The clouds were dark as the General Conference gathered in session in 1956 in Minneapolis. The church was split - - North and South. Would those gathered to represent the Methodist Church follow their guts or their hearts?

The battle lines were drawn - - the issue was whether or not to give African-Americans equal voice and vote in “their white churches.”

Delegates walked from meeting to meeting with heads down and hearts heavy.

Everyone was wondering what was going to happen. There were threatened walk outs. There was talk of organizing the southern church all over again. Caucuses were having all nighters to plot their strategy.

Dr. Harry Denman headed Evangelism for the church at the time. Harry gathered a group of like-minded individuals who organized an all night prayer vigil the night before the vote was to be taken the next day. Word got out that Brother Harry and a bunch were praying over it all night. North and South both loved and respected Brother Harry. He has been in their churches, preached at their camp meetings. He was a man of unquestionable integrity and a deep and abiding faith.

They made history the next day when the General Conference voted to end segregation in all of its churches.

One observer said, “I shall never forget the raining down of the Holy Ghost the next morning when we came to the auditorium. No more bickering. Harry Denman had prayed.”

The church did not split. The world as they knew it did not come to an end. Life went on and folks returned to their pews. We are still not fully recovered, at least in the south, from the sins of segregation. However, the issue of African Americans in our churches is no longer an issue - - it is now just who we are.

I graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1954. Designated as the most beautiful high school in the United States. Mine was the first graduating class from LRCHS - - Another high school opened that year and we were no longer the only high school in town. My graduating class gave the word CENTRAL that you now see emblazoned in gold letters across the front of the school. The historic Brown vs. Board of Education ruling had been made by the Supreme Court. We could see dark clouds gathering on the horizon.

In 1954 the boys would gather outside the entrances to Central for a smoke break and brag about what they were going to do when the first blacks showed up. How macho they were!

Then 1957! If you lived through that time you can never think of Central High and not also think about what happened on that beloved campus in 1957. Suddenly my high school was catapulted onto the world stage. There was no turning back. I lived in Little Rock through that era. I saw raw hatred up close and personal. Those of us destined to live our lives in Little Rock during that time were afraid to go within blocks of 14th and Park Streets.

You have seen the news clips. You know the history. It was just one of many to come “final stands” in the name of segregation that was to be taken across our nation during that time. It was a terribly dark time in our history.

There were people totally convinced that if one black was admitted to Central that the “Southern way of life” would forever come to an end.

Today, Little Rock Central High School, is again a model school. It is still the most beautiful high school in America. It now has one of the highest SAT score averages of any high school in the state. It has the highest percentage of college bound students than any other high school. Kids of all colors and cultures are now a part of the fabric of that school. There have been many African-American class presidents and school Principals. It is now a model for the entire world.

The “Southern way of life” as we knew it in 1957 did, thankfully and mercifully, come to an end. It has been replaced by a peaceful coexistence of all of God’s children.

Time is drawing near for the 2004 General Conference of the United Methodist Church. The battle this time is not one involving race - - it is now one involving human sexuality.

They are already circling the wagons and the battle maps are out again. We saw first evidence of that this year as the annual conferences elected their delegations to the 2004 General Conference. The letters were sent, endorsements were made, and you were told who to vote for to keep the United Methodist Church from ruin.

Historically, unfortunately, the United Methodist Church his mirrored our political environment instead of modeling Jesus Christ.

We have seen our church at its very worst as the debate rages on. The 2000 General Conference in Cleveland ended in shambles. I was there. They made arrests and carried people to jail - - just so they could have their say. The plenary of the General Conference was shut down by demonstrations.

Bishop Gregory Palmer of the Iowa Area has recently said: “If Christians can’t find a meaningful way to work through tough stuff without gouging each other’s eyes out, it could well be we do not have a hope of modeling anything redemptive for the world.”

The United States Supreme Court has just ruled all “sodomy” laws to be unconstitutional. This week’s Newscope reports on the ruling and shows a lesbian couple on the cover. The issue of gay unions (some say marriages) is now THE issue. Old Testament images of gloom and doom are being recast upon this issue.

There are cries from across our land are that we are now on a slippery slope that will completely ruin the family unit as we know it. The talking heads on television are screaming at each other. There are those that say civilization as we know it will come to an end. Images of Sodom and Gomorrah are being cast upon us.

It all sounds all to familiar to me. We heard it in 1956. We heard it in 1957. We are hearing it again in 2003. As that great philosopher, Yogi Berra, once said, “It is deja vu all over again!”

Will the United Methodist Church as we know it come to an end over this issue? Will the church split? Will there be a conservative church? Will there be a liberal church? Or will we be content to continue to just gouge each other’s eyes out?

Some of you will chastise me to dare to even compare the issue of integration with that of human sexuality. While the elements of each issue are not the same at all, our church is going through the same trauma! We are a bleeding and hurting church over an issue that deeply divides us. These are tough issues.

We are again walking with our heads down and our hearts heavy.

In their advertising Buick brought car designer Harley Earl back from the dead to design a new line of Buicks for the 21st Century.

Do we need to resurrect Brother Harry to come back and “pray over us”?

I think so!



A Jim Lane Commentary
July 3, 2003