(last part)
read part one here.
read part two here.
read part three here.
concluding...
Have you been challenged by a congregation member or anywhere other than Facebook (or me) about your pro-gun stance?
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Oh sure. Not often, though. The overwhelming majority of my current congregation (I mean all except maybe 2 or 3) are hunters and/or gun owners. In this more rural part of Alabama pretty much everyone is a country person, or grew up country, and hunting is a way of life. Millbrook has only really been a growing suburb in the last 10-15 years. And the majority of people who have moved into this area that aren’t “country folk” are military and so are quite comfortable with guns. There’s also the fact that I don’t make a big deal about the issue. I certainly don’t get into the pulpit and talk about my .40. Those I do talk about guns with are generally only those I go hunting with. I certainly don’t publicize it or brag about it. But, I have had the occasional discussion. It’s never been a “How can you as a pastor/Christian think about owning a gun” type conversation, just more my thoughts on it, where I’m coming from. They share their thoughts on it. Respectful, thoughtful conversation.
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Alright, then, I'll ask the question then. ;) How can you as a pastor/Christian think about owning a gun?
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lol, how did I know that was coming? That’s not really the focus of this interview is it? 
But, to give a brief answer – I like to hunt. I like to sport shoot at the range. One provides good, healthy, inexpensive food for my family and the other is just a hobby. If someone broke into my home and attempted to harm my family would I use it to defend them? You better believe it. I guess that’s where you get into a “just war” kind of theory. But I don’t see anything, biblically, that would prohibit any of that. Can guns be used for evil? Absolutely and I’m all for discussions that would limit that evil (i.e. magazine size, more stringent background checks, certain types of weapon availability, etc). I don’t really want to get too far into this issue in this format since that wasn’t our original topic, but I didn’t want to cop out on you completely either. So, consider that a partial cop out.
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Since, you've been kind enough to spend a few days with us, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and grant you "partial" cop-out. ;) We'll finish with a couple of questions on another subject. Church attendance continues to decline. There are equal numbers if not more than that that are every bit as cynical about religion and church as you are about politics. Where do you see the United Methodist Church in ten years?
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The brutally honest answer is I don’t know and that scares me. The UMC will most likely be around still in 10 years, but in what form? I don’t see any real desire for a split even from those who stand opposed on some very emotional issues. The 2012 General Conference really broke my heart, and the heart of a lot of clergy, last April. I went into that General Conference with so much optimism. There were proposals on the table that really could’ve made a difference in our church such as a complete restructuring to do away with a lot of waste and red tape. A proposal was made, that I thought was awesome, to remove guaranteed appointments from the UMC clergy. No longer could clergy coast, or just be bumped from church to church if they messed up. The bishops could actually do something about it. What actually came out of GC2012? Nada. All of the restructuring proposals, that we had spent 4 years and tons of money preparing, were shot down. The removal of guaranteed appointments passed, but then the Judicial Council struck it down as unconstitutional on a technicality. So, we spent 2 1/2 weeks and, literally, several million dollars for nothing. Even the supposed big showdown over the homosexual issue amounted to a few people pitching a temper tantrum, acting the fool and disrupting the order, and everything else staying status quo. So I’m afraid I’ve lost a lot of hope in the General Church. And it’s for the many of the same reasons I’m cynical about Congress. At the General Church level it’s ludicrous to call us a “United” Methodist Church. We’re hardly that. We have some pastors and conferences who won’t even acknowledge the Trinity as Father, Son and Holy Spirit any longer. I mean forget the divisions over homosexuality. Our divisions go WAY deep to some really core theological issues. And everyone is so dug in that they aren’t willing to listen to any other viewpoint and the result is gridlock, a la Congress.
All of that said, I have a ton of optimism and hope for the UMC on the local level, and even somewhat at the conference level. I see some local churches really start to break out of their shells, engage their communities, and do some awesome things for God. Things that might make a real difference because they’re trying to change their community and not just grow their membership. What HUMC is doing is a perfect example, and I will be HUMC’s biggest cheerleader through that process. I think my current church has accomplished that. There’s churches all over stepping up for God. If the UMC is to be saved, that’s where it has to start – at the grass roots level. And I see that starting to really happen. The original Methodist movement was a grass roots movement of a few clergy and a lot of laity when the general church (the Anglicans in that case) lost sight of their mission and became too institutionalized, too concerned with looking in the mirror than impacting the world for Christ. That kind of movement is at the core of who we are as Methodists and I’m becoming more and more hopeful that it’s starting to happen again.
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This feels like a pretty good place to stop. An appropriate mix of melancholy and hope. Thanks so much for taking some time over the last few days to do this. It's been a lot of fun. Let me know when you're up for round two, where I do nothing but give you crap about your guns.
Take care, brother.
(ed. - we hope you enjoyed the interview. In the next few days, look for another entry from huffman umc's newest staff member. we started with the same first question, but then the conversation went in a very different direction. we'll let you be the judge as to why.)
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