Seeing a Way Forward,” a video series featuring different perspectives of church leaders on the work of the Commission on a Way Forward.

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Discussing questions about the One Church Plan

The Rev. Tom Berlin, who submitted the One Church Plan legislation to General Conference, discusses various questions he’s been hearing about the plan and the commission’s process.

One Church Plan: “How does the local church handle LGBT inclusion now?”
The Rev. Tom Berlin shares the inspiration behind the creation of the plan.

One Church Plan could unite “our broad and diverse denomination.”
The Rev. Tom Berlin says the plan provides a place of unity for the variety of theological viewpoints present within today’s United Methodist Church.

One Church Plan submitter analyzes other Way Forward plans
Though he supports the One Church Plan, the Rev. Tom Berlin sees positive aspects of the Traditional and Connectional Conference plans as well.

Educating churches about Way Forward plans is important
The plans being considered by the 2019 General Conference are complicated and not every United Methodist is interested in reading hundreds of pages of legislative proposals. But that doesn’t mean pastors shouldn’t find ways to educate their members. The Rev. Tom Berlin suggests graduated ways to inform local churches — from the folks who only want the main points to those who don’t mind getting into the weeds. 

This is the tenth in a series of video interviews by United Methodist News Service. View all interviews.