On too many words

On too many words

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On too many words

‘Go read the Bible and say your prayers and then try to help somebody instead.’
—Dr. Ted Campbell (Texas)

Associate professor of church history at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, Campbell decries the “endless volumes of words” that surround the denomination. In “7 things I hate about U(MC),” (United Methodist Reporter, Faith forum, July 17), he declares, “Trust me: No one needs to read all that stuff.”

Campbell writes that today’s endless volumes of words with very little consensus hurts the denomination. “It’s hard to see the important words for all the unimportant ones,” he states.

It’s hard to see the important words for all the unimportant ones.

An alternative, according to Campbell, would be to print stuff that 85% of United Methodists agree on consistently over a period of 36 years. “That would be pretty slim and trim — and maybe even fit,” he says. “The good thing about cutting out stuff is that it leaves many decisions to local bodies.”

Besides too many words, Campbell’s other six complaints are as follows:

Anti-Catholic material in the Articles of Religion.

The procedure for organizing new congregations.

The Welch Rubric, which he describes as “unscriptural,” that requires “the pure, unfermented juice of the grape shall be used” in the Lord’s Supper, “instead of what Jesus Christ explicitly asked us to use.”

Half-way authorizing half-way laypersons to celebrate the Lord’s Supper.

Annual Conferences. “If we’re not really going to confer about anything, there’s no point in holding a conference,” he declares.

The capital letter “T” in “The United Methodist Church.”

August 10, 2009