The United Methodist Church met in General Conference this past month as they do every four years and I was looking over their list of items passed and not. As United Methodists we will have a new hymnal as of 2013. We won't be changing any of our language on the inclusion (or exclusion) of gays and lesbians. We are seeking full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Probationary clergy will now be called provisional clergy. And so on.
But what caught my eye was a change to what we pledge when we become members of the church. The formula, for the last 70 some years, has been that we pledge to support the church through our "prayers, presence, gifts, and service." New members now will also be asked to pledge their "witness" as well.
"Witness" is a loaded term for most people, burdened with images of street corner preachers or overwrought emotional testimonies at revival meetings. It's an unfortunate association because the act of bearing witness is a very simple one - if you know the truth, speak up.
I think of a witness called to give testimony in court. As a witness your duty is fairly simple and straight forward - tell the truth to the best of your ability. In the New Testament followers of Jesus are called repeatedly to "bear witness" to what they have seen. They point is, again, to tell the truth they have seen to the best of their ability.
I'm glad for this change because it reminds us that we are all responsible to bear witness to the truth and that everyone's faith journey is different. Sometimes, because our journeys are so different, we are shy to speak up about our experience because we are under the mistaken impression that different is wrong. But we need to bear witness so that we can learn from each others' experiences. It is how we see the work of the Spirit in our midst.
Sometimes people discount their own experience because it doesn't seem as dramatic or engaging as other people's experiences, but that is far from the truth. What is "ordinary" is often the most extraordinary thing. Everyone has a story to tell.
Also, the act of bearing witness means that we have to keep our eyes open to the world around us. We need to look for where God is operating in our midst. If we are going to witness to God's moving we need to be sensitive to it. This isn't simply the job of clergy or the "professional religious" but the job of every baptized Christian. We all need to bear witness to the truth. Also, bearing witness to the truth means we can't turn a blind eye to injustice or evil either. We are called to speak up.
So I'm thankful to the General Conference for this change and pray that we will move into a mode of faithful witness to the truth.