Backers of agency consolidation ponder what went wrong

“My sense is that the Central Conference folks are reluctant to change anything, because they are primarily the beneficiaries of the agencies,” Mr. Underwood said. “And even though the CT legislation doesn’t change any of the vital work that they are recipients of, they fear that the change will somehow make that work go away. And so, they are tending to vote against any kind of major change.”

But Central Conference delegates were hardly the only obstacle to the CT/IOT legislation. Different parties, voicing concerns about concentration of power and lack of diversity in a single small board, worked together for its defeat.

Click here to ready Sam Hodge’s United Methodist Reporter story.


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General Conference
The Rev. Aleze M. Fulbright (center) celebrates the growth of The United Methodist Church in Africa as the Commission on the General Conference meets in Minneapolis on Nov. 11. Indiana Conference Bishop Tracy S. Malone announced Jan. 16 that Fulbright is leaving her role as General Conference secretary to become executive secretary to the bishop, starting in July. Photo by Heather Hahn, UM News.

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